Chapter 7. Obtaining Buy-in

Business is emotional. According to Gartner, there is now strong evidence that emotional engagement is four times more important than rational engagement. The purpose of this chapter is to reinforce the message that a successful strategy depends on the buy-in of people across the whole organization. If you have not done so already, read the Six step process section in Chapter 5, Implementing Effective Governance. It is an essential technique for obtaining a buy-in.

In this chapter, we will explore more techniques that win hearts and minds, and ensure alignment between the commercial and cultural aspects of the business. These include:

• Top 10 tips for process modeling

• Using Appreciative Inquiry to engage staff

• Distinguishing between change and transformation

• Understanding the outside-in (customer-centric) approach

While our focus is on implementing strategy, some of the lessons learned here can be applied in many different situations.