Projects rarely move forward and new initiatives are rarely successful if you do not have cooperation from your team. A great technique to build cooperation among team members is to help your team better understand why and how the project or initiative can positively effect them. One way to do that is to get your team saying, “yes” immediately. By beginning in a way that is agreeable to your team, you can reduce resistance and increase engagement.
Dale Carnegie talks about this principle in his bestselling book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” and it is still featured as a cornerstone of Dale Carnegie Training programs. Essentially, Carnegie said when talking with other people don’t begin by discussing the things on which you differ. Instead, begin by emphasizing—and keep emphasizing—the things on which you agree. Make it clear that you are both striving for the same end and that your only difference is one of method and not purpose.
Here’s a short video of this important principle in action from your friends at Dale Carnegie Training of New Jersey:
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