Persuasion, Business and Management Questions Answered

Dear Consultant,

I have what I’m told is a great idea to improve some software that our company sells to a number of very large clients. My colleagues and I believe that by making some fairly extensive changes, we will make our product most marketable and usable and thereby more profitable. I’m the only champion of this change, and I’m not sure how to try to gain acceptance of my idea or to drum up support. Persuasion has never been my thing; do you have any suggestions about how to sell my idea with my company?

The issue of persuasion is a complex one. There are a number of situation specific variables that will come into play, but there has been some very interesting research that describes what seems to be effective in the general case.

The act of “selling an idea” or “convincing others” to support your initiative has been called “proactive influence tactics” in the leadership literature.

Below I’ve paraphrased the 11 tactics that are used to influence people in organizations described by Yukl, Seifert and Chavez (2008).

1) Use logical arguments and evidence to show what you’re suggesting is feasible and desirable.

2) Show how your idea is directly beneficial to the person that you’re trying to convince. Perhaps for their career or to lower their workload or increase their commission.

3) Highlight the emotional appeal of your position, focus on their values and ideals.

4) Include the person you’re trying to convince in the formation of the idea. Ask for their feedback and make sure that their feedback is included into the proposal.

5) Put some skin in the game. Offer to help if the idea is accepted.

6) Do your best to express your confidence in the person you’re trying to convince, do some favours for them, make them feel good about you. Do it authentically though, people may see through false flattery.

7) Pull in personal favours. Ask people to support your idea because of your friendship on a personal level.

8) Offer to do something for the person. Make it transaction, if they support your idea, you’ll help them in some other way.

9) Get the help of other people who support your idea. Coordinate with them to strategically show support for your proposal.

10) If there are any rules, procedures or precedent that supports your idea, make sure that you highlight those to people you’re trying to influence.

11) In some cases and as a last resort, you can try persistent reminders, demands or even threats.

Although the long-term repercussion of these types of actions will damage your relationship with the person you’re trying to influence. Depending on your situation, some or all of these influence tactics may help you to convince the necessary decision makers to support your idea.

It is important to use each one in a thoughtful way that is appropriate for the target you’re trying to influence and that is commensurate with the importance of the idea you’re trying to convince others of.

References: Yukl, G., Seifert, C., & Chavez, C. (2008). Validation of the extended Influence Behavior Questionnaire. Leadership Quarterly, 19(5) 609-621.

http://www.amazon.ca/Leadership-Organizations-Edition-Gary-Yukl/dp/0132771861

Dear Consultant,

I’m a new manager in a large, well established financial institution. I’ve worked in this industry for a long time for two of my current company’s competitors, and I have a good sense that we need to change the way we do a number of things internally. I hit resistance every time I bring this up, both with my colleagues and with my director. I believe this is an important issue, how can I tactfully yet forcefully advocate for change?

Organizational change is challenging within any institutional setting, especially when others in your organization don’t perceive the need for change. This is compounded within organizations that have shown a track record of success that they can point to for reasons not to change. The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is frequently cited as an excuse to maintain the status quo.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is frequently cited as an excuse to maintain the status quo

Unfortunately, this is not a proactive approach to recognizing changes in consumer desires, competitive landscape or any other part of the complex system that surround organizations. Change for the sake of change is not typically a good idea, but constant critical-reflection on current business practices based on the ever-changing business landscape can help keep an organization ahead of problems before they become apparent.

Having worked for three different companies in your industry, you may have insight into the financial sector that some of your colleagues lack. If you’re sure about this organizational improvement and are serious about instituting change within your organization then there are three approaches that on their own or combined can help to institute change.

First, have sound technical reasons supporting your change

1) Expert Advice – Any change to what your organization is doing needs to be based on sound, technical reasoning. The technical reasoning that justifies the status quo needs to be squarely questioned based on changes in the business environment. You’ll need to quantify the need for change through measurable outcomes such as financial and sales projections. One of the key issues here is that whomever is offering the expert/technical advice needs to be perceived as an expert. If you’re new, and you’re not known enough in the new organization, then recruit someone else who agrees with your approach and cite them as the technical expert. Pitt et al. (2002) call these technical experts “upward-facing advocates” when leading organizational change.

Second, connect with people on an emotional level

2) Emotional Resonance – Remember that you’re dealing with humans, who whether they like to admit it or not, react to emotions. Positive or negative, strong emotions will elicit a reaction from your target audience. Stirring up people with an anecdote based on success or fear may contribute to encouraging people into action. This isn’t always easy to do, and people who can successfully perform this upward-facing emotive championing (Pitt et al., 2002) frequently show true passion for an issue.

Third, network your idea throughout the organization

3) Network the Idea – Brokering the need for change as well as the solution throughout the organization is also important. You or someone supportive of your idea needs to be the “symbol” or representative for the change initiative who can act as a hub for advocacy. Lateral persuasion (other colleagues and teams) is just as important as vertical persuasion (your boss and bosses bosses) to institute change within an organization. Organizations are not traditionally democratic, but people vote with their actions so having a posse supporting your change initiative will help your cause. Pitt et al. (2002) call people who engage in activities such as this “democratic brokers.”

Including these three activities into your approach to make changes in your organization may improve your likelihood of success. The intrapreneurs who advocate for change within an organization are almost always noticed; whether this is a good or a bad thing for you will depend on your organization’s culture, your approach to instituting change and the outcome of your change initiative.

References:

Pitt, M., McAulay, L. & Sims, D. (2002) Promoting strategic change: ‘playmaker’ roles in organizational agenda formulation, Strategic Change, 11: 155-172