GUEST ACADEMIC
want to growl back, but if you inadvertently growl at this innocent person who’s asking this innocent question, that can get you into trouble with the audience. So take the higher ground, and be states- manlike. People respect that very much.”
Constantly monitor the people whose hearts and minds you need: the broad audience, not the few attackers “Remember it’s not the person who is attacking your idea that you need to win over, it’s the broader group whose support you need,” says Kotter. “It’s easy to focus your attention on the heckler, but this is a mistake. It’s the thoughts and feelings of the majority that deter- mine whether you win or lose the day.”
Prepare for the above steps in advance “Preparation helps enormously, from a few minutes to – if it’s a big deal – sitting down with a group of supporters, and flipping through the more specific objections and challenges that may arise, and using that as brainstorming.”
Gain people’s attention by allowing the attackers to attack “I’ve left this until last, as this is the most counterintuitive of all,” says Kotter. “I mean who wants to be shot at? Who wants a bullet in the arm? So, we’ve all been taught very clever strategies for keeping those we think are going to be the naysayers away – we hold the meeting when George is in Tokyo; we leave Julia off the email list. “In fact we’ve seen that the people who are particularly good at this do the opposite. They try to get all of these naysayers into the con- versation because it will create some interchanges that have drama. “The fundamental problem that we all face these days is informa- tion overload and it’s very difficult to get people’s attention when they have 2,000 things on their ‘to do’ list,” says Kotter. “If you can’t get their attention they’re never going to a) understand the idea, and b) say to themselves at a more deep, emotional level ‘this is important and I should support it’. “Drama helps get people’s attention and one way you get drama is
to let them shoot at you,” Kotter laughs. “It may sound odd but, if you have prepared well and you understand all the points it kind of calms you down, you’re not so fearful about these people. So let the lions in and you’ll conquer the situation.” Appropriately enough, the first half of Buy-in is a fictional narra- tive of a town-hall meeting where the attack strategies described above are ‘dramatised’, while the second half lays out in simple terms the strategies to counter these, in order to gain buy-in for your idea to the benefit of all. In characteristic Kotter style, this latest work is deceptively simple, and easily digested in two sittings. If you’re look- ing to build support for that great idea, this little book might just be the place to start.
Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down by John P Kotter and Lorne A Whitehead is published by Harvard Business Review Press (October 2010)
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