Updating Your
ManagerAuthor: Anthony Kerwick
Contributors: Rob Koczkar, Paul Meehan
bc
March 1998
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
Updating Your Manager
•Focus of effective meetings
•Objectives of an update
•Effective updates: Process Flow
•Do’s and don'ts
Agenda
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
Updating Your Manager
•Highlight range of key content areas of
effective updates
•Provide guidelines on how to structure an
effective update
•Give advice on the content and
messages in an effective update
Module Objective
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
Updating Your Manager
Plan
the
work
Do
the
work
Asses
s the
implic
ations
Commu
nicate
the
answer
Docu
ment
the
work
Manager updates are a fundamental step in the Bain
manufacturing process.
• Team process
skills
• BRAVA
• Core concepts
• Business
research skills
• Bain computing
and mobile
computing
• Excel and
PowerPoint
training
• Market research
• Core concepts •Updating
your
manager
• Caseteam file
management
• BRAVA
Bain Manufacturing Process
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
Updating Your Manager
Focus of Effective Updates
•Receive direct feedback and
input from your manager
–your hypothesis
–your analysis
–your data and
methodology
•Ensure that your
prioritization fits in with the
overall workplan
•Communicate client
perspectives
•Call attention to critical
incidents and client issues
•Role play client meetings
and other interactions
•Communicate your work’s
place in context of overall
project
•Give feedback to/receive
feedback from the rest of the
team
•Brainstorm ideas, problem
solve
•Raise and resolve team-
related issues
Manager Updates - from face-to-face to voicemail -
provide opportunities for two way communication
relating to value addition, client, and the team.
Value addition/analysis Client Team
Update content
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Updating Your Manager
•Agree in advance on manager’s degree of involvement in the workplan
–what is the best time to update routinely?
–at what points can manager add the greatest value?
8what are the key approval points requiring manager involvement?
8what constitutes a “red flag” or requires early warning?
•Err on the side of over communication, especially early-on
–conduct frequent, but succinct, updates until told otherwise
•Understand manager’s preferred communication media and accessibility:
phonemails, telephone conversations, face-to-face meetings
•Establish mutual boundaries for caseteam work contact
–telephone calls/faxes at home
–under what conditions?
•Determine ground rules concerning basic business etiquette
–what constitutes punctuality, both for meetings and work deadlines?
–is food a norm at meetings?
–what degree of formality is expected in each business situation?
At the outset of your caseteam relationship, you and your manager
should mutually establish ground rules and communication norms.
Communication Norms and Ground Rules
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Updating Your Manager
The first step in ensuring that manager updates are effective
is to be absolutely clear on objectives. Potential objectives
depend on the perspectives of the participants.
• Confidence that the work is on track
• Insight into where value lies
• Insight into client hot
buttons/concerns
• Feedback as to specific actions he or
she can take to provide assistance or
remove roadblocks
–client meetings
–frameworks
–analytical approaches
–VP updates
–information sources
• Ideas and advice
–is my hypothesis leveraged?
–is my data collection methodology as
efficient as possible?
–is my analysis correct?
–am I managing team/manager/client
relationships as effectively as possible?
• Information and context
–how does my work fit into the whole?
–is my value addition sufficient and
leveraged?
• Communication of help needed
–meeting coverage
–pre-wiring
–other air cover
• Direct feedback and coaching
Potential objectives for
the manager
Potential objectives for
the consultant
Update Objectives
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Updating Your Manager
A good update has six steps:
Clar
ify
obje
ctiv
es
Rev
iew
age
nda
Ans
wer
-
Firs
t
sum
mar
y of
key
issu
es
Commun
icate
progress/
analysis
Dis
cus
s
oth
er
issu
es
Sum
mariz
e next
steps
Effective Updates: Steps
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Updating Your Manager
Effective updates include objectives, agenda, key message,
activity review, related issues, next steps, and closure.
Update Elements Notes Examples
• Update’s objectives • Off-slide, mutually
agree on what you
both expect to
accomplish
• “Pat, at our first caseteam last
week, you asked me to…In the half-
hour we have together, I would like
to present the results and also call
your attention to a concern the
client has about…Does that sound
about right?”
• Agenda • Set agenda items • “Good. I suggest, then, that we
do the following…Anything else?”
• Answer-First summary • Communicate the short
term answer
• “First of all, as we suspected,
the insurance business is indeed
diluting Panamerica
Communications’ market value….”
Effective Updates: Process Flow (1 of 2)
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Updating Your Manager
Effective updates include objectives, agenda, key message,
activity review, related issues, next steps, and closure.
Update Elements Notes Examples
• Communication of activity
–what milestones were
reached?
–what insights gained?
–what has changed?
–what has happened which
could affect timeline?
workflow? deliverables?
client relationship?
• Structure supporting analysis and
details using Answer-First
pyramid
• If possible, cast update
information in a format which can
be used for client reviews and pre
-wires
–focus on insights up-front - not
raw data
–tell a compelling story
• “The volatility of the insurance
business’s earnings is extremely high,
which we concluded from first
reviewing…What still concerns us,
however, is….I am having some trouble
getting my hands around that issue.
What would you do?…All right, then, by 4
p.m. tomorrow, I will phonemail you the
results.”
• Other related work/issues • If necessary, allow for time to
catch up on other relevant work
and issues
• “Work on my other side is heating up by
the end of week. What effect would
stretching our timeline on determining
new book value by a day have on…”
• Summary of next steps
and closure
• Explicitly agree on specific next
steps, timing, deliverables, and
follow-up
• “At our meeting next Tuesday, I will
present the following…And you will let me
know by phonemail if your teleconference
tomorrow raises any issues that will affect
the market segment analysis
workstream….”
Effective Updates: Process Flow (2 of 2)
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Updating Your Manager
•Schedule enough time
•Bring copies of your material for your
manager and the other participants in
the meeting
•Start the meeting with agreement on
objectives and agenda
•Link your data collection and analysis
to the Answer-First pyramid
•Highlight specific areas where you think
you need help
•Get clarity and closure on next steps,
timing, deliverables, and follow-up
•Ask for coaching and feedback
Do’s
•Don’t forget to proofread your slides
and check data before the meeting
•Don’t show up late
•Don’t rush the communication
•Don’t raise issues without suggestions
for how to address them
•Don’t rely solely on formal meetings to
update your manager on your work
Don’ts
Do’s and Don’ts
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Updating Your Manager
•Actively manage your relationship and communications
with your supervisor
•Layout communication norms and ground rules up front
•If in doubt, adopt Answer-First communication as
default for internal updates
•Focus on "necessary and sufficient" communications
•Develop bias for over communication
–regular and frequent updates, but keep them concise
and focused
•Don’t stop at communicating analytical output
–provide information and seek input on client issues
–receive feedback from the team, if present
–raise team-related issues
Takeaways
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