Quantum² Resources : Marketing & Management Tools : Winning in the Boardroom

Winning in the Boardroom

At the 2003 SLA annual meeting in New York, the LMD Consulting section's lunch meeting and workshop was on the topic of "Winning in the Boardroom." Former SLA president Donna Scheeder gave a great opening presentation on positive negotiating, with a focus on practical techniques for bringing people together to get things done. Between her presentation and the discussion groups which followed, there were many great ideas! A few favorites:

Do your meeting homework

Before holding or participating in a meeting where you are seeking a favorable decision to a proposal, don't leave the negotiation and discussion to the meeting — work it out beforehand. Examples:

• Meet with each participant individually before the meeting to brief them and ask personally for their support.
• If someone is practicing negative politics, find out what they need and think of ways to help them achieve it as part of your proposal.
• Build alliances or partnerships to increase the number of stakeholders.

Build a favor bank

If you build trust and reliance by going out of your way to help others over time, you will have an invaluable resource when you need support in making a case to management or partnering to get something done across the organization. Examples:

• Help someone new to the organization navigate his way through internal procedures or get connected to the right people.
• Establish a non-work connection with people from outside your own department.
• Remember that time is everyone's most valuable resource.

Know your organization

Have a mental map of who the influencers are for every decision — very often they are not only the obvious organizational managers, but the "experts" whose opinion is sought on key issues because of their depth of knowledge or experience in the organization. Examples:

• Identify two or three people whose opinions are highly respected by your manager and consult with them as part of formulating a plan or proposal.
• Within your client community, identify a couple of people who are trusted and credible to others in their departments and work to strengthen your relationship with them.

Donna also talked about the value of understanding and using the processes within your organization, getting feedback, building alliances, stepping up to fill voids left by others, and giving more credit to your allies and supporters than to yourself. It was great guidance for taking a positive approach to organizational politics.

For an example of a power map see: http://www.itstime.com/oct97map.htm