Using PowerPoint to Distribute Competitive Intelligence

Last post, I shared a video showing some of the most common sins of PowerPoint (PPT) usage. I’m guilty of most and will have my license revoked.

Stories of PPT abuse are not hard to find. Your company may be PPT agnostic, but many companies are forming opinions one way or another. Competitive Intelligence is, by definition, a source of information and sharing information is job #1 of PPT.

But, like anything else, you have to know how to use PPT to maximize its effectiveness. One of the weaknesses of PPT is the fact that it tends to simplify concepts much too easily.

Gettysburg Address – PPT Style
How has PPT changed the way we communicate? Imagine a world with almost no pronouns or punctuation. A world where any complex thought must be broken into seven-word chunks, with colorful blobs between them. Wait. You don’t have to imagine it. You are probably exposed to it regularly. You may even speak fluent PPT.

For a funny example, check out the Gettysburg Address, done in PPT. Click on the link below and then click on “Click here to start.”

Gettysburg Address in PPT

IBM and Sun Talk Business
“Lou Gerstner's remarkable turnaround of IBM from near-collapse began with a briefing he asked for on the state of the mainframe business. Mainframes accounted for more than 90% of the company's profits, which were sinking fast when he took over. Gerstner describes this critical meeting in his book Who Says Elephants Can't Dance, as follows:

‘At the time, the standard format of any important IBM meeting was a presentation using overhead projectors and graphics on transparencies that IBMers called—and no one remembers why—"foils." Nick was on his second foil when I stepped to the table and, as politely as I could in front of his team, switched off the projector. After a long moment of awkward silence, I simply said, "Let's just talk about your business." I mention this episode because it had an unintended, but terribly powerful ripple effect.’

Scott McNealy, a self-styled Chairman of Sun Microsystems, famously declared in 1997:

‘We had 12.9 gigabytes of PowerPoint slides on our network. And I thought, "What a huge waste of corporate productivity." So we banned it. And we've had three unbelievable record-breaking fiscal quarters since we banned PowerPoint. Now, I would argue that every company in the world, if it would just ban PowerPoint, would see their earnings skyrocket. Employees would stand around going, "What do I do? Guess I've got to go to work."’

Regardless of whether the ban was real or its contribution to record-breaking profits a hyperbole, there is something to be said for PowerPoint slide shows in the form of an infomercial getting in the way of having an honest discussion of complex issues and detracting from finding out the truth.” - MarketingProfs

Next time you are called upon to share information, consider the benefits of standing in front of a group and talking. What would happen if there were dialogue instead of slides? Would you be seen as more of a consultant, or would your audience be uncomfortable, not knowing how to react?

Just some thoughts. Let me know what you think as well. (cdalley@primary-intel.com)