Chapter 5: Negotiate Success

Overview

When Michael Chen was promoted to manage the information technology (IT) function for a key business unit of an oil company, he was elated ”until he received calls from two colleagues. Both told him the same thing: Start updating your r sum . Cates is going to eat you alive .

His new boss, Vaughan Cates, was a hard-driving manager with a reputation for getting results ”and for being tough on people. Cates had recently taken over the unit, and several of the people she had inherited had already left.

Michael s friends anticipated the problem. You ve had a lot of success, one said. But Cates will think you re not aggressive enough. You re a planner and team builder. She ll think you re too slow and not up to the tough decisions.

Forewarned, Michael laid the groundwork with Cates to gain time for diagnosis and planning. I want to operate on a 90-day time frame, starting with 30 days to get on top of things, he told her. Then I will bring you a detailed assessment and plan with goals and actions for the next 60 days. Michael updated Cates regularly on his progress. Pressed by her to make a call on a major systems purchase after three weeks, Michael held firm to his schedule. At the end of 30 days, he delivered a strong plan that pleased his new boss.

A month later, Michael returned to report some early wins and to ask Cates for more headcount to advance a key project. She subjected him to withering questioning, but he was on top of his business case. Eventually she agreed to his requests , but set some strict deadlines for achieving results. Armed with what he needed, Michael was soon able to report that he had met several interim targets.

Building on his momentum, Michael raised the question of style at their next meeting: We have different styles, but I can deliver for you, he said. I want you to judge me on my results, not on how I get them. It took nearly a year, but Michael built a solid, productive working relationship with Cates.

To succeed as Michael Chen did with a new boss, it is wise to negotiate success so you don t play a losing hand. It is well worth investing time in this critical relationship up front, because your new boss sets your benchmarks, interprets your actions for other key players, and controls access to resources you need. He or she will have more impact than any other individual on how quickly you reach the breakeven point, and on your eventual success or failure.

Negotiating success means proactively engaging with your new boss to shape the game so you have a fighting chance of achieving desired goals. Too many new leaders just play the game, reactively taking their situation as given and failing as a result. The alternative is to shape the game by negotiating with your boss to establish realistic expectations, reach consensus on the situation, and secure enough resources. By negotiating effectively with Vaughan Cates, Michael laid the foundation for his success.

Keep in mind that the nature of your relationship with your new boss should depend on your level in the organization and the business situation you face. The higher you rise, the more autonomy you are likely to get. This is especially the case if you and your boss are situated in different locations. Lack of oversight can be a blessing, if you get what you need to succeed, or it can be a curse, if you get enough rope to hang yourself.

What you need from a boss also varies among the various ST _A RS business situations. If you are in a realignment , you need your boss to help you make the case for change. In a sustainingsuccess situation, you will need help to learn about the business and avoid early mistakes that threaten the core assets. In startups , you need resources and protection from too much higherlevel interference. In turnarounds, you may need to be pushed to cut back the business to the defendable core quickly.

There is much you can do to build a productive working relationship with your new boss. This chapter will show you how to engage in the right kinds of dialogue and how to create a 90-day plan. Read it even if you will be reporting to the same boss in your new role. Your relationship won t necessarily stay the same in a changed situation. The boss s expectations may be different, and you may need more resources. Many managers mistakenly assume that they can continue to work with a current boss in the same way despite a different role. Don t make this error.

Think also about how you might use the ideas in this chapter to accelerate relationship building with your own new direct reports . After all, don t you have a big stake in getting them to the breakeven point as quickly as possible?