TL;DR:
Most people think a business case is about getting a “yes”—but in reality, it’s about engineering alignment. A great business case doesn’t just present a smart idea; it surfaces hidden landmines, appeals to individual incentives, and enlists the real centers of power—before the pitch even hits the boardroom.
The Turning Point
In the early days, I treated business cases like logical proposals: define the problem, explain the ROI, and let the numbers win. But over time—especially in global, matrixed organizations—I learned that logic alone isn’t enough.
The real purpose of a business case is to pre-wire success by addressing the people, politics, and power dynamics that make or break execution.
And here’s the kicker: if you treat the business case as a document to “sell up,” it’ll likely fail. But if you treat it as a strategic artifact of alignment, you give your initiative a fighting chance.
Three Organizational Dynamics That Make or Break Your Business Case
Most business cases don’t fail because the math is wrong.
They fail because they ignore one of three friction points:
- Collaboration gaps that alienate key teams
- Misaligned incentives that block support
- Unaddressed resistance that festers until it kills momentum
These aren’t just best practices—they’re the organizational tripwires your business case must defuse if it’s going to survive first contact with reality.
1. Team Collaboration: Don’t Just Write It—Co-Author It
A business case built in isolation is a political grenade.
You may unintentionally:
- Undermine existing initiatives
- Compete for hidden budgets
- Trigger defensiveness in other teams
Instead, treat the business case as a collaborative build. Invite product, dev, legal, localization, or any impacted team before you put pen to slide. Early collaboration identifies:
- Overlapping workstreams
- Alternative solutions
- Additional use cases and beneficiaries
If people feel blindsided, they’ll resist. If they feel ownership, they’ll advocate.
This is especially true in multi-market organizations where decisions aren’t centralized. Each stakeholder sees through their operational lens. Co-authorship isn’t optional; it’s your leverage.
2. “What’s In It For Me?”: Design for Stakeholder Self-Interest
The second mistake? Framing value too generically.
A slide titled “Business Benefits” doesn’t cut it anymore.
You need stakeholder-specific translation:
| Stakeholder | What They Want to See |
|---|---|
| Executives | Risk mitigation, competitive edge, ROI |
| Product Teams | Scalable features, less support burden |
| Local Markets | Market autonomy, traffic growth, usability |
| Legal | Compliance, audit readiness |
| IT/Dev | Tech debt reduction, security, operational clarity |
Everyone listens to the station WIIFM—”What’s In It For Me?”
The best business cases are like multi-sided coins. Each team sees its reflection in the outcome, and that’s when you earn voluntary support.
3. The Battle Plan for Negativity: Anticipate the Pushback Before It Starts
Let’s be honest: your proposal may create friction.
It could:
- Expose system shortcomings
- Threaten someone’s bonus or KPIs
- Create more work
- Cannibalize budget
- Trigger internal politics
And that’s before it even hits review.
You need a Battle Plan for Negativity. In my hreflang builder course, I coach teams to draft a set of “defensive slides” not to present, but to be ready with calm, confident responses to:
- “That’s already in our roadmap.”
- “This duplicates X’s work.”
- “We tried that two years ago.”
- “This isn’t our priority right now.”
- “Our CMS can’t support tha.t”
The point isn’t to win every argument—it’s to avoid being blindsided by obvious ones. You’ll likely also need a senior-level champion willing to back you when friction inevitably surfaces.
Epiphany 15 Integration: Respect the Power Triangle
This all ties directly into Epiphany 15: Respecting the Real-World Power Triangle.
In that epiphany, I shared how real organizational power flows through three vectors:
- Formal Authority – who can approve
- Influence – who can shape perceptions across silos
- Resource Control – who holds the tools, teams, and budgets
The business case isn’t just an appeal to #1. It’s your opportunity to activate all three.
- Through collaboration, you engage influence
- Through stakeholder-centric framing, you secure resource alignment
- Through anticipating negativity, you protect your formal ask from getting derailed
In short, your business case becomes more than a request—it becomes a coalition-building exercise.
Execution Tips:
- Keep it short: 5–8 slides max. Each slide must earn its place.
- Minimize jargon: Say “country mismatch” not “hreflang mapping error.”
- Focus on action: What decision do you want?
- Tell a story: Problem → Opportunity → Solution → Benefit → Ask.
- Design for feedback: Circulate early drafts informally before the big pitch.
Final Thought: The Epiphany
The business case isn’t the starting point of execution—it’s the battleground where execution either becomes possible or dies silently in a review queue.
If you want your idea to live, don’t just build a deck.
Build alignment.
Build buy-in.
Build power.
Then let the business case simply reflect the momentum you’ve already set in motion.
Explore More Epiphanies
This article is part of my ongoing series, My Digital Marketing Epiphanies – realizations, hard-earned lessons, and mental models shaped by decades in the field.
For more insights, visit the full archive here: My Digital Marketing Epiphanies.
