The Executive Has Motivations

“Maybe I can find a dev that’ll be open to reducing their fees just for us.”
“I’ll be able to reassurance the team if I can stabilize the workload and the turnover for a bit.”
“The CEO is asking me about deadlines, and I want to set expectations.”

Underneath their commitments to the company, an executive will be fitting every decision through a need for progress. Their personal need for progress.

Maybe they’ll be looking at their next career move. Maybe they want to move away from overwork. Maybe they’re hitting some personal limits.

In every case, an executive in motion is on a simple arc. They want to move away from the old, and toward the new. Away from over here, and toward an over there.

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Let’s look deeper at the above situations, to get a sense of the backstory.

“We’re a little too close to the limits of our budget. I need to find some creative ways to move us away from that edge.”
“Our team has been struggling since the departure of our senior dev. It’s time to think of what we’re going to do about that.”
“This project will probably need a new strategy because the pace is much slower than we were hoping for.”

Notice that these are all starting points, triggers that get the executive on the move. Those are the over here’s that those executives want to move away from. It’s just one part of the picture.

But to understand the full picture, it helps to understand that they have a broader motivation. We need to imagine their over there’s, the place they’d like to get to.

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“If I’m able to reduce costs, I’ll be able to use that story on my next career move.”
“Once the team is in a better spot, we’ll be able to continue giving to the broader community by publishing and by playing, getting back to a long-term game.”
“These tough conversations about deadlines and scope are important. Maybe this will help us get to the next level as a company, be more innovative.”

Underneath each of these is a “so I can” statement, a sub-conscious desire. Even for the selfless leader, there’s a personal motivation.

“So I can gain speed and grow as an executive.”
“So I can make this place more about people than about the work.”
“So I can get us into an innovation culture, the core obsession I can’t get enough of.”

Will you help them get there.?

Will you help reduce cost risks so the executive can get a win on their resume? Maybe they’ll bring you in at the next gig.

Will you help train and coach the team over a few months so a new senior can emerge? Maybe this client will create a stellar people-centred you’ll eventually want to join.

Will you help create a new internal framework to ship features much faster? Maybe some new product ideas will come from working with that team.

With this knowledge, imagine the kinds of proposals you can create for these executives. A fixed bid for some shared revenue if it works? An ask-me-anything retainer for async video recordings and giving spot feedback. A stipend sponsorship for your leadership on open-source project they’ll use internally to speed things up.

Selling to an executive doesn’t need to become impersonal. No need to hide behind process. No. That executive you’re in conversation with, that executive is moving away from an over here, hoping to get to an over there, and if they’re talking to you, they’re open that you’ll help them get there.