People take risks whether or not they take
action. To gather support for your process, understand the risks
that participants will be taking. Lay out the advantages a disadvantages
of addressing the problem. Be as frank and as open as possible.
The chance for an effective solution, an enhanced reputation
or credibility , and cooperation
on other projects may be enough to outweigh the risks from the
participant's perspective.
Working on a project requires taking a stand on an issue
even if the stand is merely that it would be worthwhile to find
a solution. People invest their political influence, professional
expertise, resources, or social standing when they agree to
work on a project and, thus, weigh the risks before committing
themselves.
Decisionmakers and internal participants
may also hesitate to act or to adopt innovative approaches to
solve the problem. Internal participants or teams may be afraid
of:
- Change (We have never done it that way.)
- Disagreements (Mr. Y may not like that.)
- Losing control (The data might be interpreted or used
in a different context.)
- Credibility (We may be held
accountable for preliminary data that may be incorrect.)
- Commitment (We might be held to promises that later may
be infeasible.)
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