Decisions Don’t Always Originate at the Top – But They’re Definitely Made There
Senior leadership doesn’t always formulate policy or direct initiatives and projects from their lofty offices. A great deal of what we do that includes new policies, changing policies, and innovative projects come from the rank and file. What separates a great idea by someone from a policy, project, or program that is actually implemented? That comes from taking that idea and developing with a solid written argument that clearly outlines why the idea is the way to move forward.
As I cover in my post Innovating for the Enterprise, there are specific pieces of information that must be in a project proposal that cover the cost, people, processes, technology, change management, and security to ensure that a project proposal has everything necessary for senior leaders to understand both what is being proposed and what is at stake. That said, not everything you will want to submit up the chain of command for a decision is going to be project based. Sometimes you just want to implement or change a policy and that may or may not need to cover all of the topics above to make your point and get a decision.
The following will help you to build a framework for your recommendation and turn it into a coherent paper or proposal that can then be used by senior leadership to decide if your recommendation, based on your argument, is worth 1) becoming policy, 2) changing policy, or 3) implementation as a project or program.
Know Your Audience
The first decision you will need to make, before you even start writing, is to determine who your audience will be. Do you want it to be?
- Senior leadership in your organization?
- A Subject Matter Expert or a specific office?
- A specific group or community?
- The IT community within your organization; or
- The greater organizational community.
In order to help you to identify your audience, you can ask yourself the following questions to help you narrow – or even widen – the scope to zero in on your target audience (UNC Chapel Hill, 2019):
- Who is your audience?
- Might you have more than one audience?
- If so, how many audiences do you have? (List them.)
- Does the White Paper itself give any clues about
your audience?
- What does your audience need?
- What do they want?
- What do they value?
- What is most important to them?
- What are they least likely to care about?
- What do you have to say (or what are you doing in your research) that might surprise your audience?
- What do you want your audience to think, learn, or assume about you?
Your audience is not going to be a machine, so remember that these are people and that they have feelings, emotions, and morals. As you begin down the path of submitting your paper to this audience, remember to use Logos (containing sound logic), Pathos (appeal to the reader’s emotions), and Ethos (speak to the reader’s character or morals) as you craft your paper (Owlcation, 2019). You want them to become invested in what it is you are trying to accomplish. It is a lot easier to do this if they feel that it appeals to their own sensibilities and that they can empathize with you as a person, not just some words on a page.
What is Your Argument?
Now that you have addressed who your audience will be, you then need to determine the type of Argument Claim you will be pursuing. There are five types of Argument Claims that you can choose from (Owlcation, 2019) (Purdue University, 2019):[1]
- Fact Is it true or not (or even a perceived truth)?
Are you arguing that what you propose is an actual fact? Make sure you have plenty of empirical evidence to back that up.
- Definition What does it really mean?
If it is not a fact, are you trying to define what your argument is?
- Value How important is it?
Are you trying to demonstrate that your assertion has value? How will you rate or categorize your argument?
- Cause and Effect What is the cause? What are the effects?
Are you arguing that a person, thing, or event causes another thing or event to occur? (If/Then)
- Policy or Solution What should we do about it?
Are you arguing for/against a specific solution or policy approach?
The Thesis – Getting the Intros Out of the Way and Boiling it all Down to a Single Page
Now that we have determined how we want to argue our subject, we will start out our paper by boiling it all down into a single page (or less) for the decision maker. This is called a thesis in academia, an introduction, or an executive summary in government. For our purposes, we’ll stick to calling it a thesis.
The thesis distills all of the information you have into a few simple paragraphs that cover all of the bases, including your argument and recommendation(s). This statement will set the stage for the paper to come and, most importantly, convince the decision maker if reading on is really worth their time and effort. So, it is important that you frame your thesis to grab the reader and not let them go.
There are four directions that a thesis can take:
- Q & A Format – Ask a question and then posit an answer;
- Answer Format – Use the title of the paper as the question and then use the thesis to posit an answer.
- Refute Objections – Present one side of an argument and then present a refuting statement; and
- Roadmap – Simply giving the points that will be covered in the paper and why.
To me, the Q&A Format and Roadmap are the easiest to use, because they keep the thesis positive from the start. Given the option, I personally prefer to use the Roadmap wherever I can. Once we pick which direction our thesis will take, we can begin to build it.
Start your thesis statement with an enticing hook. What this means is that you should “Lead with an interesting fact or statistic, a quote, a personal anecdote, or a thought-provoking question. Your first sentence should draw the reader in and get them interested about the topic you’re writing about.” (Owlcation, 2019) In other words, Lead with the Impact.
Next, provide some background and context so that the decision maker has a better understanding of the issue at hand. Keep it brief. Yes, details are important, but only hit the high points here and save the other details for the body of the paper. This is one place you can lose the reader the easiest by going long on the details.
Now is the time in the thesis to state your argument. Be concise and, again, keep it short. Use a declarative statement that clearly shows the decision maker what it is you are trying to accomplish.
Next, introduce your evidence into the thesis so that the decision maker can see that you are not simply asserting a point of view with nothing to back it up. It is extremely important that you only “introduce” your evidence (Owlcation, 2019). Again, don’t go long here or you will lose the reader.
Finally, introduce a recommendation for a path to follow that will lead the reader toward a decision. Make sure that it clearly ties to the argument and the evidence that is presented in the thesis.
Do not expect a decision based on the thesis alone (although it is not entirely uncommon for that to happen). As long as you have set up your thesis to set the stage of the paper to follow, you should have had enough information to convince the decision maker that this is a paper worth reading. From here, you have your work cut out for you convincing them that your recommendation, based on everything you are about to present, is the best path forward and an easy decision for them to make.
The Body of the Paper
It is now time to get into the details. We will start off the paper by introducing the reader to the issue, policy, or project at hand with more detail. You can do this in a few different ways (Owlcation, 2019):
- Tell a true story;
- Present a hypothetical situation that illustrates the issue, policy, or project being submitted;
- Ask a thought-provoking question;
- State a startling fact or statistic; or
- Simply explain the issue, policy, or project in your own words.
It is here that you will also determine the direction that your paper is going to take. This will outline your argument and present it to the decision maker logically (satisfying the Logos). There are three types of argument strategies that we can use (Owlcation, 2019):
- Classical
Argument (Aristotelian);
- Which I outline in this appendix;
- Thesis, Body, Conclusion.
- Rogerian
Argument;
- Present the issue, Summarize opposing arguments, State your points, and state the benefits of adopting your points.
- Toulmin
Model of Argument.
- Claim, evidence, warrant, backing, rebuttal, qualifier, exceptions.
Typically, the Classical Argument is used in USG white papers (substituting the word Thesis with Executive Summary). Although there is nothing set in stone that says you have to use that specific type. If either of the other two styles work for you, then by all means use them as long as they help to support your argument and keep the reader both logically (addressing the Logos) and emotionally invested (addressing the Pathos) and on the page.
Presenting Your Argument
Once the framework of your argument is chosen, you will introduce your evidence using empirical data, metrics, or another citable information that can be checked and verified. Simply stating “there are X widgets in production” without any kind of demonstrable proof will only serve to have the reader question your ethics and abilities (addressing the Ethos), and will serve to diminish your argument and your paper as a whole. Sources of evidence that you can use include, but are not limited to (UNC Chapel Hill, 2019):
- Print and electronic sources;
- Observation;
- Interviews;
- Surveys;
- Experiments; and/or
- Personal Experience.
Types of evidence that you can use in your paper include, but are not limited to (UNC Chapel Hill, 2019):
- Quotations (direct citation)
- Paraphrasing (indirect citation)
- Metrics
- Statistics;
- Data;
- Charts;
- Graphs;
- Photos; and/or
- Illustrations.
You should have, at a minimum, three pieces of evidence to support your assertion. This is one time where more is definitely better. Use that evidence to lay out your case, demonstrate why your recommendation(s) are correct, and make it clear that your recommendation(s) is the correct path forward.
Playing the Devil’s Advocate
As you continue with the body of your paper – presenting your evidence and demonstrating your argument – you need to support your argument by presenting both, or all, sides of the argument. Playing the devil’s advocate if you will. At a minimum, you should present at least one counter argument to what you are asserting. This will show that you have a deeper understanding of the issue, policy, or project at hand and you can use this to then present – and then address – counter arguments or objections.
Simply laying out your case with your argument is fine and all, but by showing both sides of the coin you may end up answering questions that the decision maker has as they read through the paper. It is a lot easier for them to reach a decision – especially one based on your recommendation – if they have all of the information needed to make that decision. So, although it may be easier to just state your case, you will likely have more success if you state the opposing view and then counter it with your own assertions – again, based on the solid evidence that you’re presenting.
The Recommendation and Options
Once we have all of our evidence and have presented our argument and opposing viewpoints, it is time for us to make our recommendation. It may be a single suggested path forward; however, I strongly recommend you give the decision maker a minimum of two options. I generally prefer to offer three. Each option will take you on different paths. One will be the path you prefer it to take, the other will be the opposing path (which may be the status quo), and you can offer a third path that can become a hybrid of the other two. Do not skimp on the recommendations for the paths you do not want. Again, you must show that deeper understanding of the subject at hand and that means laying out all of the options.
Buttoning it all up – The Conclusion
The conclusion, in many ways mirrors the thesis. “It summarizes your thesis statement and main arguments and tries to convince the reader that your argument is the best. It ties the whole piece together.” (Owlcation, 2019) Do not use this as a way to introduce or add any new facts, evidence, or arguments. You should have already done that in the body of the paper.
You should be addressing the big picture, because that is what a senior leader is going to want to see. You should use the conclusion as a vehicle to hammer home that your argument and recommendation are the best way to go. Address what good will come from implementing your recommendation (and, if you can, what bad could come from not implementing it).
Most importantly, use the conclusion to appeal to the decision maker’s logos, pathos, and ethos. You want them to empathize with you as you steer them into not just thinking, but believing that your recommendation is the right one. Include a call to action that inspires the decision maker to agree with you and that they want to implement your recommendation(s). (Owlcation, 2019)
Works Cited
Owlcation. (2019, September 23). How to Write and Argumentative Essay Step by Step. Retrieved from Owlcation: https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-an-Argument-Essay
Purdue University. (2019, September 23). Building an Argument. Retrieved from Online Writing Lab – OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_in_literature_detailed_discussion/building_an_argument.html
UNC Chapel Hill. (2019, September 23). Audience. Retrieved from The Writing Center: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/audience/
UNC Chapel Hill. (2019, September 23). Evidence.
Retrieved from The Writing Center:
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/evidence/
[1] Granted, there are probably more than five types of Argument Claims that could be used, but for the purposes of this article, I will focus on the two most authoritative sources I have used time and again for this list: Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) and the Owlcation writing website.