Session Title: Managing by InfluencePresenter Name: Thierry Roullier

www.b2bproductmakers.com

Thierry Roullier

The Reality

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No one reports to you

Some people want you or your org to fail

Management cannot prioritize

Accountability for the Product

Constant resource constraints

Coworkers have competing agendas

Daily tide of tactical work

Thierry Roullier3

You now can get alignment

You can make your case to get resources you need

You can redirect some of it to someone else

It does not matter, because your team is behind you

Now they can with your help

They don’t dare to attack you

No one contests this fact

No one reports to you

Some people want you or your org to fail

Management cannot prioritize

Accountability for the Product

Constant resource constraints

Coworkers have competing agendas

Daily tide of tactical work

Imagine an alternative reality where you could influence anyone

Thierry Roullier4

Session Objective

Learn from one another about influence and persuasion

Note 1: I did not practice many of the material presented here. In fact I may have done the opposite in many cases!Note 2: The material comes from personal and shared experience as well as from literature and research on these topicsNote 3: This presentation will be superficial and I may be stating the obvious at times

Thierry Roullier

About me. In short: I have nothing to sell

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Thierry Roullier

Prerequisite 1: The Vision

• Having a well thought-out, step-by-step understanding of where things are and where they need to be and when is absolutely key to influencing your team

• The beautiful thing is that you don’t need to have that vision right off the bat. The simple fact of being the engine driving the development of that vision will help you coalesce everyone’s energy toward a common goal

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Thierry Roullier

Prerequisite 2: Mapping the Emotional Landscape

• These “tapes” may be running in the heads of your team players• Such tapes automatically trigger a standard set of behaviors that will hurt your

product• You may not be able to do much about it, but you should be aware of the existence

of tapes like these, otherwise you will hit the same wall all over again

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It will n

ever work We’ve tried it before

Product Managers

add no value If I wait lo

ng enough, it will g

o away

We can’t deliver

Source Robert Cialdini “Influence, Science and Practice”

Thierry Roullier

Convincing others: what does NOT work?

• The John Wayne approach: Make a case with an up-front hard sell. It gives your adversaries the ammunition they need to bring you down

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier

Convincing others: what does NOT work?

• Resisting compromise: showing no flexibility or interest in addressing other constituents’ concerns is a sure way to kill your ideas

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier

Convincing others: what does NOT work?

• Believing that the secret of persuasion lies in presenting great arguments. It matters, but it is not enough

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier

Convincing others: what does NOT work?

• Assuming that persuasion is a one-shot effort. Convincing a team is a process, not a one-time event.

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier

So what DOES work?

• Things will get a lot easier if you have the credibility to bring the team to a win. – Not too many individuals who have been in the same organization for a long

time have a pristine track record.

– New employees, hired to provide leadership are given the benefit of the doubt for a while, but must swim in colder water after a few weeks.

– If you lack credibility, borrow it

– Facts and figures will also help you enlist critical minds.

– If you lose credibility, it is hard to get it back, but that’s no reason not to try

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

You must first establish credibility

Thierry Roullier

So what DOES work?

• Metaphors• Experiences• Examples• Narratives• Jokes

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Tell a story!

Thierry Roullier

So what DOES work?

• Even if your credibility is high, your position must still appeal strongly to the people you are trying to convince.

• What will be of interest to the individuals who are key to your success?

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Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Frame for common ground

Thierry Roullier

Other tricks: Labeling

“I know there’s still good in you”

Luke Skywalker, Return of the Jedi

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“Assigning a trait, attitude, belief or other label to a person, and making a request consistent with that label”

Source Noah Goldstein et al. “50 scientifically proven ways to be persuasive”

It works!

Thierry Roullier

Other tricks: The power of “Because”

“A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor, we will be more successful if we provide a reason”

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Source Robert Cialdini “Influence, Science and Practice”

Thierry Roullier

Enough of me sucking all the oxygen out of the room

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