Management Tip of the Day: Create raving fans for your idea

BOSTON Aug 13 (Reuters) - If someone truly "enrolls" in the idea you are trying to sell, especially by keying off your own enthusiam they will spread the word far and wide, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"Selling an idea to your organization works best when you have internal fans. When people admire your idea, it confirms it's a good one. These people can contribute time and expertise, and can recruit other supporters.

Here are three ways to build your fan base:

1. Enlist yourself. Others can sense if you are not genuinely committed. And if they get that feeling, they are bound to ask: 'If he is not really into it, why should I be?'

2. Talk about what you want to do. Be transparent, to anyone and everyone. Give them a complete picture. And, tell them not only the positives, but the negatives too.

3. Offer the chance to act. Present potential followers with real work to do, no matter how small. It's to your advantage and theirs if you can act together."

- Today's management tip was adapted from "How to Create Raving Fans" by Leonard A. Schlesinger, Charles F. Kiefer, and Paul B. Brown.

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