Page 128 - ConvinceThemFlip

convince them in 90 seconds or less
Rachel was organized, detail-oriented, and realistic
(like him)—and he liked how, in the nicest possible way,
she curbed Sam’s natural impetuosity. As long as Sam and
Rachel understood their roles, the business would likely
be a success. But force Rachel into the creative end or
make Sam an analyst, and the bank will have to whistle for
its money.
Just as it’s important to understand the personalities
of your staff, colleagues, and bosses, it’s important that
you know yourself. Your personality shapes the way you
frame and present your ideas to others, so first you need
to understand who you are and how you connect. Take a
look at this controller, who managed to get into the heads
of a bunch of dreamers and figured out how to help them
get the job done.
Steve Erickson owns a packaging/design company. His
creative staff seems to have a collective block—the work
that’s been coming out of the department for the last
month has been subpar. He knows that he’s been putting
a lot of pressure on them, but he has a hard time under-
standing why that should make a difference.
“Everybody’s under pressure lately,” he told me. “My
instinct is to get tough with them, to tell them that their
work has been subpar, to tell them they’re being paid to
do great work and nothing but. A few years ago, I’d have
just pulled them into the conference room and told them,
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