Power, Influence and Project Management

While watching a movie at home recently (with “watching” being a very loose term), I heard a very profound statement from this semi-romantic theatrical achievement. The movie was Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and the lead character, photographer/womanizer Connor Mead, played by Matthew McConaughey, prophesized that: “the power in all relationships lies with whoever cares less”. The more I thought about this statement the more sense it made. Wow….such a thought provoking statement from an otherwise silly movie. Think about it, when we negotiate the price on a new car (or anything for that matter) the last thing we want to convey to the other side is “I gotta have that”. We try to play it like a poker game with cards held close to the chest, trying to show minimal interest in the product of our desires, often walking away to demonstrate our lack of interest.

To demonstrate this principle, last year my wife and I decided we would be car “leasers” rather than car “owners” since all of our seemingly rich friends tended to lease their cars rather than purchase. We figured they got rich for a reason. However, we found that the negotiation process was the same as a purchased car. We first visited a Toyota dealer. They had a deal we liked on a new Camry: $300 down, $300 a month for 3 years for people with decent credit (which apparently we had). We drove the car and liked it OK, but decided to also test drive a Honda Accord. We liked the Honda more, but they were not offering the same deal. We presented the Honda dealer with the same deal we were offered at the Toyota dealer.

Of course, they gave us every reason you can imagine why they could not match the Toyota deal. We left our contact information and walked away. The next day, the salesperson called (from both dealerships actually). The Honda dealer was now going to match the Toyota deal (although I think he may have been crying into the phone). We accepted the offer and have been very pleased with the car and the deal since. The truth is that power, and knowing if you have power (and if so where did you get it), is key to any project manager’s long term success. However, understanding the importance of power in gaining influence is often a lost art in a project environment.

Power comes from many sources. To build up and increase our confidence as negotiators we need to step back and analyze the sources of our personal power and compare them with those of the people with whom we are negotiating. Power can also come from more than one source at a time. Power can be lost quicker than it’s gained. Power can be real or perceived by others. My wife and I had something often referred to as purse-string power. We had the money and the dealer wanted it.

Here are a few other examples of power sources to consider:

Information Power:
Information power comes from having knowledge that will influence the outcome of the negotiation. Planning and research can increase our information power, as can asking the right questions before we reach the bargaining phase of the negotiation.

Reward Power:
Reward power comes from having the ability to reward the other party in the negotiation. It could be the power a buyer has to place an order for goods and services or the power a salesperson has to give good service and solve problems.

Coercive Power:
Coercive power is the power to punish. This is seen most commonly in the buyer- seller relationship (If you don’t buy from me now I will not sell to you in the future when you really need my product).

Situation Power:
Situation power is the power that comes from being in the right place at the right time. A customer is desperate to place an order and you are the only source of supply in the short term. Having an effective network and keeping in touch with what is happening can increase your situation power.

Expert Power:
Expert power comes from having a particular skill which you can apply and which can influence the outcome of the negotiation. Improving negotiation skills helps you win better deals. Other areas of expertise could also help the outcome of the negotiation.

Borrowed Power:
Borrowed power is power by association. For example, I play golf with the CEO of the company and people know it, I therefore have borrowed power. Or perhaps if I am President of the local PMI chapter, this will give me personal power.

And Finally- Referent Power:
Referent power comes from being consistent over time. If people see you as having a clear, consistent strategy as a negotiator, you will increase your referent power. Having standards that you stick to and being consistent will help to increase your referent power. Referent power is occasionally called personal power. It is premised on the target's attraction to the power holder - liking, perceived similarity, admiration, desire to be close to or friendly with the power holder. This attraction may be due to physical attractiveness, dress, mannerisms, lifestyle or position, but can also include friendliness, congeniality, honesty, integrity and so on.

Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may at last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously.
Lance Morrow