From Notes to Strategy: How Tools Transform Collaboration & Impact

BRMs live in conversations — hundreds of them each year. But without a way to connect the dots, valuable insights slip through the cracks. Our team decided to change that. With Notion, we built a single hub to capture, connect, and act on what we were learning.

In the last year alone, our BRM team logged hundreds of strategic conversations — but without a way to connect the dots, valuable insights were slipping through the cracks. In the world of IT Business Relationship Management (BRM), the ability to connect conversations, data, and strategy is everything. Our team sits at the intersection of business needs and technology capabilities — which means we’re constantly synthesizing insights, tracking initiatives, and bridging communication gaps between stakeholders.

For years, those insights were scattered: email threads, SharePoint folders, meeting notes, and personal OneNote files. Valuable patterns were often buried, and trend analysis meant digging through siloed sources — a process that was time-consuming and prone to missed connections.

Six months ago, we decided to change that. Enter Notion.

Why Notion? Relevance to IT BRM

As a BRM team supporting a large, complex enterprise, we needed a single hub that could:

• Capture strategic insights from every interaction
• Connect related discussions across departments
• Track initiatives from concept to completion
• Enable fast, data-driven decisions without digging through silos

Notion met all of those needs — and then some.

Features That Delivered Real Value

1. Real-time access for the entire team: A centralized knowledge base where every discussion, project update, and stakeholder conversation lives — eliminating the “latest version” problem and keeping everyone aligned.
2. Instant answers through searchable, tagged databases: Tagging by department, initiative type, challenges, and opportunities means when someone asks, “What trends are we seeing in cross-department collaboration?” the answer is only a few clicks away.
3. Clarity on every initiative: Our tracking shows what’s in motion, what’s blocked, and what’s complete — while synthesizing context from all discussions to ensure alignment, all anchored to the original business case.
4. Faster decisions with AI summaries: AI distills hours of meeting notes into clear, actionable takeaways — saving hours each week and making insights immediately usable.
5. Direct tie to strategic priorities: Combining insights and initiative tracking allows us to map trends straight into our annual strategic roadmap, ensuring our work directly supports enterprise goals.

Real-World Impact: Turning Conversations into Strategy

Recently, we reviewed six months of enterprise discussions across the BRM team — a process that once took weeks. This time, it took just three days.

“What once took weeks now takes just three days — giving us more time to act on insights, not search for them.”

With that time saved, we were able to:

• Identify recurring operational challenges across multiple departments
• Surface innovation opportunities that had been discussed in isolation but never connected
• Build a strategic improvement roadmap grounded in real, aggregated data

This shift moved us from reactive issue tracking to proactive strategic enablement.

Lessons Learned Along the Way

The shift to Notion wasn’t just about adopting a tool — it required a mindset change.

• Standardized how we capture and tag information for consistency
• Embedded Notion into our meeting cadence so it became the source of truth
• Iterated together, refining based on team feedback and real-world use
• Stayed flexible, adapting the setup as our needs evolved

The payoff? Clearer communication, faster decisions, and a stronger link between IT initiatives and business value.

No Tool Is Perfect — But Flexibility Matters

Every tool has its challenges. Notion’s strength is its ability to adapt as our BRM practice and the businesses we support evolve. That flexibility means when priorities shift, we can pivot quickly without losing momentum.

Why IT BRM Teams Should Consider Notion

Notion has become more than a workspace for our BRM team — it’s our collaboration engine. By centralizing knowledge, connecting insights, and integrating project tracking, we’ve elevated how we operate and how we demonstrate value to the business.

For IT leaders and BRM teams looking to break down silos, surface trends, and align initiatives with strategy, Notion offers a flexible, powerful platform to make it happen.

Because in BRM, the real power isn’t just in capturing information — it’s in turning that information into action.

What’s Next: From Super-Size to Right-Size: Lessons for the BRM

Of course, tools alone don’t solve the hardest challenge: alignment. Even when insights are captured and visible, leaders and staff often measure success with completely different yardsticks.

In the next article, From Super-Size to Right-Size: Lessons for the BRM, we’ll explore how BRMs right-size value — ensuring that impact, no matter how small or large, is understood and shared across the enterprise.

As a senior Business Relationship Manager and IT Transformation Leader, I bring over a decade of experience aligning business goals with technology strategies to deliver measurable results.

At Resultant, I’ve led strategic partnerships across municipal government, driving $30M+ in technology transformation, improving project closure rates by 21.6%, and expanding the IT portfolio by 30%. I specialize in connecting technical teams with business stakeholders, translating objectives into actionable roadmaps that generate real ROI.

Whether executing full-lifecycle project delivery, leading adoption strategy, or building governance models, I help organizations unlock the full value of their IT investments. Grounded in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies, I tailor delivery approaches to support both operational needs and strategic goals.

I’m energized by opportunities that blend transformation strategy, executive alignment, and stakeholder engagement. Let’s connect if you’re looking to drive meaningful impact through IT-business partnership.