Find the focus, make your work clear.

Find a method for your next update. Make the facts, judgments and next steps clear.

Which needs should take priority?

The situation

Fictional scenario

I finished the work and added extra slides. Why might the listener still be dissatisfied?

Check what is essential and what they want to compare. More content may not meet those needs.

I’ll organize four kinds of need to confirm, rather than simply add slides.

What is getting in the way

More effort does not establish that needs are met. Kano relationships help frame questions; they do not reveal preferences from a job title or guarantee satisfaction.

Method and tool

Clarify needs before adding more

Read fulfillment across and satisfaction vertically. Use the four conceptual curves and cards to frame questions to check.

MANAGING UP · NEEDS & SATISFACTION

The Kano model

Meet the essentials. Then decide what is worth adding.

Conceptual relationships · not measured values or forecasts

Across: fulfillment · Up: satisfaction

KEEP IN MIND

Confirm needs through observation and conversation. Categories may vary by person and context; the model cannot guarantee satisfaction.

Select a curve or card to see a question worth checking.

Apply it to your own work

Copy the prompt and add your material to prepare a draft you can adapt.

View prompt

Use “Clarify needs before adding more” with only the material I provide.
List the proposed needs categories and the evidence to check with the listener, then prepare an update checklist. Treat classifications as provisional; do not infer the manager’s thoughts.

Use this structure:
1. Must-be: Absence can cause dissatisfaction; fulfillment is usually a baseline. Confirm the essentials.
2. Performance: Better fulfillment within a relevant range can be more useful.
3. Attractive: Absence may not disappoint; a useful extra may add value.
4. Reverse: Unwanted extras can interfere with judgment.

Separate facts, interpretations, forecasts, proposals and approvals. Mark missing information “To confirm”. Do not invent figures, causes, owners, dates or agreement. Keep units, periods and conditions. Do not treat the fictional example as my evidence.

My material:
[Paste the context, records, constraints and response needed, with sensitive information removed.]