If you find yourself saying something like, “I said so” to get buy in, you might get compliance, but are unlikely to increase engagement. Any parent identifies with challenging situations where all attempts to reason and influence their child’s behaviour failed. Out of exasperation or frustration, the words, “Because I said so” are uttered. The same is true for business owners. As Simon Sinek reminds us, “Start with why”. Understanding why it is in my interests to act differently is the quickest way to get buy-in. Being aware of the need for change as well as a desire to change are essential before change can happen. Aristotle provides even more wisdom,“A fool tells me his reasons. A wise man persuades me with my own.”
That’s often where we fail in our communication. We forget to explicitly align our reasons with the other person’s, giving them a reason to commit to and adopt the change.
If you want to improve the ROI on your initiatives, you need to drive usage. You must intentionally gain commitment by building awareness and desire for the change before building knowledge and skills and abilities. This takes effort so choosing change that will be impactful for your business is crucial rather than diluting this effort on changes that will have little impact on your profitability, time or stress. What wildly important goal do you have for your business?
I believe that business is a tool to help you live the life you want to live. To live the life you want to live, you need to have a predictably profitable business that succeeds without you. Encourage change by starting with why. If you believe this too, let’s talk.
