What Buying An iPad Taught Me About Making Decisions

November 26, 2010 in leadership with 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I was with my dad as he was considering buying an iPad. The first thing I did upon entering the store was to ask if they had any in stock. Once they told me they had a healthy stash I relaxed and we walked over to take a closer look. Now, if the iPad would have been for me, I would have purchased it quickly, and set everything up at home. I already knew a ton about iPads so I didn’t need any further information.

My Dad was a different story, though. He had quite a few questions. And so instead of interjecting myself into the situation and answering all the questions he had myself, I leaned back and watched the Apple employee do her thing.

First of all, here are some things I observed.

1. She was very patient answering all his questions. My Dad asked about different cases, battery life, and all kinds of other questions. And she actually seemed excited to answer them. It was clear that she was really passionate about Apple products and the iPad.

2. When it was time to purchase, she asked if he wanted her to set everything up for him. I wasn’t aware that they even offered this service. She carefully put the new case he wanted on. Then she proceeded to connect his iPad to one of the macs and got everything set up. He didn’t have an iTunes account, so she walked him through that process. She then gave him a brief tutorial on how to use everything and how to purchase books.

I was quite amazed by everything I was seeing. Because at the same moment that she was showing him all these things and setting everything up for him, I saw my Dad getting happier and relaxing even more.

So let’s apply this a little more to our situations. Our job as leaders, when introducing new concepts, is to help lower the resistance level that people may have. My Dad was clearly in that situation. Tentative. A little nervous. Not sure if he should get it.

Here’s what this taught me about making decisions:

1. Answer questions openly. Be patient. People don’t know as much about the situation as you do. They will be confused, but the more questions you answer, the better they’ll feel about moving forward.

2. Attitude matters. How will you approach the questions when they come? How will you come across when you’re standing before your leadership team? Will you be defensive? Or will you come across as open and approachable? This makes all the difference in the world. If I would have sensed impatience from the employee I would have become very frustrated with the experience.

3. The more you share some of the details, the less people will resist. Let me be clear, some people may resist an idea no matter what. But I’ve learned that people mostly say no to what they don’t understand. So the more you walk through a process, the more comfortable people will feel with an idea.

She probably spent a good 35 minutes with us from beginning to end. And because of the way she approached the whole experience, we came away feeling happy, excited, and with a new iPad!

Those are some of the lessons that stood out to me, anyway. Anything stand out to you?