Last year, over on the e-Sourcing Wiki, I brought you The Quest for Purchasing Fire, a twelve step guide to selling sourcing and procurement initiatives internally in your organization. Last month, the SSON published the top ten tips for ensuring buy-in from the top, which complements the wiki-paper nicely. Because you have to:
- Have a Compelling Business Case
Anything less than a complete, finely detailed, business case with backed-up ROI calculations and you’re just asking for rejection from an executive with too many time requests and a need to kill some as quickly as possible. - Create a Sense of Urgency
If you can’t demonstrate why the organization can’t wait to take advantage of your cost saving initiative, it will likely get put on the back burner - Understand Your Organization’s Internal Processes
Go through the channels and make sure not to offend anyone who could cause trouble if not included. - Be Open and Honest About Endeavors
Be honest about past mistakes and any shortcomings you may have and how you plan to correct them with this initiative. - Keep Company Staff in the Project
Not only do many organizations still distrust consultants, but getting company staff involved early is key to obtaining buy in. - Maintain a Tight Focus
You’re not trying to save the world … so don’t tackle everything at once. - Be Bold Where it Counts
Even though you’re not trying to save the world, be sure to have a plan that aims high with respect to the problems you are tackling. - Give Examples from Beyond the Organization
Demonstrating how similar projects have helped your competitors will go a long way towards alleviating fears of the unknown. - Demonstrate Your Risk Awareness
Every project involves risk … be sure to address all of the likely, and unlikely risks to let management know that you’re aware of the risks and actively taking steps to mitigate them. - Highlight the Compliance Benefits
As the article says, pull up your SOX.