Facing the Struggle
Who This Book Is For
Nothing seems to turn people against others like the suggestion of change.
I dedicate this book to the defenders, the creators, the insightful, the wise, the inventors, and the champions of causes. To all you who want to make a change, this is for you.
You’ve got a problem, right? You are full of hope, enthusiasm, experience, or ideas, and you’ve already faced opposition. The best path forward seems obvious. The only thing standing in your way are your coworkers. Why do they seem so clueless? No matter how great your suggestions, they just don’t seem to care.
One or more of the following archetypes might resonate with you. Reflect upon which one you might be: it will help you understand why the message isn’t getting through.
The Learner
Learning new tools, technologies, and methodologies is hard, but you know that: you’ve come this far despite the challenges. You’ve mastered that new skill by applying your determination, will, and effort. Like a mountain climber reaching the summit, you can finally stop and take a break to enjoy the view. But now you have a new way of putting things together or you’ve put in effort on the side learning a new tool that you can now suggest. Whatever it is, you feel you have something to offer your group, but they don’t seem to care.
The Inventor
You’ve realized some new truth about the world. You look at the situation and everything snaps into focus. You now see a simple explanation for the issues you have been facing, and you want to share your wonder and excitement with your coworkers. Maybe you’ve built a tool that could save everyone time. Possibly just modifying the process would benefit the group. Yet the effort all seems wasted when you try to explain it to everyone.
The Defender
Maybe you’ve seen this all before, and you know where everything is headed. You remember last time: the promises, the enthusiasm, the fancy tricks. In the end, they all turned out to be a salesman’s empty promise. You can see that the “new shiny” is just a repackaging of the “old nasty”, and the repackaging costs far more than it’s worth.
This Book Is For You
Regardless of the circumstances, you’ve got a problem. No matter how right you are, no matter how brilliant your idea or accurate your prediction, it just isn’t getting through. Once again, they react with sarcasm, jokes, incredulity, or maybe even hostility. Why the resistance? How come they just won’t listen?!
If you have coworkers to convince, this book is for you.
What to Expect From This Book
Let’s be honest with ourselves here, how many unfinished books do you have sitting around? If you are like me, you have so many unfinished books you couldn’t finish them all in twenty lifetimes. If you have people to convince, you don’t want to wait around for weeks and weeks to finish what otherwise could be a quick summary. With that in mind, I’ve decided to make this text as accessible as possible. I’ve separated the book into three sections:
The Core Strategy
The first section is a simple explanation of the core strategies of winning others over to your cause. The content is presented as simply as possible.
The Actors
The second section is a reference of the main actors in common situations, along with some tips for dealing with their concerns and meeting their needs. The Actors section is lighthearted, with the goal of getting you to think about those around you. While each Actor is presented comically, the represented needs are real. The section can be a helpful reference to look back on when faced with a person who just won’t budge.
The Case Studies
The last section is a set of stories of myself and others who have successfully convinced coworkers to make a change. I also included a few stories where the change just never happened. In each case, I apply the core concepts to the story as a case study of where the convincer did well, and where they could have improved.
As you read, you’ll be able to start putting together a plan after the first few chapters, then read through the stories as entertaining leisure. When you need inspiration, read through some success stories for encouragement to keep up the good work. When you encounter blockages, you can commiserate with us as you read some of our stories that will show you how we’ve all made dumb mistakes and been rejected for no good reason.