Successfully reaching the decision maker… around the ‘gatekeeper’.

How many times have we been blocked from the real decision maker, the person who is effectively protected by staff, lawyers, managers, the front line combatants. Often, for certain, as it is a common practice, separate the decision makers from the front lines so the decision can be made without undo influence. It happens all the time and the frustration in not being able to talk to the actual decision maker is significant.

This is done for many reasons, some good and some not so god but irrespective of why, the issue remains the same, all of us want to argue our case to the real decision maker and we become very frustrated when we can’t fully believing that the decision maker is just not getting the whole story or the story you want to deliver if only you could talk with him or her.

You can and here is how.

I talked elsewhere in this blog about the self serving memo used to memorialize a decision or a conversation, a unilateral writing that repeats what has been discussed and agreed …for the record.

I elevate this tool to be applied to this situation, reaching a protected decision maker, to argue your case and provide the vital information you believe the person must understand if the right decision is to be made.

Here is the deal: We need to understand a basic characteristic of all guard dogs…they are not interested in arguing your case for you. The decision maker will never hear the entire story as you want him/her to hear it if you rely on the lawyer, assistant or whomever the protector/deflector may be to effectively relay your message. It isn’t going to happen. They will say as little as possible. They certainly do not want to be perceived as representing the opposition let alone passionately arguing the case for them. That will never happen. Thus your case will never be properly heard under most circumstances.

However, what I have done successfully time and again, is to argue my case the way I want to in a letter not addressed directly to the decision maker, but maybe to the lawyer or whomever is blocking the way.Your doing this knowing that the letter will be given directly to the decision maker as long as it is believed it was not intended to be directed to him/her, and this may be as close as you can get to make your case the way you want.

I frequently write the letter as if it was from my client to me and I give this presumably confidential document to my deflector who will clearly send it into the decision maker and it has the appearance of being a unique glance at what the person is saying to his own lawyer, consultant,  whatever, and it therefore carries the weight of sincerity, candor and honesty. It as great credibility and it works terrifically.

This is how you get to argue your case to the decision maker who is protected from you preventing honest candid communication.

Try it, you will like it. it works.