CHAPTER 32
Consider a Meeting Before the Meeting
Before you state your case, gather the evidence, especially what motivates the other person.
While developing a proposal writing program for a client, I brought up the importance of understanding the specs in client RFPs—especially when those requests for proposals contained ambiguities. I had ready examples of ambiguously phrased requirements from the client RFPs to prove my point.
The marketing director looked at me with surprise: “Oh, we’d be in big trouble if we had to understand those poorly drafted RFPs! Hopefully, we’ve met with a customer’s liaison long before this stage and helped shape that RFP before it comes to us formally.”
A real eye-opener early in my consulting career—and a key strategy for sales professionals. Since those early years, I’ve observed and learned from other leaders to apply the strategy much more broadly:
• To gather individual input about team issues in the future (aspirations, fears, potential obstacles, desired assignments)—things that team members might be hesitant to mention in a group but will gladly share with you one on one
• To do a “commitment check” before an official vote (to gain an understanding of the degree of passion individuals feel about a certain project or policy)
• To solicit support for a recommendation to be presented at a later meeting
• To ask for input about “potential obstacles” on an idea before presenting it in a larger meeting
• To solicit “champions” to help resolve ongoing problems in group dynamics of the meetings
• To verify facts and procedures before a meeting when the leader anticipates disruption
• To interview coworkers and staff to discern personal hidden agendas before discussing a controversial issue in an open forum
• To develop a criteria matrix for a decision that will need to be made in a larger, later meeting
• To discuss with key stakeholders who have either veto power or budget approval their criteria for a decision that will need to be made in a larger, later meeting
• To confirm primary goals and non-negotiables with all parties before mediating a conflict and trying to bring two parties to resolution
Before a rock-star performer comes on stage, a warm-up act loosens up the crowd to enjoy the concert. Similarly, you may need to coordinate a warm-up act before your strategic meeting.