“People only change when they feel a force that compels them to take action. Regardless of how much you wish you were that compelling force, you are not. So, the most important task in getting buy-in is to understand the forces that people feel; that is, the forces that are influencing their behavior.”
Brett Clay in an interview with Blogging Innovation
I like that quote. It’s from an interview about “selling innovation change” by an author focused on advice for salespeople. But I think it is pretty much universally true for anything that has to do with getting people to accept something new or work with you on something different.
Here is how I would put it: change starts with listening to people.