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Business Rule #55:
Cede Some Control
February 18, 2007
by Caroline Pfouts
There’s a saying in the sales world that everyone’s favorite radio station is WII FM, “What’s in it for me?” Whatever kind of negotiation you’re doing, letting the other guy know how he’ll benefit from the deal is a sure way to get them interested.
The challenge this week was to set up a mall kiosk and sign up as many people as possible for the Priceline Sweepstakes.
There was a lot of drama on the Arrow team before the task was even assigned. Surya Yalamanchili, the new candidate on the team, was outraged at how the last boardroom went. Both Surya and his teammates agreed that he should step up to be the Project Manager on this task. Surya was looking for a chance to prove himself, while the others were hoping to bring his failings into the spotlight.
With this kind of beginning, it wasn’t at all surprising when the strategy meeting at Arrow got emotional. Surya assigned various responsibilities to members of his group, using it as an excuse to not let them contribute in any other aspect. A stronger leader would have let Frank Lombardi know that there would be a time and place for him to voice his bigger ideas for the challenge—but that he first had to report on his assignment. Who knows, Frank might have had something brilliant to offer? And even if he didn’t, bad ideas often lead to good ones. Sure, there are fierce time constraints on these challenges, but letting the team know that their input was welcome and valued would have been time well spent.
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What’s more, when Frank was making his report, Surya interrupted him to ask why he was making these recommendations. It’s as though Surya said “I already doubt that you know what you’re doing, so before I even hear your ideas, I’ve got to ask, ‘What were you thinking?’” When someone is giving you what you’ve asked for, just let them do it—unless there is some glaring problem. The least that a staffer expects is a respectful ear when they deliver their work.
Frank took the interruption pretty well on the surface, asking Surya what information he wanted to hear first. Later on though, Frank vented his anger by drawing a cartoon of Surya. Sure, Frank acted like a fourth grader, but Surya had shut off his other avenues of expression.
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When someone is giving you what you’ve asked for, just let them do it—unless there is some glaring
