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Title: Winning'em Over
Author(s): Jay A. Conger Publisher: Simon & Shuster, 1998, 224 pages. Managers now need more than just good ideas. They also must be able to convince others. Winning'em Over shows that persuasion has become an indispensable tool for any executive. The author analyzes the key steps in the art of persuasion, i.e. building credibility, finding common ground, formulating compelling proposals, and connecting emotionally. The book also offers practical tips on how to reinforce one's persuasive skills. Main Theme [Persuasion] |
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Critical commentary by Concetta Lanciaux,
Executive Vice President, Human Resources, LVMH
[Manageris 83b -- 06/2000]
How to get managers out of the "command and control" management mindset and convince them that they should not "order people around," but rather use persuasion? This is the question posed by Jay Conger.
In a well-written, simple American style, the author offers very useful tools for those who seek to persuade their team members. He also notes that there are several widespread fallacies about persuasion: It isn't a technique for manipulating people or forcing them to accept ideas. The real pillars of effective persuasion-building credibility, seeking common ground, etc.-are interesting to note. All of this makes Winning’em Over two hours of easy, pleasant reading.
However, this book has implications that go well beyond its apparent simplicity. The question that the author is really asking is "Why develop this skill?"
Jay Conger shows that persuasion is much more than just a technique; it is a real style of management. Nonetheless, few of today's managers are prepared for this reality. Business schools teach management techniques that are adapted to a command and control mindset, while organizations have evolved. Globalization, the development of matrix structures where a manager may report to three or four different people, the need to work by project, and finally, the information age revolution make persuasion an unavoidable mode of functioning.
In addition, people now think more in terms of their personal development. In this context, persuasion is truly a management style rather than merely a tool. In light of the deep human need for recognition, persuasion can also become a key retention tool.
Finally, communication has become vital in the past few years. How you say things today is just as important as what you saythings are said is just as important today as what is said. The ability to communicate simply and clearly is becoming a form of respect for others.
The author may not have been completely aware of the full impact of his thinking when he wrote the book. The executive of the future will be expected to understand his team members and get them to compromise on their positions. This is a fundamental role for an educator.
A superficial reading could give the impression that this book is very simplistic. This could not be further from the truth; this book presents the new managerial philosophy that all managers working in international matrix organizations must integrate to get people to support their projects.
Quite unexpectedly, this American author has shone light upon a philosophy that has its roots in the Renaissance and could well become the basis for European management.
Bibliography:
• INFLUENCING WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS, Andrzej Huczynski, Prentice Hall, 1996. (Manageris N°46b)
• MANAGING WITH POWER, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Harvard Business School Press, 1992. (Manageris N°1b)
Concetta Lanciaux is Special Human Resources Advisor to the CEO of LVMH. She was previously an Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, the Director of the Texas Instrument Europe executive training center, and HR Director of Thomson Videocolor, Intel Corporation Southern Europe and Groupe Financière Agache.
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