I’ve been observing an interesting way of getting things done in the last few months but I haven’t been able to formalize it until we had our second Kauffman Fellows Program module a couple of weeks ago.
I’m talking about something we do almost on a daily basis: group decision making. Many times we present our ideas or proposals to a group and expect everyone to draw the same conclusions and agree on the spot. To get there it takes more work.
One-on-one interactions are critical to get things done. It sounds obvious but many times we skip them as they are time consuming.
Spending time with the key decision makers that are going to be at the table where the final decision is going to be made is probably the most important thing to do. In those one-on-one interactions you usually have the opportunity to learn what the key concerns each individual has, so that you can address them one by one and get to the general meeting with an implicit agreement.
Where do I think these one-on-one meetings should be used more? Basically in most cases! If you are entrepreneur trying to get your Board to agree to something, take the time to meet with them individually before the Board Meeting. If you want your co-workers to support your idea, once again, take the time to share with and listen to individuals. It is definitely worth it!
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