Get buy-in before the meeting, not during it
Nemawashi: the real negotiating happens in one-on-ones, before anyone is in the room together.
Nemawashi is a Japanese practice: build support and gather feedback informally, one conversation at a time, before you ever put a proposal in front of the group formally.
Talk to the people who matter individually and early, surface the real objections while there is still time to do something about them, and fold that feedback into the proposal. The meeting is where everyone finds out, not where anyone decides.
A summary a bot writes for everyone to read is a broadcast, not a substitute. The one-on-one part is the whole point.
What you get
- A mapping table for who needs a one-on-one, their likely objection, and what you'll adjust or ask
- An ordering rule for who to talk to first
- A clear test for whether the async version actually counts as done
Where should we send it?
One email with the worksheet. You can unsubscribe from anything else in one click.
On its way
Check your inbox. If it has not landed in a minute or two, look in promotions or spam, and add sam@startuppatterns.com to your contacts so the rest arrive.
Adapted from the Management chapter of The Mindful Product Company by Sam McAfee.