Getting Change Right: Element #1

Communicating so people get it and spread it. Most entrepreneurs learn what their 30-second elevator pitch is, just in case they meet someone rushing to work who asks them, “What do you do?” I’ve heard so many of these that they annoy me “We strive to optimize customer experience and be best in class a providing an overall experience of excellence in three core areas….” Say what? Better, says the author, to have “engaged” conversations where you ask others questions, like what is their interest in business development or what issue or problem are they facing. Every good sales person knows that the more the client talks, the more you learn and adapt your knowledge, skills and ability. Amazing how many of us decide on change and try to push it down the organization, thinking that’s the way to get buy-in. Kahan, himself a, studied storyteller, teaches the reader how to tell a great springboard story to help engage an audience. Like a mini-case study, it identifies an incident of change, where some measure of success achieved and invites the audience to imagine what it might be like if this kind of change were to happen in their own company. Thus, another way to get an engaged conversation started.