Guru on Your Side
After I gave the first Brown Bag on the new idea, one of the attendees commented, “This is good stuff but no one knows you. You should talk to Jeff or Randy. If they like it, then others will follow.” I immediately went to see these senior programmers and sure enough, at the next Brown Bag, attendance doubled and most of the newcomers told me, “Jeff (or Randy) said I should hear about this.” I was grateful for the help!
Enlist the support of senior-level people who are esteemed by members of the organization.
You are an Evangelist(144) or Dedicated Champion(129) trying to introduce a new idea into your organization.
People in an organization can be reluctant to show interest in a new idea unless it has the support of colleagues they respect.
Most people are continually bombarded with information and are too busy to keep up with the latest and greatest, so they depend on others to help evaluate new ideas. Usually these trusted advisors are senior-level people who are respected by everyone. When these people get behind an idea, it’s one of the strongest kinds of approval you can have.
If managers follow the patterns that Don Olson and Carol Stimmel have written, Shameless Ignoramus and Get a Guru, then they admit they can’t keep up with technical matters and have established a trusting relationship with a reliable technical expert. When such an expert is convinced of a new idea, he can help persuade the managers and other people in the organization.
Therefore:
Enlist the support of experienced, senior-level gurus who are respected by both managers and non-managers alike.
Approach gurus with humility. You’re there to learn from them, not educate them about every nuance of the innovation. Instead of hitting them over the head with your new idea, use Just Enough(180) to present it gradually, asking for the guru’s opinion about it. Instead of saying, “Wow! I was at this cool conference and I found this great new way of doing things. I’m so excited about it! I thought I’d have a meeting and tell the team,” try, “I’m sorry you didn’t get to go to the great conference last week. You would have enjoyed seeing all the latest stuff. I heard about this new way of doing things and I wanted to see what you thought of it before I run off at the mouth telling everyone.”
Another way to approach the guru is by saying something like, “I know you’re the local <topic> guru but I also know that you’re interested in new things, so I thought you’d like to hear about the symposium I attended last week.” Research has shown that engineers are fearful of being labeled an expert in an area if it keeps them from learning new things. They don’t want past knowledge to limit their potential for future growth.
Take the guru out for coffee. Give an appropriate two-minute “elevator speech” on the innovation and then be prepared to listen. Someone with a great deal of experience has a lot to share. Use Personal Touch(198) to show how the innovation can address some of the problems he mentions, and use Tailor Made(234) to suggest where the innovation would fit in the organization.
If you’re new to the organization, ask Connectors(119) who these gurus are. It helps if you know a high-level manager or another guru who can make an introduction.
Give gurus a chance to be involved if they find the innovation worthwhile; encourage them to talk with others or invite them to be part of a Guru Review(161).
This pattern creates a community of people who can supply technical credibility for the new idea. If you can convince them that the innovation is a good idea, others will at least hear you out. Management, especially upper management, often depends on respected individuals to provide an assessment of potential solutions. So once they are on your side, your battles are half over.
But these veterans can make or break you. If the person thinks the idea sounds like a “pile of garbage,” he is likely to share his feelings with others. Encourage him to take on the role of Champion Skeptic(116) so that his resistance can make a constructive contribution.
Alan was the Evangelist for the introduction of Java in our organization. The biggest worries among the skeptics were the fear of the new technology and concerns about performance and scalability. The hardest person to convince was the head of the architecture group. He was a very active, vocal skeptic who had the ear of the vice president. Alan knew that because this skeptic’s expertise was respected in the organization, he would be more open if his expertise was validated. Therefore, Alan tried to understand his objections and help him feel less threatened. The skeptic was ultimately convinced by: (1) the proof of concept and (2) subsequent discussion of how much more difficult it would be to implement the project in C++. After he said Java was okay, convincing the rest of the team was easy.
When presenting a proposal to the faculty senate, Pamela always glances now and then at the person who is the most respected member of the senate. If she sees anything that indicates approval by this guru, such as a nod or a smile, she winds down her speech because she is quite certain that the hard work is done.