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HBR Guide to Building Your Business Case
Get your idea off the ground.
You’ve got a great idea that will increase revenue or boost productivity—but how do you get the buy-in you need to make it happen? By building a business case that clearly shows your idea’s value. That’s not always easy: Maybe you’re not sure what kind of data your stakeholders will trust. Or perhaps you’re intimidated by number crunching.
The HBR Guide to Building Your Business Case , written by project management expert Raymond Sheen, gives you the guidance and tools you need to make a strong case. You’ll learn how to:
• Spell out the business need for your idea
• Align your case with strategic goals
• Build the right team to shape and test your idea
• Calculate the return on investment
• Analyze risks and opportunities
• Present your case to stakeholders
You’ve got a great idea that will increase revenue or boost productivity—but how do you get the buy-in you need to make it happen? By building a business case that clearly shows your idea’s value. That’s not always easy: Maybe you’re not sure what kind of data your stakeholders will trust. Or perhaps you’re intimidated by number crunching.
The HBR Guide to Building Your Business Case , written by project management expert Raymond Sheen, gives you the guidance and tools you need to make a strong case. You’ll learn how to:
• Spell out the business need for your idea
• Align your case with strategic goals
• Build the right team to shape and test your idea
• Calculate the return on investment
• Analyze risks and opportunities
• Present your case to stakeholders
Audible Audio
First published July 7, 2015
120 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 27, 2018
Me gustó bastante. Es directo y claro. Excelente material para comenzar a trabajar en la creación de un caso de negocio. Está estructurado de manera de tal forma que va retomando datos expuestos con anterioridad lo que lo hace muy completo.
July 29, 2020
Good refresher on the concepts of business case creation. If you are looking for a lightweight book to understand the concept of case creation and presentation, this is a good option. Do not expect a full recipe though.
September 23, 2018
Going 5 stars on this one: clear, focused, and laid out in a very linear and logical way that associates the process of designing and building a business case with the application/need/benefit of effectively doing so, but conveyed in a way that is easily relatable to virtually any reader's needs and goals.
I'll be using this immediately as a template rubric for building my current and future business cases.
I'll be using this immediately as a template rubric for building my current and future business cases.
March 23, 2025
It's a small book in terms of how to develop business cases. Personally, I think that for the Harvard Business Review, they could have been more specific or more creative with the steps; there aren't that many examples, which leaves the book quite simple. In terms of its positive aspects, I think it's a strong book that gives you an overview, like someone with experience would do. Meh, very simple for me.
December 14, 2017
I can’t imagine that the hour and change it took to read this book could have been spent in any other way that would have given more insight into how the product directors and GMs and those guys in my company operate and what their world looks like.
In other words, an hour (and change) very well spent, and I’m inclined to read more from this series in ten future.
In other words, an hour (and change) very well spent, and I’m inclined to read more from this series in ten future.
September 13, 2021
I am not too familiar, with a lot of things when it comes to business. It is something, I studied, a little bit, last year; my understanding, on basic issues, here is still lacking. I have read about 70+ cases, which I purchased online, but it takes a bit of effort, to understand these issues.
April 4, 2023
A good guide synthesizes diverse elements of a business case and how to present it effectively. The content is straightforward but helps the reader go through each step and gather all the necessary parts together to build a great business case.
August 19, 2023
It's really 3.5 stars. I liked this book, especially the part about Richard Turere, a 12 year old Kenyan boy who invented lion lights. His TEDTalk was so good: He was just as witty and charming as the story was. Amazing how age has no barrier when it comes to an outstanding presentation.
September 19, 2017
Light read but a good refresher for building a business case.
February 3, 2018
Cuts straight to the point, as a book of this nature should.
May 26, 2018
Excelllent book amazing reading to apply in your own business!
Read
November 16, 2020Asertive and clear guide to build, write and present business cases.
February 18, 2021
It provides a general concept. Need more tools and templates.
December 3, 2023
very insightful! easy to read. Informed about the case study structure, but very old book
September 17, 2015
It is a simple solution, executed well, that may be your saviour to what can a frightening, confusing, bewildering process: no, not marriage but writing a business case for wider circulation.
This is a relatively slim, yet information-rich book, which will guide you through the entire process if required or let you just brush up on an area that you might be slightly weaker on. Even if you think you know this stuff, it can act as a useful aide memoire or skills checklist. After all, we have all learned bad things or less optimal things from others and whilst it may not be picked up or it may just deliver, it might not excel and set us apart from the crowd. When you are pushing a given case, surely you want to be firing on all cylinders and then some?
It is pared down to the essentials, it has to be; yet it serves as a great foundation for getting the job done and is a springboard to future research and study if you so desire. As for the price… prepare to be amazed. This is no dumbed down, cookie cutter, instant book; far from it.
The reader is taken through the entire business case preparation journey from identifying the need and realising it, discovering who the case is to be presented to and identifying their desires and requirements, building the case and adding structure through numbers and research before it is presented, whether verbally or in writing. After that, the application of subtle and not-so-subtle pressure and inquiry, moving forward and learning from any mistakes that were inadvertently made.
That’s It. Unless you are really, truly a “superman” or have a product or service that is in instant demand, you may find a book like this can help you.
Autamme.com
This is a relatively slim, yet information-rich book, which will guide you through the entire process if required or let you just brush up on an area that you might be slightly weaker on. Even if you think you know this stuff, it can act as a useful aide memoire or skills checklist. After all, we have all learned bad things or less optimal things from others and whilst it may not be picked up or it may just deliver, it might not excel and set us apart from the crowd. When you are pushing a given case, surely you want to be firing on all cylinders and then some?
It is pared down to the essentials, it has to be; yet it serves as a great foundation for getting the job done and is a springboard to future research and study if you so desire. As for the price… prepare to be amazed. This is no dumbed down, cookie cutter, instant book; far from it.
The reader is taken through the entire business case preparation journey from identifying the need and realising it, discovering who the case is to be presented to and identifying their desires and requirements, building the case and adding structure through numbers and research before it is presented, whether verbally or in writing. After that, the application of subtle and not-so-subtle pressure and inquiry, moving forward and learning from any mistakes that were inadvertently made.
That’s It. Unless you are really, truly a “superman” or have a product or service that is in instant demand, you may find a book like this can help you.
Autamme.com
August 16, 2015
A fan of the “Harvard Business Review” magazine, I was unfamiliar with their business essentials guide series, of which this book is a part. This book is a step-by-step primer on the best way to build a business case, taking into account the need to define the business need; build the right team; calculate the return on investment; get support from key stakeholders; present the idea; and more. The guide is full of examples, formulas, and checklists that will be of great use to anyone tasked with job of building such a case.
I work for a very small organization, and I saw ways to incorporate the book’s information into my work. The information was so clearly written and approachable, it made me want to take a look into the other HBR business essentials guides. I just purchased the “HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done” which looks like a goldmine of useful information (review on that book coming soon!)
4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harvard Business Review Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I work for a very small organization, and I saw ways to incorporate the book’s information into my work. The information was so clearly written and approachable, it made me want to take a look into the other HBR business essentials guides. I just purchased the “HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done” which looks like a goldmine of useful information (review on that book coming soon!)
4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harvard Business Review Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 29, 2015
Being a fan of HBR's anything, I was eager to get my hands on this book for a review. Being in healthcare business development for over 15 years, this book sung out to me. This is an awesome basic book that lays out the Who, What, When and Why of a business case. In tradition HBR excellence, it took it a step above and I was able to pull things out that I could utilize as well. As usual, this will be an HBR guide that I purchase, use and refer to. I think I would have liked to have seen it go a tad bit deeper into tips that someone in my position could utilize. At its core, this was still a book for novices to utilize and learn from.
August 18, 2024
tựa Việt: chắp cánh ý tưởng kinh doanh
thuyết phục tập trung vào những con số, lợi nhuận,...thay vì chỉ là thuyết phục trình bày đơn thuần như cuốn trình bày thuyết phục
đọc lại thì thấy hay hơn ở câu chuyện cần hiểu nhu cầu/ưu tiên của các bên liên quan, hiểu quy trình và cần một team hay task force để giúp tư vấn mình, cũng như có người đỡ đầu, seek input từ mọi người,....
thuyết phục tập trung vào những con số, lợi nhuận,...thay vì chỉ là thuyết phục trình bày đơn thuần như cuốn trình bày thuyết phục
đọc lại thì thấy hay hơn ở câu chuyện cần hiểu nhu cầu/ưu tiên của các bên liên quan, hiểu quy trình và cần một team hay task force để giúp tư vấn mình, cũng như có người đỡ đầu, seek input từ mọi người,....
November 30, 2015
A very informative read that cuts to the chase and does a great job explaining how projects are evaluated by top decision makers.
February 7, 2016
READ FEB 2016
Good resource for anyone making a case for resources. Good for both profit and non-profit leaders.
Good resource for anyone making a case for resources. Good for both profit and non-profit leaders.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews