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The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas
Mario Moussa, Ph.D., MBA Co-Director, Wharton Strategic Persuasion Workshop Senior Consultant, Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania [email protected]/267-549-6694
Principles matter.
2
Influence
Persuasion
Negotiation
3 Source: Jeff Immelt quoted in Joe Nocera, “Running G.E., Comfortable In His Skin,” NYT, C1, 6/9/07.
Formal authority has limits.
§ “When you run General Electric, there are 7 to 12 times a year when you have to say, ‘you’re doing it my way.’ If you do it 18 times, the good people will leave. If you do it three times, the company falls apart.”
§ Will power is a limited resource.
The Principles
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Influence IQ Test
“The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use.”
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§ Self-Awareness
§ Situational Awareness
Two success factors
Goals § Goals and empathy
§ Algorithmic vs. heuristic
§ Communications Executive: “There’s no way to put this on a piece of paper, or create a bible. There has to be a circle of trust.”
§ Collaboration takes place in complex situations, requiring high-EQ, “pro-social” behaviors.
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§ Credibility
§ Relationships
§ Beliefs
§ Interests
§ Styles
“Some of my most challenging negotiations involve the people I know best.”
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Build “social capital.”
§ Higher social capital (measured as more connections outside their division) = Average of 15% more earning power than those with lower social capital.
§ Seen as having better ideas.
§ Human Capital = What You Know.
§ Social Capital = Who You Know
Sources: Ronchi, D., Cross, R., & Burt, R.
Beliefs matter.
Sources: “Microsoft’s Lost Decade,” Vanity Fair, August 2012; “Words on Trial,” New Yorker, July 23, 2012
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Tune in.
People are motivated by multiple interests. Focus on the the most powerful one.
“Trade” in the right “currency.”
Pay attention to the pressures the other person is responding to.
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Your political skills matter.
Political skills: strongest predictor of success, outstripping by far both intelligence and personality traits.
Politics = the ability to sell ideas
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Silos are psychological.
§ Functions: “Recurring conflict is inevitable”: § Time horizons: short or long. § Rewards: financial or professional. § Relationships: formal or informal. § Rules: strict or loose. § Business/Industry cultures.
§ Are you BP? § “The most successful companies
extended their efforts beyond changing existing structures and systems.”
Sources: Organization and its Environment, Lawrence and Lorch; Managing Across Borders, Barlett and Ghosal
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NEGOTIATION NEGOTIATION NEGOTIATION
PERSUASION
INFLUENCE
You have choices in pursuing your goals.
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Changing minds is a four-step process.
1. Survey your situation: What do I want to do or communicate, and how do I present it? Who are the decision makers and influencers? What is my “stepping stone” strategy?
2. Remove the barriers: Credibility, Relationships, Beliefs, Interests, Styles.
3. Make your pitch: Make it simple, support it with the right kind of reasons, and make it memorable.
4. Secure your commitments: Target key individuals. Manage the politics of your situation. Create a “snowball effect.” Make trades when you need to . . .
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Influence the influencers.
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Practice strategic relationship-building.
§ Prepare
§ Build trust § Apologize if you break it
§ Ask for favors – reciprocity § Ben Franklin
§ Match styles – similarity § Trump and his lawyer
§ Make an effort to be friendly § “Slight attentions often bring back
reward as great as it is unlooked for.”
§ Meet face to face when the stakes are high
§ Parsons and Icahn
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Set your goals carefully. Types of goals:
§ Idea-polishing—Asking for input: no agreement required!
§ Access—Requesting an introduction to an influencer.
§ Attitude—Looking for the “Hmm, good idea!” response.
§ Authorization—Getting approval and even resources to take the next step.
§ Endorsement—Seeking active support in public or behind the scenes.
§ Decision—Securing formal sign-off.
§ Implementation—Embedding your idea in policies and procedures.
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Beliefs overpower facts.
§ Persistence
§ Shift audiences
§ Fly under the radar screen
§ One small step
§ Position your idea around a deeper core value
"It's easy to see how a photograph like that could fool the untrained eye.”
-- Founder of the Flat Earth Society
Styles: How do you make your point?
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Tune into the right channel.
Adapted from influence research conducted by David Kipnis and Gary Yukl, and other sources.
A. Authority (emphasis on using formal position or rules) B. Rationality (emphasis on using reasons) C. Vision (emphasis on organizational goals, purposes, and aspirations)
D. Relationship (emphasis on liking, similarity, and reciprocity)
E. Interests/Incentives (emphasis on using trades and compromises)
F. Politics (emphasis on managing perceptions and building consensus)
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Self Organization
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More Self-Oriented
Higher
More Other-Oriented
Lower
DRIVER
CHESS PLAYER COMMANDER
PROMOTER
Self vs. Other
Persuasion Styles
Volume
What is your Persuasion Style?
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I am known for saying
exactly what is on my mind
I excel at understanding other people’s feelings
I am outspoken and expressive
When I speak, I do so forcefully but quietly
100%
100%
100%
100%
0%
0%
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More Self-Oriented
Higher
More Other-Oriented
Lower
DRIVER
CHESS PLAYER COMMANDER
PROMOTER
Self vs. Other
Persuasion Styles
Volume
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Leadership Reflection
§ What is one small adjustment you can make in your communication (e.g., focus more on vision or relationships) or persuasion style (focus more on others, increase energy, etc.) to enhance your effectiveness as a leader?
§ What are the situations in which it is most important to make this adjustment?
§ Notes:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
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Adjust.
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Cognitive perspective-taking
§ “If there is any secret to success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as your own.” —Henry Ford
§ Historical studies: Lenin vs. Trotsky, Castro vs. Che Guevara, Ulysses S. Grant vs. Robert E. Lee.
“People make their decisions based on what the facts mean to them, not on the facts themselves.”
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Urgency!
§ Bring the outside in.
§ Behave with urgency everyday.
§ Find opportunity in crises.
§ Deal with NoNos.
Source: Kotter
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Leaders need situation awareness.
“I felt speed was essential.” -- Joseph Galli
Communication
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“Forgetting the business logic and the price, there will be options down the road there, I would answer your question about capable and that we weren't really quite capable yet because our army was doing all the other stuff we had to do, particularly the systems conversions. The army will be capable to do other stuff sometime next year, which is reasonable. Doesn't mean we will.”
Are you tapping?
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Focus on reasons rather than facts. § Data-based statistics
§ Should Yahoo run ads next to news stories?
§ Specific examples
§ Abraham Lincoln: “Never ask an argument to do what an illustration can do more easily.”
§ Direct experience: demonstrations and tangible objects. § Should Intel invest in a new semiconductor
chip? § Personal testimony
§ Should you take the medicine recommended by your doctor?
§ Social consensus
§ “Everybody knows . . .”
34 Source: Ch. 7, The Art of Woo
Think PCAN +.
• Problem – A short, concise statement that defines the problem your idea solves (or the need it addresses).
• Cause – An explanation of the cause of this problem or need.
• Answer – Your solution (or answer) for the situation.
• Net benefits – A summary of why your answer is the best available, all options considered.
Secure Commitments
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Start with small steps.
“Knowledge doesn’t change behavior. Practice changes behavior.” -- Monique Sternin
Source: “When Deviants Do Good,” NYT 2/27/13
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Be a “choice architect.”
§ The “flu shot lecture”
§ “Look right!”
Source: Nudge
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Generate positive momentum.
Radishes or Cookies?
Sources: Nudge; Switch; Wansik
