INFLUENCING DECISION MAKERS
How To Influence Decision Makers
BY DR . MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
The great majority of people tend to focus downward . they are occupied with efforts rather than results . They worry over what the organization and their superiors ‘ owe ’ them and should do for them . and they are conscious above all of the authority they ‘ should have ’. As a result , they render themselves ineffectual .” – Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker has written extensively about the impact of the ‘ knowledge worker ’ in modern organizations . Knowledge workers can be defined as people who know more about what they are doing than their managers do . Many knowledge workers have years of education and experience in training for their positions , yet they have almost no training in how to effectively influence decision makers .
The 11 guidelines listed below are intended to help you do a better job of influencing decision makers . In some cases , these decision makers may be immediate or upper managers – in other cases they may be peers or cross-organizational colleagues . I hope that you find these suggestions to be useful in helping you convert your good ideas into meaningful action .
EVERY DECISION THAT IMPACTS OUR LIVES WILL BE MADE BY THE PERSON WHO HAS THE POWER TO MAKE THAT DECISION – NOT THE ‘ RIGHT ’ PERSON , OR THE ‘ SMARTEST ’ PERSON , OR THE ‘ BEST ’ PERSON . MAKE PEACE WITH THIS FACT .
As simple and obvious as this statement may seem , I am amazed at how few ( otherwise intelligent ) people ever ‘ get ’ this point . When your child comes home from school and complains , “ It ’ s not fair ! The teacher gave me a ‘ C ’ and I really deserved an ‘ A ’!”, we , as parents , should say ,
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