Do you work with people who won't change?

Imagine you have to persuade a group of people to do something they don't want to do. It could be to fill out a new form that's changed and is longer than the old one or it could be to follow a new procedure.

How would you go about it? Would you explain to them how great it will be when they have the new forms? Would you tell them that, if they don't fill in the new forms they will be penalised?

Compared to telling people about a change to the way they are paid, their pensions or their jobs, this is relatively easy. So how would get a colleague of yours to start doing a task that you know they'll hate?

We all have to others to do things, but some people are much better at it than others.

Which Is The Best Method? The Carrot or The Stick?

Which would persuade you? You might think that there is one method that is better than the other, but the truth is, you need both types.

This is because there are some people who will be motivated by a reward and others who will be motivated by the thought of having to pay a charge if they don't do something.

A Real Example

Jim, a client of mine, wanted to persuade Fiona, an old colleague of his, to work with him at his new company. I knew Fiona and agreed to help arrange a meeting.

Jim sent me a draft of the email he was planning to send to Fiona. Here is an extract:

"Hi Fiona
I'm really enjoying working at XXXX. There's this great position going here that would really suit you. It's head of the XXXX department. You'd have your own building and there's a car with the job.
Do get in touch, it would be great to work with you again..."

The trouble is that I know Fiona and she is the kind of person who is motivated by the stick. I knew that she would not respond to anything like this. So here's the email after I'd changed it:

"Hi Fiona
You probably don't have time to read this, but if you do, we have a really serious problem here at XXX. No one knows how to tackle it, and I'm not sure it's soluble.
We simply don't have expertise in this area at XXX. If you did have a moment to get in touch I'd really appreciate it, though I know you're very busy..."

Quick Response

Half an hour after sending this email Fiona was on the phone and was attending an interview the very next week.