I was talking to someone recently that had to announce something new to his team that he felt would be âperceivedâ as bad. However, he also felt confident that it would lead to some great things afterward. He was concerned about the initial perception and anticipated pushback. He believed that this would keep the team from moving forward to implement the changes. I listened to his ideas and I agreed. There would be pushback AND it was the smart move.
So, I told him to use the Catâs on the Roof technique. He asked me what that was, so I shared this story with him:
There were two brothers and one was going to take a vacation. So, the brother says to the other brother âcan you look after my cat while Iâm on vacation?â And the other brother says, âsure no problem.â A week later the brother comes back from vacation and says âhowâs the cat?â And the other brother says âoh, sorry man, the catâs dead.â The brother says âwhat?!â The other brother says, âyeah sorry, the cat died.â Then the brother says, âare you kidding me, man, you donât just spring that on somebody!â The other brother says âhow should I have done it?â The brother said, âI donât know, prepare me a little, tell me âthe cat was on the roof, and you walked out and saw it, it started sliding, you ran over to get it but you didnât make it in time. You then took the cat to the vet to try to save it and then after that â you can say âIâm really sorry but your cat passed away. Thatâs the way you prepare somebody.â The other brother says, âgot it, I understand now.â
Then the first brother changes the subject and asks, âHowâs mom?â The other brother says âwell, mom was on the roof.â
People hate surprises they perceive to be negative. Change has elements of surprise to it. Even when people say they want to change they often donât react well. When the change happens, they will often say something like, âyea I wanted to change but I didnât think it would look like that!â Change scares people, even when itâs change that can lead to something better.
I have found the âCatâs on the Roof Techniqueâ is an excellent method you can use to transition people over time to something new. Donât just spring change on people if you can avoid it. Do it with a lot of communication, gradually, over time.
Called the âfather of modern networkingâ by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author.⯠He is also theâŻFounder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI (www.bni.com), the worldâs largest business networking organization. His latest book, Infinite Giving, The 7 Principles of Givers GainÂŽ is a book about building a life and business where you donât have to choose between winning or helping others.