BigCat Research

How to make the research report available in the management meeting?

For the research report to be useful in the management meeting, listing the findings is not enough. It should make the decision headings, priority level, risks and possible moves visible in accordance with the rhythm of the meeting.

Long reports can be information-rich; But time is limited in the management meeting. The available report connects the finding to the decision area: what has changed, what risk is growing, what option is on the table, what cost will be incurred if the decision is postponed? Without this connection, the research value dissipates after the meeting; A strong structure transforms the report from being a discussion material into a common reference from which decisions can be followed.

Research reports are often prepared with serious effort; Contains graphs, tables, breakdowns and comments. However, it may not have the expected impact in the management meeting. This is not because the report was bad, but because the meeting was not designed for decision rhythm. At the management table, the need for direction, not information, dominates. It is desired to understand which issue is critical, which option carries more risk and which decision should not be postponed in a limited time. If the report is not rearranged according to this need, even the strongest finding may lose its impact among long pages.

It ensures that everyone is looking at the same page once a report becomes available. The findings are collected under decision headings, rather than in a scattered manner. Which issue is urgent, which should be monitored, which requires investment, which can be solved with process correction? If this distinction is not made, the report is read but does not produce a decision.

The language of the report should also change to increase the management value of the research output. Methodology, sample and detail tables are of course included; but the prominent layer in the meeting should be the decision note. This memo conveys the meaning of the findings and the options available in a concise, clear and defensible manner.

How to set the meeting agenda before the report?

For the report to work in the management meeting, the first question should be asked before presentation: What decision is expected at this meeting? If the expected decision is not clear, even if the number of pages of the report increases, its effect remains limited. Research output should be linked to concrete topics such as price, brand, service, employee experience, investment or program design.

When the agenda is set in advance, the flow of the report also changes. First, the context of the decision is given, then the findings are sorted according to this context, and finally the options and risks are made visible. Thus, the meeting is not limited to discussing the findings; moves to a place where one evaluates options.

In what order do the findings lead to a decision?

A common mistake in research reports is to describe the findings in the order of the questionnaire. This order makes sense for the data collection process; but it is not always true for the decision meeting. The management team wants to see the most critical change first, then the reason for it, then the possible outcome.