Revolutionary Conversations Part 4 of 4

Conversations for Implementation

In part 3 of our series we touched on Conversations for Innovation (one of four possible conversations organizations are having). Part 4 touches on Conversations for Implementation.

There are 5,478 books listed on Amazon.com that are about execution, implementation, and getting things done so obviously this is a hot topic! This conversation is where requests, offers, negotiations, delegation, profit, customer satisfaction and customer complaints dwell. Let me summarize this conversation in such a way that you can take it on right now with power.

There are four stages of this conversation called Request/Offer, Negotiation, Action, and Satisfaction.

The Request/Offer stage deals with how to make effective requests. Most people don’t know how to make an effective request and therefore become resigned in their role as leader and end up blaming their people for the breakdowns –which is a disempowering space. However, once you know the elements of an effective request you can then get your power back.

An effective request (or offer) has 6 elements and they are: 1. Being in the right mood to make the request, 2. Having the listener fully engaged while you are making the request, 3. You being fully present in the conversation while making the request, 4. Providing the “why” when making the request (this is the context, framework, or reasons for the request), 5. Including specific directions about what you want and the conditions that must be present for the request to be fulfilled, and finally, 6. Having a specific timeframe (not tomorrow afternoon but tomorrow by 3pm).

Once the request or offer is made then the listener needs to respond. This is the Negotiation stage. There are only four valid responses to a request in the negotiation stage and they are “yes,” “no,” “I’ll let you later (at a specific time) if I can do it (called commit to commit),” and “I can’t do it by 3pm but I can get it done by 4pm (called counter offer).”

Once there is a promise made (depending on the response) you enter the Action stage where you now make requests of other departments or individuals to carry out the action. The biggest pitfall in this stage is not having an effective reporting system in place. A reporting system can be as simple as calling the individual to check on progress once every couple of days or more sophisticated. Once the action is completed then it is reported complete to the listener. The listener then contacts the speaker to compare what was done with what was originally requested. This is the last stage: satisfaction.

This is where the listener asks the speaker the most powerful question in business… “are you 100% satisfied?”

I had a client who actually put this on their dockets to be checked off as a “yes” before the job went to the accounting department to be billed. Most companies bill at the end of the action stage of this conversation but he waited until the end of the satisfaction stage. When customers declare “yes I’m 100% satisfied” there is a chemical released in their brain that gives them a physical feeling of well-being. What a powerful outcome to produce with your clients!