CHAPTER 12

Action Steps for Gaining Access to Powerful People

It can be incredibly frustrating to have a great idea—but to lack the ability to meet the people who can make it a reality. There are so many layers in some large organizations that people don’t even try; they either just sit on their ideas or take them elsewhere. Their own supervisor might be blocking them; and some genuinely new ideas can take time for senior people to accept. In those cases, access becomes even more important.

This chapter focuses on how to get to the powerful people you want to influence. As we have noted, one of the best ways to gain access is by already having an outstanding reputation—which you do by establishing a strong track record for accomplishing what you commit to, and delivering more than promised. It also helps to constantly consider what’s good for the organization rather than just for yourself. But even the best reputation may not extend high enough in the organization to gain needed access. This requires that you either tap your existing network of relationships or build stronger ones with new, potentially helpful people. Of course, building a relationship where the person is willing to help you is another kind of influence challenge that requires determining what others value—and working together to meet both of your goals. There are no shortcuts.

Furthermore, you often have to work your way up the hierarchy if you are selling a complex organizational proposal. If you have performed well, you might already have access to people slightly below the top who can help you get to the ultimate decision maker(s). This still poses an influence challenge, because there’s no guarantee that they will buy in.

It is also important to remember that the various people you may encounter in your search for influence may all have suggestions for modifying your pitch. As you gather reactions and advice, listen hard and refrain from resisting. You will have to decide when to bend and adapt to their suggestions and when you need to stick to your ideas—or possibly find a new project to work on.

The Bold, Direct Approach

There frequently is no way to make a direct approach—and even when there is, the odds for success probably are not good. Nevertheless, two instructive and possibly inspiring examples are worth offering, because in each case anyone looking from the outside would have said that there was virtually no chance. We would hate for you to overlook the possibilities.

The first example was in the extremely hierarchical Toyota Motors. Suppose you are Peter Dames (introduced in Chapter 1), working in the technology area at Toyota Motor Sales USA before that company, or any automaker, has figured out how to best use the possibilities of electronics and the Internet. The company is cautious and traditional, and quite rule-bound, but selling lots of vehicles, with sales continuously rising. If you are Peter Dames, you don’t think such growth will continue in the e-commerce age but need to create a sense of urgency in the company. Who do you have to win over to get more happening? The answer is: many people all over the U.S. operation. Dames started with his boss, Barbara Cooper, the newly hired chief information officer (CIO), who he assumed, as a new employee, would be interested in doing something different to make her mark. She reported that

On my first day here . . . Peter . . . pokes his head in and asks, “Do you have an open-door policy?” . . . But Cooper instantly identified Dames as an ally . . .

Cooper knew that they had to educate those in the business about the value of e-commerce; because of his direct approach, she trusted him and gave him considerable latitude: “He understands that the mission isn’t to deny the executive body, or to go around it, but to bring it along.”1

Dames and his small team decided they needed to create a space where people in the company could see possibilities for digitized interactions with vendors, dealers, and others in the widely dispersed company.

They created what they called a sneaker meeting, a place where people could drop in to use computers and see what was possible. Dames’s team was deliberately nervy and countercultural: “Toyota was suits and ties; we said this is part of our deal, doing things differently.” Knowing they would need support from the top, and feeling impatient, they completely ignored the company expectation of making proposals only to one’s boss, who would take it to his boss if he liked it, and so on up the line. Dames directly called the president’s office and talked with the assistant, who he knew. “I’ve got something he needs to see, so get him down here for an hour.” The assistant told the boss it would be interesting.

We had a lot of issues we wanted to bring to his attention . . . Usually, people are hesitant to go to senior executives without an answer or a fully thought-out plan. But it didn’t stop us. Afterwards, the president urged us to talk to the rest of the top executives and take them through the same discussion, the same experience.

Once the e-commerce team could boast about conducting sneaker meetings with senior management of the U.S. operation, people at all levels of the company began clamoring for invitations. Slowly, as people saw the possibilities, they tested functions in their own domains, and eventually, the concept spread to other Toyota offices, even in Japan.

There were numerous reasons for Dames’s courage to take the risk of going directly to the president. He knew that no one else at Toyota could bring the kind of electronics savvy his team did, and the skills were valuable elsewhere if necessary, so he didn’t fear for his job.

Furthermore, Peter had worked at Toyota for six years since graduating from college, and had learned that trying to totally fit in to Japanese culture, despite speaking some Japanese and eventually marrying a Japanese woman, wouldn’t work.

I was always a foreigner, always an outsider. I tried too hard, and one day had a kind of a meltdown. I blew up, and said “screw these guys.” The Japanese managing director of North America called me in, and I told him why I was frustrated. He said, “If I wanted you to be Japanese I would have hired a Japanese, so stop trying.” I was in the first group of U.S. recruits, so we felt all the crap; but it finally worked and they hired more after us.

In college, I worked for ex-president Reagan in his office a year after he finished the presidency; I learned that the old cliché is true: everyone puts his pants on the same way. Guys at the top are lonely SOBs. Reagan was always alone, on a pedestal, which is like all guys at the top. After seeing that every day for a year, I realized Dr. Toyota is not such a big deal, and the president of Toyota USA is just a person. My fear of going up and talking to people was gone.

Without a fancy model of influence, Dames intuitively tuned in to the world of powerful others, and was able to move quickly. In other circumstances, violating a hierarchical culture could lead to termination or banishment, but given his expertise and aspirations and the large number of stakeholders who had to be influenced, it was worth going to the top with a request for the opportunity to show managers what was being proposed rather than just describing it. And Dames realized:

You can’t forget that there is a row of people between you and the president; you have to be careful, but we didn’t worry about him. I wasn’t worried about a job; for example, our business cards were wild. One said: “Better to shoot yourself in the foot than have a competitor shoot you in the head.” Our philosophy was “expect to piss people off, push people every day, so go ahead and fire me if you aren’t benefiting from our work.”

Now, several years later and managing director of PACCAR Financial Europe, Dames tries to remember what it was like as a junior person with ideas, and encourages direct boldness, letting people try their ideas rather than immediately saying no for convenience.

The second example happened to a close colleague, J. Barkev M. Kassarjian (JB as he is known to colleagues and students alike) is a passionate, intense teacher who weaves complex and sophisticated discussions with students, which allows him to know them extremely well. For the last 20 years, JB has split each year between IMD, Lausanne, one of the top business schools in Europe, and Babson College in Massachusetts. His leadership courses are always very highly ranked and alumni name him as having made a memorable impact on their lives.

JB was teaching at IMD in Switzerland and a student noticed that his voice seemed to be much weaker than it was on an earlier videotape where he was interviewing a manager. Pestered to investigate, JB discovered that he had throat cancer. He was treated with radiation at an outstanding Swiss medical center.

For several years there was no recurrence, but a few years ago new malignant growths were discovered. Having already had radiation, there were no good treatment options available, and he was told at a sophisticated prominent cancer treatment center that he would have to go through either a partial or total laryngectomy, which would remove his voice box. Doing his own investigation, JB found that a Dr. Zeitels in Boston (who successfully treated the pop singer Adele) was developing an experimental treatment to starve cancer cells of blood that could be effective. If it worked, he would be spared the laryngectomy operation. His primary care physician, however, could not get an appointment for JB with Dr. Zeitels. The renowned specialist was simply unavailable and JB became frustrated and uncharacteristically despondent.

One evening he was sitting in his office when a former student, Kristen Callahan, appeared in the doorway on her way to another class. She was entrepreneurial and liked to bounce business ideas off of him. This time he was glum, and he asked her to leave. As he recalled, “I muttered, ‘Get out of here, I am really pissed at the world.’ She asked why, and I must have mentioned Zeitels’s name, and I know I did not spell it for her.”

Kristen later recalled:

JB was lamenting over what road to take with treatment and finally he chose Dr. Z. “I can’t even get an appointment with the one doctor I need!” I asked him if he was sure that this was the route he wanted and the guy he wanted. He emphatically replied “YES! He is the best in the world! But I can’t get him, no one can. I’ve tried everything.” Once he said that Dr. Z was what he needed, I said to myself, “OK then, that’s who it will be.’ ”

When I left JB’s office I searched through my social networks for a tie to Dr. Z, to no avail. Then I researched him online and found his Mass General Hospital and Harvard e-mails buried deep in research papers. Professor Kassarjian taught us to learn to ask forgiveness rather than permission, so I took the initiative and assumed the risk. I considered several means of getting Dr. Z’s attention. Personalizing their connection and ties was of utmost importance. I wanted to get past any spam filters he may have for unknown e-mail addresses (most spam is formally addressed), and get his attention in a way that would require him to read on. I finally made the Subject line: “Fellow Harvard PhD desperately needs you.” Then I addressed it to “Hi Steven.” The message started with: “Before you delete this message, please read the next two sentences.” I went on to tell him what an amazing global impact JB has on inspiring future business leaders. I went into the importance to society of his gift, and what an impact his voice, vision, and passion have on shaping socially responsible business leaders. I also mentioned that JB teaches at IMD, which turned out to be another good connection, because he had treated someone there and knew its importance. Then I tied it back in, putting pressure on him to step up to the plate, to do what he does best and have a measurable impact—globally.

To my amazement, 5 minutes later, still before 6:30 class, my phone rang with a “non-private” number and it was Dr. Z. He asked, “What is all this about?” He said his schedule was full and he could only see JB later in the week. I asked what time he started taking appointments. I then insisted, “How about you see him first thing in the morning, before your first appointment?” He chuckled at my persistence and agreed to see JB before his other appointments the very next day. I then walked back to JB’s office, poked my head in his office door and declared, “You have an appointment tomorrow at 7:15 AM, don’t be late.”

JB was thrilled and amazed that she had found the doctor and been so persuasive that he had agreed. “I would have never addressed him by his first name,” JB marveled. “I felt helpless. I am grateful beyond words.” (Today, after several surgeries, Kassarjian’s voice has been saved, and he has returned to teaching.)

We tell these two stories not because direct approaches always work, but because of the lessons they offer that might help you decide when or if it would be to your advantage to attempt something similar. Peter Dames had learned not to be afraid of senior people or to think of them as totally unapproachable. He had also developed valuable skills, so he did not feel totally dependent on success in his current job. However, he wanted to move things as rapidly as possible. Because he was proposing very radical ideas, he worked hard to show senior managers what life could be like if they adopted these exotic sounding (at the time) computer applications.

Kristen Callahan used the power of technology in another way. She tracked down the powerful doctor she wanted to influence using a search function, and plowed through his publications to find an e-mail address. She then thought hard about how to break through e-mail clutter and catch his interest. She didn’t know that IMD would have meaning to him, but correctly deduced that referring to the commonality of a Harvard PhD with his own degrees might intrigue him. Her assumption about addressing him by his first name was extremely astute in that particular context.

Note that both Callahan and Dames each felt that they had little to personally lose. Although that isn’t the case for everybody, it does raise the paradox that runs through this book. Worrying extensively about risk decreases your chance of being successful. Before giving up on bold initiatives, ask yourself: “What is the worst thing that could happen?” The worst-case outcome rarely is as catastrophic as you automatically may think. “Premortem analysis” can prevent premature paralysis—or impulsive leaping before looking.

Networking Advice

The same processes you use to gain access to key people are central to identifying who influences your target. What do you likely need from others in your own organization? They may have important information to help you understand more about the senior people you want to influence, useful ideas about how to improve or better present your project, willingness to connect you with key people they know, and sometimes, resources that will help you test or implement your project.

These people might be your peers, or even lower than you in the hierarchy. Wherever they are, you will need to exercise the influence skills and insights presented throughout this book by (1) understanding what matters to them and (2) offering them something valuable in return—whether you explicitly define terms of the exchange or do it just as part of a natural give-and-take process. When you already have a good relationship with people, you may only have to ask—and they will give help if they possibly can. Your ongoing friendship and gratitude may be payment enough—along with the implicit understanding that you will return the favor when needed.

If you have to address someone you don’t know very well, recognize that your request may have a cost to the person that you’ll have to repay. Are they putting their reputation on the line by vouching for you? If so, there will be expectations of reciprocity. You’ll be more likely to get what you need if you create the largest possible network before you have specific requests to make. This will increase the possibility that someone you already know can help you—which may then give you access to a powerful person or group.

Unfortunately, many people see networking as a mechanical process. The most important points are (1) know what the people in your network value, so you can help them achieve or gain this; (2) keep track of your connections’ activities and accomplishments by using tools like Google News Alerts or LinkedIn.

As you read further, you will see more ways of gaining the access to do the kind of networking described. But it is only when you can get someone’s attention that you can build the kind of influential relationship that will make the person willing to respond.

Gaining Access through Active Organizational Involvement That Creates Connections

Most organizations provide at least some opportunities to meet people from other parts of the organization that make it easy to get to know them and their skills. The problem is that many organizational members already feel overloaded with meetings, and avoid these kinds of events and groups. But working with new people is a license to build your network while learning about larger organizational issues. Informal settings can also create chances for new connections, though you will have to move past the interpersonal inertia that slows down many people.

For example, introducing yourself to organizational members and chatting with them about their jobs and experiences can lead to unanticipated connections that are both interesting and potentially valuable. This approach works best when you aren’t “in the hunt” for something in particular, and are just interested in getting acquainted. Another option is to interview peers to find out how your area can serve them better, or just to understand what they do. Genuine interest is a wonderful way to start creating a relationship. There’s no guarantee that you will ever want anything from these people, but that is all the better for broadening your network and creating currency “credits” that someday you might use.

And high-powered people aren’t the only helpful ones. For example, here is what Michael Cummings told us about making connections that were helpful when he was a lower-level manager at John Hancock:

I have a very friendly relationship with the security guards in our building simply from making an effort to say hello and introduce myself. Because we often receive[d] “secret” visits by those charged with the due diligence, my relationship with the guards allowed me to find out who our visitors were, from where they had arrived, and with whom they had meetings. I anticipated [the] coming acquisition because I was able to get ahead of the curve on understanding Manulife’s business.

Another tactic I have found very useful in being prepared to influence upward is something I learned from our former CEO: to always be reading what those on the top are reading. As a result, I subscribe to Barron’s and other publications that I know our CEO and presidents are reading—information I get from their administrative assistants, other direct reports, and our mailroom manager.

Gaining Access through Gatekeepers

If there are gatekeepers between you and the powerful person, you need to do the same kind of analysis of what they care about as with your final target. What is their world like? How can you give something they value? Are they rewarded for keeping people away? If yes, be explicit about your needs and why you want access. Ask how best to catch the powerful person’s attention, what information will be expected, and what medium of communication he or she prefers. Remember, the gatekeeper is a very powerful person in relation to you—so be respectful and understanding of that person’s role even if he or she is blocking your path.

In fact, gatekeepers might not only help you get access—they might also be an information source themselves. A scene from the movie Love and Other Drugs2 provides an example of this (perhaps using dramatic license). In the scene, a pharmaceutical sales rep needs an office administrator to get him face time with an incredibly overscheduled physician. It becomes a contest of ever larger (and unethical if not illegal) gifts to the administrator and then the doctor to ward off a rival sales rep. Though it’s a story of reciprocity gone awry, it makes clear that sheer efficacy of drugs may not be enough to get powerful doctors to prescribe—and that getting past the gatekeepers is a constant challenge.

We use this example to illustrate how hard it can be to get past certain kinds of gatekeepers, and therefore how tempting it is to treat relationships as instrumental trades. But make no mistake—even such nice things as just being friendly, connecting around the gatekeeper’s interests, and hanging around so long that you can’t be ignored are all also forms of currencies. If it turns out none appeal, you won’t get an appointment. It isn’t manipulative to be genuinely nice, even if you know that it also might be helpful in reaching your goals. In our view, you’re manipulating someone only when, if asked, you won’t admit your other goals.

Other Methods of Gaining Access

Of course, it may take more imagination on your part to get the first contact with outside senior executives. Only occasionally—in very large companies or bureaucracies—will you need the methods described in “Three Steps to Get a Meeting with Any VP.”3 This widely distributed blog appeared just after the death of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs and recommended donating time to the person’s favorite cause, using FedEx for sending your request, using the delivery as an excuse to connect with the person’s assistant at the beginning or end of the day, and doing it again if necessary.

When you’re trying to reach someone in another organization where you don’t have inside help, focus and persistence are required, along with knowledge of how to get your target’s attention. You need to think about whether you can find some way to get in his or her orbit—the FedEx letter is one strategy, as previously described. You may need to get their attention just to get any sort of response. If they operate in the digital world—via a blog, Facebook, or LinkedIn—follow them wherever you can, then comment frequently until they begin to notice you. People are beginning to learn how vital it is to build an online reputation these days, so that those seeking particular kinds of skills can easily discover you. This is important both within and outside of your own organization.4

To identify where your target is engaged in conversation, it is often possible to use certain publicly available programs, such as Klout.com and EmpireState.com. These show you a person’s network and where they connect with others. It’s also incredibly valuable to approach them in person (at venues like conferences) and ask questions. Someone we know who is good at this calls it “inquiry stalking,” a harmless way of getting in a position to eventually connect. What you try to do is ask enough good, exploratory questions to get in the person’s peripheral vision, until you are recognized. And often, by reciprocity, you may be asked questions or followed in return. It is even better if you have your own presence and contributions online or in conferences and gatherings such as trade shows and industry events, so that others see you as a person of substance.

For example, Rachel Greenberger is a recent master’s of business administration (MBA) graduate with a passion for making a difference about supply-chain issues concerning food and environmental consequences. She did a lot of this kind of electronic and in-person pursuit while looking for job possibilities, but also for connections that could be helpful to her in creating a dream job: starting a food-based organization. She eventually began working with the Lewis Institute for Social Innovation at Babson College (www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/the-lewis-institute/lab/Pages/home.aspx) and helped accomplish the incredibly challenging start-up task of gaining funding for and launching an action project called Food Solutions (Food Sol).

Rachel used social media to gain access to and influence some important players in this space. In the screen shots in Figures 12.1 to 12.3, you can see how she created her own presence on LinkedIn and Twitter, and then connected via these tools with David Stangis, Campbell Soup’s vice president for corporate social responsibility (used with permission of both).

FIGURE 12.1 Initial Approach to Dave Stangis by Rachel Greenberger on Twitter

FIGURE 12.2 Initial LinkedIn Connection between Rachel and Dave

FIGURE 12.3 Dave Stangis Communicating via his Twitter Account

You can see how Rachel is making her existence and value known, thereby gaining access to people who are interested in some aspect of food distribution. She finds common ground with others quickly, provides information and connections, and reaffirms each person through her interest while getting to know them. Key people from her industry now follow her tweets and blogs.

Another lesson Rachel teaches us is that you can use social media to get an idea about your target’s network. Who do they listen to? Can you gain access from there? Do you know someone who knows them? Can you get an introduction? How about second- or third-degree contacts via LinkedIn? This is a path to borrow someone else’s credibility—if they are willing to help.

Finding Commonalities

You always want to look for anything that you might have in common with the powerful person—whether it’s related to your organization’s positions, issues, or even personal interests. For example, is the person on any boards or involved in charitable activities? Is the person’s role likely to make for preoccupations with community, country, or world events? Remember—to be instantly credible with a powerful person, you want to be able to connect around larger issues. Although being aware of their personal interest can also work, you will appear relatively closer in power if you can discuss topics related to the powerful person’s job. For example, a hot new trend is reverse mentoring, in which young workers advise top managers at places like Hewlett-Packard, Ogilvy & Mather, and Cisco. If one were selected for such an assignment, it would be greatly helpful to know the top manager’s interests in advance.5

This process takes thought and effort even from a relatively high-power position. Michael May, former head of strategy services at the consulting firm Accenture, describes his experience:

Put your ego in your back pocket if you are having trouble gaining access, and consider different avenues in. For example—when the [chief operating officer] of U.S. Steel didn’t want to see me, I scoured my own organization to find someone with steel industry experience. I finally found one in Japan, and sent him in without me present—thereby completely letting go of my ego. The VP growled at him skeptically, “Have you ever felt the heat of a blast furnace on your cheek?” The Japanese guy turned his head to show his permanently reddened skin from working in steel mills, and said, “That’s why my cheek is so red.” The two became instant buddies.

You may not have the equivalent of a steel guy in your hip pocket, but by doing your homework and using your imagination, you may well be able to find some commonality to serve as an opening.

Summary of Overall Access Approach

• Treat others’ views as legitimate, given what they know and perceive—even if they’re rejecting you.
  Surprise the powerful person into looking again by acting as neither an insignificant nobody nor an uppity aspirer—strive to act as a partner. You are trying to pique the person’s interest just long enough to exchange at least another sentence or two. If you can do this, you might be able to get a conversation going another time—possibly even an instant reassessment about how worthwhile it would be to pay attention to you.
  If you get a dismissive response, that is exactly the critical moment at which to be thinking like a partner, saying to yourself, “This person doesn’t yet see the benefits of what I want to talk about; but since it will be for the good of the organization and him or her, I need to come at this another way. Of course, I might need to tweak my offer in some way as well.” Maintaining this attitude over time can help you earn enough respect to be able to engage with the person.
• Deliver valuable currencies—before the other person asks for anything.
  Analyze whether there is anything valuable you can deliver before you request something of this person, and possibly even before you have had any direct contact.
  When access is a problem, ask others for ideas of what might be valuable. Then do the work, and see if there is anyone likely to be interested in what you have done—and might tell your target about it. Is the company facing new competition? Are there new laws that could make things difficult? What will the impact be of new attention on sustainability? If you can pick something to study that crosses areas, then there is less risk of being seen as an interloper—and more chance of being perceived as helpful. You have to address the issues in an impartial way that can make action easier for senior decision makers.
• Adjust your style to the preferences of the powerful person’s style.
  This rule always applies when you are interacting with a powerful person, and is especially true when approaching a distant one. The style you use can make a big difference when you get only a very brief shot with someone who doesn’t know you. Does he or she prefer openness, brevity, warmth, formal distance, overt respect, task or relationship first, data or proposal first? We believe in what we call the 15 percent rule: be just a little more open, or direct, or vulnerable than the other party expects. Not so much that it makes the person uncomfortable, but slightly more than he or she might expect from a stranger. This may require being tougher, blunter, more concise, more deferential, or something else that isn’t automatic for you. But usually you will have it somewhere in your repertoire.
  It might be worth thinking about why style and even superficial things like clothing and appearance matter so much. The higher one’s position in an organization, the more one has to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity, and the more one has to make decisions that have long-term consequences. Because relevant and genuine expertise is therefore hard to judge, people below or from outside often are judged by whether they appear to be sufficiently similar to the senior person.
  The next step in enhancing your influence is to increase your own power, which has already begun as part of gaining access. But there is more to examine—which we do in the next chapter.

Notes

1. Scott Kirsner, “Collision Course: Toyota Creates the Ultimate SneakerNet,” Fast Company (January/February 2000). These comments were supplemented in a personal interview with Dames and Allan Cohen on September 22, 2011.

2. The movie is based on the memoir Hard Sell by Jamie Reidy.

3. The clever blog was by Christine Comaford, “I Stalked Steve Jobs (And How to Get a Meeting with ANY VIP),” Forbes (November 10, 2011).

4. We are grateful to Babson colleague Bala Iyer for his insights in this new territory of social media and reputation.

5. Leslie Kwoh, “Reverse Mentoring Cracks Workplace,” Wall Street Journal (November 28, 2011), B7.