John is an AR professional running AR for IBM’s Lotus division. The post is well worth reading, click here to visit John’s Delusions of Adequacy blog. Here are a few extracts (with my emphasis in maroon):
2. If you can’t get your message delivered in 15 charts or less, you likely have clarification issues.
5. No chart is golden, (many) could (should) be sacrificed.
8. If the analyst wants to go off the charts, be willing to go as long as you stay on topic.
9. Use A/R to speak to the analyst before the briefing/discussion/meeting/conference to see what is the analyst goal and actually make charts to answer the issues, not pound your chest on what your end of year rating is based on.
11. Never fail to have a chart to say, what do you think or are we on topic, message, right course or other to let the analyst offere advice or opinion.
13. Personal opinion here – I hate powerpoint, it’s been used as a crutch for too long and we were able to get our job done well prior to it’s invention. Please someone invent the next tool.
14. A presentation deck has a life. Don’t recycle charts too long. I’ve seen analyst eyes glaze over with “I’ve seen this before blaring in neon” on their face.
18. If there are multiple executives presenting, have them compare notes prior to the briefing so they don’t conflict or aren’t redundant.
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