Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness By Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein
BOOK: It's cutting edge behavioral science; a look at how you make choices, how they can lead to mistakes, and what you can do to make better ones.
Fast Company
MAGAZINE: Smart attitudes and information for entrepreneurs and business professionals. "My 2 favorite magazines: Fast Company & Economist - hands down" ~ Janice, CEO Coaching Circles
Online Resource of the Month, Dec. 2006 Accompli
ONLINE RESOURCES: PowerPoint Presentations, Articles and more on Change, Leadership Development and Teams, at no cost at Accompligroup.com.
What Coaches Suggest
Here is our set of products and services we believe will assist you in sharpering your communication skills. Books, magazines, reports, tools, PowerPoints and much more.
The Art of Influencing Up by Marshall Goldsmith
Comments (0)
"Great wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data." —Peter Drucker
Knowledge workers are people who know more about what they are doing than their boss does. My guess is that you, like most of my readers, are a knowledge worker. Many knowledge workers (especially those with technical backgrounds) have years of education and experience that enable them to come up with great ideas.
Yet this same group has almost no training in how to "influence up" and ensure that their great ideas actually get accepted. Great ideas that are never implemented don't make much of an impact on the organization.
The guidelines listed below are intended to help you do a better job of influencing your upper management. They won't always ensure your success, but they will definitely improve your odds!
Take responsibility. Think like a salesperson—not a technician.
In many ways, influencing up is similar to selling products or services to external customers. They don't have to buy—you have to sell!
Any good salesperson takes responsibility for achieving results. No one is impressed with salespeople who blame their customers for not buying their products. When making your pitch, treat upper managers like great salespeople treat their customers.
While the importance of taking responsibility may seem obvious in external sales, an amazing number of people in large corporations spend countless hours blaming management for not buying their ideas, as opposed to blaming themselves for not selling those ideas. If more time were spent on developing our ability to present ideas and less on blaming management, a lot more might get accomplished.
Focus on the big picture—not just what's in it for you.
An effective salesperson would never say to a customer: "You need to buy this product, because if you don't, I won't achieve my objectives!"
Effective salespeople relate to the needs of the buyers. They don't expect buyers to relate to their needs. In the same way, effective "upward influencers" relate to the larger needs of the organization, not just to the needs of their unit or team.
When influencing up, focus on the impact of the decision on the overall corporation. In most cases, the needs of the unit and the needs of the corporation are directly connected. In some cases, this connection isn't so obvious. Don't assume that executives will automatically make the connection between the benefit to your unit and significant, positive impact for the larger corporation.
Continued...
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME FEEDBACK ON THIS by Molly Rose Teuke Comments (1)
I’m never giving anyone feedback, ever again. Really. Who among us but the most stoic (which doesn’t include me) doesn’t flinch when we hear, “Can I give you a little feedback?”
From now on, I’m offering input. I’ll make an observation, share my perspective, even offer a suggestion if you ask for it. Just don’t ask me for feedback.
Continued...
EXCERPT: 'THE TROUBLE WITH THINKING' by Lauren Powers Comments (0) Here is an excerpt from Lauren's new book "The Trouble with Thinking: The Dangerous Trip from In the Head to Out the Mouth"
"Finally a communication expert who explains the deep reason that we don't understand each other." ~ Randi Voss, PhD, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
“Beware the Man Who Knows” By ROBERT W. GUNN and BETSY RASKIN GULLICKSON
Leaders become more effective as they become more comfortable saying, I don't know. free
“The Elephant in the Room: Organizational Silence” by Alicia Rodriguez
Imagine that you walk into the Boardroom for a meeting with your senior staff. In the middle of the room sits a large, angry looking elephant. free
“Quote” - George Bernard Shaw
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished."
free
“Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback” By Marshall Goldsmith
Quality communication—between and among people at all levels and every department and division—is the glue that holds organizations together. free
Strengths Finder 2.0
BOOK: Discover your top five talents and the learn strategies to apply them
TOP 10 Books on Personal Finance & Investing: March '07
1. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
By T. Harv Eker 2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad
By Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter ...
Unchain Your Brain
BOOK: An easy-to-follow, step-by-step program that shows you how to boost your brain so you can kick your bad habits.
The Art 
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME FEEDBACK ON THIS 
EXCERPT: 
