HR Magazine,September 2005,Vol. 50, Issue 9, page 159

HR Magazine,September 2005,Vol. 50, Issue 9, page 159

Get Them On Your Side

GET THEM ON YOUR SIDE By Samuel B. Bacharach, Platinum Press, 2005, 234 pages
List price: $19.95, ISBN: 1-59337-278-7

Jason figured out that by giving large supermarkets and big-box retailers a 5 percentdiscount on his company's breakfast cereals, company sales would increase 15 percent.

A good, simple idea, he thought.

Then the production manager said that a jump in sales could end up costing the companymoney if it had to buy a new factory. The technology specialist said that adding the discount to invoices would require major programming. The product manager insisted that other customers would demand the same discount. All of them told Jason to back off.

An idea that seemed to have only positive outcomes wouldn't seem so negative to thosewho would be affected, however, if they had different agendas.

In Get Them On Your Side, Samuel B. Bacharach, director of Cornell University's Institute for Workplace Studies, helps you understand co-workers" and bosses' approaches and shows you how to create coalitions that get meaningful backing for your initiatives.

Even someone who is "not obviously powerful in the organization" can succeed by developing political competence—the ability to see what can and can"t be controlled, to anticipate resistance, to decide when to act, and to identify allies, Bacharach says.

First, "map the political terrain." Analyze people's goals and approaches to help anticipate what they'll do when you present an idea. Are they tinkerers—people who prefer incremental change? Or are they overhaulers, who go for broader goals and fundamental change? Are their approaches focused on planning, with well-defined roles, plans and statistics? Or do they improvise, assessing what others do and then reacting?

Bacharach looks at how goals and approaches can mesh. Traditionalists, for instance, combine tinkering and planning in their cautious, experience-based ways. Adjusters see change as inevitable, and they combine tinkering with improvisation, reacting to change as it comes. Developers focus on keeping operations efficient, and they combine an overhauling outlook with a planning style; they are proactive but keep to specific goals.

Once you unlock people's agendas, you can identify potential allies and resisters. You need to determine your own agenda, list key stakeholders affected by your idea, identify their possible goals and find those with approaches similar to yours.

Next, get the right people on your side. Bacharach gives four steps:

• Create your coalition, which can help you overcome resistance and keep up support as your idea progresses.
• Establish your credibility—your trustworthiness and ability to make a suggestion.
• Get initial support through techniques such as co-opting leaders who can advocate for you.
• Justify your action with scenarios that help make your case. You can appeal to listeners' rational sides with numbers, or show them that "everybody's doing it," which can diminish perceived risk.

Now, make things happen. Bacharach coaches readers on how to talk with others to get buy-in and how to talk with resisters. Tips cover how to work out difierences within your coalition, spread your ideas beyond the initial coalition, deal with "counter-coalitions"that may form to resist your ideas, and prevent your own coalition from becoming too insular.