Get Buy-in Now!
Download our Get Buy-in Now! Template
Download the slides from our Get Buy-in Now! Workshop
The Opening Pitch
A typical conversation between a Development Lead (Tom) looking to embark on an agile transformation and an Executive (Mary) who needs to be convinced…
Tom: Hey Mary, I just got back from the Scrum Gathering. You asked me to bring back the knowledge I gain to apply in our organization, so here goes...Scrum is the next big thing. We seriously need to switch all our teams to Scrum right now.
Mary: I’m kind of busy. What is this about?
Tom: Scrum is a framework our teams can use to have more fun. Scrum is great because the team has a meeting every morning, then they meet to refine their work, then they host these amazing demos, then we talk about what went well and how to improve - sometimes people cry in those meetings.Oh man - it’s great!
Mary: Sounds like a lot of meetings. Not sure how that would be more fun.
Tom: Well, you’ll just have to trust me on that. I could use help with a few things to get this initiative going. Since we won’t be valuing planning as much anymore, I need you to tell the teams that it’s OK to miss that deadline we have coming up for the user conference next month. We also won’t be valuing contract negotiation, so we’re going to rip up our client contracts in favour of a good old handshake. Scrum teams are self-organizing, so I need you to tell the managers that the inmates will be running the asylum. The heavens will part, the birds will chirp, the choir will sing and all our problems will disappear! Oh, and we’ll also need to hire some consultants to help us make the transition to Scrum and we’re going to need an enterprise JIRA license. At the Scrum Gathering, I learned that Executive Buy-In is the reason why our last transformation effort failed so I’m going to need you to drive the transformation.
Mary: Sounds like a lot of change.
Tom: So you’re on board?
Mary: Thank you for your time. We have a lot going on right now so maybe later when things calm down, we can think about this.
That might have been the only chance Tom had to pitch Scrum to his CTO and it didn’t go as well as he had hoped. So, what went wrong?
The Importance of Executive Support
Well, Tom was right about one thing: executive support is super important for any change initiative to succeed. Knowing how to deliver a solid elevator pitch to an executive is crucial because sometimes all we have is three-minutes and one shot to pique their interest for further conversation.
“…support from senior management is pivotal to successful Agile transformation.”
“…the C-suite plays an integral role in driving adoption of agility across the enterprise…87% [of survey respondents] view the CEO as the biggest proponent of organizational agility.”
Without executive buy-in, transformation efforts will fail. Period.
And that, my friends, is the reason we help Scrum Masters develop and practice elevator pitches for their initiatives in our A-CSM program at Superheroes Academy. It’s just that important.
Executive Empathy
A good starting point for creating an effective elevator pitch for your Executive is to take some time to better understand them; as a leader and as a person. Executives:
often feel alone in their role
have their own fears and insecurities
are people too
Before approaching executives, taking the time to understand who they are and the unique challenges they face will go a long way in gaining buy-in for your idea. The first step to delivering a successful pitch is empathizing with the person you’re pitching to. When Executives see that we understand them and their unique challenges, they’ll be more receptive to our ideas and not see us as a salesperson who just wants something. In order to do that, we need to see them as a whole person, not just their titles.
Strategies for Engaging Executives:
Don’t be a salesperson. Be a partner.
Learn and care about them as a person.
Show you understand their unique challenges.
Approach them as a whole person - they’re more than their titles.
One tool that you can use to gain more insight and empathy into these aspects of an executive is an empathy map.
Empathy Map
Download our Empathy Map once you know who you need to support your idea. Next, really step into who that person is, what they think and feel, what they see or do, what they hear, the kryptonite that pains them and the superpowers they possess. Fill out the empathy map with what you discover.
You’re now ready to build your elevator pitch now that you better understand your executive from stepping into their shoes for a few minutes. Start by cracking open our Get Buy-in Now! template and complete section 1 with the information you now have about your executive.
“People don’t buy WHAT you do they buy WHY you do it.”
Start with WHY
Simon Sinek is well known for his Golden Circle which he uses to describe the science behind how the brain makes decisions. Surprisingly, feelings are more important in decision making than facts and logic. Instead of describing what your idea is, how you plan to implement it and why it needs to happen now, Simon suggests reversing this order. First, share the why behind the idea to target the limbic brain’s response to feelings (which is where decisions are actually made, according to Sinek), next describe the how of the idea and lastly say what the idea is which springs the neocortex into action to justify the decision that your limbic brain has already made. As Sinek puts it, “People don’t buy WHAT you do they buy WHY you do it.”
Keeping this idea of starting with WHY in mind, move on to completing section 2 of our Get Buy-in Now! template.
Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle
The Critical Minute
You now have the content for your elevator pitch, but don’t head to the elevator just yet. There is more to learn about delivering an effective elevator pitch - starting with the Critical Minute.
The first minute of your elevator pitch is crucial in setting the stage to gain support for your idea. Be sure to:
Build rapport by:
showing that you care about the executive and their needs. They’re not just a means to an end.
saying anything that is at a human level. Shared experiences are best.
mirror their mannerisms.
smile and use the person’s name.
Create a sense of urgency or an aspirational purpose that the executive can’t ignore. Rhetorical questions can be an effective tool to use here.
Section 3 of our Get Buy-in Now! template provides space for you to plan out your Critical Minute to be sure you approach your executive as intended.
Death Moves and Antidotes
When pitching ideas to executives be sure to avoid these death moves by getting good at their corresponding antidotes.
Blame - suggesting in any way that the executive is the cause of your problem. John Wooden has stated that you haven’t failed “…until you start blaming others.” Instead, use a soft startup to avoid introducing toxic language into your elevator pitch. Taking personal responsibility is also helpful here. Christopher Avery has a great model that helps us take personal responsibility.
Rambling - you are not heard because of your many words. Slow down the pace of your speech and speak in a lower tone to signal to listeners that what you’re about to say is important. In fact, law students are taught to do exactly this - keep it low and slow.
Run at “no” - in his groundbreaking book on negotiation, “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It”, Chris Voss outlines why “no” is the start of the negotiation, not the end. By triggering a “no” it makes the speaker feel safe, secure, and in control. That’s why “Is now a bad time to talk?” is a better question to ask than, “Do you have a few minutes to talk?” So don’t run away when you hear no. This just means you’re having a healthy negotiation and you’re still in the game.
Buzzwords - avoid buzzwords and use language that is meaningful to your audience. Try pitching the idea to a friend in a different industry or a child - if they understand what you say, you’re probably on the right track. Then use those same words with your executive.
Not being prepared - be sure to prepare answers to questions your executive is likely to ask and practice your elevator pitch ahead of time. You might try receiving feedback on your pitch from a colleague or by recording yourself giving the pitch. Writing the pitch out could be helpful, but don’t cross the line and create a slide deck. Remember, you just might be in an elevator!
Action Planning
It’s difficult to follow-through on ideas and intentions - even if it’s something really important to us. Peter Gollwitzer’s research shows that vowing to do something does not increase the level of follow-through, no matter how intensely we say we’ll do it. I’m reminded of Bart Simpson picking up the guitar as his new hobby. By the end of that episode of The Simpsons, Bart was no longer committed to learning the guitar and had to break the news to his dad, Homer whose reaction speaks to the difficulty most of us experience in following through on our ideas:
“Son, come here. Of course I’m not mad. If something’s hard to do, then it’s not worth doing. You just stick that guitar in the closet next to your short-wave radio, your karate outfit, and your unicycle, and we’ll go inside and watch TV.”
What does work, according to Gollwitzer, is creating vivid concrete plans. Picturing when, where and exactly how we’ll do something leads to significantly higher levels of follow through. Take a minute and envision exactly when, where and how you’ll pitch your idea and then write that down in section 4 of our Get Buy-in Now! template. And while you’re in there, think of how you’ll celebrate your courage in delivering the elevator pitch, regardless of the result and add that to the template.
Hero Pose
The last thing to do immediately before giving your pitch is to strike your hero pose. The science behind this one is disputable, but we’ve found it helpful here at Superheroes Academy. Amy Cuddy describes how power posing can increase confidence ahead of events such as public speaking. So, before heading into the boss' office, take a moment to strike a pose (or whatever else works for you) to give yourself a jolt of confidence.
In Closing
We’ve heard from many superheroes over the years share how their elevator pitch led to a promotion, pay raise, start of an agile transformation, and all kinds of other initiatives. We’d love to hear what you’re doing out there in the world. Tag us on Twitter (@SuperheroesAcad) and let us know how your pitch goes.
Want to go deeper?
Register below and join us on September 22, 2022 at 11am MST as we discuss this topic as part of the Scrum Alliance® webinar series.
References
Video: How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek
The Responsibility Process: Unlocking Your Natural Ability to Live and Lead with Power by Christopher Avery
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss
Forbes Insights - 3 Steps For Building An Agile-Friendly C-Suite