The Most Important Skill in Business

If you have the power to advocate for the things you believe in…

If you can make the compelling case for the idea…

If you can influence the decisions and behaviors of others…

If you can build consensus and persuade…

You have competitive advantage.

Period. Full stop.

In the 21st century business world — where information is more available, attention spans have plummeted, organizations are leaner, and everyone is less loyal and more opinionated than ever — building consensus is hard. People are better informed (or at least think they are). People are less likely to blindly follow leadership and are more vocal about their opinion. People feel empowered. People feel smarter. And no one listens all that much.

In this environment, it is hard to change minds. It takes work to build alignment and consensus. Persuasion is not easy. It never has been. But it is undeniably harder now.

Yet, if you have this skill… if you can change minds… if you can build consensus… if you can influence behaviors and decisions… if you can do these things, you own the keys to the castle in the 21st century. Because the people who can do these things will be better equipped to lead, sell, secure resources for their project, gain support for their strategy or idea, better protect their team… and the people who can do these things will be in complete demand by the people around them. People will want to work with you. People will want to be on your team. People will remember your name.

So if you pick one skill to add to your tool box, pick the one that will make everything else in your business life easier. Focus on the ability to persuade and build consensus.

You’ll never regret the effort.

Does your team:
– Take too long to make decision?
– Fail to ask for what it wants or needs from you?
– Make things too complicated?
– Deliver unconvincing or disorganized presentations?
– Have new hires who are unprepared to communicate in the workplace?

We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication.
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Dean Brenner

A book about change

The Latimer Group’s CEO Dean Brenner is a noted keynote speaker and author on the subject of persuasive communication. He has written three books, including Persuaded, in which he details how communication can transform organizations into highly effective, creative, transparent environments that succeed at every level.