Last Friday I took a class titled "Getting Work Done Without Authority." The class taught us how to use different methods to reach our goals depending on who we're working with. (In fact the instructor said it applied to ex-spouses and children too.)

We were taught about the trademarked "Influence Edge" system which breaks "influence" methods into three groups - Push methods (e.g., making suggestions), Pull methods (e.g., asking open ended questions), and Push/Pull methods (e.g., offering incentives). We identified which methods each one of us use and practiced the methods that we don't like to use.

The process to reach your goal is to 1) you figure out your goal and who needs to help you reach it, 2) figure out how you think about it, 3) figure out how the person(s) and organization think about it, and 4) figure out the right method to use. Then you have your meeting, apply the method and ta dah--it's done!

I know it sounds hokey but right now I'm trying to rationalize how I work with others so it was useful. I particularly liked the prework which consisted of me sending surveys to coworkers asking them about how I used push, pull, and push/pull methods and if they wanted me to use each method more or less. The results were generally okay but they did want to use more of the methods I don't like to use (e.g., summarizing).

The instructor was great. When she heard I had to miss the last 90 minutes of the class she called a break and talked to me for tweny minutes about the last part of the class and about what I'd learned.

I have to work harder at having and communicating clear goals for my meetings and do better at listening (understanding), summarizing, and asserting what has to be done. My past practice is sloppy and works out if everything falls into place but I deal with a lot of people on all sorts of projects and I can't just expect things to work.

I've also requested an online PMI class that should get me ready for the test prep class for certification. I hope that gets approved soon.