#060
Three different contacts, but the decision-maker never appeared. It wasn’t the proposal.
对接人换了三个，决策者从没出现过。不是方案不够好，是没问决策链。
一位设计师来找我。聊了一个小时。
他说：“客户那边的对接人换了三个，方案改了七稿。每次都说‘领导还没看’、‘领导不满意’。真正的决策者从来没出现过。我花了大半年时间，全在做无用功。”
我问他：“你有没有问过对接人 - ‘如果这个方案能一次过，你最希望解决谁的顾虑？’”
他愣了一下：“……没问过。我以为对接人就是传话的。”
我说：“传话的人没有决策权，但他知道谁有。你的问题不是方案不好，是你一直在跟‘传话的人’沟通。”
后来他回去问了。
对接人说：“其实是财务总监。上次的项目超预算了，这次他盯得很紧。”
他终于知道该跟谁对齐了。那次之后，他每次接新项目，第一件事不是设计，是问：“这个项目的决策链上，谁说了算？谁有一票否决权？谁只是传话的？”
改了七稿没过的项目，两周后通过了。
如果你也在‘找不到对的人、改到崩溃’ ，与我联系。一起找到问题的根。你的时间与精力，应该花在高回报的目标上。
(案例已脱敏，经本人同意分享)
徐敏聪
商业教练 ｜为赢而练
我帮创始人及CEO先赢，再长。
A designer came to me for an hour.
He said: "I’ve been working with three different contacts from the client side, and I’ve revised the proposal seven times. Every time, it’s ‘the leadership hasn’t reviewed it yet’ or ‘the leadership isn’t happy.’ The real decision-maker never showed up. I’ve spent most of the year on this, and it’s been a complete waste."
I asked him: "Did you ever ask the contact – ‘If this proposal could get approved in one go, whose concern would you most want to address?’"
He paused. "…No. I thought the contact was just a messenger."
I said: "The messenger doesn’t have the authority to decide, but they know who does. Your problem isn’t the quality of your proposal. It’s that you’ve been communicating with the wrong person."
Later, he went back and asked. The contact said: "Actually, it’s the finance director. The last project went over budget, and they’ve been watching this one very closely."
He finally knew whom he needed to align with. Since then, with every new project, his first step is no longer design. It’s asking: "On this project’s decision chain, who has the final say? Who has veto power? Who is just passing along messages?"
The project that didn’t get approved after seven revisions? It was approved two weeks later.
If you’re also stuck in an endless loop of revisions without finding the right person to talk to, reach out. Let’s find the root of the problem together. Your time and energy deserve to be spent on goals that deliver real returns.
(This case has been anonymized and is shared with the individual's consent)
David Tsui
Business Coach | Coached To WIN
Helping founders and CEOs WIN, then GROW
