Situation-Complication-Resolution (SCR)
The SCR framework is an approach for organizing and presenting information. It is a derivative McKinsey’s SCQA (situation-complication-question-answer) framework. It not only ensures clear and logical communication but also accelerates decision making.
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
Frame the problem to be solved with: For (whom), to (what) so that (why).
The whom should be the ultimate decision-maker so that framing is at the ‘level’ of interest. The what should set up the solution without giving away the how yet. The why should be a primary business driver (again, at the decision-maker’s level of interest).
Beware of two errors: Avoid an overly long problem statement. Avoid mixing multiple problems into one
unless they are truly inseparable
Situation
The framing of the important, recent context the audience should accept as fact.
The word “important” means the primary (most senior) decision maker in the room will deem the situation to have an impact on the way she measures success, aka her “True North.” She cares about that measure(s) as well as its strategic levers. For most executives, success is some combination of (i) increasing revenue (ii) lowering cost (iii) reducing risk (iv) reducing effort. Increasing revenue generally comes from selling existing products to existing customers (upsell/cross-sell), selling existing products to new customers (often via new distribution channels), or bringing new products to market that you sell to existing (also cross-sell) or new customers.
Just as in Act 1 of a well written story, introduce every concept (processes, people, etc.) that you plan to build on later.
Provide factual, relevant, and recent context as background to someone with limited background. Do not assume that your audience has your level of knowledge or total recall of your prior conversations. Do not include your opinions.
Complication
The reason the situation requires action. It can be either the root cause(s) and/or projection of the (negative) future state if the status quo described in the situation is not addressed.
Build an issue tree (see below) to explore both complications and opportunities. While facts are better, opinions are OK
here when clearly stated as hypotheses.
To find complications, it is helpful to role-play key stakeholders (clients, sales, services, etc.)
Quotes can be powerful proof points.
Resolution
The action required to solve a problem (or capture an opportunity).
Though you may only present one resolution (which may have multiple phases), strive to discover it by first enumerating then prioritizing a set of mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE) ways of solving the problem.
Frame about ~3 mutually exclusive solutions to the problem that addresses the complications; typically something radical, something moderate, and status quo. Rank order them as “Option A”, “Option B” and “Option C” and indicate that Option A is RECOMMENDED. For Option A, go into more detail on the how, the business impact, costs, ancillary benefits, and anticipated risks.
A strong resolution includes (a) what needs to be done (b) how it will be done (c) when it will be done, and (d) by whom it will be done. Moreover, the resolution should include concrete milestones by which progress & success will be measured. Finally, the resolution should include side-benefits and expected consequences (with containment plans were applicable).
Set pride aside; have strong opinions, loosely held.
The biggest mistake most folks make is to spell out multiple pieces of a single solution without offering alternative options.
If your solution is complex, think about recommending multiple phases.
When evaluating resolutions, first classify each item as H/M/L then rank.
Issue Trees
An issue tree (aka problem tree or solution tree) is a strategic thinking tool that helps ensure you are solving the right problem through root cause analysis with the highest leverage solution. Here, “problem” identification need not be negative; it can also be opportunity discovery.
As just mentioned, issue trees help focus attention on the right problem. For instance, imagine you run across the problem that net retention is down. That may or may not be the most important problem. One could go a level up to confirm that total revenue growth has fallen and then down another bannch to discover that new business is a more pressing problem.
After building out the tree, you’ll want to prioritize the nodes. Since there are often too many to compare simultaneously, I like to start by labeling each node as high, medium, or low impact/importance. Sometimes I’ll add a plus (ex: M+) or a minus. Once the nodes are labeled, I can then rank order by doing pairwise comparisons.
Guidelines:
- Each level should be of the same kind, typically either reasons (WHY) or methods (HOW) but never a mixture of the two on the same level.
- Strive to build one entire level at a time; resist the temptation to levels below a node before building out peer nodes
- Items in a level should be at the same level of abstraction
- Use phrases or sentences (“Declining CSAT” not just “CSAT”). Sentences are preferred when the tree will be used to build a presentation – each sentence becomes a slide headline.
- Each level should be mutually-exclusive & collectively exhaustive (MECE). This means the items have no overlap and no gaps.
- When exploring actions one can take, remember to include “take no action” since that is sometimes the best option
- Levels may be formulaic or qualitative
- Formulaic example: “increase profit” on one level and “increase revenue” and “decrease cost” on the next
- Especially when enumerating HOW at a given level, I find it helpful to ask “How might we…?”
- It is alright if different branches of the tree go down to different levels of depth
- Each node should preferably be testable/verifiable
- Each node should be singular (avoid “ands”)
Issue trees make building presentations or other documents a breeze. The structure of a presentation using the tree below is a follows:
- Slide on A
- Slide framing B and C
- Slide framing D, E, and F
- Slide on D
- Slide on G (framed as part of E)
- Slide on H (framed as part of E)
- Slide on F
- Slide on C (framed as alternative or complement to B)
