Are You Wasting Time On The One-Thirders?

DJ Smith / Mar 19th / Comments

I recently had a retired business executive give me a bit of sage advice. He told me not to waste my time on the one-thirders. The one-who? The one-thirders. He told me that in business there will always be one-third of the people who like what you do, one-third will dislike what you do, and one-third who couldn’t care less. The successful leader will find which group is most important.

In marketing one of the hardest groups to help develop strategies for is a committee. I don’t care what aspect of the planning process you’re in; when a committee is involved the smallest molehill quickly becomes a rather large mountain. Don’t believe me? At a creative directors conference I attended recently one creative director said that their firm would add an additional $10,000 for every person who is in the decision making process because design by committee is so difficult. But why does this happen? In part, it’s because of the one-thirders and if you’re not careful you’ll go insane trying to please them all. Who are these one-thirders?

The 1/3 Who Will Like What You Do

The one-thirders who like what you do will be the easiest to lead. They listen to the plan and any advice that’s given. They’re willing to ask questions from the position of learning. More often they are the early adopters of your plan and will eagerly offer thought and suggestions to enhance the project or team. These one-thirders have usually found a connection with you in some form or fashion and, as a result, establish a good working relationship with you. You need them to be champions for you but not yes men blindly following your lead.

The 1/3 Who Won’t Like What You Do

The one-thirders who don’t like you or your work are incredulous at best. Often you won’t ever find out what the source of their problem with you really is. It may be as legitimate as their experience leads them to believe you’re strategy is flawed or as asinine as jealousy. Don’t expect them to easily go along with you. In fact, you might find them to be a thorn in your side when it comes to feedback – either you’ll get more than you asked for (and mostly negative) or you won’t get any regardless of how hard you try. They’ll ask questions in hopes of tripping you up and making you appear to others as the negative image they have in their minds. You’ll have to spend more time and effort getting this group of one-thirders to actually adopt the plan and even your leadership – but you are just as likely to never get them to agree to follow your lead.

The 1/3 Who Doesn’t Care What You Do

The last group is a bit perplexing. With the previous two groups of one-thirders you knew where they stood. You knew their likes and dislikes and you could develop your strategy accordingly. With the group that doesn’t care you have a complacent group that is rather ambiguous. Former NBA coach, Pat Riley, once said, “When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for new and more intricate explanations to explain away defeat.”

In many ways it may be more challenging to lead and work with a group that doesn’t care what you do than those who dislike what you’re doing. The reason being that any effort you are likely to get out of a complacent team player is likely to show in the final product. They don’t care what you do one way or the other and that lack of passion or purpose to their portion of the work will be affected. You’ll have to spend more time motivating and instilling the importance of the plan or project for them to be worthwhile.

All strategies and projects will have one-thirders in attendance. Some will follow you, some may vilify you, and still others won’t give a flip what you do. The key is in knowing who is in each group. Your approach with each of the one-thirder groups will vary. For one you’ll charge forward with great ease. For another you’ll be the villain and under constant attack. For yet another you will have to serve as a motivational speaker, cheerleader, and shoehorn. The question is which group will you listen and belong to?