A few articles ago I pointed out that one of the most common influencing mistakes is Failing to Attempt to Influence. Allied to that is another mistake ― giving up too easily.
Many people can think through situations, develop great strategies and even begin to put them into practice. However, one of the features of influence is the scale of the unknown. Fact and figures are easy to pin down and understand ― opinions, emotions and human nature provide an entirely different challenge.
My guess is that in over 95% of cases, the first attempt to influence will uncover something which was not known by the influencer beforehand. Consequently, when the new information is brought out into the open, the influencer has to react immediately, or they will lose the impetus and momentum. This is usually a time when confidence is at risk, and the moment can easily be lost.
This is just one reason why it is so common for people to talk themselves out of further attempts. Having made themselves look silly (at least in their own mind), they are less likely to return to have another go.
Other reasons for giving up cluster around a few themes…
- New information comes to light which casts doubt on the original strategy.
- Opposition seems to be greater than at first imagined.
- The complexity means it is going to take far longer than envisaged.
- Other things appear to be more important.
All of these require persistence to overcome. They also require foresight. Recognising that these are not only possibilities, but probabilities means that you can prepare in advance for when the going begins to get a little harder.
The best time to do this is when you are deciding on your initial strategy. Make sure to include consideration at that stage of the sort of things which might crop up during implementation that could reduce your motivation to continue. Then think of things you can do immediately to lessen the likelihood or reduce the impact. You can also put some thought into what you would do if those things did start to happen.
Of course, you could live in hope that everything will go well, and you’ll gain the influence you need quickly. Alternatively, you could do something to make it more likely to happen before you run into trouble.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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