MODELS &

FRAMEWORKS OF
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
SESSION 4
Mahesh Narayan
https://twitter.com/mahesh_narayan
AREAS COVERED

1. Background Research
2. Hypothesis Development
3. Storyboarding
4. Data Gathering
• Data Gathering Methods
• Desk Research Data Source Fact Finding -
• Interviewing Techniques
• Role Play – Interviewing
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Literature review Get an overview of the

/Analyst report review Industry/function issues
to get good grounding relevant to the project
on relevant issues

Understand the clients Get a good

business/organisation/p understanding of the
ossible problem areas prior work in this space
etc which can be leveraged
for the project (Data
Sources scan)
BACKGROUND RESEARCH - HOW

Analyst Reports University Research Papers

Industry Reports Blogs

Background
Annual Reports Research Case Studies
Sources

News Articles Company Collaterals

Consulting Firm Papers Company Press Releases

•Research Areas
•Industry Players • Company Background
• Financial Numbers • Stakeholder Background
• Competition Scenario • Customer Segments
• Industry /Technology Trends • Latest Developments in the company
BACKGROUND RESEARCH TIPS
• DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL
• Whatever the problem, chances are that someone, somewhere has worked on something
similar. Maybe that person is in your organization and can answer all your questions in
the course of a phone call. Maybe other people in your field, in another division or
another company, have seen the same problem already—find out who they are and get
to know them. Do your research and ask questions; you will save yourself a lot of time
and effort. Your time is valuable, so don’t waste it by reinventing the wheel!
• Start with the annual report
• turn first to the “Message to Shareholders” or “Chairman’s Remarks” at the front. If you
read the section carefully, and a little skeptically, you’ll find out a lot about how the
company has performed in the last year. You’ll usually also get a quick breakdown of key
financial indicators such as stock price, revenue, and earnings per share
BACKGROUND RESEARCH TIPS
• Look for outliers
• When you’ve collected a large amount of data on a particular aspect of your problem,
look for outliers— things that are especially good or bad. Use a computer to get a quick
picture. For example, suppose you are collecting data on your company’s sales force.
Enter the average sales of each salesperson and divide it by the number of accounts
served by that salesperson for, say, the last three years; this gives you the average sales
per account. Type the data into your favorite spreadsheet software and sort the averages
from lowest to highest. Then look at the two or three best and worst figures.
Congratulations, you’ve just found a fruitful area for research. Figure out why the
numbers are so good or bad and you’ll be well on your way to fixing the problem.
• Look for best practice
• There’s an old saying that no matter how good you are at something, there’s always
somebody better. This is as true in business as it is anywhere else. Find out what the best
performers in the industry are doing and imitate them. Often, this is the quickest antidote
to poor performance. Talk to other people in the industry: suppliers, customers, Wall
Street analysts, friends from business school, and so forth. Sometimes you can find best
practice within your company.
HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT
HYPOTHESIS DRIVEN APPROACH

Definition:
Hypothesis is a tentative explanation for an observation that can be tested (i.e. proved or
disproved) by further investigation
Importance:
Start at the end - Figuring out the solution to the problem, i.e. "hypothesizing", before you start
will help build a roadmap for approaching the problem
Basic Concepts:
Hypotheses can be expressed as possible root causes of the problem
Breaking down the problem into key drivers (root causes) can help formulate hypotheses
HYPOTHESIS DRIVEN APPROACH

• Develop hypotheses for each of the problem components or issues you are investigating – this
means your hypotheses will be answers to questions that are critical to the problem at hand
(each branch in the issue tree)
• Focus your data collection and analysis on testing the hypotheses, rather than investigating
every detail and nuance that may not be relevant to the problem
• Use your level of certainty around the hypotheses to drive your level of effort – if you’re highly
confident that a hypothesis is correct, then limit your time spent testing it
INITIAL HYPOTHESIS BASED ON INFORMATION AVAILABLE

• Review problem, background, current approach and issues

• Assess current trends in the industry, competitive landscape, etc. (if relevant)
• Develop around your problem structure
• Develop as a team, jointly with the client
• The result will not be perfect; it is just a focusing mechanism
• The goal is to push the thinking forward, not to always be right
EXAMPLE
HOW HYPOTHESIS DRIVEN APPROACH CAN HELP PLAN THE PROJECT
RULES

•Hypothesis statements should be clear.

•Hypothesis statements should be simple.
•Hypothesis statements should be direct.
•Hypothesis statements should be measurable by your
research.
•Hypothesis statements should take a clear side.
•A good hypothesis is your assumption or explanation
of why or how something occurs.
KEY LEARNING'S FROM THE SESSION

• My Key Learning's … • My actions …

STORYBOARDING
MODULE OBJECTIVES

• Genesis
• Need
• How
“TELL ME HOW THIS INFORMATION FITS INTO THE BIGGER
STRATEGY. MAKE ME SEE MORE THAN WHAT’S WRITTEN AND
OBVIOUS!”
– TYPICAL COMMENT OF A DECISION MAKER

“So, what's the story?”

GENESIS

The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary

defines storyboard, a noun first used in 1942,
as
• a panel or series of panels
• on which a set of sketches is arranged
• depicting consecutively the important changes
of scene and action in a series of shots (as for
a film, television show, or commercial)”

Disney used the same methods to plan future business. He used the storyboarding
process in business planning. And the result of this creative collaborative approach is
the incredibly profitable Disney locations
WHY IS STORYBOARDING IS REQUIRED

Think through Monitor

a story Progress
Client
Call for
Centric
Action
Vetting
On approach Keep Analysis
On Track

Focus on
Logical
Key Messages Flow

Transitions
Allows clear
Between
thoughts Responsibilities for
work streams

Tight Storyboard + Key Messages AHA

TYPICAL THINGS TO ACHIEVE IN A CONSULTING PITCH

• A - Attention — Get their attention!

• Often this is a great place for quotes, statistics, urgent information
and trends.
• This is also why it’s so important to look at headlines, graphics and
your first 7 seconds in front of your audience.
• I - Interest — Arouse interest.
• Make them intensely curious. Step into the minds of your boss and
senior management. Why must they be interested in what you
present?
• D - Desire — Stimulate their desire.
• Demonstrate the benefits of your proposal. Share testimonials.
Provide case studies. Wet their appetite for what you’re offering.
• A - Action — Ask for action.
• Provide a price comparison. Ask for funding. Make a case for why
it’s essential to act now. Ask for a decision.
Put AIDA to work in your Storyboard
JUST REVEAL YOUR WORK AS A MYSTERY STORY.

• Here's the structure:

• Pose the mystery
• Deepen the mystery
• Home in on the proper explanation by considering (and
offering evidence against) alternative explanations
• Provide a clue to the proper explanation
• Resolve the mystery
• Draw the implications for the phenomenon under study
STEPS TO EFFECTIVE STORYBOARDING
• Understand the audience, their motivations, their questions, decision making criteria etc

• Keep the Objective of the project and end state in mind (key take away, do you want any
action etc)
• Give an overview. Make a compelling pitch for why this is a critical topic. State clearly up front
the essence of your message.

• Build a Sequence/ Lay out a framework – Use AIDA

• Focus on Key messages which you want the audience to takeaway. Keep clear of getting lost
in the details.
• Coordinate themes between sections. The messages in subsequent slides should flow
smoothly from the messages in preceding slides

• Go from a high-level outline, to a low-level outline that provides the detail required
 Summary slides “cascaded” from body

Sets context for rest of pack

Available data is incorporated.

Units and data are precisely
defined

Represents multiple slides

Tags used where

Detailed back-ups Unknowns left hypothesis is
in Appendix blank at this stage unclear
“GOLDEN RULES” OF STORYBOARDING

 think about it early: but only once you have a grasp of the hypotheses

 set up a visual presentation:

 fill and revise as you go: replace blank slides as they are created

 review headers and kickers for consistency

 create an Executive Summary to summarise the story. It should include key messages and
numbers (if appropriate)
 pay particular attention to the Introduction and Conclusion: this is when audience attention is
highest and is your opportunity to establish (or lose) credibility, set expectations and land key
messages

NOTE
 Create a storyboard when you two feel you have a good grasp of the hypotheses

 Recognise that the storyboard will change during the project (getting the storyboard 30% correct will be a
very good start)
TOOLS - MIND MAP

• Graphic “Brainstorming” of all ideas related to topic

Related Idea

Related Idea Central Idea Related Idea

Sub-idea
Related Idea
Mind Mapping Tool
TOOLS - POST ITS

Storyboarding with post-its can be used to create a flow diagram of tasks

AREAS COVERED

Data Gathering
• Data Gathering Methods
• Desk Research Data Source Fact Finding -
• Interviewing Techniques
• Role Play – Interviewing
FACT FINDING
LEARNING OUTCOME

•Data Gathering Methods

•Desk Research Data Sources
•Interviewing Techniques
BLOCKS TO EFFECTIVE FACT FINDING AND ANALYSIS

Assumptions Short
cuts

Habit/
Fears History
experience

Poor data
Perceptions Change
collection Actual cause and
effects relationship
SECONDARY DATA

• Pre-existing data not gathered for purposes of the current research

• Secondary data
• Not ‘new’ data – ‘second hand’
• ‘Back up’ data – secondary in use
• Data gathered by another source (e.g. research study, survey, interview)
• Secondary data is gathered BEFORE primary data. WHY?
• Because you want to find out what is already known about a subject before you
decline into your own investigation. WHY?
• Because some of your questions can possibly have been already answered by other
investigators or authors.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages
• Resource implications – usually
easier to gather than primary data
• Unobtrusive – already collected
• Longitudinal study may be possible
• Quality and permanence of data –
eg. government surveys

Disadvantages
• Suitability
• Cost and access – may still be
difficult in spite of resource
advantages
• Validity of some secondary data (eg.
PRIMARY DATA

• Data never gathered before.

• Advantage: find data you need to suit your purpose
• Disadvantage: usually more costly and time consuming than
collecting secondary data
• Collected after secondary data is collected
TYPES OF PRIMARY DATA
Demographic/Socioeconomic
 Age, Gender, Income, Marital Status, Occupation
Psychological/Lifestyle
 Activities, Interests, Personality Traits
Attitudes/Opinions
 Preferences, Views, Feelings, Inclinations
Awareness/Knowledge
 Facts about product, features, price, uses
Intentions
 Planned or Anticipated Behavior
Motivations
 Why People Buy (Needs, Wants, Wishes, Ideal-Self)
Behavior
 Purchase, Use, Timing, Traffic Flow
PRIMARY DATA CAN BE GATHERED BY:
Communication Methods
 Interacting with respondents
 Asking for their opinions, attitudes, motivations, characteristics
Observation Methods
 No interaction with respondents
 Letting them behave naturally and drawing conclusions from their actions
COMMUNICATION METHODS OF PRIMARY
Methods include:
 Surveys
 Focus Groups
 Panels
Highly versatile in terms of types of data
Generally more speedy
Typically more cost effective
• Electronic media have made observation cheaper
• Activities, Interests, Personality Traits
PRIMARY RESEARCH METHODS &
TECHNIQUES Primary
Research

Quantitative Data Qualitative Data

Surveys Experiments Focus groups

 Personal
interview Individual depth
Mechanical
(intercepts) interviews
 Mail observation
 In-house, self- Human
administered observation
 Telephone, Simulation
fax, e-mail, Web
Case studies
PRIMARY RESEARCH METHODS
• Focus Groups – bring together respondents with common
characteristics
• Observation - actually view respondents
• Experiment - controlled variables and respondent groups.
• Non-personal survey – on site, telephone, mail, fax, computer,
panel
• Personal interview - one-on-one survey with respondents
• Company records – internal document survey research
VARIOUS DATA GATHERING METHODS EXIST INCLUDING

Method Advantages Disadvantages

Observation • Views wide range of behavior • Can alter behaviour

• Sees people in their natural setting • Difficult to observe detail

Secondary Data • Allows detailed analysis • Seldom deals with solutions

• Accesses historical data • Lacks spontaneity

• Encourages criticism
Surveys and • Up to date
questionnaires • Lower response rate
• Focused responses
• Difficult to design effectively

Workshop/ • Highly interactive • Requires skilled facilitation

focus groups • Provides a range of views • Participants may feel inhibited
• Can test hypotheses/ reco.

Interview • Obtains detailed information

• Require planning
• Confidential
• Cannot control outcome
• Interactive
…BUT BEFORE WE DELVE DEEPER

• Google Reader • Scribd • slideshare.net

• Google Alerts • Digg it • Forbes.com
• Wikipedia • WSJ • Orkut !!
• Linkedin!! • Yahoo Answers • You Tube
DATA

• Sources • .. And it answers

• Units sold − IDC, Nielson − What is the EMEA revenue of X in
Q209?
• Revenue − Gartner, Forrestor

− TBRI, SEC filings − In which areas did Google

improve its performance over last
• Company Data year?
− Finance.yahoo/Google/Reuters/H − What was the share price
oovers performance and why?

− Standard & Poor − What was the size of the

• Vertical / pharmaceutical market and which
Economic − Datamonitor segments are supposed to grow?
numbers − Economist,EIU − What are the forecasted housing
− Consensus economics start numbers for US in FY10?
INFORMATION

• Sources • .. And it answers

− What is the estimated IT spend/sales
• Peer − Stratoscope revenue?
Comparison − What is the reason behind a fall in
− Harte Hanks revenue?
− What is the desktop PC share at Shell
Canada?

• Projections/ − One Source − How is the cost structure for Dell

different from HP?
Higher − I Bank reports − What are the inventory days for
Analysis − Bloomberg Unilever in Japan?

− What was the size of the pharmaceutical

− IDC, Gartner, Ovum, Forrerstor, market and which are the fastest growing?
• Opinions/ AMR,PAC, Mckinsey Quaterly ,
− What are the trends in Supply chain
Articles Economist,EBSCO,Proquest,Fac
Outsourcing and Logistics?
tiva
ANALYSIS

• Sources • .. And it answers

− IDC Contract database − Which verticals will see adoption of
• •Usage
Databases particular technologies?
Scenarios − Competitor databases
− What are the forecasts on Contract
trends?

− Blogs /Lonely Planet/Country specific

− What are the high tech products
• Consumer databases/CIA Factbook/competitor which can aid the Chinese
preferences websites households?

• E Books/ White − Books 24X7 Register.com/Webcasts

− How are different users adopting
Papers the technology?
− Podcasts/Transcripts /Ingenta

− How are companies adopting

•First hand − Interviews with SME different Best in class practices?
account − Internal team
SOME DATA SOURCES
ACB AD tracking tool Competitive print advertising data Iprofile CI, Client Profiles
Corporate Executive Board Industry Data Lyra Recent news of companes & industries
Alinean IT Spend--peer comparision Meta Facts Computer & telecom industry
Industry Overview and socio-political data MVI Insights POS & Demographic data for retailes
BMI apj region NPD Market Research RETAIL category & product performance data
Capital IQ Org Info, Financial Details, peer comparision Ominture web traffic details related to HP Websites
Context One Street Prices & printer specification in UK, Germany & France Onesource Company Info like Analyst prediction etc
D&B Common peer analysis PAC CI specific to region
Data Monitor IT Spend Park Associates Market Info
Digital Navigator IT Policies & Best Practices in local & state govt PIRA Industry reports (paper, pulp, print etc)
DnB Mi Employee No.s, DUNS etc PR Tool Media Analysis reports for 21 countries
Factiva News Primer Commercial Print & publishing
Factiva Sales WB Financial perf, helps account teams to develop pitch Prognostic CO Survey results
Fairfax Company Info, Org Structure, IT Infra Info Proquest Corporate NEWS
Feed Burner RSS feed to Bloggers etc, traffic analysis Publicis Zingaro Awareness & Demand generation Campaigns
First Research 600 industry seg info, AMS only REEB Real Estate Info
Forrester IT Industry Analyst Opinions Reuters industry News
GAP Ad Info..on weekly basis for top acnts Spice Works Manufacturer Info (Devices), SMB
S&P Financials
GAP Intr Retail level analysis, e commerce pricing
Stratoscope Account Financials
Gartner IT Industry Analyst Opinions
TBRI Vendor performance
GFK Retail sales out data for PC
AMI SMB Data
Harte Hanks Outsourcing data
TCE Install base study for consumers, Future Purchase Inte etc
HIMSS USA based HLS Info
TRAX Freight details
Hoovers Company Information
TUP Computer usage info
IDC IT Industry Market Share Data
US Newsgram Subscribers info..
IFR (Beyen) Ad Share data for Retailers--Canada
InvestText - Thomson Reuters Equity Research Reports
In-Stat Reports related to digital enter, mobile internet, semiconductors
Info Trend GSB CI
Input Federal Govt Info, , IT Spend
SOME DATA SOURCES

http://www.kdnuggets.com/datasets/

http://www.quora.com/Data/Where-can-
I-get-large-datasets-open-to-the-
public?q=public+dataset
SOCIAL MEDIA
SOCIAL MEDIA

• Social Networks
• News & Bookmarking
• Blogs
• Microblogging
• Video Sharing
• Photo Sharing
• Message boards
• Wikis
• Virtual Reality
• Social Gaming
• Related:
• Podcasts
• Real Simple Syndication (RSS)
WHY SOCIAL MEDIA

• social networks provides access to user-driven content in various formats

• Social media contains content that is not indexed by major search tools
• Social Media has become an integral part of online branding strategies of many companies
• Social Media calls for new research methodologies to find information efficiently
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL AND ANALYSIS
HAS PICKED UP SPEED…
Going Beyond Google
HOW DOES SOCIAL MEDIA HELP

• Employee Movement, • See how their messaging,

Salaries, etc positioning, and products
have changed over time
• Get a sense for the morale
and culture at a competitor • Private Company
Information
• Company / Topic Tracking
• People Searching
• Tracking and Analyzing
their web site(s)
EMPLOYEE MOVEMENT

• LinkedIn
• Company Profiles
• New Hires
• Recent Promotions and Changes
• Popular Profiles
• Jobs Posted on LinkedIn
CITRIX SYSTEMS
4,600 EMPLOYEES
JOB POSTINGS AND RESUMES

• HR can be a leaky bucket

• All of the following came from one story on ArsTechnia about Windows
“8”
• http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/10/microsoft-mulling-128-bit-versions-of-
windows-8-windows-9.ars
OTHER “HR” CI TOOLS

• Glassdoor
• Xing
• Social Networking –
Europe Focused
• Facebook
• Indeed
• Search for Job
Postings
Glassdoor
Glassdoor
COMPANY / TOPIC TRACKING

• Silobreaker
• Yahoo Site Explorer
• SlideShare.net
• Searching Video
• Financial Information
• Ning
SILOBREAKER
Yahoo SiteExplorer
SlideShare.net
SEARCHING VIDEO

• www.blinkx.com
• www.silobreaker.com
Financial Information
• SeekingAlpha
• Finance.Google.com
Ning
ANALYZING AND TRACKING WEB SITES

• WebSite Tracker
• Wordle.net
• RSS Feeds
• Google Reader

• The “Way Back Machine”

WORDLE.NET

• What is their marketing really saying?

• Point at:
• Customer Success Story Feeds
• Press Release Feeds
• Product Site Feeds
• Community Site Feeds
• Support Forum Feeds
Changing Positioning Over Time

* From the WayBackMachine—Archive.org

TWITTER

Twitter
 Search on name of company
 Search on topics
 Search on company products
Tweet Deck
 Mac, Windows, iPhone, etc.
Tweetie, Twitteriffic.
LinkedIn integration
 Push tweets to LinkedIn
 Push LinkedIn status updates to Twitter
 Search Twitter within LinkedIn
 Company “Buzz” panel within LinkedIn
PRIVATE / SMALLER COMPANIES

LinkedIn Company Profiles

 Significant Data for companies down to about 500 employees
Street View and Google Maps
 Number of buildings, size of parking lot (est. employee count), status of
buildings, general location—premier office building, office park, home
offices?, etc.
Local Business Journals
Local “Book of Lists” Publications
 PRIVATE / SMALLER COMPANIES

• SpyFu
PEOPLE SEARCHING

LinkedIn’s Profile Organizer

Forbes/Lists
Wink
PublicRecordsNow
Yasni
GOOGLE TIPS

Have to have a few:

• images.google.com
 site:www.acme.com • Search for orgcharts - *.vsd
• “flubber” Site:www.acme.com/casestudies/*
• - <exclude keyword>

 Filetype:pdf, filetype:pptx • Link:<sites that link to a site>

 Filetype:vsd • Ex: “database” inurl: <“xyz”>

site:www.abc.com/* filetype:pdf
KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE SESSION

• My Key Learnings … • My actions …

INTERVIEW
DIMENSIONS OF AN INTERVIEW

Content
objectives and purpose

20% • Gets facts, opinions feelings

• Identifies problems, causes and political
solutions
• Understand culture
Procedure 10% • Expose resistance
method, time, place, agenda • Explore sensitivities
• Develops relationship
70% • Increases ownership

Relationship process
behavior, interaction and benefit
 BASIC STEPS TO EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWS

Before the interview

• Determine the goal of the
interview
• Collect information about the
prospect
• Plan information to give the
prospect
• Plan the interview “Nothing is so irritating as the
fellow that chats pleasantly while
he’s over-charging you.”
CONTENT PREPARATION WILL INCLUDE:

Information gathering about company, project and

client
 Reviewing relevant documentation

 Identifying interview topics

 Setting an outline structure

Before  Preparing an interview guide with question

 Confirming the interview

BASIC STEPS IN THE INTERVIEW

During the interview

• Establish rapport
• Ask questions, listen, be attentive
• Determine problems
• Offer alternative solutions
• Attain agreement on the next action to be taken
THE INTERVIEW PROCEDURE

Flexible
use of guide

Opening ice
breaker Conduct
objectives

Close
(leaving Confidentiality
door open)

Understanding
and summary Recording
MANAGING THE INTERVIEWS

Respond to concerns
demonstrate attention and understanding
Consider facts, opinions and emotions
Observe body language

Active listening
Eyes Expression Position
THE CHALLENGE

How can we get THE MESSAGE

as well as THE FACTS

Japan $ 99.999
THE SPIN FRAMEWORK

Situation questions

Problem questions

Implication questions

Need-pay off questions

THE SPIN MODEL
SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS
About the existing
customer situation

To establish
the background
so you can ask

Which
PROBLEM QUESTIONS IMPLIED NEEDS EXPLICIT NEEDS
reveal
About customer problems, Customer statements Customer statements
difficulties or of problems with the of clear wants and
dissatisfactions existing situation desires which your
DON’T Leading to product / service can
You then jump in meet
develop
with solutions Allowing
problems using So that the
here attractiveness of you
your solution is to make
So that the problem increased
becomes clearer
and more significant
IMPLICATIONS QUESTIONS NEED-PAYOFF QUESTIONS BENEFITS
leading to
About the effects or About the value or Showing how
consequences of importance of a solution to your product/service
customer problems the customer problems meets an explicit
need
ROLE PLAY
Consider what a Researcher can do to conduct a successful fact finding interview. Issues
will include:

• Preparation
• Getting client to “open up”
• The use of directive and non-directive techniques
• Be flexible but stay on the subject
• Handle a difficult interview
• Introduce and close the interview

(10 minutes)
KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE SESSION

• My Key Learnings … • My actions …