Reading The CXO’s Mind

<div><p><strong><em>Primitive behavioral psychology is often utilised by management consultants to read the mind of CXOs, says Sandeep Das</em></strong><br><br>Management consulting, in a nutshell, is about building trust based long lasting relationship with CXOs. Although problem solving or analytical rigor is often stressed upon as the key skill required to succeed in this industry; successful client interactions go a long way in establishing lucrative professional relationships. Leveraging primitive psychology, as a tool, can be extremely helpful in this exercise.</p></div><div>The most talked about management research on behavioral communication, by researchers Mehrabian, Wiener and Ferris, concluded that 55 per cent of all communication is through body language. Only 7 per cent of all communication is through the actual words spoken while 38 per cent of communication occurs via tone of the voice.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The article looks at some of the most extensive techniques leveraging behavioral psychology to garner initial and capture sustained share of mind.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Building "cultural familiarity" and delivering "impact statements" are often used to garner initial share of mind!</strong></div><div>Garnering initial share of a CXO's mind is seen as a good starting point in any conversation. Conversation starters to build "cultural familiarity" with CXOs often revolve around conversing in a local dialect or engaging in a discussion of a sporting tournament or sporting heroes. Other techniques to build "familiarity" include talking about the stock price of the client or a latest news item featuring the client.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Another technique recommended by management literature includes using an impact statement. The concept of an impact statement revolves around starting a conversation with a key fact or anecdote that can force an audience into thinking about what is coming next. For instance, "while you are doing well today, nearly 70 per cent of today's customers will no longer be with you in 3 years' time" is a classic case of using a "scare message" as an impact statement.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Utilising social styles is one of the most effective management tools to capture sustained share of mind!</strong></div><div>While garnering initial share of mind is easy and achievable, generating a sustained share of mind is significantly more challenging. One of the key management tools that is universally applied by management consultants is the social styles behavioral model. Social styles, formulated by Merrill and Reid, is one of the premier behavioral style models to understand interpersonal behavior.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Every person's interpersonal style, when evaluated on two key parameters of "Assertiveness" and "Emotional Responsiveness" can be categorized in 4 categories; Expressive, Driver, Analytical and Amiable. People with an Expressive social style tend to look at the "feeling based" big picture with a slight aversion to excessive detail. People with a Driver social style are result oriented with low emotional display. People with an Analytical social style are process oriented, thorough and fact obsessed. People with an Amiable social style are primarily people focused.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>CXOs belonging to a certain social style prefer a particular style of communication. For instance, different strategies can be employed to present a detailed market entry strategy to CXOs. An Analytical social style might be shown a detailed number heavy presentation with the focus on key assumptions and underlying numerical logic. A Driver social style might be shown a detailed implementation plan and the date by which she or he can start realizing profits. An Amiable social style might be presented the people impacted and the softer aspects of business. An Expressive social style might be presented one slide with the key findings. One of the perennial rumors in consulting are about how an Expressive CXO was once a shown the output of a market entry strategy by showing a tree with fruits where each fruit indicated a different segment and the diameter of the fruit the size of the segment. Some of the segments which were immediate priority were shown as low hanging fruits.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>While it is difficult to generalize, there are some behavioral aspects that are characteristic of certain social styles. Expressive and Amiable tend to be emotionally open rather that Analytical and Driver. Expressive and Amiable tend to be great motivators for the people who work for them. Analytical and Driver tend to be more structured, pragmatic and thorough with what they do.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>With consistent training, it is possible to assess the social style of a person in less than a minute. &nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Over a period of time, some management consultants become experts at understanding behavioral psychology!</strong></div><div>Basic psychology suggests that non-verbal or behavioral aspects emerge from the "unconscious" or the temporal lobes of the human brain. These aspects manifest itself in individuals, all individuals behaving in either "freeze, flight or fight modes".</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>With sustained training, experience and exposure; some consultants become experts at behavioral psychology. They become experts at understanding nuances about human behavior and understanding the root mode behind the "sub-conscious communication". Sample examples include closely following eye movement, noticing the direction of the feet on the floor, twitching of fingers, inclination of posture, etc. Some even try and leverage on graphology or critically evaluating the hand writing of the client stakeholder to get a better idea about their state of mind. In fact, a CXO's signature speaks volumes of his mental makeup whether he is stingy, flamboyant, meticulous, etc.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>In conclusion, in any client facing business, building relationships based on trust leads to lasting professional success. Effective interactions based on behavioral psychology can go a long way in succeeding in such a client context. Although it is easy to understand the nuances of some of the management frameworks, building expertise is a matter of specialized coaching and experience.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>(<em>The author, Sandeep Das, is an MBA from IIM Bangalore, a management consultant, the author of “Yours Sarcastically” and a columnist)</em></div>