WRITING AN EXECUTIVE BRIEFING, Research Paper, writing homework help

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WRITING AN EXECUTIVE
BRIEFING

Introduction:
At some point during your career you will be asked to brief an executive
audience on some work-related issue or project.
The briefing may be in writing, in person (e.g. a live or oral presentation),
or both. Below are some guidelines for
executive briefings that may help you be more successful.

The
Purpose of an Executive Briefing

You may be
asked to give an executive briefing that is purely informational in
nature. It is much more likely, however,
that the purpose of your briefing will be to obtain something from the executive audience. You might seek to obtain:

·
permission
to carry out a project or a policy/process change;

·
the
resources needed to carry out a project or action; or

·
something
else that only the executives of your organization can provide.

What do we
mean by Executive?

Executives are persons who possess the highest
level of decision-making authority in an organization. Executives typically set organizational
missions and goals; decide major policy initiatives; and have the final say in
allocating the organization’s resources.

In the
private sector, an organization’s executives (sometimes referred to as
“executive officers”) will include the President/CEO (Chief Executive Officer),
the Senior Vice Presidents, and such persons as the CFO (Chief Financial
Officer). In the public sector,
executives may have similar titles; they may also have different titles
depending upon the nature and structure of the organization. For example, in a local law enforcement
organization the Sheriff or Police Chief is certainly an executive officer, as
are any senior offices to whom the Sheriff or Chief has delegated a high level
of decision-making authority.

Characteristics
of an Executive Audience

In preparing
a briefing for an executive audience, keep in mind that executives have certain
characteristics that influence various aspects of your briefing.

Executives are very
busy people with a lot of demands on their time.
Executives are used
to thinking strategically (the “Big Picture” rather than the localized
operational details).
Executives tend to
evaluate ideas and actions as they relate to the Vision, Mission, and
Strategic Plans of the organization.
Executives have a bottom-line
orientation.
Executives are not
easily fooled.

What do these
characteristics mean for you, the person preparing and/or delivering the
briefing?

Your briefing will be shorter than a document or
presentation prepared for a different type of audience (e.g. an audience
of your peers, or of specialists in the subject).
Your briefing will have fewer details in it.
Your briefing will show that the ideas or
recommendations in it are congruent with your organization’s Mission and
Vision.
Your briefing will cover the financial and/or
resource implications of your request or proposal.
Your briefing will have to be accurate, well-argued,
and supported by evidence or data.

Let’s look at
each of these items separately.

Length/Duration:
If you hand an executive a 60-page briefing document, chances are very
good that she will not read it. It’s not
that she’s rude or dismissive of your work; it’s simply that she has neither
the time nor the inclination to do so. Furthermore,
as an executive she is used to quickly evaluating information, making a
decision, and then moving on to the next item.
The same thing is true of a “live” presentation; if you prepare an
MSPowerPoint slideshow with 45 slides and ask for an hour in which to present
it, the executive audience will likely stop listening to you after your fourth
or fifth slide. It is your
responsibility to present the key features of your proposal or recommendation
in a short, succinct manner.

Level of Detail:
In your position within the organization you and your colleagues no
doubt understand and apply a very large amount of detailed knowledge to get
work done. You may be tempted to include
such details in your executive briefing on the grounds that they are important
to the overall argument. Remember, though,
that the executives in your organization are several levels removed from purely
operational matters. Too much detailed
information may confuse or distract them from your main points.

Mission and Vision:
An organization’s mission and vision statements are among the tools with
which executives evaluate the merits of a proposal or recommendation. In many cases, the executives are evaluated
by how well they achieve the carrying out of the mission and vision. In your briefing you will need to address the
mission and vision and, if appropriate, demonstrate how your proposal or
recommendation aligns with, and helps to fulfill, the mission and vision.

Financial and Resource Implications:
The ideas you present in your briefing may seem like the greatest things
in the world to you, so great that they should be acted upon immediately
regardless of cost or impact to the organization. Keep in mind, though, that the organization’s
executives are the ones who have to sign the checks, pay the bills, etc. In your briefing you will have to let them
know how much your proposal is going to cost, or how many resources will have
to be added or diverted to carry out your recommendation, so that they can
weigh the costs/benefits as part of the decision-making process.

Argumentation and Accuracy:
People who rise to executive levels within organizations are likely to
be very smart. Further, they’re also
likely to be sensitive to logic and to the appropriate use of evidence. If you try to fool them, they will know. If you try to manipulate data to make a
situation look more attractive or beneficial than it really is, they’ll catch
on quickly. If you try to make up an
answer to a question they pose to you, they’ll figure it out and you will lose
credibility in their eyes. Therefore,
the arguments you make in your briefing must be solid, and the data you present
in support of those arguments must be accurate and properly presented.

Guidelines
for Preparing a Written Executive Briefing

Keep it as short as
possible. If you have no choice but to provide a
great deal of information (or if you were specifically asked to do so), then
prepare an Executive Summary
for your briefing document. An
Executive Summary is a short (typically four paragraphs of four sentences
each) description of the main points in the document, for example:

The Problem or Situation to be Resolved or
Addressed;
The Proposed Solution or Recommendation;
The Costs of the Solution or Recommendation;
The Benefit(s) to the Organization of the Solution
or Recommendation.

Don’t overuse
charts, tables, and graphs. These items are, of course, useful for
displaying large amounts of data.
They are more effective, however, when used sparingly. Also, be sure that the charts, tables,
and graphs can be read and easily understood when placed in a written
document.
Make the document
as “readable” as possible. By this we mean apply the general
principles of good business writing, for example:

Use an appropriate font and font size;
Leave a suitable amount of “white space” on the
pages (don’t use very narrow margins or try to cram too much text onto a
page);
Avoid long sentences.
Avoid overuse of the passive voice.
Use informative section headings (and make sure to
provide a Table of Contents for them).
Use “vertical lists” for long lists (i.e. more than
three items in the list)

Provide references
for any documents or sources quoted in the briefing.
This seems pretty obvious, but a surprisingly large number of
people forget to do this, especially when they’re in a hurry to complete
the briefing document.
Present the main
recommendation, proposal, or feature of your briefing early in the
document. If your briefing is about a recommended
policy change or purchase of equipment, state that on the first page of
your document (and in the first paragraph of your Executive Summary, if
you prepare one).

Guidelines
for Preparing an Oral Executive Briefing

If you use a
presentation medium such as MSPowerPoint, treat your presentation as if it
were a document. In other words, apply the four
guidelines listed above to the preparation of your PowerPoint slides.
Do not give your
audience documents (including copies of your slides) before your
presentation. If you do, you run the risk that your
audience will start reading the documents rather than paying attention to
your briefing. You can hand out
written materials after your presentation.
Be prepared for
questions. If your presentation is effective, it
will likely trigger questions from the executive audience. Have material with you that you can consult
when trying to answer a question.
If you don’t know the answer and don’t have the appropriate
material with you, say so and offer to get the answer for the questioner
as soon as possible.
Be respectful but
confident. As the presenter of the briefing, you
are viewed as the expert on the contents. Make eye contact with the audience;
control the flow of the presentation (e.g. stipulate that you would prefer
questions to be held until the end of the presentation); and don’t make
apologies for being unable to answer a question right on the spot.

Conclusion:
Writing for, and presenting to, an executive audience is challenging but
sometimes necessary for you to succeed in your profession. Be mindful of the characteristics of the
executive audience and shape your briefing accordingly.