By Matt Richter

So why does a stakeholder in an organization say, "No!" to you?

Organizationally, this can happen for any of the following three reasons. (In your personal life, there is a possible fourth, as well.)

1️⃣ THEY REJECT THE PREMISE. The stakeholder does not accept or believe the problem or issue you raise as context for your ask.

This is simple. The person you are addressing either doesn't see the problem as a problem, doesn't prioritize it as significant and worthy of investing time and money, or completely disagrees with your assessment. It could be political, operational, or some other reason... but your ask just doesn't land as important. In other words, you didn't make the case defining the issue, why it's an issue, how the issue affects the person or organization, and how solving it would be a benefit.

or...

2️⃣ THEY REJECT THE SOLUTION. The stakeholder accepts the premise, but not the solution proposed.

In this case, the stakeholder totally gets it! The problem is significant. But, when you make your actual ask-- propose your solution, the stakeholder doesn't believe it will indeed resolve the problem. The stakeholder thinks another approach might be more effective. In this case, the stakeholder may engage you to come up with another idea, or may even bypass you entirely for other options.

If...

3️⃣ THEY REJECT YOU. The stakeholder accepts both the premise and the solution, but doesn't trust you-- or doesn't like you-- to execute.

You made a good case and even came up with a good approach to resolve the problem. But, for whatever reasons, she has no faith in your capability or capacity to execute the solution. She doesn't believe in you. Or, she just doesn't like you. 😲 Harsh... I know.

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In your personal relationships, the above can still all be true, but there is an additional possibility.

4️⃣ LOGISTISTICALLY, ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE. Most organizations can FIND the necessary resources if they believe in the need strongly enough. But not so for most individuals. So, sometimes the stakeholder, or friend, may agree with the problem, accept the solution is a good idea, trust and like you to help... but has no money or time or resources to actually make it work.
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The bottom line is the more you can go into a pitch or presentation where you share a problem, knowing these potential reasons for a rejection, the more you can mitigate them in advance. Try and identify possible reasons why the stakeholder may reject the premise, reject the solution, or reject you. Interpersonally, identify ways to overcome logistical limitations when needed.

The bottom bottom line: Prepare! Manage the risks before they become problems.