92 PART II Bridging the Knowing-Doing Gap

hopes, dreams, and fears of the people they want to influence. Give it a try. You can do it privately. It only takes a few minutes.

We’re Late, We’re Late for a Very Important Date

Like the Mad Hatter, it is easy to rush from one new project to the next, never building sufficient support for change. Then the next new thing is seen as merely the next “flavor of the month.” And that is an invitation to resistance.

A large engineering firm starts many projects, but most of them die well before they see results. Consequently, managers and employees just roll their eyes when corporate rolls out a new idea. Some have the attitude, “This too shall pass.”

My Suggestion: Take a breath. Slow down. Decide what’s most important and then focus on that.

A Belief That You Can Force Them to Do It

No, you can’t. People can find all types of creative ways to stop you in your tracks. For instance, the president of a small company once told me that his idea was dying due to “malicious compliance.” People did just enough to stay out of trouble and keep him off their backs, but not enough to make the change a success.

There are a few exceptions to this. Some organizations bribe people with incredible bonus and retirement packages, so people will do anything to reach the pot at the end of that rainbow. But even that approach can have its problems. When these soldiers of fortune set priorities for their own work, your pet idea may not make it to the top of the list because it fails the “what’s in it for me?” test.

Another problem is that the bribes usually don’t reach down far enough into the organization, so the middle manager, professional staff, supervisors, and hourly workers don’t have all that much interest in mak- ing the executives richer. What a surprise.

My Suggestion: Skip to chapter 11 and complete the “shift your intention” exercise on mindsets. It might help you focus on what’s most important in making a case.

Taking Time Will Waste Time

Our research found that when people made a strong case for change, the rest of the project often went much more smoothly. In other words, they