Driving technical change : why people on your team don't act on good ideas, and how to convince them they should

Your co-workers' resistance to new technologies can be baffling. Logical arguments can fail. If you don't do politics, you will fail. With _Driving Technical Change_, by Terrence Ryan, you'll learn to read users' "patterns of resistance"--And then dismantle their objections. Every developer must master the art of evangelizing. Finding cool languages, tools, or development techniques is easy-new ones are popping up every day. Convincing co-workers to adopt them is the hard part. The problem is political, and in political fights, logic doesn't win for logic's sake. Hard evidence of a superior solution is not enough. But that reality can be tough for programmers to overcome. In Driving Technical Change: Why People On Your Team Don't Act on Good Ideas, and How to Convince Them They Should, Adobe software evangelist Terrence Ryan breaks down the patterns and types of resistance technologists face in many organizations. You'll get a rich understanding of what blocks users from accepting your solutions. From that, you'll get techniques for dismantling their objections-without becoming some kind of technocratic Machiavelli. In Part I, Ryan clearly defines the problem. Then in Part II, he presents "resistance patterns"-there's a pattern for each type of person resisting your technology, from The Uninformed to The Herd, The Cynic, The Burned, The Time Crunched, The Boss, and The Irrational. In Part III, Ryan shares his battle-tested techniques for overcoming users' objections. These build on expertise, communication, compromise, trust, publicity, and similar factors. In Part IV, Ryan reveals strategies that put it all together-the patterns of resistance and the techniques for winning buy-in. This is the art of organizational politics. In the end, change is a two-way street: In order to get your co-workers to stretch their technical skills, you'll have to stretch your soft skills. This book will help you make that stretch without compromising your resistance to playing politics. You can overcome resistance-however illogical-in a logical way Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 Why This Book?......Page 15 How Is This Book Organized......Page 16 Who I Think You Are......Page 17 What Do We Mean by Professional Development?......Page 18 Who Are These Skeptics?......Page 19 Why Do We Need to Sell It?......Page 20 Solve the Right Problem......Page 21 Why Do It?......Page 22 Seeing Solutions......Page 23 Challenges......Page 24 Things to Try......Page 25 Skeptic Patterns......Page 26 Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?......Page 27 Why Don't They Use the Technology?......Page 29 Prognosis......Page 30 Underlying Causes......Page 31 Effective Countering Techniques......Page 32 Prognosis......Page 33 The Cynic......Page 34 Underlying Causes......Page 35 Prognosis......Page 37 The Burned......Page 38 Effective Countering Techniques......Page 39 Prognosis......Page 40 Underlying Causes......Page 41 Effective Countering Techniques......Page 42 Prognosis......Page 43 Underlying Causes......Page 44 Effective Countering Techniques......Page 45 Prognosis......Page 46 The Irrational......Page 47 Effective Countering Techniques......Page 48 Prognosis......Page 49 Techniques......Page 50 Filling Your Toolbox......Page 51 Gain Expertise......Page 53 How Do You Become an Expert?......Page 55 Skeptics That It Counters......Page 57 Pitfalls......Page 59 Wrapping Up......Page 60 Deliver Your Message......Page 62 Mastering Delivery......Page 63 Pitfalls......Page 66 Wrapping Up......Page 67 Demonstrate Your Technique......Page 68 Demonstration Opportunities......Page 69 Skeptics That It Counters......Page 71 Wrapping Up......Page 72 Propose Compromise......Page 74 Why Does It Work?......Page 75 Discovering Compromise......Page 76 Skeptics That It Counters......Page 77 Wrapping Up......Page 78 Create Trust......Page 79 Why Does It Work?......Page 80 Developing Trust......Page 81 Pitfalls......Page 83 Wrapping Up......Page 84 Get Publicity......Page 85 Seeking the Limelight......Page 86 Pitfalls......Page 89 Wrapping Up......Page 90 Focus on Synergy......Page 91 Skeptics That It Counters......Page 92 Wrapping Up......Page 93 Build a Bridge......Page 95 Why Does It Work?......Page 96 Developing a Bridge......Page 97 Skeptics That It Counters......Page 98 Wrapping Up......Page 99 Create Something Compelling......Page 101 Creating That Something......Page 102 Skeptics That It Counters......Page 103 Pitfalls......Page 104 Wrapping Up......Page 105 Strategy......Page 106 Simple, Not Easy......Page 107 Ignore the Irrational......Page 109 Why Is This Challenging?......Page 110 Order of Difficulty......Page 111 Hard......Page 112 Hardest......Page 114 Request Help......Page 115 Create Evangelists......Page 116 Cross-Promote......Page 117 Consume Attention......Page 118 What Do You Want from Management?......Page 119 How Do You Get It?......Page 120 Now What?......Page 121 Cautionary Tales......Page 122 Success Is Siloed......Page 124 A Journey, Not a Destination......Page 125 Bibliography......Page 127 C......Page 128 L......Page 129 S......Page 130 Z......Page 131 Your co-workers' resistance to new technologies can be baffling. Logical arguments can fail. If you don't do politics, you will fail. With _Driving Technical Change_, by Terrence Ryan, you'll learn to read users' "patterns of resistance"-and then dismantle their objections. Every developer must master the art of evangelizing. With these techniques and strategies, you'll help your organization adopt your solutions-without selling your soul to organizational politics. Finding cool languages, tools, or development techniques is easy-new ones are popping up every day. Convincing co-workers to adopt them is the hard part. The problem is political, and in political fights, logic doesn't win for logic's sake. Hard evidence of a superior solution is not enough. But that reality can be tough for programmers to overcome. In Driving Technical Why People On Your Team Don't Act on Good Ideas, and How to Convince Them They Should , Adobe software evangelist Terrence Ryan breaks down the patterns and types of resistance technologists face in many organizations. You'll get a rich understanding of what blocks users from accepting your solutions. From that, you'll get techniques for dismantling their objections-without becoming some kind of technocratic Machiavelli. In Part I, Ryan clearly defines the problem. Then in Part II, he presents "resistance patterns"-there's a pattern for each type of person resisting your technology, from The Uninformed to The Herd, The Cynic, The Burned, The Time Crunched, The Boss, and The Irrational. In Part III, Ryan shares his battle-tested techniques for overcoming users' objections. These build on expertise, communication, compromise, trust, publicity, and similar factors. In Part IV, Ryan reveals strategies that put it all together-the patterns of resistance and the techniques for winning buy-in. This is the art of organizational politics. In the end, change is a two-way In order to get your co-workers to stretch their technical skills, you'll have to stretch your soft skills. This book will help you make that stretch without compromising your resistance to playing politics. You can overcome resistance-however illogical-in a logical way.

*If you work with people, you need this book.* Learn to read co-workers' and users' _patterns of resistance_ and dismantle their objections. With these techniques and strategies you can master the art of evangelizing and help your organization adopt your solutions.