Drawing Conclusions
The natural endpoint of any project milestone is the work of drawing conclusions.
Conclusions compress the big work we’ve done into small, thoughtful takeaways. Conclusions are powerful because they help us to understand the implications and next best actions based on the work we’ve done. They can also help us to quickly grasp and appreciate the meaningfulness and quality of the work you have completed.
Here are some guidelines and tips and tricks around drawing conclusions.
Guidelines
- Milestone deliverables require a brief memo summarizing what was done, why, and what the results imply. Attached to the memo should be the “camera ready” milestone outputs.
- Submit all milestone deliverables for final review and approval via email (not Slack).
- Upon approval, archive deliverables in a folder designated for final work product.
- When completing a client trip, draft a trip memo that summarizes what happened and what you conclusory thoughts would be as a result.
Tips & Tricks
- Conclusions are powerful because they give executives an informed point of view on what to do next. Points of view enable quick prioritization, and information drives adept execution.
- Whenever you have finished a research project, conducted an analysis, or discovered a problem, consider what the implications of the resulting information are for the question at hand, and generate a preliminary conclusion about what the next steps ought to be.
- By virtue of the time you’ve invested in your analysis, you are best positioned to understand the meaning of your results. Take a stab at interpreting them!
- The memorialization of conclusions is invaluable. When you inevitably come back to the project you were working on, you will thank yourself for producing organized, logical and thoughtful summaries. It’s like a little gift from your past self. Pay it forward!
Work Product Guidelines
To those joining the team…
Many people joining the team remark with surprise that my delivery requirements are old-school.
If you too have taken note of this, you’re not alone!
As you will find, I believe there is value in organized and thoughtful work rituals.
If that’s old-school, then I will bear the quality proudly!
I detail these work rituals on these pages. Please review them whenever you want a refresher: