Session Title: Managing by Influence Presenter Name: Thierry Roullier

Thierry Roullier The Reality 2 No one reports to you Some people want you or your org to fail Management cannot prioritize Accountability for the Product Constant resource constraints Coworkers have competing agendas Daily tide of tactical work

Thierry Roullier 3 You now can get alignment You can make your case to get resources you need You can redirect some of it to someone else It does not matter, because your team is behind you Now they can with your help They don’t dare to attack you No one contests this fact No one reports to you Some people want you or your org to fail Management cannot prioritize Accountability for the Product Constant resource constraints Coworkers have competing agendas Daily tide of tactical work Imagine an alternative reality where you could influence anyone

Thierry Roullier 4 Session Objective Learn from one another about influence and persuasion Note 1: I did not practice many of the material presented here. In fact I may have done the opposite in many cases! Note 2: The material comes from personal and shared experience as well as from literature and research on these topics Note 3: This presentation will be superficial and I may be stating the obvious at times

Thierry Roullier About me. In short: I have nothing to sell 5

Thierry Roullier Prerequisite 1: The Vision Having a well thought-out, step-by-step understanding of where things are and where they need to be and when is absolutely key to influencing your team The beautiful thing is that you don’t need to have that vision right off the bat. The simple fact of being the engine driving the development of that vision will help you coalesce everyone’s energy toward a common goal 6

Thierry Roullier Prerequisite 2: Mapping the Emotional Landscape These “tapes” may be running in the heads of your team players Such tapes automatically trigger a standard set of behaviors that will hurt your product You may not be able to do much about it, but you should be aware of the existence of tapes like these, otherwise you will hit the same wall all over again 7 It will never work We’ve tried it before Product Managers add no value If I wait long enough, it will go away We can’t deliver Source Robert Cialdini “Influence, Science and Practice”

Thierry Roullier Convincing others: what does NOT work? The John Wayne approach: Make a case with an up-front hard sell. It gives your adversaries the ammunition they need to bring you down 8 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier Convincing others: what does NOT work? Resisting compromise: showing no flexibility or interest in addressing other constituents’ concerns is a sure way to kill your ideas 9 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier Convincing others: what does NOT work? Believing that the secret of persuasion lies in presenting great arguments. It matters, but it is not enough 10 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier Convincing others: what does NOT work? Assuming that persuasion is a one-shot effort. Convincing a team is a process, not a one-time event. 11 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review

Thierry Roullier So what DOES work? Things will get a lot easier if you have the credibility to bring the team to a win. –Not too many individuals who have been in the same organization for a long time have a pristine track record. –New employees, hired to provide leadership are given the benefit of the doubt for a while, but must swim in colder water after a few weeks. – If you lack credibility, borrow it –Facts and figures will also help you enlist critical minds. –If you lose credibility, it is hard to get it back, but that’s no reason not to try 12 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review You must first establish credibility

Thierry Roullier So what DOES work? Metaphors Experiences Examples Narratives Jokes 13 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review Tell a story!

Thierry Roullier So what DOES work? Even if your credibility is high, your position must still appeal strongly to the people you are trying to convince. What will be of interest to the individuals who are key to your success? 14 Source: Jay Conger ”The Necessary Art of Persuasion” Harvard Business Review Frame for common ground

Thierry Roullier Other tricks: Labeling “I know there’s still good in you” Luke Skywalker, Return of the Jedi 15 “Assigning a trait, attitude, belief or other label to a person, and making a request consistent with that label” Source Noah Goldstein et al. “50 scientifically proven ways to be persuasive” It works!

Thierry Roullier Other tricks: The power of “Because” “A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor, we will be more successful if we provide a reason” 16 Source Robert Cialdini “Influence, Science and Practice”

Thierry Roullier Enough of me sucking all the oxygen out of the room 17

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