Get Heard, Get Results, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 3 CONVICTION

Establish a ‘Big So What’

‘Believe you can and you’re halfway there.’

Theodore Roosevelt

Scan your mind for those managers, colleagues, contractors and team members who seem to really care about their job. How does their passion and commitment impact on you? When they present a new idea to you, is their enthusiasm infectious? Are you willing to listen to them, to consider their ideas and be open to their influence more readily than others are? Do you find yourself yelling, ‘Yes, yes!’ when they ask you if you’re in?

Truly influential people believe in their ideas. As one client, a senior manager in a digital company, once explained to me:

If someone comes into my office asking for support on an idea, the first thing I assess is whether their heart is in it. Is their own battery pack plugged in and ready to go? If I don’t see that, if I don’t feel it, then I probably won’t trust that person to get the job done. Have they done their homework? Are they thinking about this project on the train, in the shower, while they eat their lunch? Have they got the passion to go out there and drum up support and — even more importantly — to weather the storm they will inevitably face? If there’s a hint of doubt on those, then why would I give them the support they want?

You could read this book, participate in a training course, learn all the practical techniques needed to convince others of your ideas, but building buy-in is a bit like knowing how to dance the ...