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How to work with difficult executives

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We have all been there. Tasked with the burden of working with difficult executives. People who you have to be nice to, of course, even though the very thought of them gives you hives.

Well, you can put that Calamine lotion away, my friend. The next time you are trying to get a difficult executive to take a risk and try something new…something new that you know will make your company a better place…keep these things in mind.

Research
Do your homework. Look at what the competitors are doing and use this to identify areas where your company can gain the advantage.

Proof
Show the executive concrete examples of how your idea would work for your company. Based on your competitive research, what companies are doing it right? Don’t just talk about it, show it.

Consensus
Generally, the higher up you go in an organization, the more risk averse the executive is. Simply, because they have more to lose. So, do what you can to gain consensus and let the executive know that there will be others who also support the idea.

Money
If businesses aren’t making money, they don’t exist. So, have examples of how your idea could be directly tied into a new revenue stream or how it can streamline an existing process. Money talks.

Read the full article here, brilliantly researched and written by Gini Dietrich.