You Should Know How Organisations Really Make Big Decisions
The most successful consultants recognise that organisations are irrational and they can build a multi-level case that works on every layer of that irrationality.
Hi, I’m Rich. Welcome to my weekly newsletter where I share systems and frameworks for scaling your consulting practice from $0 to $1m+ in revenue.
You can get 1:1 personal coaching or explore my new course: Proposal Mastery: Learn To Write Winning Business Proposals.
How Organisations Really Make Decisions
I’ve been a consultant for over 15+ years and worked with many of the world’s largest companies.
What I’ve learned is that the way organisations make decisions in theory is very different from practice.
In theory, organisations have a smooth process for identifying, evaluating, and implementing ideas. In practice, that’s very much not the case.
There will be a lot of variability from one organisation to the next, but the key takeaway is that decision-making isn’t rational.
You can be making the perfect pitch, but if it comes at the wrong time, it’s not going to land.
Likewise, you might have all the right benefits for the business, but forget to include an appeal to the individual’s status. Or you might not bring the right gatekeepers along at the right time.
The point is this;
Gaining support for anything is about mastering the chaotic process, not producing facts.
A Case Study In Winning Support In Under A Minute
One of my first consulting clients was a pharmaceutical company in 2010.
My primary contact and I needed executive support for an internal community project. Her boss, let’s call her Helen, would be in the meeting to support us, and I was there to provide the community expertise.
I had prepared around a dozen slides. They demonstrated the compounding value of community over time and the cost of inaction and zeroed in specifically on the metrics I thought would matter most to the executive whose support we needed.
About an hour before the meeting, Helen walked into our meeting room and said;
“Don’t worry about all that” [she was referring to the presentation]…. “I’ll run the meeting – just be prepared to take any questions that might come up”
I was quietly furious that our hard work was being ignored (and also curious how to prep for ‘any question’).
Then I watched her deliver one of the simplest, most effective pitches I’ve ever seen. She essentially said:
“[competitor 1], [competitor 2], and [competitor 3] have all launched internal communities for colleagues to collaborate and share information all in one place* – while our teams are still emailing documents to each other one at a time.
It’s making us look archaic, and we’re wasting too much time trying to find basic information. We’re in danger of falling farther behind. So I want to launch our own community with a pilot within three months in [division] and roll it out to the entire company within the year].”
The exec nodded, asked a few basic questions about cost and timelines, and then greenlit the project.
That was it.
*aside, I later found out she had no idea whether other companies had launched internal communities or not.
Organisations Are Collections Of Irrational People
Before that meeting in 2011, I had prepared a dozen slides with metrics like:
Reduced duplication of work.
Cost savings in employee time looking for information.
Improved employee engagement through community participation.
Improved employee retention value etc…
But Helen knew that data doesn’t drive most decisions; emotions do.
She knew the exec cared far more about falling behind competitors (on his watch) than in broad benefits to the organisation, so she specifically targeted that.
Her pitch was a mix of jealousy and status, and she used words like ‘archaic’ and ‘falling farther behind’ deliberately to provoke the response she needed.*
She also knew the message had to come from her—the person the executive knew and trusted. While her method was direct, it worked.
The reality is that organisations are collections of people, each of whom responds to the system’s incentives, their own biases, and according to their own traits and value systems.
This is the reality we need to consider when building our business case.
And the most important thing to remember is this:
People make decisions based on emotions and then use facts to rationalise that decision.
The common advice about gaining support isn’t wrong – it’s just incomplete.
Aside, I’ve found showing execs benchmarks of how their organisation’s communities compared to competitors is the most effective way to gain and sustain internal support ever since).
How To Pitch You Or Your Idea
If you want to win people over, whether to secure a client or gain internal support for your project, you need more than just business metrics.
You need to work at multiple levels - often for a prolonged period of time - to get that support.
The individual certainly does care about metrics, but they also care about many other things.
STEP ONE: Earn Trust
“Do I trust the person giving me this information?”
Before anyone listens to the idea, they’re judging who it’s coming from.
If you or your internal contact lacks credibility, senior leaders will tune out, regardless of how strong the proposal or message is.
This is something that individuals blasting out messages on LinkedIn and sending cold emails don’t understand: if we don’t trust you, we won't listen to you, no matter how good the offer.
The first step to get hired or secure internal support is to earn trust. This might include:
Getting an introduction from people they do trust.
Having external validation which shows you can be trusted.
Engaging with someone over time so they know you have good intent and are aligned to their goals, not just your own.
I stress this a lot in my coaching - success lies entirely in earning the trust of people in a community you’ve chosen to serve.
STEP TWO: Make It Easy To Understand
“Do I get what this actually is?”
Even a brilliant idea fails if it’s not understood.
Senior leaders are time-poor and can’t afford to decode a dense proposal.
How you phrase and communicate a concept will have a huge impact on how they perceive it.
Notice how Helen, above, simply said:
“[our competitors] have all launched internal communities for colleagues to collaborate and share information all in one place – while our teams are still emailing documents to each other one at a time”
That’s a straightforward way of illustrating the problem and the solution without getting into the details.
Once you have someone’s trust, you need to make the concept easy to understand.
Simplify the idea. Use metaphors, analogies, and one-liners that stick.
Provide clear examples or mockups - make it as easy to visualise as possible.
Highlight the simple problem and the simple solution.
STEP THREE: Reduce Fear
“Could this backfire or create risk?”
People in organisations don't just weigh benefits - they scan for threats.
Uncertainty, complexity, or political risk can quietly kill momentum for anything you have planned.
Helen tackled that in two ways. First, she inverted the threat:
We’re in danger of falling farther behind.
She then reduced the threat by initiating a pilot scheme.
So I want to launch our own community with a pilot within three months in [division] and roll it out to the entire company within the year].”
Once someone understands the concept, you need to reduce the threat. This includes:
Undertaking a threat analysis of all the reasons someone might say no and pre-empting the objections.
Showing examples of others who have done this successfully.
Propose a safe, low-risk starting point.
Make doing nothing seem like the riskier option.
STEP FOUR: Increase The Decision-Makers’ Status
“Will this raise or lower my standing?”
Executives often think: “If I back this, how will I be seen?”
Will it make them look innovative… or naive?
This is where we start wading into the murkier world where personal goals and corporate goals aren’t always completely aligned.
When I worked with Facebook, I recall staff constantly competing to be on projects that would have the most visibility or have the most significant impact. It was exhausting, but it did gain internal support. It helps to position your project in a way that will increase the status of the decision-maker.
If you can link this to status, you’re more likely to get support. For example you can:
Link to the danger of being left behind.
“Right now, we’re the only one of our peer companies still emailing documents around - everyone else has moved to shared knowledge hubs.”
Position the person as a pioneer or innovator.
“This is a chance for us to lead the narrative internally on innovation, not follow it.” or “If we get this right, your team becomes the benchmark others in the company will be trying to match.”
Connect to internal priorities.
“This aligns perfectly with the executive priority around modernising how teams collaborate”
Make it easy for the decision-maker to look good by saying yes (or stop looking bad).
STEP FIVE: Make it Exciting
“Does this feel like something worth being part of?”
Dry proposals feel like work. Inspiring one feels like an opportunity.
Excitement creates energy and gets people leaning in.
If you can make your project seem fun and exciting, you’re more likely to get a yes. This isn’t always necessary, but you can achieve it with some creative storytelling and the use of the correct language, which evokes possibility, not just tasks. Provide the decision-maker with the language they can use to communicate with others. Make the idea feel fresh, important, and energising.
This might include:
Use vivid, aspirational language to describe the future state the project enables.
“Imagine if any employee, in any location, could find the answer they need in seconds.”Tell a compelling story of what success could look like in real, human terms.
“Picture a new hire on day one feeling instantly connected, supported, and productive.”Frame the project as a movement or opportunity to be part of something meaningful.
“This isn’t just a platform - it’s a shift in how we work, connect, and grow as a company.”Replace flat task lists with energising calls to action and bold possibilities.
“This is our chance to make work feel smarter, faster, and more human across the company.”
STEP SIX: Create The Data Slide
“Can I justify this decision with data?”
The final step is rational justification.
Leaders want to show the numbers support their choice.
See: Metric Matching - Align Your Services To Metrics Clients Care About
The key here is to have some clear metrics, benchmarks, or case studies that someone can use to justify their decision to others. Create the slide for them that they can drag and drop into other channels.
The visualisations matter. Don’t just present the raw numbers, present them in comparison or benchmarked against something else. Some steps here:
Ensure the project’s metrics are tied to the organisation’s KPIs and how your contact is measured.
Present data from similar organisations or an analysis of the potential impact.
Create clear visualisations showcasing the expected impact.
Embrace The Process
The key takeaway is to embrace the process. Recognise that organisations are profoundly irrational and build a business case and argument which works at multiple levels.
Don’t assume the strength of the idea alone is enough to get support. You must earn trust, ensure understanding, reduce risk, increase status, and generate excitement.
It’s essential here to align the metrics and frame things correctly. The right name, language, and framing help everything. Spend a lot of time thinking about the best way to communicate your ideas, because it will have a significant impact on the success of the idea.
Good luck!
Connect with Rich
Are you new to the newsletter? Subscribe for free
Follow me on LinkedIn for more insights
Learn to write persuasive business proposals with my Proposal Mastery course.
Get 1 to 1 personal coaching. Get a personal coach to help you grow your consultancy practice. Tackle topics like positioning, client acquisition, delivering exceptional value, industry leaderships, and building the systems to thrive. Hit reply or learn more about my coaching approach.
So true and there is a network effect. The bigger the organisation, the more complex and less rational the decision process as the number of people involved expands