10 Tips on Tickling Sharks: #1
If you want to speak truth to power, have a word with yourself first
To transform the way markets see and create value, a key step is to engage those who control today’s markets. Some are already beginning to think differently, among them former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, but this is a process that will take decades. To play an effective and sustained role in such processes takes a mix of imagination, courage and stamina.
So, first in this list of ten tips, if you want to influence such powerful people it is essential that you work out who you are, what you stand for, and how you are likely to be experienced by others. Much of this must be learned over time, through experience—but it can be hugely helpful if you do some of the work up front.
We all have our flaws, our weak spots, so a little self-knowledge goes a long way. Above all, try not to become emotional even when talking about emotive subjects. Sharks are acutely sensitive to signs of distress.
Know, too, that many powerful people do not feel remotely as powerful as we might imagine. Some will know all too well that change is coming, even as they try to avoid speaking about it, let alone delivering it. They want to continue playing the game they know how to play—and win.
Be careful, too, of focusing all your attention on those with their hands on today’s levers of power. One critic of the “speaking truth to power” idea has been Noam Chomsky. His assessment: “Power knows the truth already and is busily concealing it.” It is the powerless, he has argued, who need to know what is going on and to be motivated to drive change.
But remember that, while megaphones can grab attention momentarily, effective CEO-whisperers know that overly loud voices encourage people to lean back, to turn their backs—whereas a quiet voice can encourage people to lean in.
Tomorrow, we consider why it’s important to meet Sharks where they are, not where we’d like them to be.
Again, all comments welcome.
John Elkington is Founder & Chief Pollinator at Volans. His personal website can be accessed here. This post draws on the Coda & Manifesto section of his new book, Tickling Sharks: How We Sold Business on Sustainability (Fast Company Press, 2024). This 10-part series of posts is designed to run daily from the 2nd to the 6th of September and the second five from the 9th to the 13th of September.
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Thank you for your input. I believe that the challenge could be our temptation to find one right way and then put our focus there. I believe it is essential to follow a more multi faceted approach. Yes the leaders are important but they cannot carry the change on their own. And when they leave the continuation of their direction of change might change. As we are now seeing with Unilever and others. The big task will therefore be How to approach the sharks, other leaders, their Co-workers (employees and key stakeholders) and the powerless (including customers) on How to move towards the changes.