Stakeholders and handling pushback
Who decides, who carries it out and who loses something; meet them before the big meeting. And how to handle "your number is wrong" with the number itself.
Key takeaways
- A recommendation succeeds when the people who decide and the people affected have seen it before the meeting.
- If a manager objects because the change moves work onto their team, no number will settle it.
- The strong answer takes the challenge seriously, works out what it would change, and turns the critic into a helper.
Key idea
A recommendation succeeds when the people who decide and the people affected have seen it before the meeting. Pushback is information: find the reason under it, and answer with the number.
Map the people before the meeting
- Who decides? Often one or two people, not the whole room.
- Who has to carry it out? Their support decides whether it works after the meeting.
- Who loses something: budget, people, status? Expect their objections, and hear them early.
- What does each person care about most: cost, risk, their team, the customer?
- Meet the key people one by one before the big meeting, so nobody sees the answer for the first time in front of their boss.
Handling pushback in the room
- 1Thank them and say the point back: "So your concern is that suppliers will not accept the new terms."
- 2Ask what is behind it: "What are you seeing that makes you think so?"
- 3Decide what kind of disagreement it is: about a fact (a number can settle it) or about priorities (a number will not).
- 4For a fact, test it openly with the numbers: what happens to the answer if they are right?
- 5If you were wrong, say so and say what changes. If the answer holds, show why, and agree a next step.
A procurement head at a retailer in the UAE says: "Your saving is too high. At least 30 percent of suppliers will refuse the new payment terms, not 10 percent."
Weaker answer
"Our analysis is sound. We used the standard approach and we are confident in the figure."
Stronger answer
"That is a fair challenge, so let us test it. If 30 percent refuse instead of 10, the saving falls from AED 18 million to AED 14 million, still above the AED 10 million target. So the answer holds either way. Could your team help us find which suppliers are most likely to refuse, so we start with the others?"
Why the stronger answer wins: The strong answer takes the challenge seriously, works out what it would change, and turns the critic into a helper. The weak answer defends the work instead of testing it.
The numbers behind that answer: if every supplier accepted, the saving would be AED 20 million a year. With 10 percent refusing, 90 percent of 20 is 18. With 30 percent refusing, 70 percent of 20 is 14. Changing one assumption to see how much the answer moves is called a sensitivity check, and it is the fastest way to settle a fact disagreement in a meeting.
Using the example above: the full saving is AED 20 million a year if every supplier accepts. What is the saving if 30 percent of suppliers refuse? (Assume suppliers are of similar size.)
If a manager objects because the change moves work onto their team, no number will settle it. Say the trade-off plainly, ask what would make it workable (more time, more people, a phased start), and let the person who decides make the call with both sides in view.
Revisit: staying calm when challenged in an interviewA senior manager says your market growth number is too low. What is the best first move?
Sources for this lesson (1)
- Recognized public explanations of case-interview concepts and terms
My notes on this lesson
0 of 5,000 characters. Saves automatically.
Try the 2 remaining checks and drills above to complete this lesson (0 of 2 done).
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report a mistake. We check every report and correct the page.