Stop solving the wrong problem


Run the Room

Overcoming the Objection Loop

You’ve seen this one:

You present an idea.
Someone says: “That’s interesting… I just have a few concerns.”

It sounds reasonable.
Measured, thoughtful...professional, even.

So you do what smart people do: You address the concern.

You tighten the numbers.
You clarify the logic.
You fix the slide.

Problem solved!

But then they raise another.

Round and round you go: you keep solving them. They keep raising more.

Until…

They raise another one.

And another.

And another.

Round and round you go. You keep solving.
They keep raising more.

When someone raises a concern, test before you solve.

Because most objections aren’t problems to solve, they’re signals to decode.

Try this:

The next time someone raises a concern, don’t jump into fixing mode.

STEP 1 - Name it.

"That's a fair point to raise. Before we solve for that specific concern, I want to make sure I understand the bigger picture."

Step 2 - Set a boundary.

"If we could address [their concern] completely, would you be ready to move forward?"

STEP 3 - Create safety.

"Or are there other factors we should put on the table now?"
  • Clear yes? The barrier is isolated.
  • Hesitation? You’ve just uncovered the real issue.

This one formal can save yourself weeks of pain.

"I just want my time back"

Lying awake replaying the conversation.

The 10am stomach drop when someone “wants to revisit one small concern.”

Dinner getting cold while something that was “agreed” needs another pass.

Starting your day
again
with something you thought was done.

This isn’t a workload problem.

It’s a pattern-recognition problem.

Until you learn how to spot hidden resistance in real time, it keeps showing up:

  • The next morning.
  • On next week’s agenda.
  • In another round of edits on something already overdue.

Leading Without Authority: An Influence Masterclass

Live | 90 Minutes

You’ll learn how to:

  • Surface hidden resistance before it derails progress
  • Challenge authority without triggering defensiveness
  • Convert soft agreement into real commitment
  • Create urgency without creating panic

Founding rate: $99 (expires Saturday)
Then $147

So work doesn’t follow you home ⤵



Weekly insights on building influence without authority—so you can run the room, shape outcomes, and move systems.

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Run the Room

Get in the room. Run it. Change what happens when you leave. That's the work I do with senior leaders moving standards from concept to institutional adoption. My work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, The Lancet, and Foreign Policy. Each Saturday, one short note on making it easy to move decisions that matter—three minutes to read, used in next week's meeting.

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