The Procter & Gamble One Page Memo
A writing tool all coaches should use before pitching an idea
This post builds on three assumptions:
A writing habit will make you a better coach.
Coaches who work in a team environment and want to advance their career need to excel at pitching their ideas.
Great ideas are often overlooked, forgotten about, or mishandled because of the way they’re presented.
So, my conclusion is…
Coaches who formally document their ideas before pitching them will increase the quality of their ideas, will be able to pitch their ideas clearly and concisely, and will increase their ‘pitch to win’ ratio.
Since the 1970s, Procter & Gamble has been using a tool they call the One Page Memo. As the name suggests, it’s a single page and has five sections:
Idea statement: What’s your idea? Ideally in one sentence.
Summary of the situation: What’s happened that led you to this idea? Needs to be objective and in line with what others are seeing/experiencing. Ideally, after reading this summary, your audience will understand where your idea came from and why it’s viable.
Explain your idea: What are the details of your idea? Try answering question words - How? Who? What? When? Where?
Define the key benefits of your idea: Why should they agree to your idea? Best if kept to three hard-hitting benefits that address your specific audience’s goals, needs, pain points, etc.
Suggest a next step: Who? Needs to do what? By when? In order for this idea to move forward.
Formally documenting your ideas before suggesting or pitching them would allow you to answer a few important questions:
Do I understand the purpose of my idea and how it will be implemented?
Do I understand what (real) problem my idea solves?
Do I understand how my idea will directly impact the person/people I’m pitching it to?
Do I have credible evidence (data, examples, stories, demonstrations, etc.) to support my idea?
Am I suggesting you formally document your ideas using this process each time you have an idea?
No! You’d be writing one page memos all day long.
I’m suggesting you use this formal documentation process when you want to pitch an idea that requires an existing process to change, a financial investment, a change to or addition of resources, or a shift in priorities, beliefs, or values, etc.
To help get you started, I created a simple template you can download and test out:
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Thanks for reading!