How to Gain Buy-in Despite Resistance

Human beings seem hard-wired to resist change, even when we believe the promised outcome will be positive. In the late 1980s, for example, when CEO Fred Smith declared that FedEx would become the first service company to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Excellence Award, I didn’t hear of a single employee who was anything but enthusiastic about this goal. That is, until we found out that it required US to change how we worked. Suddenly the status quo looked a lot more attractive to us.

Like other organizations, public safety agencies are subject to stakeholders’ resistance to change. However, Fire Chief Kingman Schuldt has developed a process that has enabled the Greater Naples Fire and Rescue District to overcome successfully the objections by a variety of stakeholders to a number of initiatives. As a result, the agency has been successful in consolidating multiple independent fire districts as well as developing and implementing an organizational strategy, an employee performance system, and a customer satisfaction survey program. Here are the steps in that process:

1. Recognize that winning buy-in is a process, not a task or activity.
2. Take a positive approach.
3. Have a plan to address negativity.
4. Identify all relevant internal and external stakeholders.
5. Tell stakeholders up front what’s in it for THEM to support the change.
6. Create a procedurally fair process that enables widespread participation.
7. Identify, research, and vet potential solutions.
8. Delegate as much responsibility as possible to relevant internal and external stakeholders.
9. Communicate, communicate, communicate – directly, openly, frequently, and honestly.
10. Provide positive constructive feedback.
11. Co-create a big picture of the desired outcome and use it as a touchstone.
12. Address the political aspects of the issue.
13. Invest in outside experts when necessary.

By following the above process, over time, your organization can establish a culture that takes a positive approach to all issues, not just those at the strategic level. Such a culture can result in increased employee morale, greater productivity, and delighted customers. Why not make that investment in your organization?

If you’d like details about the above process and some examples of how it works, take a look at my article Using a Positive Approach to Gain Buy-in from Resistant Stakeholders. To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

Alignment Solutions is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help organizational leaders optimize their business results. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

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© 2016 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.

Tips for Creating Meaningful Measures

By “meaningful measures” I mean indicators that demonstrate performance and/or outcomes clearly to the target audience. For example, in a strategy, measures reveal to stakeholders the progress toward, and achievement of, organizational goals. In an annual report, they demonstrate the value you provide your customers. In a performance management process, metrics enable you to assess employees’ efforts.

Unfortunately, “metrics” or “measure” is a word that can intimidate even the most accomplished leaders. Although measures are an indispensable leadership tool, the reality is that developing meaningful indicators can be challenging. Here are nine suggestions to help make that process easier for you.

1. Focus on measuring RESULTS that are meaningful to your target audience (vs. activities).
2. To determine what results your stakeholders find meaningful, ask and answer two questions from your audience’s perspectives. (Note: when you have more than one type of stakeholder, be sure to address each one’s interests.)
   1. So what?
   2. What’s in it for ME?
3. Include measures of progress as well as of achievement, especially for long-term goals.
4. To identify relevant measures, ask yourself these questions: “How will stakeholders know when we have achieved this goal or objective? How will they know when we have made progress toward achieving it?”
5. Use measures that are as objective as possible, such as quantitative data or comparisons to existing performance standards.
6. Use qualitative measures that assess more subjective outcomes that stakeholders value. For example, use relevant examples of behaviors or outcomes (e.g., “…as demonstrated by…”) to describe a change.
7. Be very, very specific. For example:
   1. Use action verbs that specify WHAT is to be done or what will change. (“Know” and “understand” are not action verbs.)
   2. Identify a specific person WHO is responsible for achievement of the goal or objective, and has the authority to do it. Though he/she may delegate it to someone else, he/she retains ultimate accountability.
   3. Specify WHEN the outcome or progress is expected (e.g., “by 3/15/16” vs. “in March 2016”), or time frame (e.g., “Within 90 calendar days of the Board’s approval of resources”).
8. Include one action verb per measure. For example, “Develop and implement a
   supervisory skills class” requires two objectives and two measures because it contains two actions.
9. Put the measures in contexts that the audience can understand and appreciate. For example, percentages, ratios, and multi-period or “before and after” comparisons allow people to interpret and evaluate results effectively.

If you’d like more information about how to create meaningful measures, take a look at my article Solutions to the 5 Most Common Measurement Mistakes. To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

Alignment Solutions is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help organizational leaders optimize their business results. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

Click here to Join Our Mailing List!

© 2016 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.