Top executives are good at competing, but when they come up against opposition rather than competition, they flounder. The problem is getting worse because, for a variety of reasons, businesses face better organized and more vocal opponents than ever before. What distinguishes opposition from competition? Consider soft-drink vending machines in schools. What we saw a few years ago was a standard face-off between the world’s two most competitive companies, each trying to present the better deal to local school boards. But the people who really needed to be persuaded were parents and public-interest groups concerned with childhood obesity. They didn’t care whether Coke was better than Pepsi. They didn’t want soft drinks in the schools, period.

When companies mistake oppositional situations for competitive ones, they adopt approaches that don’t match the terms of engagement. Worse, their missteps can lead to serious setbacks. When a waste-disposal business met opposition to a new plant, management made what it considered a reasonable attempt to sweeten the deal: It offered to build a new community recreation center. Instead of being hailed for its generosity, it was accused of making a callous bribe. By falling back on negotiation reflexes developed in competitive situations, the company only dug itself into a deeper hole.

Better approaches are found in politics, where leaders tend to face opposition more routinely. Their experience underscores the importance of stepping back from the fray to assess its dynamics. Who is on the other side of the table, and why? What is that side’s ultimate goal? How can it be met with your help?

One way is by co-opting your antagonist’s issue. If, for example, you disagree with Michael Moore’s demand for single-payer universal health care, clashing with him head-on is probably not the best approach. Instead, understand why he’s getting traction with middle-class America and small-business owners: because he holds out the prospect of lower health-care costs. Adopt that as your goal and propose an alternative road for getting there. Rather than be negative, give Moore’s campaign a nod and treat it with a trace of indulgence—his heart is in the right place.

In other situations, the key is to redefine the issue. In California, voters have been asked to decide whether parental notification should be required for minors seeking abortions. Research I’ve been involved in there shows that voters who see this as a challenge to parental rights are inclined to say yes; those who see it as a threat to girls’ safety say no. This kind of situation is always a tug-of-war. To prevail, you have to get people to view the issue on your terms.

Somewhere between co-option and tug-of-war lies what I call a deflection strategy. The most famous example comes from the tobacco industry. When, in the 1980s, indoor smoking bans came on the scene, the industry embraced the campaign for clean air in buildings. But it fingered a nontobacco culprit: It claimed that overzealous property managers, in pursuit of energy efficiency, had made buildings airtight. Cigarette smoke was a minor annoyance compared with the chemical discharges from copy machines, carpet adhesives and other contributors to “sick building syndrome.” The solution was to engineer efficient ways of bringing more fresh air into facilities. Although the strategy wasn’t ultimately successful, it stymied the inevitable bans for several years.

Once management learns to distinguish opposition from competition, it can use its newfound skills proactively. A community hospital in the Midwest did this when threatened by a potential new entrant in its market. The competitor, a large national chain, proposed to build a state-of-the-art orthopedic hospital. Next to the aging incumbent, its value proposition came through loud and clear: “Why shouldn’t this community have as good as they have in Boston?” The competitor required only a “certificate of need” to begin building its new facility. The community hospital mustered opposition using the kind of run-at-their-strengths strategy Karl Rove made famous in politics. Noting the $88-million price tag for the chain’s 84-bed facility, it raised this question: “So, we’ve got a project that is proposing million-dollar beds?” With that reframing, the battle was over before it began. Certificate of need denied.               

Michael Sheehan is the founder and president of Sheehan Associates, a communications consultancy in Washington, D.C. He was a media coach for President Bill Clinton.

Staying with no

No one likes hearing “No,” and few can resist pushing back—sometimes quite persistently. Roger Fisher, negotiation expert and coauthor of the widely influential book ‘Getting to Yes’, used to tell his law students that sometimes he wished he had written a book about getting to no and staying there.

Understanding opposition

Top executives are good at competing, but when they come up against opposition rather than competition, they flounder. The problem is getting worse because, for a variety of reasons, businesses face better organized and more vocal opponents than ever before.

Born to be a hotelier

Even at a young age, Arthur G. Gindap, country general manager of Ascott International in the Philippines, had already decided to work in the hospitality industry when the time comes.

Winning: Money talks!

Q: Bonus time just came and went at my company, and once again I got less than I expected, especially considering my performance review. Do I say something to my boss, or just accept the fact that companies will always try to give you as little money as possible? Name Withheld, Valparaiso, California 

On Valentine’s Day, the cut-flower industry is blossoming

February 14 is Valentine’s Day, when many people look to flowers to express their love and affection.

Roses, daisies, chrysanthemums, poinsettias, gladioli, carnations, lilies—they all mean the same thing: Thinking of you.

From where he sits: Encounter with Joma

Sometime in January, BusinessMirror special correspondent Imelda V. Abaño, who attended an international water conference in the Netherlands, sought and got an appointment with Jose Maria Sison, exiled communist leader based in Utrecht.

LEARNING THE FINE ART OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION

Companies that excel in using partnerships to innovate are known for doing many things well. For example, they figure out how collaboration can improve the top line as well as the bottom line and they organize themselves to work effectively with partners.

HOW TO TALK TO INVESTORS–THROUGH THE PRESS

Managers in public companies frequently underestimate—at their peril—the function of the press in their financial communications. Wharton’s Brian J. Bushee and I collected data on more than 200 firms traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market or other over-the-counter markets and found that most small and midcap companies have trouble obtaining coverage from analysts.

A different path

Doing infrastructure projects in a developing country like the Philippines requires a different strategy to ensure the affected stakeholders can absorb the impact. Contractors have to walk the extra mile and be innovative in their approach to minimize the impact of the project and ultimately develop a win-win situation for both parties.

Full-metal hardcore

The year 1997 was the worst of times, but one of the best of times for Philippine creative advertising.

Winning: Managing the Risks of Rogues

Q: What do you make of Jerome Kerviel, the trader who just lost $7 billion for Société Générale with his secret dealings? Jorge Gonzalez Henrichsen, Mexico City

Homecourt advantage

When property consulting giant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) tapped Rick M. Santos to put up its Philippines office in 1995, he was sure from the start he would have a great time back at his birthplace because he knew he could make a difference.

Faithful but creative

CHIEF Justice Reynato Puno has managed to keep politics out of the Judiciary’s business despite making bold actions and strong pronouncements on various issues like the rampaging extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country, the need to protect the integrity of the election process and the measly budget allotted to the Judiciary.

Task, Not Time: Profile of a Gen Y Job

Jobs have long been structured primarily around units of time—a 40-hour workweek, an eight-hour day. The time you spend—or are supposed to spend—determines whether you are working full or part time, with implications for compensation and other benefits.

How to Set Expectations with Young Talent

When I received my first project assignment as a new hire at Gemini Consulting (now Capgemini), I was quite unhappy. My peers were assigned to the high-profile financial services and telecommunications industries, whereas I was “stuck” with a client in publishing.

How Asian ad agencies are reinventing themselves

Before the Asian financial meltdown in 1997, when marketers were generous and clients made ostentatious display of advertising wealth, we heard so much about phrases like “paradigm shift,” “consumer insight,” “gut-feel,” “brand persona” and many others.

Winning: In business and politics, leadership is key

Q: What characteristics would you say are the most important when choosing a company CEO or the leader of a country? Simplicio D. Victoria, Los Angeles