I am a big Apprentice fan and thoroughly enjoyed the last season. The two main attractions of the show were Joan Rivers (Award Winning Comedian & Businesswoman) and Annie Duke (World Champion Poker Player). Both of them had very different ways of playing the game , and it was extremely interesting exercise to watch. The question of persuasion and manipulation of team members kept coming to mind when watching the episodes. Both women used both of these tactics in some form or other. The line between persuasion and manipulation is quite thin. On one hand there is persuasion, which is expressing your point of view forcefully, while keeping the interests of everyone around you in mind. Manipulation on the other hand, is contorting a situation in your favor without taking into account the interests of others. In the long run it is clearly apparent that those who manipulate situations repeatedly, are not able to win the trust of their partners, clients, friends or family.
In the context of the game they were playing, where there is only one winner, does that really change things? I think not as life itself can be viewed as a similar game! We are all part of teams, doing our best to get forward, and along the way we know we will require the assistance of those we work with. Repeated abuse of this relationship may result in short term gains , but I believe it cannot be a long term winning strategy. We do always need to keep the bigger picture in mind, alongwith the interests of those who are part of our journey. There will be times, when we know deep down that a certain decision needs to be made , for the greater good of everyone involved, even though it may not apparently seem like the most rational thing to do. This is where persuasion tactics come into play. Similar situations will arise many a time in your work, specially where the sale of your product or service is concerned. It will often all come down to how persuasive you are.
Our passion, belief and faith in our products/services, should be the driving source of inspiration to persuade and convince our customers to buy, and our investors to invest. Relying on under hand short term tactics to manipulate situations where only one side stands to gain, will dislodge any sort of equilibrium, and soon you could find yourself without a team, customers or investors. As entrepreneurs, we will undoubtedly have to face many such situations where we will be tested as to which path we will choose. All I can say is , I hope you will take into account the entire situation and the interests of others, before taking any action.
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Great post Usman. Working with volunteers, I’ve walked that “fine line” on several occasions. I’ve found that when you aren’t paying people, they tend to have a lower tolerance for manipulative tactics. So its important to draw people, make a connection and stay plugged in. Then its easier to stir team members to action.
Thanks Thomas. Having worked with volunteers many time myself I have faced similar situations before as well. Like you said make that connection with the people that you work with is really a critical element. Without it so much energy is wasted and the results are just not there. When your team doesn’t buy into your vision or what may want to do getting their cooperation and support is very challenging.