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I received a request to describe some ways to “steer” a persuasive conversation in a specific direction. I offer the following thoughts:
1) I frequently make reference to asking questions (inquiries) aimed at examining claims. When you want to explore a statement or perspective in more depth, a great way to do that is to ask questions about it.
a. ‘That statement you made about “x”…what makes you say that?’
b. ‘Tell me more about…’
c. ‘Is what you are saying that “x”…?
2) Another kind of steering question is called a “redefine” and it looks like this:
a. After your counterpart has delivered a perspective that ends with “x”, you would The issue is not so much “x” as it is “y” – what are we going to do about “y”.
For example, your counterpart ends with “…and that’s why it is critical that save social security”; you would say “The issue is not so much saving social security as it is the quality of life for our parents generation – what can we do to see that they are well cared for?”
The power of this method is that you can change the topic pretty radically, for instance; “The issue is not so much saving social security as it is unemployment – what can we do to get people working?”
The nature of question’s format, called a “pattern” in neurolinguistic programming (NLP), leads our brain into the second topic without much trouble allowing for a lot of flexibility in steering.
3) A third steering method is another NLP pattern called an “Agreement Frame”. The agreement frame is based on the fact that people enjoy listening to us when they believe we are agreeing with them, so we use the momentum of that enjoyment to introduce our own ideas. The added impact of this is that it is difficult for them to disagree with us, because they feel that if they do, they would also be disagreeing with themselves. It looks like this:
a. “I agree, and would add…” OR
b. “I almost agree, and would add…” OR
c. I could agree, and would add…”
Example – your counterpart says “We need to take steps to assure that we preserve social security.” YOU say “I agree, and would add that we need to get people back to work as well!”
You would use the variation of “I ALMOST agree” or “I COULD agree”, if you are seeking your counterparts assent to your perspective. They will almost automatically accept the perspective you append to the pattern, because to do otherwise would make them feel they were contradicting themselves.
4) A VERY powerful steering method is to combine the two patterns:
a. “I agree, and would add that the issue is not so much saving social security as it is putting people back to work…what are we going to do to get more companies to advertise employment opportunities in the newspaper instead of online?”
As you can see, you steered the topic from social security to advertising in the newspaper, which is quite a jump.
You might say that it is unlikely that such a technique would work, and I would say I agree, but the issue is not so much about a technique working but if communications techniques in general are fully appreciated…how are we going to get people to be better communicators? Maybe they should subscribe to a newsletter.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Persuasion Elements - Scarcity and Authority
Last week, I wrote a little about two of Cialdini's six elements of Persuasion. This week i will cover two more.
Scarcity - This principle is borne out by Cialdini's research that shows we want what we can't have and that objects, ideas, and information that we believe are rare or unique hold greater apparent value than they would if we believe they are common.
This fact is powerful on its own, but is supercharged when coupled with the perspective that LOSS is the ultimate form of scarcity. That is, we may strive for something that we don't have and think is rare but we will work VERY hard to prevent losing something that we ALREADY have if we feel it will be difficult to replace. Humans are generally more motivated by fear of loss than want of gain.
Implementing this knowledge in a business situation is critical. Stop talking about what your counterpart will gain in an arrangement, and tell them about the valuable things they will lose. this is illustrated in an example in which 50% of potential customers were told that if they insulate their homes better, they could start saving a dollar a day. The other 50% were told that if they FAIL to insulate, they will continue losing a dollar a day. The sales among the customers that were given the 'losing" language was 150% of the other sales from the other customers. 50% more persuasive, even though the amount of the savings was the same! People are more mobilized into action by the idea of losing something. Combining the idea of scarcity with loss language makes for a particularly powerful argument.
Cialdini says. "You simply register what things people might be losing in an arrangement, honestly, and bring them to the surface. When people are reminded of what they stand to lose, they are more motivated to act."
The word "honestly" is important to note. Long term benefits accrue only to those that are credible.
Authority - Another element of persuasion is rooted in the idea that people will tend to obey authority figures. A person can even be persuaded to do something they wouldn't normally do if it is made clear that they will not be held responsible for their action.
The business application for this kind of persuasion is generally made when you are having a hard time convincing people to do something and you are having the hard time because they don't really believe you know what you are talking about. In other words, they do not recognize you as an authority on the subject. Citing authorities or better yet, PRODUCING an authority that will actually endorse your recommendation can help tremendously.
Sometimes, though, people will still hesitate because they are concerned with the impact to them if something goes wrong. You will encounter less resistance if you can assure the person that what you are asking for is just their indulgence to allow you to try the course of action and that you will take responsibility if there is a problem. If they are clear that they will not be held responsible in any way in the event of an issue, they will often step aside and indulge your experiment.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Scarcity - This principle is borne out by Cialdini's research that shows we want what we can't have and that objects, ideas, and information that we believe are rare or unique hold greater apparent value than they would if we believe they are common.
This fact is powerful on its own, but is supercharged when coupled with the perspective that LOSS is the ultimate form of scarcity. That is, we may strive for something that we don't have and think is rare but we will work VERY hard to prevent losing something that we ALREADY have if we feel it will be difficult to replace. Humans are generally more motivated by fear of loss than want of gain.
Implementing this knowledge in a business situation is critical. Stop talking about what your counterpart will gain in an arrangement, and tell them about the valuable things they will lose. this is illustrated in an example in which 50% of potential customers were told that if they insulate their homes better, they could start saving a dollar a day. The other 50% were told that if they FAIL to insulate, they will continue losing a dollar a day. The sales among the customers that were given the 'losing" language was 150% of the other sales from the other customers. 50% more persuasive, even though the amount of the savings was the same! People are more mobilized into action by the idea of losing something. Combining the idea of scarcity with loss language makes for a particularly powerful argument.
Cialdini says. "You simply register what things people might be losing in an arrangement, honestly, and bring them to the surface. When people are reminded of what they stand to lose, they are more motivated to act."
The word "honestly" is important to note. Long term benefits accrue only to those that are credible.
Authority - Another element of persuasion is rooted in the idea that people will tend to obey authority figures. A person can even be persuaded to do something they wouldn't normally do if it is made clear that they will not be held responsible for their action.
The business application for this kind of persuasion is generally made when you are having a hard time convincing people to do something and you are having the hard time because they don't really believe you know what you are talking about. In other words, they do not recognize you as an authority on the subject. Citing authorities or better yet, PRODUCING an authority that will actually endorse your recommendation can help tremendously.
Sometimes, though, people will still hesitate because they are concerned with the impact to them if something goes wrong. You will encounter less resistance if you can assure the person that what you are asking for is just their indulgence to allow you to try the course of action and that you will take responsibility if there is a problem. If they are clear that they will not be held responsible in any way in the event of an issue, they will often step aside and indulge your experiment.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Monday, February 21, 2011
Persuasion and Robert Cialdini
The current series of articles is about Persuasion, and your emails tell me you have done a good job using the general principles offered so far.
• Prepare yourself by thinking through your interests.
• Ask questions to understand the other party's interests.
• Be open to modifying your position in order to satisfy everyone's interests.
• Your credibility is crucial; don't do something that could sacrifice it in order to persuade someone. It is never worth it when they find out that you did.
• The emotional elements of a given situation are enormously persuasive; avoiding regret, appearing heroic, or feeling valued and respected are many times more persuasive than pure logic. Pure logic can help you choose between options, but emotion is what makes us WANT something to the point of NEEDING it.
• Do not criticize people if it can be helped, and it almost always can.
• Pay attention to behaviors, and not individuals; process, not people. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
Let's talk about some of the things that Robert Cialdini, the pioneering social psychologist, has learned are at the root of what persuades us.
Cialdini’s groundbreaking work identified six different areas in which can create persuasive advantage. I will cover two of them this week.
Reciprocity - Relationships are most comfortable when they are balanced; when neither person is beholden to the other. When they get out of balance, we are driven to 'put them back in balance'. if a person does something for us, we want to reciprocate and do something for them.
To use this persuasively is simple to understand from a "you owe me one" perspective, but that approach has limits and Cialdini discourages using those words. Instead, you would like to cause your counterpart to appreciate the value of the thing you did, and reciprocate with something of equal value. "You owe me one" doesn’t always inspire others to look at the value of what you did as much as to figure out a way to reciprocate soon.
It is also important to consider something that we already know, and studies have confirmed; after doing a favor for someone, the value of the favor tends to INCREASE in the memory of the favor GIVER and DECREASE in the memory of the favor RECEIVER. Although I know of no way to prevent this effect, Cialdini describes ways to minimize it.
You need to “cement” the value of the favor in the mind of the person for whom you did it. If you stayed late and did extra work for them, you might wait until JUST after they have received the benefit of it and ask “You know that report I did for you the other night? Did that turn out to be helpful to you?” When they say “yes, it was – and thanks very much” reply with something like “well – I am glad it turned out to be valuable for you. And I know you would do the same for me, right?”
This is 5 times as effective as saying something like “oh, that’s ok – no big deal” when it comes to making the favor seem important longer AND in ensuring the other party reciprocates with something of value.
Liking – In Cialdini’s context, this means two things: a) we are more likely to be persuaded by someone we LIKE (vs. someone we DON’T like) and, b) we are more likely to be persuaded by someone we think is LIKE us (vs. someone we think is NOT like us). This, too, is pretty intuitive so how can we use this info to be more persuasive in a working environment?
The way we dress sends a message about who we are. If we want someone to like us, we could try to appear more like the kinds of people that they tend to like. We can notice other’s interests (golf, NASCAR, woodworking, music) and if we have common interests talk to them about them OR express interest in things they seem to have developed some acumen in that you would like to know more about. In other words, without risking credibility or being insincere, express an interest in who they are as a person and indicate that you, LIKE THEM, have an interest in building ships in a bottle (or whatever).
As with reciprocation, there are things you can do to make LIKING, in either sense, stand out as more memorable to the other person. First, be genuine…there is almost NO ONE I can think of with whom I don’t have SOME shared interest. I don’t need to “invent” a mutual interest; there already is a genuine one. Also, showing your like for someone with an overt act of kindness is a great way to demonstrate your liking them AND to leverage reciprocation. The act should be genuine, appropriate, and aimed directly to them as something between you and not as if it is for show. You shouldn’t tell other people that you have done the person the kindness unless it is alright with them – THEY may tell others, but YOU shouldn’t.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS remember that being sincere is more important than being persuasive in the long run.
Next time, we will talk a little more about tools of persuasion.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
• Prepare yourself by thinking through your interests.
• Ask questions to understand the other party's interests.
• Be open to modifying your position in order to satisfy everyone's interests.
• Your credibility is crucial; don't do something that could sacrifice it in order to persuade someone. It is never worth it when they find out that you did.
• The emotional elements of a given situation are enormously persuasive; avoiding regret, appearing heroic, or feeling valued and respected are many times more persuasive than pure logic. Pure logic can help you choose between options, but emotion is what makes us WANT something to the point of NEEDING it.
• Do not criticize people if it can be helped, and it almost always can.
• Pay attention to behaviors, and not individuals; process, not people. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
Let's talk about some of the things that Robert Cialdini, the pioneering social psychologist, has learned are at the root of what persuades us.
Cialdini’s groundbreaking work identified six different areas in which can create persuasive advantage. I will cover two of them this week.
Reciprocity - Relationships are most comfortable when they are balanced; when neither person is beholden to the other. When they get out of balance, we are driven to 'put them back in balance'. if a person does something for us, we want to reciprocate and do something for them.
To use this persuasively is simple to understand from a "you owe me one" perspective, but that approach has limits and Cialdini discourages using those words. Instead, you would like to cause your counterpart to appreciate the value of the thing you did, and reciprocate with something of equal value. "You owe me one" doesn’t always inspire others to look at the value of what you did as much as to figure out a way to reciprocate soon.
It is also important to consider something that we already know, and studies have confirmed; after doing a favor for someone, the value of the favor tends to INCREASE in the memory of the favor GIVER and DECREASE in the memory of the favor RECEIVER. Although I know of no way to prevent this effect, Cialdini describes ways to minimize it.
You need to “cement” the value of the favor in the mind of the person for whom you did it. If you stayed late and did extra work for them, you might wait until JUST after they have received the benefit of it and ask “You know that report I did for you the other night? Did that turn out to be helpful to you?” When they say “yes, it was – and thanks very much” reply with something like “well – I am glad it turned out to be valuable for you. And I know you would do the same for me, right?”
This is 5 times as effective as saying something like “oh, that’s ok – no big deal” when it comes to making the favor seem important longer AND in ensuring the other party reciprocates with something of value.
Liking – In Cialdini’s context, this means two things: a) we are more likely to be persuaded by someone we LIKE (vs. someone we DON’T like) and, b) we are more likely to be persuaded by someone we think is LIKE us (vs. someone we think is NOT like us). This, too, is pretty intuitive so how can we use this info to be more persuasive in a working environment?
The way we dress sends a message about who we are. If we want someone to like us, we could try to appear more like the kinds of people that they tend to like. We can notice other’s interests (golf, NASCAR, woodworking, music) and if we have common interests talk to them about them OR express interest in things they seem to have developed some acumen in that you would like to know more about. In other words, without risking credibility or being insincere, express an interest in who they are as a person and indicate that you, LIKE THEM, have an interest in building ships in a bottle (or whatever).
As with reciprocation, there are things you can do to make LIKING, in either sense, stand out as more memorable to the other person. First, be genuine…there is almost NO ONE I can think of with whom I don’t have SOME shared interest. I don’t need to “invent” a mutual interest; there already is a genuine one. Also, showing your like for someone with an overt act of kindness is a great way to demonstrate your liking them AND to leverage reciprocation. The act should be genuine, appropriate, and aimed directly to them as something between you and not as if it is for show. You shouldn’t tell other people that you have done the person the kindness unless it is alright with them – THEY may tell others, but YOU shouldn’t.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS remember that being sincere is more important than being persuasive in the long run.
Next time, we will talk a little more about tools of persuasion.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Break Bread with Us
I have a few speaking engagements in the next few weeks that are open to the public. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to visit with me and see what these organizations have to offer. As you all know, I speak often and our local professional organizations are outstanding. Don’t miss the opportunity to find out just how much you can get out being a part of them.
Jan 24 – Dinner Meeting - Speaking about "Persuasion" to the International Council of Systems Engineering (INCOSE). See this link and RSVP as indicated to jolane@usc.edu
Jan 26 – Dinner Meeting - Speaking at the Project Management Institute (PMI) on the subject of "Building and Maintaining Productive Business Relationships". See this link and RSVP as indicated at the bottom of the page.
Feb 2 – Speaking for InlandNet.org on a subject yet to be determined, and I will make it interesting. This is a great group for people engaged in an employment transition. Note that the meeting is in the morning from 8:00am to 10:30am.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Jan 24 – Dinner Meeting - Speaking about "Persuasion" to the International Council of Systems Engineering (INCOSE). See this link and RSVP as indicated to jolane@usc.edu
Jan 26 – Dinner Meeting - Speaking at the Project Management Institute (PMI) on the subject of "Building and Maintaining Productive Business Relationships". See this link and RSVP as indicated at the bottom of the page.
Feb 2 – Speaking for InlandNet.org on a subject yet to be determined, and I will make it interesting. This is a great group for people engaged in an employment transition. Note that the meeting is in the morning from 8:00am to 10:30am.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Busy New Year?
CONTEST - I NEED YOUR HELP. I will be giving online and face-to-face three hour workshops starting in March. These will be on more communication tasks like "How to Repair Your Reputation with Your Boss", "How to Communicate your Strategy" or "How to Communicate with Engineers". Send me your ideas. IF I USE YOUR IDEA YOU WILL GET A FREE SEAT TO THE WORKSHOP!
Just write me at gregg@PFComm.com RIGHT NOW with something you'd like to learn how to communicate. DO IT RIGHT NOW.
I was reminded by several long time readers over the last week that I am late on the first newsletter of 2011, so I posted one this week and promise you all that I hope to be "tardy no more" this year.
The Pathfinder message is getting out and I should have figured it would - you help people communicate and they communicate about YOU!
BOY, has it been busy. I even had to hire a helper to help me get out from my backlog. Lucky me. I hope things pick up for all of you. The last two months have brought opportunity beyond my dreams.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Just write me at gregg@PFComm.com RIGHT NOW with something you'd like to learn how to communicate. DO IT RIGHT NOW.
I was reminded by several long time readers over the last week that I am late on the first newsletter of 2011, so I posted one this week and promise you all that I hope to be "tardy no more" this year.
The Pathfinder message is getting out and I should have figured it would - you help people communicate and they communicate about YOU!
BOY, has it been busy. I even had to hire a helper to help me get out from my backlog. Lucky me. I hope things pick up for all of you. The last two months have brought opportunity beyond my dreams.
- I accepted an invitation to sit on the Business Advisory Council for UCSD extension and am looking forward to our first meeting.
- I am putting together an online class for UCSD on Persuasion and Influence for Quality and Process Improvement Professionals.
- I am working with a committee within the American Society for Quality at the national level to write a Body of Knowledge for Teamwork Excellence, and create a certification program for that Body of Knowledge.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Elements of Persuasion #3
The persuasion techniques I have written about in the last couple of newsletters were geared towards teaching some of the “ground rules” regarding the subject. I hope you have all had an opportunity to try the techniques show. Those of you that have, no doubt are starting to see some difference in you results and would like a little more to work with. Here we go.
When you are discussing a work problem, and you are trying to persuade someone to help, go easy on the people involved. When faced with an accounting problem, for instance, don’t refer to “the dummies in accounting” or “the stubborn accounting manager”. In fact, do the opposite – the bigger the problem, the easier you go on the people.
• If you have a big accounting issue, say “I am certain that the people in accounting are doing all they can”.
• If it is a REAL problem, say “The people in accounting have been stellar in trying to help me with this, and I think we still have a lot more to do”.
• If it is a HUGE problem, say “the people in accounting are not the problem here – they are just like everyone else; doing all they can with what they have. We have to find a way to better communicate our needs and work with them to find solutions. This issue has significant impact and has to turn around before we find ourselves stopped from working on anything else”.
What I am saying is that the bigger the problem, the easier you go on the PEOPLE and the harder you get on the PROBLEM. This practice will help you win allies and make it far more likely for the people to want to help you and focus on the PROBLEM.
If you find yourself being attacked by another, recast the attack on you as an attack on the problem. For instance, let’s say you are a program manager and someone says to you “you’re just like all program managers; every one of you is ready to push us all to work more and work faster, but you have no idea how to do my job!” Do not address the attack on you. The best thing to do is to recast this as an attack on the problem. “I feel the same way. The pressure to get these jobs done is huge, and we are all so specialized that we can’t really grasp the details of each other’s job. It is a big problem, especially when it comes to budgeting time to do the work. We have set a deadline and the customer is counting on us to meet it. We need to discuss a better way to set deadlines for future jobs”
These are two ways you can keep the discussion from becoming about the people involved and focusing back on the PROBLEM you want to solve.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
When you are discussing a work problem, and you are trying to persuade someone to help, go easy on the people involved. When faced with an accounting problem, for instance, don’t refer to “the dummies in accounting” or “the stubborn accounting manager”. In fact, do the opposite – the bigger the problem, the easier you go on the people.
• If you have a big accounting issue, say “I am certain that the people in accounting are doing all they can”.
• If it is a REAL problem, say “The people in accounting have been stellar in trying to help me with this, and I think we still have a lot more to do”.
• If it is a HUGE problem, say “the people in accounting are not the problem here – they are just like everyone else; doing all they can with what they have. We have to find a way to better communicate our needs and work with them to find solutions. This issue has significant impact and has to turn around before we find ourselves stopped from working on anything else”.
What I am saying is that the bigger the problem, the easier you go on the PEOPLE and the harder you get on the PROBLEM. This practice will help you win allies and make it far more likely for the people to want to help you and focus on the PROBLEM.
If you find yourself being attacked by another, recast the attack on you as an attack on the problem. For instance, let’s say you are a program manager and someone says to you “you’re just like all program managers; every one of you is ready to push us all to work more and work faster, but you have no idea how to do my job!” Do not address the attack on you. The best thing to do is to recast this as an attack on the problem. “I feel the same way. The pressure to get these jobs done is huge, and we are all so specialized that we can’t really grasp the details of each other’s job. It is a big problem, especially when it comes to budgeting time to do the work. We have set a deadline and the customer is counting on us to meet it. We need to discuss a better way to set deadlines for future jobs”
These are two ways you can keep the discussion from becoming about the people involved and focusing back on the PROBLEM you want to solve.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
Monday, December 6, 2010
Elements of Persuasion #2
Last week, we touched on two very important activities involved in persuasion – establishing credibility and aligning with your counterpart’s values. This week, I’d like to talk a little bit about how to help them use their own thinking to stay open to new perspectives.
A very difficult part of being persuasive is helping a person appreciate your perspective. If we could do something to make that happen, to keep the other person in a frame of mind that helps them remain receptive to the logical and emotional elements we present, we would have a much better chance of helping them understand our perspective and perhaps to adopt it. It is important to allow the person to use their own thinking process to connect with your perspective. It is not enough to tell them how to feel; it is important to help them feel it.
Here are some things to think about if you have an issue that you consider serious and are having trouble persuading others to share that feeling:
• Discussions that end up with determining a course of action usually start by discussing a symptom and moving to a problem. Usually, we start talking about a symptom of the problem first (because we see symptoms first). We might say that the company has a problem because sales are down. Then as we discuss it further, we’ll find that low sales are a symptom. The real problem is that the company isn’t profitable. That is the real problem here. “Sales are down” is not really broad enough to do much about (except sell more). The reason low sales are a problem is the effect on profit. Profitability can be addressed a few different ways. It is best to frame the problem in such a way that there are a variety of ways to solve it. Over time, I have found that framing the problem this way encourages many more ideas.
• The next thing I talk about is NOT the potential solutions, but the impact that the problem presents. I do this for several reasons, and here are two: first, it gives us an estimate of the size of the problem – the weight of it. If it has little impact on us, then it is a smaller problem. Secondly, it makes the issue fr more real to have a realistic discussion of how it harms us. Before anyone decides we aren’t going to do anything about it at this time, I like to remind them that we all said it carried a certain impact. Are we willing to live with it? Usually, if we have discussed it openly and fully (and I try to make sure we really explore impact), we look at things very carefully before moving on. Impact of not being sufficiently profitable, for instance, is that we don’t have money for training or internal research and development, or other important things.
• I then move to eventual consequence. This is the impact to us if we don’t do anything. For instance, if we don’t do anything about our profitability, and don’t train our people or do sufficient research and development, we will certainly become less competitive and will likely go out of business. I like to let everyone that can do something about the problem participate in the “Impact and Consequences” discussion so that things can be very real. This has a strong emotional charge to it.
• There is a phenomenon called “Avoidance of Regret” that is a very strong motivator. People don’t like to feel regret, that they made a bad choice and now have to suffer (or cause others that they care about to suffer) the consequences. People will usually take a proactive course IF THEY TRULY FEEL that regret is a likely consequence of taking a reactive course. The trouble is getting them to feel it. I have found that asking them to imagine how they will feel if things turn out in that regrettable state is powerful. I say straight forwardly “Before we decide, I want you to think for a moment about how you will feel if you decide to do nothing about this situation now, and in a few months the thing we believe will happen comes to pass and we find ourselves in a non-competitive position with dire consequences. How will you feel about the choice you made today to do nothing?” If I have done the above steps well, and made everything transparent to all involved, they will usually be persuaded to be proactive.
Insist on great business results! Go to Pathfinder Communication
A very difficult part of being persuasive is helping a person appreciate your perspective. If we could do something to make that happen, to keep the other person in a frame of mind that helps them remain receptive to the logical and emotional elements we present, we would have a much better chance of helping them understand our perspective and perhaps to adopt it. It is important to allow the person to use their own thinking process to connect with your perspective. It is not enough to tell them how to feel; it is important to help them feel it.
Here are some things to think about if you have an issue that you consider serious and are having trouble persuading others to share that feeling:
• Discussions that end up with determining a course of action usually start by discussing a symptom and moving to a problem. Usually, we start talking about a symptom of the problem first (because we see symptoms first). We might say that the company has a problem because sales are down. Then as we discuss it further, we’ll find that low sales are a symptom. The real problem is that the company isn’t profitable. That is the real problem here. “Sales are down” is not really broad enough to do much about (except sell more). The reason low sales are a problem is the effect on profit. Profitability can be addressed a few different ways. It is best to frame the problem in such a way that there are a variety of ways to solve it. Over time, I have found that framing the problem this way encourages many more ideas.
• The next thing I talk about is NOT the potential solutions, but the impact that the problem presents. I do this for several reasons, and here are two: first, it gives us an estimate of the size of the problem – the weight of it. If it has little impact on us, then it is a smaller problem. Secondly, it makes the issue fr more real to have a realistic discussion of how it harms us. Before anyone decides we aren’t going to do anything about it at this time, I like to remind them that we all said it carried a certain impact. Are we willing to live with it? Usually, if we have discussed it openly and fully (and I try to make sure we really explore impact), we look at things very carefully before moving on. Impact of not being sufficiently profitable, for instance, is that we don’t have money for training or internal research and development, or other important things.
• I then move to eventual consequence. This is the impact to us if we don’t do anything. For instance, if we don’t do anything about our profitability, and don’t train our people or do sufficient research and development, we will certainly become less competitive and will likely go out of business. I like to let everyone that can do something about the problem participate in the “Impact and Consequences” discussion so that things can be very real. This has a strong emotional charge to it.
• There is a phenomenon called “Avoidance of Regret” that is a very strong motivator. People don’t like to feel regret, that they made a bad choice and now have to suffer (or cause others that they care about to suffer) the consequences. People will usually take a proactive course IF THEY TRULY FEEL that regret is a likely consequence of taking a reactive course. The trouble is getting them to feel it. I have found that asking them to imagine how they will feel if things turn out in that regrettable state is powerful. I say straight forwardly “Before we decide, I want you to think for a moment about how you will feel if you decide to do nothing about this situation now, and in a few months the thing we believe will happen comes to pass and we find ourselves in a non-competitive position with dire consequences. How will you feel about the choice you made today to do nothing?” If I have done the above steps well, and made everything transparent to all involved, they will usually be persuaded to be proactive.
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