Comments on: The Decision Maker Myth

By: Greg

Greg — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:13:30 +0000

Deb,

Glad to hear it. Good luck!

- Greg

By: Deb

Deb — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:59:13 +0000

Greg,

Thanks for the post. I am getting into the marketing side of a non-profit business and it’s all new to me. This article is a big help! I have hit the gatekeeper wall many times. It is clear that I need to look at the other individuals in the organization as a way in to the decision maker.

Thanks so much.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 18 May 2010 17:01:41 +0000

Thanks Lisa. Have a great week.

- Greg

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:52:29 +0000

Hi Greg,
Great post – so insightful, helpful and on the money.And I do agree with you. But I have to tell you, I am so exhausted from trying to “do it right”.
In my experiences, the lunatics really are in charge!
Sincerely,
Lisa

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:09:34 +0000

Thanks for saying so, Rebecca!

- Greg

By: Rebecca Fahlin

Rebecca Fahlin — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:02:14 +0000

Great article. I learned a lot. I agree. Sometimes the ones up on top, unfortunetly, don’t have a clue to wha’ts going on. It’s best to go to the person who is closer to where the action is rather than someone sitting in their ivory tower.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:03:54 +0000

Marama,

Enjoy the weekend and the vino!

- Greg

By: Marama Castle-Brown

Marama Castle-Brown — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:03:24 +0000

Hi Greg

Yes for sure. Going to the top should be well thought out and, like a parachute, check everything before you jump! I’ve been away on business so will catch up on your latests posts over a well earned vino on the weekend. Keep up the great posts.

By: Greg

Greg — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 06:03:15 +0000

Marama,

Thanks. You are right that sometimes you can go directly to the decision maker, every organization is different (and besides, they have to talk to someone, right?). However, you’re always better off if you have built up a network in the organization first.

- Greg

By: Marama Castle-Brown

Marama Castle-Brown — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:26:00 +0000

Great insights thank you Greg. I must admit I read this post and had a ‘cringe’ moment as flashbacks of past ‘top down’ approaches that had ended in disaster for me. I took my learnings and adapted the way I approached things. I love the network matrix and you are right about smokers! In fact, I took up smoking in one company because the social-puffs belonged to different departments and the gathering of opinions gave me a broad view of what was going on. My clients at the time were media agencies (big drinkers and smokers) One of my biggest clients was a smoker, so often I would make an appointment to see him and he would happily meet me at his local cafe for a 30 minute catch up and ‘ciggie’ Just on the top down thing…I agree that one needs to do their research and consider where the opening in the network is to influence a decision from the right person/people but I have also had success with a direct approach to the decision maker. But only after doing my research and seriously considering the pro’s and cons. With that done, going straight to the top may actually be the right move.