EN.663.618 Chap.12 Busy Boss Briefing and the Culture Map
Busy Boss Briefing and the Culture Map
The scenario
The Busy Boss Briefing is worth 15% of the grade, requires slides and lasts 8 to 10 minutes. You pitch an idea to the CEO of Smarty Pants Consulting, a small firm that coaches executives in soft skills: internal communication, organisational culture, alignment with mission, vision and values, and leadership for senior managers. The instructor plays the CEO.
The book at the centre of the task is The Culture Map, one of the required texts on the syllabus, and the calendar asks you to finish reading it before the Nov. 30 briefing.
From book to product
The CEO spotted the book on a business trip, thinks it could reshape the firm's offer and has no time to study it.
As the newest hire you translate its core messages into something Smarty Pants can sell: a product, program, seminar, workshop, module, consulting paradigm or coaching strategy. The packet is explicit that a book report or technical summary misses the point.
The deliverable should be thoughtful, targeted, innovative and profitable, and the pitch should include a clear map of how it looks and how it works.
The business case
Four questions shape the pitch. Is the idea relevant to different kinds of clients, companies and industries? Does it meet a genuine need in industry? How will it make money for Smarty Pants?
How does it compare with what competing vendors already offer? To answer them you need research on the return clients can expect and a clear projection of the income the program should bring in.
How the briefing is graded
The rubric divides the grade into four equal quarters: delivery, slides, story and content, and speech-specific criteria.
The speech-specific lines reward adapting quickly and diplomatically, staying positive and professional, advancing the conversation skilfully, creating a unique and financially feasible deliverable, and getting the message across in trying circumstances. A boss who pushes back is part of the realistic setting, so plan for questions as carefully as you plan the slides.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Who Smarty Pants Consulting is and what it sells
- 02
Why a book report fails this assignment
- 03
Designing a deliverable the firm can sell
- 04
Mapping what the deliverable looks like and how it works
- 05
The four questions: relevance, need, income, competitors
- 06
Researching client ROI and projected income
- 07
Handling pushback from a busy CEO
Worked example · free
Answer the CEO's money question
- 1Name the client cost the module reduces.
- 2Explain how Smarty Pants earns from it.
- 1Contrast it with what competing vendors sell.
- 1Close by returning to the main message.
Key terms
- Consulting Deliverable
- A product, program, workshop or coaching method that a consulting firm packages and sells to client organisations.
- Return On Investment
- A measure of what a client gains from a program compared with what it pays, used to justify the purchase.
- Soft Skills Coaching
- Training that develops communication, culture and leadership abilities rather than technical expertise.
Busy Boss Briefing and the Culture Map FAQ
What is the Busy Boss Briefing assignment?
A slide-supported pitch of 8 to 10 minutes, worth 15%, in which you act as a new consultant at a small coaching firm and propose a sellable program based on The Culture Map. The instructor plays the firm's CEO, and the proposal must be profitable and practical rather than a summary.
Do I need to finish The Culture Map before the briefing?
Yes. The course calendar schedules chapters across the preceding weeks and lists finishing the book for the Nov. 30 session, after the Thanksgiving break. Since the pitch depends on translating the book's core messages into a product, a partial reading makes it hard to defend your choices when the CEO questions them.
When are the Busy Boss Briefing slides due?
The Canvas submission page lists November 28 for the slides and asks for a .ppt, .pptx or similar file so the show runs smoothly in class. The briefing itself takes place on Nov. 30. Uploading on time also protects the participation grade tied to weekly mini-deadlines.
Can I make up the Busy Boss Briefing if I miss it?
No. The syllabus allows one speech to be made up during a session in the reading week, but it names the Busy Boss Briefing as not eligible. Treat Nov. 30 as fixed and plan travel around it.
How do I show a consulting idea will make money?
Research what the program saves or earns for client companies, then estimate what Smarty Pants would charge and how often clients would buy. Compare it with what rival vendors sell. The rubric rewards a financially feasible deliverable, so label any invented numbers as estimates and explain the logic behind them.
Assessment move
After finishing the book, write three possible deliverables in one line each, then test every one against the packet's four questions and keep the one that answers all four. Draft the ROI and income slide before the design slides, and rehearse twice with a friend who plays a busy, interrupting CEO.
