Business problems almost always include process and behaviour issues that can be overcome with development and implementation of rigorous governance frameworks and processes, especially those used to develop strategy and monitor the progress of investments, and even more especially tracking and “banking” of benefits gained (or not). However, in today’s business climate where stakeholder expectations of business drivers inter alia include environmental, customer, risk, safety, and community impacts a concentration on financial return is a simplistic approach to Assessment of an investment opportunity. An approach that tests only the financial aspects of a potential investment then ignores the other characteristics that constitute business value so it is very unlikely that the investment will be optimal.

What is of importance to a business changes from business to business by the nature of the market and the competitive position of the business, core competencies, risk appetite and larger investment strategies etc.  For example, a business such as a Superannuation fund or a Government agency will generally have a lower appetite for risky investments than say other businesses. Also, government agencies tend to cherish reputational and community benefit more than other businesses.

While there is a view that all stakeholders within an organisation should be “on the same page”, in fact and practice what is important to one stakeholder within an organisation, let’s say the Marketing Director (increased revenue, increased reach) or Production Director (operational efficiency, simplified processes, lower skill base required), may indeed be different from another stakeholder within the same organisation such as the CEO (share price, shareholder feedback, board priorities), Auditor (risk management, audit trail, governance), Finance Director (return on investment, risk management, process integration) or CIO (Operational efficiency, data and process security, scalability and flexibility). For each manager to have confidence that the outcomes of initiatives are appropriate for their sphere of influence value must be measured at the level of their interest. However, the collective or aggregated view of all these value drivers must somehow be developed to understand the consensus view of true business value specific to the organisation.