The structure that won the deal

Every so often you get a story back from a client that reminds you exactly why this work matters. This is one of those.

Last Friday I met a client for the second time. On the first occasion, among other things, they had learned the classic rhetorical structure, reshaped into modern proportions and tested now for close to eight years. During that training a great deal of light went on. The feeling of wow shows up, and so does that other, unmistakable feeling: why has no one told me this before?

But it was not until our second meeting that the real impact of the structure reached me. Here is what they told me.

My client had travelled down to Germany to meet the group's senior leadership. And it was far from the first time they had stood in front of that room with their usual list of changes they wanted approved. This time, though, was the first time they used the structure. And they used it to the letter, precisely, exactly as it was meant to be used.

The group chief's response, after the presentation, was this: "But why haven't you said this before? Of course. Your request is granted." Just like that, the complex had become simple, and so obvious. And the number of times they had tried, and failed, before that day? Many.

That is the quiet power of structure. The message had not changed. The facts had not changed. Only the order in which they were told had changed, and it was enough to turn years of "not now" into a single, immediate "yes".