It’s an interesting time at Arment Dietrich right now. We have the AD team and we have the Project Jack Bauer team and some of us are straddling both. To say I’m doing a great job at leading both teams is being overly nice. And because I’m not doing a great job, it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about and talking about with individuals on both teams. I’ve come to the conclusion that not only am I not leading both teams effectively, I’m not managing the change of adding a new business effectively.

When most people think about getting buy-in for their ideas, they think about it from the perspective of going to their boss with a great idea and having it shot down. There are plenty of books and articles written about how to present your idea to either your boss or the executive team to get buy-in. I suggest you take some time to read them if you really believe you have an idea and want to get buy-in.

But I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the change or the idea coming form the top and not getting buy-in. If you’re an employee, think about how frustrating it is when you have an idea that is shot down. If you’re a business leader, have you ever had to institute change that you really believe in, but no one else did? That’s the kind of emotion I want you to feel as you read this. (more…)