Tweak small things to get your message across more effectively.
By Lisa Hochgraf
G. Richard Shell told attendees of the first-ever summer CEO Institute I: Strategic Planning that they could "exercise conscious controls" to make themselves more effective. "Small adjustments and bits of self awareness about how you handle other people is precious," emphasized Shell, J.D., professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, where the institute was held. "Learning more about this stuff can make you better at practicing it. You can talk all you want about charisma, but these are things you can get better at." Shell offered small things executives can do to be more effective when pitching their ideas. This process has been documented to be effective, and was first conceived by Aristotle. "This is nothing new," he said. But it works.
1. Define the problem in terms the other party can understand and relate to. "Everyone first wants to know and has to process what the problem is," he said. Is this issue a market share problem, a morale problem or an employee retention problem? Define it in terms everyone can understand and buy into, he advised, especially if you're defining a problem no one else sees. “Make sure you wait for people to see the problem," Shell noted. "People have to get with you at each step of this thing.” You’re going to leave them behind if you don’t wait."
2. Analyze the causes of the problem. "How the heck did that happen?" is the first question in people’s minds. Somewhere in the causes may lurk the fix.
3. Present your answer to the problem and demonstrate its feasibility.
4. Discuss the net benefits of your answer compared with the alternatives. "Whether you like it or not, this is the way people think," Shell said. "Tracking your pitch this way is very smart. You need to be methodical.”
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES senior editor. Read other posts about this year's summer CEO Institute here, here and here. Learn more about CEO Institute and the Certified Chief Executive designation.
