Years of doing what they said, on time and as promised, give a manager a name that lowers a proposal's perceived risk, and decision-makers approve it with less scrutiny.
An example
Eleven requests competed for a capital budget that could fund four, and the engineering manager at a frozen food plant needed $1.8 million to replace two spiral freezers. The committee approved his request in fifteen minutes with two questions. A larger request from another plant, with a better payback on paper, was sent back for a second review. The paperwork for the two looked much alike. Over nine years, the engineering manager's projects had come in within five percent of budget and on the dates he gave, and when one slipped, he said so in the first week and said why. Committee members could name his last four projects and what each had delivered. The other plant's last major project had overrun by forty percent.
Why it works
Decision-makers judge the person as well as the plan, so a manager known for delivery has proposals that look better and pass more easily. A record of doing what was promised lowers the perceived risk that the plan will fail, often the biggest uncertainty in any proposal. Decision-makers with limited time spend their scrutiny where they expect trouble, and a reliable name draws less of it. The effect depends on a long, consistent, visible record, on honesty when things slip, and on the decision-makers knowing the record.
The thinking behind it
Jeffrey Pfeffer Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't (2010), written for a general business audience, advises building a reputation that makes others prefer supporting you to opposing you. A capital committee that can name an engineering manager's last four projects and their results has formed exactly that preference. Opposing his request would mean doubting a record they know, so it passes with two questions while a rival request goes back for review.
John J. Gabarro Managing Your Boss (1980), by Gabarro and Kotter, makes dependability and honesty two of the conditions for a working relationship with a superior. A record of delivery is dependability accumulated over years, and saying early when a project slips is the honesty. Together they are what lower the perceived risk of a new proposal from the same manager.
When it fits
Managers who will bring proposals to the same decision-makers for years, whether capital requests, project approvals, or budget asks, get the most from it. It needs a long horizon, the discipline to promise only what you can deliver, and results the deciders can see. The name is built slowly and drawn on with every proposal.
How to use it well
Promise conservatively. Give dates and budgets you can hit, and say what they depend on.
- Deliver, and report the results to the people who approved the work, briefly and with numbers.
- When something slips, say so early, explain why, and say what you will do.
- Keep a record of your projects: what was promised and what was delivered.
- Mention the record when you bring a new proposal, briefly and factually.
Small promises count as much as large ones. A colleague who sees you keep a minor commitment will assume you keep the major ones.
What it costs and where it backfires
A reputation takes years to build and one bad failure to damage. Conservative promises can make your proposals look less ambitious than rivals' optimistic ones. Less scrutiny can also mislead you: an unchallenged plan can still be wrong. Only a true record, honestly reported, counts. Once you start hiding slips, moving the goalposts, or redefining what was promised to keep the record clean, the reputation rests on a fiction that will eventually show.
When it is used on you
Some colleagues' proposals sail through on reputation while yours get scrutiny. Ask the committee to put the same questions to each. Reputation is real information, and the plan still deserves a look. Build your own record, starting with smaller promises you can keep and report.