In recent blogs I have been urging you to stand in the shoes of those you wish to influence. Recently I read a blog by futurist Gihan Perera that gave another reason to urge you on. In his blog There’s an ‘I’ in Team he reminds us that the young new entrants to our workforce have a very different WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) than new entrants of past decades. Gihan talks about their wishes including the need for identity and personal development.
So they won’t care what you think unless you can address the bulk of their WIIFM.
I have a little tool that I use when starting the process of identifying the WIIFM of those I wish to influence. It is called the Persuasion Pyramid (see diagram below). It makes you ask how much you really know about your stakeholder and what they are trying to achieve.
Check it out and give yourself a score out of 10 in each box for the six elements of the pyramid. For example, the top two boxes ask how well you understand your stakeholder’s current and future challenges.
Lower scores provide an opportunity to identify more of their WIIFM. Higher scores are where you can concentrate on aligning your services to their need. Simples!
The Persuasion Pyramid
If you have a favourite tool for standing in the shoes of others, please share it with me and I will share it with others if you wish. Or simply drop me a line for a catch up.
Bryan's new book teaches you practical methods to cut through with your advice and make the impact you want to make. Available on Amazon or order here now.
YOUR DECISIONS DEFINE YOU.
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Bryan Whitefield works with strategic leaders across all sectors to help organisations harness uncertainty – uncertainty is the strategic leader’s best friend. He is the author of DECIDE: How to Manage the Risk in Your Decision Making and Winning Conversations: How to turn red tape into blue ribbon. He is the designer of the Risk Culture: Build Your Tribe of Advocates Program for support functions and the Winning Conversations: How to Engage Program for internal advisors. Both can be booked individually or in-house. For more information about Bryan, please click here.
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