37. THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS AXIS
* The degree of bravery in a company can be analysed in a different way.
* In the Chance Of Success Axis, each notch represents a barrier to action, in this case a series of reasons why the idea will never get off the ground. These could be practical, financial, or personal.
* Bear in mind that the personal barriers could be the most powerful in any company – perhaps a senior executive or committee that has the ability to block the idea.
* By mapping the decision-making process diagrammatically, each barrier to purchase can be identified and isolated.
* A plan to knock each one down can then be devised, or if the conclusion is that the idea will never be approved because there are too many barriers, then it can be abandoned.
EXERCISE: Choose an idea that you believe has merit. Use the axis to plot all the reasons that the company or executives in influential positions might have for not proceeding with it. If relevant, put the barriers to purchase in chronological order, or place the biggest or hardest ones first, to the far left. Then come up with a plan to knock down each barrier. If a barrier cannot be removed, you may have to admit defeat.