If your influencing goals are important, treat them seriously as you would any other task in your job. Start to think of it as a project and plan out what steps you have to take. You may also benefit from other elements of the discipline of project management like risk and issue logs.
The best influencers develop a logical plan, keep records, review their progress and adjust their plans accordingly. This enables them to make quick progress towards realising their goal.
Take action on this secret…
- Write down the main steps you need to take towards realising your goal.
- Figure out a logical order and consider the links and dependencies.
- Keep a record in your schedule of opportunities when you might meet key people informally.
- Keep a log of your progress and review your plans as you move forward.
And remember, people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan!
