Cutting Through

Helping executives
clarify and convey complex ideas

Influencing Unpopular Decisions

 

This episode's guest is an expert at influencing unpopular decisions.

Asking people to pay for things that were previously free isn’t easy!

And yet, Russell was able to persuade New South Wales public transport users to start paying, with barely a peep of resistance.

He also laid the groundwork for one of London’s busiest underground commuter systems, the Northern Line.

He brought decades of public policy experience to this, honed by being an elected official in the UK.

In our conversation, Russell shared several things that I think you will find useful while throwing in a few cricket terms too. He discussed …

  • How to gain stakeholder buy-in well before you pitch anything. He calls this ‘rolling the pitch’. Imagine getting the field ready before a game.

  • How to navigate decade-long-term projects that could fail at any point should community support dissipate.

  • The importance of verifying and explaining thoroughly. Assumptions about understanding and positions can be very damaging.

  • Why you must prepare for performance dips after any initial implementation goes live.

Timestamps 

00:01:02 – Russell explains how he became interested in public policy at a young age

00:02:31 – Discussion of Russell's experience as an elected official in the UK

00:03:32 – Example of the Nine Elms regeneration zone and Northern Line extension in London

00:05:43 – How Russell engaged with private sector partners to fund infrastructure projects

00:09:52 – Strategies for identifying and categorizing stakeholders for projects

00:14:54 – Russell's transition from the UK to Australia and building a new network

00:20:12 – Discussion of Sydney's Metro City and other successful transport projects

00:22:19 – The importance of getting foundations right when implementing long-term projects

00:28:43 – Managing the implementation dip that occurs after initial enthusiasm fades

00:30:31 – Case study of successfully removing free public transport fares in NSW

 

 RESOURCES

    1. Find Russell on LinkedIn >>
    2. Subscribe to the Transport Leader Newsletter >>

 

 

E13 – Dan Auerbach – Overcoming resistance to coaching

CEO and executive coach Dan Auerbach and I discussed a challenging aspects of leadership development: how to coach people who don't want to be coached.

E11 – New Board Paper Writing books: Elevate and Engage

In this board paper writing podcast, Dan and Davina unpack how board papers come together and how teams can write better papers more quickly.

E10 – Alexa Chilcutt – How to make your presentation butterflies fly in formation

In this presentation skills podcast, Davina Stanley interviews Dr Alexa Chilcutt on how your ‘presentation butterflies' can fly in formation.

E2 – Making Time for Strategy

E2 – Making Time for Strategy

Do you struggle to find time to think at work? In this episode, Richard Medcalf shares ideas to help ‘cut through' our diaries to make time for strategy.

Know when each episode drops

Join Clarity Compass and be kept up to date.

Get in Touch

5 + 6 =