Main idea

The strict paywall recommended to a regional daily held because three conditions were met: a local, loyal readership, local news almost impossible to find elsewhere, digital advertising a marginal share of revenue. A news channel is in the opposite situation: news abundant elsewhere, digital revenue dependent on audience volume. The same recommendation would drive its visitors away and, with them, most of its revenue.

Right in one case, wrong in the other — and nothing in the report lets you see it, since it kept only the conclusion. The risk of a deliverable is therefore not just starting from scratch: it's copying a good answer into the wrong place.

Why it matters

A recommendation that succeeded is the most dangerous one to reuse, because its success stands in for proof. Without its conditions, the only question you can ask is "is it the same question?", and the answer is almost always yes.

Nuances and limits

Some recommendations hold in almost any context; the danger lies with those whose rightness depends on the client's situation, which are often the most structuring ones.

Open questions

• How do you spot, in a report already delivered, the recommendations whose rightness depended on conditions that aren't written in it?