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KotBuyi 11-03-026 |
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Buy*in *Saving
Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down John
P. Kotter and Lorne A. Whitehead Harvard
Business Review Press, 2010, 192 pp. ISBN
978-1-4221-5729-9 |
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Kotter says there are a handful of familiar types of
questions used against new ideas everywhere.
These are commonly expressed in a couple of dozen ways and he gives a
suggested common sense response for each one to keep your idea alive and
build support for it. A story
illustrates this counterintuitive process, after which it is explained. John Kotter, author of Leading Change, is one of America's
foremost authorities on leadership and change. He is joined in this work by the Leader of
Education Innovation at the University of British Columbia. Part One - The Centerville Story 1. The Death
of a Good Plan You are presenting to the
Citizens Advisory Committee for the Centerville Library a plan for
Centerville Computers to supply a new computer to the Centerville Library for
every six computers Centerville residents purchase from the computer company. The library badly needs the computers and
doesn't have the funds. Where will
this proposal run into trouble? The characters who derail
good ideas: Pompus
Meani (who wants to look important), Avoidus Riski, Allis Welli, Divertus Attenti, Heidi Agenda, Spaci Cadetus, Lookus Smarti, Bendi Windi. (You can
interpret the names.) 2. Saving the Day in Centerville, Part One Here are the suggested ways
of handling the challengers.
"A simple response can
fight confusion and delays.
Straightforwardness undermines character assassination. Respect prompts, in return, respect for you
and your idea. A constant eye on the
audience whose support you need keeps you from making the dangerous mistake
of focusing only on the aggravating disruptors. Preparation helps you anticipate how people
might totally confuse the conversation….
And…jumping into the fray, walking up to the lions instead of running
away, can actually turn attacks to your advantage, as long as you are
respectful, crisp, sensitive to the entire audience, and so on."
(17) The goal is not to win the
hearts and minds of all who disagree but the majority, more than 51%. (27)
You need a lot of people feeling the idea is important so it doesn't
get shelved when it runs into problems being implemented. (34)
3. Saving the Day in Centerville, Part Two Less can be more in
responding to veiled attacks. People can
"what-if" you forever. So
you respond that new ideas always raise more questions than can be answered at
first but all the concerns will be addressed in due course. (42) 4. Saving the Day in Centerville, Part Three Part Two - The Method 5. Four Ways
to Kill a Good Idea The four ways good ideas
get derailed are by fear mongering, delay, confusion, and ridicule. Fear mongering raises
frightening risks, beginning with an undeniable fact and spinning a tale
ending with frightening consequences.
This is manipulative but effective.
The attacker often uses words that arouse unpleasant feelings because
they are associated with other known negative consequences. Anxiety builds. Delays can make a project
miss its window of opportunity or lose momentum to other ideas that are not
as good. Some questions muddle the
conversation with irrelevant facts, convoluted logic, or multiple
alternatives that prevent clear and intelligent discussion. You can be drawn into such complex
discussions that everyone gets lost and loses interest. Some verbal bullets are
aimed at the presenter rather than the idea, questioning competence,
homework, character, or intelligence.
Some verbal bombs include two or three of the above. But these attacks can
ricochet back on the attackers if well handled. Here are the basic ideas
behind a few of the 24 common questions:
1.
We've been successful; why change? 3.
You exaggerate the problem. 4.
You're implying that we've been failing. 6.
What about this, and that, and this, and that…? 10.
You're abandoning our core values. 16.
We tried this before -- didn't work. 17.
It's too difficult to understand. 18.
Good idea, but this is not the right time. 20.
It won't work here; we're different. 24.
We're simply not equipped to do this.
(84-5) 6. A Counterintuitive Strategy for Saving Your Good
Idea There is only one response
method with a handful of interrelated elements: Capture people's
attention. While you have their
attention, win over their minds. And
win over their hearts. The counterintuitive part
is this: "Don't scheme to keep potential opponents…out of the
discussion. Let them in. Let them shoot at you. Even encourage them to shoot at you!" (88) When there is drama, people
pay attention and their minds are engaged.
This is crucial for understanding an idea, overcoming misguided
objections, and gaining support. (91) Don't try to overcome
attacks with tons of data and extended logic.
Make clear and simple common sense responses. Clear the fog. (92)
Do not treat the attacker
with anger, condescension, or ridicule (even if you're sorely tempted). You draw in your audience emotionally when
you listen carefully and sympathetically.
Respect can win over many hearts.
(95, 97) Calm, self-confidence
is key. Don't be pulled into a
debate with a few. Focus on the
reactions of the majority. Watch for
nodding heads, for smiles or frowns, for growing energy or lethargy. (99) Do your homework in
advance. Anticipate objections. Don't try to wing it. The method: 1. "Gain people's attention by allowing the
attackers in and letting them attack. 2. Then win the minds of the relevant, attentive
audience with simple, clear, and commonsense responses. 3. Win their hearts by, most of all, showing respect. 4. Constantly monitor the people whose hearts and minds
you need: the broad audience, not the few attackers. 5. Prepare for these steps in advance, with the idea in
this book." (103) 7.
Twenty-four Attacks and Twenty-Four Responses Here is a selection of attacks
and responses. 1. Attack: "We've never done this in the past, and things have always worked out okay. Response: True. But surely we have all seen that those who fail to adapt eventually become extinct." (108) 2. A: "Money is the issue, not … (computers, product safety, choice of choir songs, etc). R: "Extra money is rarely what builds truly great ventures or organizations." (110) 6. A: "Your proposal leaves too many questions unanswered. What about this and that, and this and that, and … R: "All good ideas, if they are new, raise dozens of questions that cannot be answered with certainty." (122) 7. A: "Your proposal doesn't go nearly far enough." R: "Maybe, but our idea will get us started moving in the right direction and will do so without further delay." (124) 10. A: "You are abandoning our traditional values." R: "This plan is essential to uphold our traditional values." (130) 12. A: "If this is such a great idea, why hasn't it been done already?" R: "There really is a first time for everything, and we do have a unique opportunity." (137) 14. The "gotcha" problem raises an issue you haven't heard before and haven't prepared for. So say honestly that you are hearing it for the first time. Don't try to invent a solution on the spot. Say that you will have to look into the issue. "But, point out a simple and logical truth. For every other issue that you have studied, you have found a solution. In light of that fact, is it really unreasonable to say that the same will happen in this case? So thanks for alerting us to the potential problem… and thank all of you here who have already alerted us to problems--which have all since been solved." (143) 16. A: "We tried that before, and it didn't work." R: "That was then. Conditions inevitably change (and what we propose probably isn't exactly what was tried before)." (146) 19. A: "This seems too hard! I'm not sure we are up for it." R: "Hard can be good. A genuinely good new idea, facing time consuming obstacles, can both raise our energy level and motivate us to eliminate wasted time." (159) 20. A: "It won't work here, because we are so different." R: "Yes it's true, we're different, but we are also very much the same." (161) 8. A Quick Reference Guide for Saving Good Ideas What if good ideas are
crushed twenty times per day in a big organization? That's more than 5000 good ideas shot down
in just one year? How much does that
cost your organization? |
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