Message. Messenger. When persuading, some business cultures link message and messenger. The messenger him-/herself has to be persuasive. In other business cultures it’s really just about the message itself, the content. The messenger is less important. What’s the logic in your culture?
Exercises
Competence
In some business cultures focusing on solving problems is critical to success. In other cultures the focus more on searching out and taking advantage of opportunities. Where is your culture on this?
Systematics
Systematic thinking is placing a topic into its broader context. Showing connections and interdependencies. Particularistic thinking is taking complexity and breaking it down into its component parts, then focusing on what is essential. What is your approach?
Reality
When convincing (persuading) another person of your point of view or proposal or product, how much effort do you invest in explaining the overall situation, including how that situation has become the way it is?
Inform vs. Sell
When you are in the mode of persuasion, do you aim more to inform or to sell?
Yes
How does your business culture say no to entering into agreement? Directly, indirectly? Hard, soft? No response?
No
How does your business culture say no to entering into agreement? Directly, indirectly? Hard, soft? No response?
Context
When deciding on whether to enter into an agreement or not how important is it to you to first get a lot of context information?
Follow-up
When maintaining an overview of your various agreements it’s important to do follow-up. Do you prefer frequent or infrequent follow-up? Give us a sense for too frequent and too infrequent?
Deliverables
What is your preference: a complete deliverable sent to you a little bit late or an incomplete deliverable sent promptly?
