Your helicopter’s facing the wrong way

I've had leadership reject my battle plans because the helicopter was facing the wrong way in the stock photo in my PowerPoint deck.

— Retired Navy SEAL Andy Stumpf* explaining some of the frustrations of trying to get leadership on board with good ideas

Whatever your organization's mission or structure, when it comes time to get things done you're going to have to get buy-in from other people.

Maybe it's your ED or membership director; maybe it's your board; maybe it's your department heads. Maybe it's just the summer intern or a couple of volunteers at an event.

We want to believe that all decisions are based on evaluating each idea on its merits, or on a common commitment to mission and objectives. But people are complicated.

Before they can really buy into your plans, they want to believe that you're also on board with the things that really matter to them.

Sometimes their concerns can seem petty, or asinine, or irrelevant.

But if you need these people in your plan, the only way to reach your goal is to take a step back and do what it takes to show that you share their concerns.

Here’s the thing:

Andy Stumpf says, “In the end, I was selling myself.” It’s about building trust by demonstrating shared concern.

It's the same thing that you're probably already doing for your donors and potential members: demonstrate that you care about their priorities.

If you can do that, they'll be a lot more ready to work with you to achieve the goals that really matter.

All the best,
A.

* I’ve paraphrased Stumpf’s comment for brevity and context. You can hear his actual comment on Jocko Wilink’s podcast, discussing the importance of “mental Judo” and dealing with the political and bureaucratic reality of organizations, right about here: https://youtu.be/uUC8Heiae9I?t=4526