Last time, we left off having identified that “values” are simply what is important to a person. By aligning our communication to others in terms of their values, we can increase buy-in. Let’s look a little closer at ways to identify deeper, often hidden values.
Once you’ve identified a person’s values either formally or informally (see Employee Buy-In), it may be valuable to identify where this value falls in the person’s values hierarchy. A values hierarchy is a person’s conceptual framework that organizes values along the spectrum between abstraction and specificity. Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as it may sound.
This model is the same used in most modern classification systems. As an example, consider the idea of a dog. From this concept, we can go down the hierarchy to more specific types of dogs including greyhounds, labradors, poodles, etc. From this subcategory, we could get even more specific by considering specific parts of dogs including front right paw, tail, nose, etc. This process could continue all the way down to the molecular level, the atomic level, particle level, etc.
In the opposite direction we could move to more abstract concepts from the idea of dogs to mammals. From mammals, we could go to animals, then all life on earth, and so on, all the way up to the universe. Becoming comfortable with the Hierarchy Ideas allows you to easily move conceptually to higher levels of abstraction as well as in the opposite direction to greater levels of specificity.
Now, how does this relate to values exactly? Well, values are a category of ideas. As a result, we have values at varying levels of specificity and abstraction. When you identify a person’s value, it may or may not be a part of a larger, more abstract value.
For example, the value of money may be important, but it is often a subcategory of a higher value. This higher value may be something like success, happiness, time with family, etc. In this case, money would be considered a “means” value rather than an “ends” value. Money would be a means value because it is a means of achieving some other end value.
Now, understanding the person’s values hierarchy, you can appeal to a person’s value of money or you can choose to appeal to the higher value of spending time with family, for example. Since the higher values tend to be more valuable, aligning your communication with these higher values increases the likelihood of buy-in.
That’s it for now. In the next post, we’ll finally piece these elements together to answer the question, “How do you deal with a person whose primary concern (value) is price?”
For more information about values and personality, see Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality.
Filed under: Buy-In, Management, Sales | Tagged: Communication, Hierarchy of Ideas, Management, Sales, Values, Values Hierarchy
