The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR Build - How to stress-test your business case with Jessica Zwaan
Jessica Zwaan joins MPL Build to show HR leaders how to craft business cases that CEOs actually approve, using BLUF, the So What test, and clear links to revenue and savings. We walk through conservative projections, objection handling, and a live role-play on adopting a performance platform in today’s fiscally skeptical environment.
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(05:19) Jessica’s hierarchy: make money, save money, then time
(08:45) Jessica’s shift from words to numbers and data
(12:20) Tying HR work to revenue in practice(13:52) Choosing revenue vs savings and building the argument
(15:42) “I cracked it” moment: McCann Worldgroup restructuring win
(19:16) The “So What” Test explained and how to run it
(21:57) Anticipating objections inside the deck
(24:20) Role-play setup: $50k performance platform after HR Tech
(25:32) Start with the problem: talent density and revenue leakage
(26:08) Connecting performance signals to revenue and savings(28:31) From messy data to leading indicators leaders can use
(30:23) Pitch format preferences(31:12) BLUF: Bottom line up front
(32:39) Estimating impact and why to lean conservative
(34:30) Standing behind numbers with board scrutiny
(36:10) Is budget still tight and what fiscal skepticism means
(37:43) Why rigor matters in an AI-saturated vendor landscape
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.