Persuade and Decide: "Meet me in Paris"
Imagine you’re a secret agent. And you’ve just received an urgent message from one of your contacts. But all it deciphers to say is, "Meet me in Paris." Where would you meet?
The first, most obvious answer is the Eiffel Tower. But wait. What if it’s the Louvre? Or the Arc de Triomphe? And wouldn’t the airport make more sense? Or what if it’s Paris, Texas?
But if you goal is to meet your contact, the correct answer is the Eiffel Tower. Why? Because that’s the most obvious answer, the answer that’s universally recognized as a symbol of Paris. Despite the value we place on concepts like “innovation” and “outside the box thinking” and “divergent ideas” and “paradigm shifts,” the first, most obvious answer isn’t necessarily wrong. Depending on your goals, there is a time and place for creative ideas, and there is a time and place for going with the obvious answer.
The Principle of "Meet Me In Paris"
If you want buy-in to your decisions, present them in a way that’s easily recognized and understood by all, just like the Eiffel Tower. Choose what's most likely to be readily understood by the largest audience. Meet them where they are. “We’re moving our entire infrastructure to the cloud!” is a statement that might excite the IT folks, but it scares everyone else. They’ll ask, “Will I still be able to do my work the way I know how? Will I have to learn something new? Will it slow me down and create more administrative headaches? Will it work? What if it’s too complicated for me?” Instead, say, “Our systems are outdated. Production has to get spreadsheets from sales to figure out how many units to make. Customer service tells productions about errors they’re seeing via email. And marketing has no idea how our customers are finding us. But starting today, we’re going to fix that.”
In group decision making processes, groups can take their mandate to “think outside the box!” a little too far, challenging perfectly good ideas even after they’ve already been decided on. While it’s healthy to think carefully about the implications of ideas, it’s also important to make decisions and move on. Sharing the Principle of “Meet Me In Paris” reminds groups that sometimes the first, obvious answer may also be the best answer because others will see it the same way.
By employing these and other principles of group dynamics, we help guide groups from brainstorming to refining ideas. If you're interested in further exploring how group dynamics and facilitation can help your team make better decisions, please don't hesitate to contact us at Lizard Brain. We would be happy to partner with you on your next meeting or project. Let's work together towards more productive and engaging collaborations!