We enter into collaborations assuming we’ll succeed as teamwork partners. Yet we rarely achieve true partnership: Because we listen uniquely and through biased filters we sometimes mistakenly presume intent or misconstrue what’s been said and agreed upon. Problem: Flawed assumptions, wasted time and relationship capital, and restricted scope. There is often not enough diversity to […]
When we seek funding or respond to an RFP, our proposals meet the criteria requested, presenting well-positioned information to persuade the decision makers to choose us. But winners are chosen by some mysterious set of criteria not only unknown to us, but often unknown to them. I began thinking about this when a friend told […]
I’m a dancer. When I studied the Argentine Tango there was a foundational rule that I believe is true for all leaders: The leader opens the door for the follower to pass through, and the leader then follows. If anyone notices the leader, he’s not doing his job. The goal is to showcase the follower. […]
Historically, we have approached change through information sharing and leadership, assuming with a good leader who is able to explain and offer rational and compelling information, changees will be eager and willing to change – and will know how to process and make use of the information. But given the resistance we get, we know […]
Change is not the problem – we like doing new and different things. What we don’t like is the disruption change causes. And usually, we attempt to create change by pushing new information – new activities, new ideas, new rationale – into what’s already there and hoping the reasoning behind the change request will carry […]
There is no reason to try to make an appointment with a cold call. Think about it. Who will take the appointment? Only those already seeking a solution, so the moment you enter you’re already in a competition. You have no idea if the person you’re speaking with offers a fair/accurate representation of the buyer’s […]
Offering free programs to prospects is a massive waste of resource: not only are you trying to get prospects you don’t know to spend time they don’t have to do something they don’t think they need, it becomes a double sale – you must then discard ‘no-sayers’ from your list of perfectly good prospects who […]
I’ve heard there are 5.7 decision makers for each sale, and ‘unknown’ influencers. Yet there is no difference between ‘decision makers’ and ‘influencers’. If you want to move and your daughter is in her last year of high school, is she a decision maker or an influencer? If your tech group isn’t available to implement […]
