At a meeting with a prospective client, (referred by our affiliate, Consultant “C”) a group of elite physicists at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories described their need for training in “presentation skills”. As defense contractors, their workload had lightened considerably, and they wanted to sell their skills to the corporate sector so they would not be downsized or eliminated.
Listening for Maximum Influence
After much questioning about the organization, its mission, goals and what their specific group needed,they repeated their need for “presentation skills” then struggled for another word. Finally, they said, they meant “lobbying skills”, which was the same as selling skills in their world of defense contracting.
As I probed, I learned about many dysfunctional aspects of the larger organization.
Preliminary Finding – “Influence Skills” Needed
After awhile, I pulled a copy of my book “Seven Secrets of Influence” from my bag. Around the room, there were several “ah-hah’s”, “that’s what we need”. Now here’s the important part: I could have, right then, scheduled a “Secrets of Influence™” seminar. But after all the information I had gleaned about the larger organization, I believed that would have just been a band-aid solution.
The Bigger Picture – Influencing the Whole Organization
I believed they needed an “organizational development” intervention. I told them what I thought; we should delay the Influence program until we addressed the larger situation.
I referred the client to another colleague, (Consultant “G”) an organizational expert. She met with the top management, and contracted with them for a $250,000.00 project, with the help of our Physicists group.
The Bottom Line – Everybody Wins. Influence at many Levels
By demonstrating Influence Strategies, we showed the physicists’ department how to Influence the larger organization The results? A win-win-win-win. The company got a major makeover; the physicists got their Influence program, our affiliate, Consultant C got a finders’ fee , Consultant G got a huge project, I got a finders’ fee on that, and we all got a great success story!
The lesson here for consultants: even if there is a potential immediate contract (especially in these times) of “low hanging fruit” – something which is asked for or obvious – there may be much more to do, if you think in terms of the largersystem,the whole organization. In this situation, thinking about them and their organization’s needs led to projects for several consultants and a healthier client organization.
