“Working with Eric was a pleasure. We developed a good rapport and established a level of honesty and trust. I valued his counsel and recommendations. I find Eric to be very competent in a variety of disciplines. He is able to correctly diagnose organizational problems and suggest solutions that are on point. I found Eric to be a professional with the highest levels of honesty, integrity, and ethical behavior. I would not hesitate to engage his services again in the future.”
Kathy Lueckert,
former Corporate Services Director,
Department of Planning and Development,
City of Seattle
(Kathy is now Director of Planning and Finance for Advocacy and Communications at World Vision.)
“I've worked closely with Eric on developing and presenting the Leadership Eastside community leadership program. He has that rare blend of extensive real-world experience along with a very strong background in theory and research. He moves easily between big picture strategy and the tactical details. Eric brings a superb ability to plan, execute and follow-through, both as a behind-the-scenes planner and as an upfront instructor and facilitator.”
Annalee Luhman,
founding board member,
Leadership Eastside
Conflict and change: The blog
14 April 2009
Slow down there, cowboy!
You’ve got do something! You’ve got to get the boss to change her mind, rally your team, convince a customer, prepare a “silver-bullet” presentation. There’s no time to waste!
Whoa, Hoss! Successful influence is less about doing stuff and more about doing the right stuff. And, the right stuff isn’t usually what comes to mind first.
One thing I’ve noticed about “influence” is that people don’t think much about using it until they hit a wall. They have a setback. As a friend of mine says, they get “spanked.” Now, they’re interested in learning about influence.
When you get spanked, it may due to rushing to action without pausing to reflect on just what the best action might be. If you haven’t weighed at least a few different ideas for how to proceed, chances are you haven’t found the best action yet. The odds are against you.
In US culture, we are biased toward action. Just do it! Get it done! Move, move, MOVE!
A big problem with this approach is that taking the wrong action can actually set you back. Take the wrong step, and you can annoy the person you want to influence or piss off an ally. Unthinking action can make achieving your objective even harder, not easier.
In this moment, when you feel you must act, it may be better to “go slow to go fast.” Pause, think, test ideas. Take the time you need to refine your thinking, define your choices and then pick the best one.
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