A (Harsh) Lesson In Persuasion
We’ve been together for a while now, so I feel I can share some of my failures with you. I know you won’t judge me.
This is a story that (shamefully) really happened. It was back in the day when I was a young Procurement Manager and was trying to introduce a new supplier to several of our factories.
I’d done the most amazing deal with the new supplier, securing a huge price benefit. I sat in my office in central procurement headquarters feeling smug: high-fiving myself (it was in the days of single occupancy offices) completed the savings report and reclined in my leatherette chair reflecting about my heroic efforts.
My first communication on the roll-out plans for this new supplier was with a group of engineers from our German factories. I really love Germans. The planet is better for having them. They get stuff done and get stuff done right.
But the combination of German AND engineers is special, plus they were heavily dominated by “blue” personality types, which as it happens, as a “yellow”, is my arch nemesis personality type. Those 2 colours make for a lovely green hue, but from a personality point of view, they're total opposites.
I stood in front of the group, selling the vision of what I thought I had achieved. I used humour, exuberant body language and told them how I had made the decision.
They sat unmoved, and even from behind my “I’m not listening to you” personality, I could detect that the mood music was akin to a Mahler funeral march. Not good.
Undaunted, I continued to prattle on about the cost savings I'd achieved. Again, not a flicker of interest.
The cabal of engineers let me finish my “pitch” and then let fly with some killer questions that floored me:
How do you know this product will work?
Where in our company has it been tested?
If we were to test this product on our production lines, who will pay for the lost efficiency?
Who have you engaged from the technical function to approve this change?
I was unable to provide any sensible answers that would convince them to go ahead. My plans were dead in the water. The roll-out, if it happened at all, would be delayed, and my savings would be way smaller than I’d committed. What a shocker.
Where do you even start with what can be learnt from this? Well, let’s have a go…
Define business needs with stakeholders in advance;
Involve them in the decision-making for any planned changes that will impact them;
Understand your audience – who are they, what motivates them, how do you engage effectively with their personality type?
View the proposed change through the lens of the stakeholders – what are the risks that you need to mitigate?
Consider the end-to-end total cost of your proposed change – hidden costs could wipe-out your price saving.
And probably lots, lots more…
Suffice to say, while that experience still haunts me, it represented the most wonderful learning opportunity I could have ever imagined. Danke schoen!
The best days lie ahead.
Martin
