Special thanks to Michael P.J. McKendry for this blog entry. It is part of the IPP 2.0 Blog Series, which revisits the “rules” introduced in Dirk’s book Influencing Powerful Peopleand invites experts from various sectors to share their perspective on the topic. Michael is a recently retired executive with almost 30 years of diverse legal and business experience within multinational corporations and a large law firm.
I recently retired from a position as VP Corporate Services, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at an industry leading international manufacturing company. Prior to that I worked at a leading global consumer products company and prior to that at a large law firm in downtown Toronto. For close to 30 years I came into contact with clients (both external and internal) who were often powerful in any number of ways, including those who were: important within the organization in which I was employed; important within society; superiors within the organization; powerful and/or domineering personalities; entrepreneurs who ran their own businesses; political figures; or even stubborn and headstrong individuals that could be intimidating to deal with as a client in either a law firm or a corporate setting.
Negotiation is everywhere. From the most complex corporate merger to deciding on who will do what chores, learning the art of negotiation will have real world impact. What I love most about negotiation is that it is for everyone and, if you do it well, everyone can be better off.
Powerful people, especially those of the larger than life variety, do not accept the status quo. They are driven to influence, disrupt, and shape the world around them; sometimes they “make” history. But power does not exist in a vacuum. Any era has its own irresistible currents that provide the context in which powerful people operate; these forces will empower some and obstruct others. Thus, understanding the times is critical - both for powerful people themselves and those seeking to influence them.
The dynamic of an active board and a strong-willed CEO leads to difficult conversations, especially when dealing with type “A” personalities, such as founders and hard driving professional executives. In a private equity ownership context, conflict can develop in almost any area ranging from strategy, to leadership and finance. When left unchecked, these situations can get in the way of growth and value creation. In the worst case, a collision between strong characters may end up in a costly parting of ways and the ensuing loss of opportunity.
A little more than 10 years ago I started organized research into a topic that had been a preoccupation of mine for a large part of my professional career: How to work with and influence powerful people. The outcome of this venture was the publication on Influencing Powerful People (IPP) in 2011 and 16 “rules” of IPP engagement.
The ability to engage and influence powerful people is especially important in the context of a family business. Founders and CEOs of family businesses are often strong willed and even intimidating people. Understanding what drives them and how to work with them effectively can make a huge contribution to the success and growth of a family business and help its further development from a leadership and strategy perspective.
Author: Dirk Schlimm, Partner, Jenoir International |
In December of 2009 I taught my first session on “difficult conversations in the boardroom” at the ICD/Rotman Directors Education Program (DEP 29). In the following 10 years, I delivered the program over 100 times - at the Rotman School in Toronto and as a DEP national instructor in Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and St. John’s. Of course, the program has evolved since; some topics of difficult conversations have remained constant and new ones have entered the boardroom: People decisions (whether board members or executives) have always been a difficult conversation; the risks and opportunities of data driven business models are a new topic.
I have yet to meet an executive at mid-life who wouldn’t at some point have asked the question whether their company is still the right place for them.