Getting to Yes: Navigating Human Bias and vectors of control

Getting to yes is a dynamic and challenging landscape, especially inside large enterprises and organizations. Change agents desire to get to yes and find this avenue of change to accelerate their organization. This is a finite game an innovator or change agent plays because they have a clear goal or achievement in mind and have an idea of what impact looks like.

Agents of NO are everywhere, and they come in different forms. Here are some essential tools in their toolbox:

1. We should talk about this in private! In-person or private communication is an attempt to remove bystanders from the conversation. This removal allows the agent of no the chance to direct the communication or remove you from fact-checking real-time their information. Another reason they would want to do this is the duality of conversation. Duality is when a person utilizes two different lines of communication of conflicting information. For example, up the chain, they remove vital facts and data and use more extensive or complex system knowledge to confuse and divert them to convince the chain they are the only ones qualified to speak on the topic. Meanwhile, the conversation going down leans on fact manufacturing or referring to the desire of senior leaders to want things a sure way to impose dominance or helplessness below them or peers near them

2. Process creation to funnel information. Process funneling is sabotage 101 from the declassified CIA handbook. This funneling ensures that the agents of no see the ideas first to begin to formulate a story for no or use the funnel as a way to prevent or stop ideas that could damage their own bias or ideas

3. Power of title to claim ideas. Agents of no can or will also use their office or title to claim ideas and ensure they belong to that title. However, they have no interest in accelerating the idea. They will add other processes or stack additional meetings to claim or destroy the idea slowly.

4. Dragging their feet. No agents can appear to be an agent of 'yes'... however they will display no motivation to accelerate the idea and become a bottleneck to the process to effectively wait you out until you get a new job or PCS

5. Hide behind guidelines and treat them as law. These agents will frequently tell you why something can't happen instead of telling you how it could happen. They will hide behind company or enterprise guidelines instead of considering the idea. The idea is just an idea, and guidelines or rules can always be changed. However, the status quo only serves in self-interest, and their guidelines maintain their status, so ideas that threaten the guidelines will die on the hill of their words

These are just a few examples. But how do you, as a bringer of change, get yes? Or how to get these members to change their minds:

1. Speak publicly and often. Don't be afraid to look like you do not know what you are discussing. Speak about your idea as often as possible and publicly as possible. Remember, No agents will sometimes aggressively push you into private conversations. Do not engage or entertain these conversations until you've established stakeholders in your ideas. Private discussions will plant seeds of disinformation. Public discussions are transparent and will have two sides of fact-checking without a sole person or group controlling the information you have said.

2. Break the chain of the funnel. Respect the process but pitch the idea to anyone that will listen. If you respect the process, you have the grounding to explain barriers that are in your way. If you don't run into barriers, senior leaders or stakeholders will not clearly understand how to help you. You must use the system as intended to display these barriers. But do not remain defeated; you must continue to pitch your idea

3. Public speaking often will destroy title holders abilities to consume. If you do number 1 as much as possible, the people that consume ideas will have no power to do so. Since you spoke publicly and openly about your idea, people will ensure you have ownership when you are not around. However, it is not the desire to maintain ownership being an agent of change. Your only interest is in acceleration. If someone can and will display more motivation or ability to increase speed, allow them to own the idea. Ownership of an idea is only in the interest of acceleration.

4. Check-in often. This is a good business practice to have. Always follow up and always check in. They may ask you to check back in a week or check back in a set period of time. However, you need to set your own rotation and an expectation they are now the business, and you are the customer. But in-turn expect to give results faster than then. Never have the ball in your court, and ensure you deliver more quickly than they can.

5. Change the game of play. If there are guidelines they are trying to hold you to, you need to move your ball into a different court or change the rules completely. More times than not, the bringer of no doesn't own the process. Find who owns the process and see if you can convince them otherwise. However, there are cases where the bringer of No also owns the process and becomes a single focal point. At this point, it is best to take your ball to another court. Once the idea accelerates and gains laudable attention, the guidelines will change in all courts.

I hope you enjoyed a few thoughts I had in the process. This is a small sample of ways to get to yes and the finite game a change agent plays in the infinite game of no. I will leave you with one last thought as well... just because you're a change agent doesn't mean your change is viable. Aggressively attack your idea as much as you attack against the NO that is stopping you. Ensure your concept is based on reality and not clouded by bias or shortcomings. When it comes to change... leave the ego at the door.