Inspired by Apple Stores placing iPads crooked to encourage touch, consultants should present strategies with minor flaws. This invites senior teams to "straighten" the plan, creating a feeling of ownership that makes them five times more likely to embrace and execute it.
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Product leaders often feel they must present a perfect, unassailable plan to executives. However, the goal should be to start a discussion. Presenting an idea as an educated guess allows for a collaborative debate where you can gather more information and adjust the strategy based on leadership's feedback.
Don't pitch big ideas by going straight to the CEO for a mandate; this alienates the teams who must execute. Instead, introduce ideas casually to find a small group of collaborative "yes, and" thinkers. Build momentum with this core coalition before presenting the developed concept more broadly.
Product managers frequently receive solutions, not problems, from stakeholders. Instead of saying no, the effective approach is to reframe the solution as a set of assumptions and build a discovery backlog to systematically test them. This builds alignment and leads to better outcomes.
When presenting their rebrand strategy, Ford's CEO encouraged his team to transparently share challenges they hadn't yet solved. This demonstrated deep, critical thinking and built more confidence with the board than a perfectly polished presentation would have.
When presenting a strategy to leaders who like to 'leave their mark,' proactively design a space for their contribution. Instead of a sealed plan, explicitly ask for their opinion on a specific area. This satisfies their need to add value and makes them a co-owner of the strategy, increasing adoption.
When pitching a long-term strategic fix, regional leaders prioritized immediate revenue goals. The product team gained traction not by dismissing these concerns, but by acknowledging their validity. This respect builds the trust necessary to balance short-term needs with long-term investment.
To gain buy-in, guide people to your desired outcome through a curated series of questions. This allows them to feel like they are discovering the solution themselves, creating a powerful sense of ownership. They are more likely to commit to a conclusion they feel they helped create.
Don't just hand your champion a perfectly polished soundbite or business case. The act of creating it together—getting their feedback, edits, and "red lines"—is what builds their ownership and conviction. This process ensures they internalize the message and can confidently sell it on your behalf.
Instead of faking expertise, openly admitting ignorance about technical details builds trust and empowers specialists. This allows you to focus on the 'what' and 'why' of the user experience, giving engineers and designers the autonomy to own the 'how', which fosters a more collaborative and effective environment.
Instead of developing a strategy alone and presenting it as a finished product (the 'cave' method), foster co-creation in a disarming, collaborative environment (the 'campfire'). This makes the resulting document a mechanism for alignment, ensuring stakeholders feel ownership and are motivated to implement the plan.