I just read
Daniel Pink’s book “To sell is human – the surprising truth about moving others”. This post is a short summary of it.
Pink claims that these days we are all in
sales. This resonates well with my experience, both when I have been leading
teams, worked as a people manager and as a partner in a start-up; much of my
work has been about moving others. I have also some experience in selling to
customers, and I agree that the basic principles of moving others apply in the
different settings.
Moving
others is also important amongst high performing team members; I have had the
pleasure to see how team members of high performing teams elegantly work to
move the rest of the group.
So, how to be
successful in moving others? Pink’s answer to this is by Attunement, Buoyancy
and Clarity:
Attunement: Understand the other person’s perspective
You can
improve your skills here by knowing if you are extrovert or introvert. If you
are extrovert (like me) watch out; you will benefit from making sure you are a
good listener, ask the right questions and truly listen to the answers, not
being too eager to speak yourself. Power, ego and extroversion can be a hinder. Find the balance of being soft spoken, listen and observe in addition to add your voice and make your point when the timing is right.
Buoyancy: Sense of possibility, and keep a positive
spirit
"Positive
emotions like amusement, appreciation, joy, interest, gratitude and inspiration
broaden people’s ideas about possible actions … making us more receptive and
creative Negative emotions on the other hand will do the opposite."
Also in
this matter, balance is king: The ideal ration between positive and negative thoughts
are 3:1 [Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity: top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 ratio that will change your life]. Appropriate negativity is what provides feedback and help us
adjust and learn.
“I have not
failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
― Thomas A. Edison
Clarity: Find the right problem to solve
Pink argue
that traditional sales came to life when information sharing was limited,
and therefore the sales people had an information knowledge advantage. This is no longer
the case today.
From product development, I know that it is hard to communicate and to know what the customers want (not only from the product development point of view, but the customers themselves does not know what they need nor can they explain it). Today you get an advantage if you are able to help people to find and articulate the right problem to solve.
From product development, I know that it is hard to communicate and to know what the customers want (not only from the product development point of view, but the customers themselves does not know what they need nor can they explain it). Today you get an advantage if you are able to help people to find and articulate the right problem to solve.
Further
reading:
- www.influenceatwork.com
- Influence: science and practice
- Made tostick: why some ideas survive and others die
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