Asking Them to do Something

When we invite people to help us get things done, we never intend to waste their time. But they may not believe that. Past experience in being asked to help and then being left on the sidelines, ignored, or other such horror stories of involvement may have colored their view. We can help overcome this by being clear in the invitation what we are asking people to do and why.

Let people know what your project will be like through your invitation. If the work will be creative, then show creativity in the way you invite them. If you will be asking a lot of questions, include several examples in your invitation so that people will start thinking about them and will want to be part of creating the answers.

Sometimes saying what the project will not be like is important. We have seen invitations that promise "No speeches, no hierarchy." Those weary of bureaucratic committee meetings are likely to find such an invitation very appealing.

One restructuring project we worked on with a cosmetics company needed people to join at every stage of the design. They wanted everyone to be involved in some part of the job. They laid out what all the work was. They made it clear that each stage of the work required people to do something. They laid out what talents and aptitudes would suit which work. Then they invited people to choose. Everyone responded to this invitation; every stage had a great team of people who came with their sleeves rolled up.

Sometimes we are asking people for their ideas. We might issue a general invitation and get nothing. Ever opened a suggestion box to find that the only slips in the box are sarcastic comments? Perhaps we need to do more than ask them to do something. We might have to say what the impact of their action will be and how we will use it. The best suggestion schemes we have seen have made promises. There was a process that took every suggestion seriously and responded to each one.

Inviting people to meetings can be the hardest work of all. In Chapter 6, we will talk about how you can make meetings a powerhouse of involvement. But you have to get people to show up first. There have been too many meetings that were a waste of their time. If they are wary of meetings, you may need to tell them what work will be done at the meeting. In addition, asking them what they would like to discuss or what should be on the agenda is a powerful way to invite people to your meeting. In doing so, you convey the message "This is not just my meeting, it is our meeting."

We have seen a range of ways of inviting people to meetings and letting them know that something will be done. One we like is to include some form of interview or questionnaire. It says we are going to be listening to you; you are going to have a say in how this works. Another is to engage people emotionally by asking them to bring something with them—an object or newspaper article—that represents an important issue you are going to be working on in the meeting.

Sometimes you can invite people in by simply getting on with the work yourself. We think of this as "being the invitation." It's one thing to ask people to help you with a job. It's quite another to roll up your sleeves and start doing it yourself. This can work wonders when you are confident that people will recognize that the job is too big for you to handle alone. Also, they can see exactly what you need help with. We have spouses who are masters of this—when they start a big project like redecorating the house or landscaping the garden, it's almost impossible to resist getting involved.