0. BOOZ ALLEN WRITING ILLUSTRATIONS ONLY 3 Minutes
This document is confidential and is intended solely for the use and information of the client to whom it is addressed.
3 Minutes
Optional: Know there is a music file, Beethoven #9, attached to this slide and will loop until stopped. This file can be played before the course begins.
Before covering the logistics, Facilitator will present his/her experience and validate their ability to teach this course.
Introduce the course, differences from the prerequisite course, and the benefits for the learner.
State that this course is DIFFERENT from other L&D courses:
Emphasis is around a action learning in the class and a problem that will be worked on in teams to build skills
De-emphasis on many slides and inundate learners with a lot of content
There will less telling and more doing in the classroom
Ensure everyone or most of the class reviewed the Fundamentals of Booz Allen Deck Creation (020) before coming to class.
Review the agenda:
The course is 4 hours with a short break in between
Breakfast is provided but lunch will be on their responsibility
Explain the learning objectives:
Apply the SQPA writing framework using a case study or real assignment
Apply the fundamentals of deck writing using a case study or real assignment

1. We start our story in Grace’s Office. It’s 8:00 AM, Monday Morning
Oh-my. An urgent from Maria. I wonder what she needs.
SAY
We start our story in Grace’s Office. It’s 8:00 AM, Monday Morning,
Grace is a level II consultant (of the Millennial generation) and began her career with Booz Allen 4 months ago. She came from the Department of Homeland Security where she held her position as an information technologist for 3 years.
Upon her arrival to Booz, her status was deemed “on the beach” as she was waiting for billable work from a client. Not an uncommon reality in the firm.
Finally, after 4 months, Grace was aligned to the client project, where she was tasked to help design the strategy for the client’s paradigm shift.
She just got an urgent from Maria, the PM for her new project.
Graphic Directions:
Show surprised Grace looking at her computer monitor, hands still on the keypad. Booz Allen will add the lettering (balloons and captions)

2. The email from Maria to Grace reads urgent
SAY:
Read the
Graphic Directions:
Screen grab of the cropped to show the start of the message (Booz Allen will produce)

3. Maria’s story is not unlike many in the firm
Slide 6 - See my previous comments on suggested size for the pieces that will be animated. (a separate with an attachment)
NOTES TO FACILITATOR:
You should know that this is intentionally a failure story. This story is intended to provide a distinction from the usual ‘success story’ and the behaviors that lead to both [C. Wortmann, 2007]. This type of story helps the learner understand that he/she is not alone; that failure is normal in the workplace, that it’s inevitable but that you are redeemable and can learn powerful lessons from failure. The story should not tell you what to do but enable you to draw your own conclusions.
INTRODUCE Maria’s Story;
Maria’s Story is not unlike many at Booz Allen. She’s a vet that’s been with the firm for over 5 years. She is experienced enough that her efforts don’t often fail, but she also has failed enough to know that she REALLY doesn’t like it.
SAY
Let’s hear Maria’s Story
PLAY AUDIO [Maria’s Testimony]
I don’t want to unduly pressure the team, especially Grace because she is new, but we REALLY need to succeed with our next deliverable.
One of the last times we presented recommendations to Alan Rosenthal, he brought the whole client team to the session. I think our recommendations where sound, but the presentation structure was weak. Before we could get to our key points, their team was asking questions. They started asking for more information than we prepared to cover. Then they started to hammer us on every point. Honestly, I think our whole team was sweating bullets from the inquiries. Never in my 10 year career have I experienced such a hard pressing on every little thing. Our good recommendations were sunk even before we got to present them. What really burns me is that… if we had structured the presentation in a more logical manner, then the hammer on the consultant session would have never even started.
Because of that poor presentation, the client team decide to give the additional work to another contractor.
I still think that our recommendations were good, but we stumbled in the first 5 minutes and we never recovered.
Graphic Directions:
Portrait shot of Maria. Dan says that the lips need to be mostly straight to a little open, in order to animate. K

4. Maria’s team was called on for a kick-off meeting to inspire and excite the team about the project
Slide 7 - Graphic Directions were: Opening shot of the small conference with the three team members around the meeting table. The viewer can see the faces of all four characters. Dan thinks that we can do this as one image that is imported in as a vector image so we can zoom in on the person as they are discussed. If not that please create a large enough image that can be cropped to focus on each person. The order around the table should be Maria, Jake, Samuel, Grace
If there are no bubbles in this image then we could do less with the white space.
CGI BACKGROUNDS WILL BE ADDED LATER
Add Booz Allen to the laptops
Add Booz Allen to the laptops

5. But on the other hand, by the end of the meeting, Grace is feeling a little under pressure
Say
But on the other hand, by the end of the meeting, Grace is stressed….
She has less than a week to prove herself. Maria clearly wants this to be a “slam dunk”. The client is tough and a no-nonsense customer that expects hard results in solving their solutions. The team wants to get this right, build a strong rapport with the client, and use this as a platform to build further business with the client. Grace, especially, wants to perform well and meet the client’s expectations and her boss’ expectation for her first client engagement.
ASK participants: “What should be Grace’s first steps?”, and then continue the story.
Graphic Directions:
Same meeting room at the end of the meeting. Grace sitting in the same seat. A very worried look on her face and a little slump in the body. Samuel maybe looking at Grace with a little bit of concern.

6. Grace turns to her team for guidance to prepare for the client presentation
*SEE NOTE BELOW
The monitor should look like an online course.
Add Booz Allen
Add Fundamentals of Deck Creation
GRACE AND SAMUEL HAVE APPEARED TO HAVE “SWAPPED” PLACES BECAUSE THE POINT OF VIEW HAS CHANGED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE.
WE ARE NOW BEHIND THEM INSTEAD OF IN FRONT OF THEM.

7. Jake’s story sheds light on the significance and impact of effective writing
See my previous comments on suggested size for the pieces that will be animated. (a separate with an attachment)
3 Minutes
STATE that the class will hear from one of the experts on the team, Jake. His story sheds some light ….
This story is intended to promote success in the workplace as a result of knowing the best practices of Booz Allen writing. Later on, a story based on failure will be illustrated to demonstrate the negative consequences.
Say:
Let’s hear from one of the team members, Jake.
Play Audio
PLAY AUDIO:
“I’m imagining Grace’s level of stress under the circumstances. Her nerves must be off the charts….it is her first engagement after all. And not to mention, the pressure Maria has put on us to regain CMC’s business is tangible. Losing this business is not option for me, especially under Maria’s watch.
Nevertheless. I have confidence we can pull this together with some faith. I remember....when tasked on a deck on the SRI engagement we needed to present several options for a software upgrade. Outlined were the positives and negatives of each option and explained why one of the options is the preferred choice. Because I applied the Booz Allen writing techniques I learned on the job, I was able to construct the deck a lot faster.  It was as if I already knew what I was doing. The impact was great. My project manager told me that it was one of the best decks he has seen in a while. The client was very pleased to see the final draft of the deck present such a straight-forward and effective solution. ”
Graphic Directions:
Portrait shot of Jake. Dan says that the lips need to be mostly straight to a little open, in order to animate.

8. 9:00 AM, Tuesday, Day 2….the plot thickens in the conference room
How did the course go? Did you catch any of the content about SPQA Framework? (Samuel)
Course went well. Really easy to follow. I remember a little about SPQA. What is it again?” (Grace)
It helps structure your thoughts for writing. My mentor taught me this method as I was writing a report for the NSA.
Module 3
Total Duration: 1.5 hours
FACILITATOR TO NARARRATE
Say
Grace meets with Samuel and Jake.
Jake reassures Grace and let’s her know that she has the knowledge and tools to succeed. Jake notes that he and Samuel want to succeed as much as she does to win the client’s business.
Samuel then ask Grace if she is familiar with using the SPQA Framework
Graphic Directions:
Grace, Samuel, and Jake sitting around a meeting table in a small conference room. Papers are on the table so it is clear that this is a work area.

9. 9:00 AM, Tuesday, Day 2….the plot thickens in the conference room
I can’t believe how much goes into writing a Booz Allen deck. I didn’t realize how many best practices there are about writing for impact.
Don’t stress. Writing decks is a skill in of itself and takes time to learn. We will help you, so have faith that this process will turn out fine. Remember this will be a team effort and we will help you.
Thanks for the reassuring words and for the support.
Module 3
Total Duration: 1.5 hours
FACILITATOR TO NARARRATE
Say
Grace doesn’t know about the SPQA Framework. Samuel explains that it is a technique designed to write logically that is used often in the firm. He learned the technique from his mentor during a NSA project and offers to explain the approach to Grace.
Graphic Directions:
Same room as previous (Grace, Samuel, and Jake sitting around a meeting table in a small conference room. Papers are on the table so it is clear that this is a work area.). Focus or zoom is on just Grace and Samuel.

10. See my previous comments on suggested size for the pieces that will be animated. (a separate with an attachment)
Samuel’s Story
PLAY audio
Last winter, I worked on a large proposal effort and was responsible for coordinating the efforts of about a dozen or so 'writers‘. But because none of them wrote in a similar structured style - ala Booz Allen, the task became making chicken salad out of their you know the rest. Because we failed to write in a clear and expository manner, we wasted time, a commodity that we did not have enough of, and a lot of money. Before I realized the monetary and opportunity costs of failing to write in a unified style, I was a fan of SPQA -- after that, I was a huge advocate.“
Graphic Directions:
portrait shot of Jake to animate

11. Day 3, 8:45 AM, Wednesday…it’s the final stretch and there’s light at the end of the tunnel for Grace and the team
It’s coming along better than I expected. I will be sending my part of the deck to you and Jake for review tomorrow before it goes to “the boss” for gate keep review before going to the client. (Grace)
How is your part of the presentation coming along? (Samuel)
Since this is Day 3 the team should be wearing different attire. Make sure distinction is made in appearance from day 2 and day 3.
Since I have the master presentation, I will integrate your piece into it.
If you followed the SPQA approach and the template we discussed, then I should be able to just drop your section in with everyone else’s. (Jake)
CGI BACKGROUNDS WILL BE ADDED LATER. WILL REFLECT THE BREAKDOWNS
PURPOSE
STRUCTURE
DRAFT
REVIEW

12. 9:30 AM, Thursday, Day 4….it’s a slam dunk for the team
Team, this is great work in a short time.
Since this is Day 4, the team should be wearing different attire. Make sure distinction is made in appearance from day 3 and day 4.
Make this appear as a different conference room from the previous one. Add a plant, a painting, a pattern to the walls, a window, so that a big distinction is made between the previous rooms.
Also, I’d like to see the team seating in a different formation; they’ve been sitting like this for the whole course.
5 Minutes
FACILITATOR TO NARARRATE
Say
Day 4: Maria has reviewed the deck from the team. She thinks in spite of the few changes, the deck is impressive and is CLIENT READY.
Click (show talk balloon)
During a meeting before the delivery of the presentation to the client, she acknowledges the team for excellent work and doing their due diligence on the content.
Click (show second graphic)
She asserts that the presentation may even be considered for an award because of its quality. The team is very happy.
Graphic Directions:
First graphic - Team around the clean table again. Maria on the left
Second graphic – Just Samuel, Grace, and Jake very close together for a tight face shot. They have silly grins.

13. Closing Remarks
Grace needs to appear more like the woman in the photos I sent; she looks masculine.
Slide 28 - It would be good to have a version of Grace in the image size that can be animated. That way we can use her to close if desired.
REVISIT the objectives to be sure that all were covered during the session.
REVISIT expectations and ask learners to confirm that they were met during the session. The standard wrap-up will be used. The learners are asked to end the day with a single statement that indicates one thing they learned, re-learned, appreciated, or were surprised by. It allows learners to reflect on the entire day and maximizes participation, since everyone is instructed to provide a closing statement.
EVALUATION to be distributed after the class.