Episode description

📢   “To decide NOT to invest is just as important as deciding TO invest”

In this episode, we hear Richard Pharro, CEO of APMG International, talk to Robert Gregory, ex-Deputy Director of Capital Investment in the NHS, and Management Consultant to discuss the A-Z of business cases.

For Robert, the biggest risk in business cases is “inefficient investment in people early on”, andhis principal message is that you do not ever just sit down and write a business case - the business case is the result of a process. 

Hear Robert explain“all the good methods in the world won’t amount to much if you’re not putting the right people behind making them happen”.Robert and Richard further discuss the danger of subjectivity in measuring objective concepts and offer advice on how you can mitigate this by creating a strong quantifiable baseline.

“To decide not to invest is just as important as deciding TO invest” says Robert – it’s the organisation’s safeguard against making a wrong decision. He gets candid about the times in his career when he decided not to proceed with a business case and explains that in total, he’s probably turned down as many business cases as he’s recommended for approval.

We finish the episode by asking Robert what 3 things he knows now, that he wishes he knew when he first started devolving business cases - his answers:  

🏆 
1.   Nothing should be set in tablets of stone 

2.  The quality of a business case product is everything… not the volume 

3.   The business case itself is simply the endpoint of a set of processes

This episode urges us to make sure we’re asking the right questions when it comes to working in the ever-expanding digital age. 

Links:   

🔗   Connect with Robert: linkedin.com/in/robert-gregory-8660bb45

📝   Find out more about how a Better Business Cases Certification can help you advance your career: apmg-international.com/product/better-business-cases

📝   Find out more about APMG Certifications: apmg-international.com/services/certifications-solutions