Getting buy-in

It occurred to me recently that a large percentage of what we do as knowledge-workers is to do things to get buy-in from stakeholders.

That’s why job-seekers spend so much time perfecting their resumes, and why CEO’s spend weeks prepping their boardroom keynotes.

It’s why designers spend so much time researching and reiterating; conducting analyses and creating documents, all in an effort to showcase the need for their work.

And it’s why great teachers (and parents) have to work so hard at what they do. Because creating a culture of enrollment is very different than teaching by rote or by force.

Investing in the long game of capturing buy-in is work. No doubt about it. It takes effort to make your case…to be persuasive and to communicate your value. After all, you can’t buy it. You have to earn it.

Of course, once you realize that most of what you do at your job is get buy-in from the people you're serving, making decisions about how and where you should devote your time and effort is incredibly easier.

Because then it's mostly a matter of serving and speaking to their needs, not yours.