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Project News: Updates for Executives
Susan de la Vergne

Audience
Whether there are executives in front of you live and in person or you’re addressing them only on paper, it’s always important to keep in mind the special circumstances of talking to (or writing to) executives. This is what professionals in communications refer to as considering your audience.

Yes, executives are busy running from meeting to meeting, but more importantly their brains are usually busy and crowded. The best execs are good at compartmentalizing—for example, giving you their complete attention while they’re with you and moving on to give the next guy complete attention ten minutes later. The best execs are also good at sizing things up quickly, being helpful now, asking focused questions, giving direction and input, and disclosing relevant information.

The Challenge
It’s a significant challenge: to draw busy execs with overcrowded brains into your project for the time you have their attention, get to the relevant point(s) right away at the right level, get what the project needs and let them move on.

To meet the challenge, you have to be concise, topical, and interesting. You don’t want to be historical (“And then last week what happened was …”), chatty, or steeped in trivia (“Now turn to the last page, that one item near the bottom…”).

You should also think ahead of time what you want from the exec whose attention you hope you have, what you want your update, meeting, or report to accomplish—e.g., approval, roadblock removal, guidance/direction—and of what specifically.

Do’s
Distill your update to its essence: What three key points does your executive need to know?

Purge your update of any news or data that’s passed its sell-by date. Nothing is a bigger waste of time than reading issues and risks that have been out there since the project began, especially for people who have little time to waste.

Gauge the technical level of your audience (ask around if you don’t know) and adjust your content accordingly. If it’s a live update, ask after you get going if he/she would like more detail or if this level is sufficient. Be prepared to get more technical if asked.

Deliver bad news when you have to—and do so objectively. Remember that most problems on projects come about because of complexity, circumstance, interdependency, and unforeseen circumstances. Anticipate reactions so you won’t be surprised.

CEO Disease
If you’re talking to an exec who has a reputation for shooting first and asking questions later, keep your head and stick close to the facts. Objectivity defuses unreasonable reactions more effectively than anything. You could even mention you’ve heard of this “CEO Disease” phenomenon where people hold back the truth from execs, and you think it’s terrible. (Depending on how it’s going, you might try that.)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
The most important underlying principle of presenting project updates to executives is to be as respectful of their time as you want others to be of yours. You may know every detail and nuance of this project. You may love the infinitesimal details of how the design has been implemented. You may have memorized every defect that testing has uncovered. But don’t go there. Keep your update to current, relevant, and brief.
 

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