Gerber's proposed innovation demonstrates how easy it is to get past the defenses of anyone in any sort of “sales” situation and get straight on to progress. The overture is slower, yes, since any active-listening-based conversation takes longer to complete than making 10 cold calls or writing 10 impersonal emails. But this path to success, though slower in pace, is shorter. It's a classic example of getting further by going slower.
Here are some other practical applications of this concept.
Dealing with Multiple Tasks and Conflicting Priorities
This is a classic time-management problem in which the stress of overload confounds clear strategic thought. The fast approach is just to buckle down and try to get it all done, even if it means putting aside other tasks and coming in on the weekend to catch up. A
slow
approach might be to take more time to inquire about the task(s) being assigned, specifically, their deadlines. This does not mean asking for more time to complete the job, nor is it a challenge to the authority of the person doing the assigning. It is simply a classic component of project management in which vision is shared across a team. In this case, the onus may be upon you as the recipient of the task request to seek out the information, to learn more about the role this particular task has within a larger project timeline or within the requestor's own schedule. Once again, the key is to ask “you” questions rather than making “I” statements.
Managing Up
The term “managing up” demonstrates that selling can happen upwards, also. Managing up requires that you ask for more frequent opportunities to touch base and meet with your manager or other stakeholders. Meetings of this sort, which need not be overly long, allow for the opportunity to discuss future projects and timelines, and thus lay out more practical work times and delivery times in advance. In the case of two conflicting tasks, there may be many other suitable delivery times that will appease the requestor and work equally well. But without the use of this type of selling technique, there might not be any opportunity to discover them.
Delegation
Time-pressed business people seldom have the time or the patience to delegate. They live in the momentum of the moment. Yet support staff, colleagues, and subordinates are people who for the most part are eager and willing to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities. Such opportunities are often a primary reason for staying loyal to an employer: It's not just the moneyâit's the challenge. Support people can do great things, and in doing great things, can liberate you to realize even greater accomplishments. But true delegation, real assignment of tasks, and the establishment of trust take time.
Consider, for example, a commissioned salesperson, who, immediately after having had a great and productive conversation with a newly won client, then steps away from the phone to take care of the paperwork. Is this a good use of her time? It appears to be, since the paperwork has to get done, but would it not be more advantageous to get back on the phoneâto strike while the iron is still hot? The energy and enthusiasm that come from making that great connection with a new customer should be immediately applied to connecting with another human being! To stop now is to let all that human excellence go cold, like pudding, and no-one wants to have to break through pudding skin to start over. But to leverage this type of momentum, the entrepreneur must slow down somewhere, just long enough to assess where and how the work that supports her business can be delegated. In this case she must sell to herself the idea that doing administrative work herself simply generates a false sense of busy-ness, which, at the end of the day amounts to far fewer sales.
How to Delegate Effectively
⢠First recognize that delegation is a slow act of education and trust, not a quick act of dumping.
⢠Allow time to seek out the right person for the job.
⢠Understand more about the people who work with/for you. Learn who is looking for or is ready for new challenges.
⢠Envision delegation as a three-step process. The first time you delegate a task, you are there to instruct and will therefore be doing all of the work anyway.
⢠The second time, you can expect a delegate to be able to complete the task to 50 percent satisfaction. Be prepared to schedule time to do the other half.
⢠The third time through, a delegate should be able to perform 75 percent of a task. Again, be prepared to schedule time to do the remainder.
⢠By the fourth time, a delegate should have both the skills and the confidence to complete the task almost to your own standards. Be sure to allow time to finish it off.
⢠This is hard work. But in the end you will have freed yourself up for more valuable tasks, and you will have created a more loyal and satisfied employee.
⢠If you have trouble deciding whether to delegate, remember two things: First perfection in others takes time. Second, just because you
can
do a particular task doesn't mean you
should
be doing it. Do you have the desire to slow down and assess the options?
This section looks at the strategic advantages of
cooling down
enough to anticipate and even influence future events. The objective here, as with most of the chapters in this book, is to demonstrate the absolute value of slowing down in order to get further ahead. The school of project management, which I discussed in Chapter 5, strongly espouses the importance of thorough planning in advance of executionâsomething that is very difficult to do when under pressure and a quick, knee-jerk response appears preferable. Here are a few specific how-tos, each of which underscores the value of planning before acting.
PLANNING AHEAD
â¢
Assessing timelines
. Most things take longer than we want them to, but most of us plan too optimistically. This is why Parkinson's Law exists, and why rushing event to event exists. By taking the time to assess realistic timelines, you will be better able to face a realistic day. Even if crises are a regular part of your daily life, by expecting the crisis you remove its reactive, emotional power and turn it back into a regular task. When you schedule a phone call, how long do you think it should take? How long do you want it to take? Can you plan in your mind, before lifting the receiver, how long you will give the person on the other end? Can you inform that person, with correctly chosen, positive words, how long this call should take? When you say yes to a request from a colleague, are you assessing how long this task might take, or are you accepting it for fear of offending? Could you instead take a few minutes with that person and analyze the task together, including alternative timelines or other people to whom you could delegate? These are all small examples of taking the time in advance to identify and reify timelines before moving ahead.
â¢
Preparing for meetings
. Planning ahead is not reserved solely for tasks, of course. When the chairperson of a meeting chooses to slow down a little, he is then able to put more thought not just into the timing of the agenda items but also into the strategic seating of other participants around the table, so as to keep the jokers and the stronger personalities closer, and to maintain a line of sight with the quiet analytical types. This guarantees stronger and more equitable participation and, in turn, greater profitability for the meeting. By planning his entire day, so that he is not running from event to event, the chairperson ensures that he arrives first at the meeting. This allows him to set the stage physically. In addition to seating plans, he can ensure the room is appropriate, any technology to be used, e.g., projectors, teleconference phones, etc., are functioning, in fact, that everything will go smoothly. This helps set the stage emotionally for all participants and helps to focus the meeting from the very start.
â¢
Seating at restaurants or other discussion scenarios
. People in a hurry don't get much of a chance to contemplate the finer points of power within face-to-face relationships. Often, when they're running late and thinking event to event, it seems like a miracle just getting to the next appointment on time. This, of course, removes the possibility of maximum leverage. Take, for example, a two-person meeting. Whether it's at a restaurant or in a meeting room, the person who arrives first gets first pick of the seating. That opportunity profoundly influences the power relationship of the meeting from that point forward. Whoever arrives second must accept second choice. This principle applies regardless of gender or rank. For the person who arrives second, the territory has already been staked. This might make a big difference in the quality of the conversation and its ultimate profitability.
â¢
Knowing as much as possible before a meeting
. Knowledge is power, as many claim, and the more you have of it, the better suited you will be for a well-informed, productive interaction. This means taking the time to perform due diligence on a person or company prior to a first meeting. The information gleaned from this type of research can easily be reviewed during those quiet, clear moments between the time you arrive at the meeting place and the actual start of the meeting. It also refers to ensuring your pre-departure checklist is reviewed and complete, including exact knowledge of directions, cross streets, security access, and anything else that might serve to otherwise delay your arrival and raise your stress level.
Ultimately the act of turning yourself into a
cooler
person is a practiced skill that takes time to perfect, but one that can justify its investment through improved relationships, improved influence, and heightened productivity. It is essential to remember that as human beings we must constantly battle against instincts and emotions that make the quick route more attractive. How often have you found yourself cursing a situation because of speed? A driver cuts you off, a printer jams, a cell phone cuts out. Anger is a high-speed autonomic defense reflex, but as I demonstrated in earlier chapters, it comes at great cost to the human body and to relationships. People have long memories when it comes to vivid, angry outbursts.
Anger embodies the dangers of speed and is the antithesis of
cool
. To conclude, I'd like to share another story, a parable of sorts, taken from the famous “Kansas City Story.” There is no better example of the cost of speed.
A chief executive who sent his staff an email accusing them of being lazy and threatening them with the sack has seen the share price of his company plummet after his message was posted on the Internet.
In the three days after publication of his outburstâwhich gave managers a two-week ultimatum to shape upâstock in the American health care company dropped by 22 percent over concerns about staff morale. It is now trading at more than a third less than it was before the email was sent.
His email to managers read: “We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large number of our employees. The parking lot is sparsely used at 8 a.m.; likewise at 5 p.m. As managers, you either do not know what your employees are doing or you do not care. In either case, you have a problem and you will fix it or I will replace you.”
⦠The CEO wanted to see the car park nearly full by 7:30 a.m. and half-full on weekends. He wrote: “You have two weeks. Tick, tock.”
A week later, the email appeared on a Yahoo financial message board and Wall Street analysts began receiving calls from worried shareholders.
3
⢠Knowing what you look like reinforces the idea that human beings access 70 percent of what they know by way of visual cues and non-verbal communication.
⢠Knowing what you look like enhances charisma and influence.
⢠Knowing what you sound like is as important as knowing what you look like in terms of making you appear more relaxed, credible, and influencial.
⢠Writing requires a discipline and a style that connects to the reader and motivates him to action.
⢠Top-quality writing is achieved by planning and proofing.
⢠The “true end result” refers to what the reader does once having received and read an email communication (or any other type of communication). Are you able to slow down enough to identify the true end result?
⢠Hearing yourself speak is a powerful way of assessing your own ideas.
⢠Selling and influencing others are skills that every person needs. They are based on active listening and trust.
⢠Managing up and delegation are two examples of how time and focus on others can yield greater results for you.
⢠We can learn the value of planning from professional project managers, and then apply their proven techniques to all situations.
COOL
DOWN
Image
⢠How do you come across to others?
⢠How do you know? Who have you asked?
⢠What is your job? In what ways do you “sell” in order to get your work done?
⢠Who do you talk to?
⢠Who do you try to impress? How many people do you need to sell to and on how many levels?
⢠Analyze your current techniques for connecting with the people you wish to influence. How much “telling” do you do? How much “listening”?
⢠What differentiates you from all the other “suits” in the company across the street?
⢠Are your clients aware of what makes you different?
⢠Have you asked them? Have they told you?
⢠What techniques are you willing to try so you can observe your visual and speaking skills?