Inclusivity and diversity have become buzzwords over the last couple of years but they shouldn’t be seen as just cultural trends. Ensuring a range of talents from all walks of life in the workplace has been proven to create a more innovative environment as it taps into different experiences, expertise and skills. So why has inclusivity been so hard to achieve despite its positive effects? Biases. Humans are naturally biassed beings where we assume competency levels of others based on factors like their gender, race and educational qualifications. All of us have been biassed at one point in time but sometimes, we may not even be aware of them. This is called the unconscious bias, where we have subconscious ideas that affect how we feel and think about others. Even though it is unconscious and not deliberately acted upon, it can be detrimental to the psychological safety of the workplace. If you as a leader unconsciously give more opportunities to some members of your team and...
Getting a “no” or “I’ll think about it” after presenting a business pitch can be disappointing. A lot of the time, pitch ideas are rejected because it’s not structured clearly for the decision-maker. Strategic thinking and structured ideas are the pillars of a perfect pitch . The best ideas go unsold if they lack a compelling approach. A business case helps decision-makers see the bigger picture of a project. The case should weigh out the problems of the project, the various solutions, finances as well as risks and benefits. When making a business case , not only do you have to thoroughly research these points and present them clearly and simply, you also have to base it on facts and statistics rather than personal opinions. When you get down to the insights and statistics behind a business case, there’s usually a lot to unpack. How do you decide which to use and which would be useful? We’ll discuss The Pyramid Principle and the SCQuARE Model, the two thinking models that can h...