Suresh Gopalakrishnan shares three key lessons he learned from obtaining his executive MBA degree. First, traits like conscientiousness and emotional stability are more important than skills when forming a project team, as traits cannot be taught but skills can be. Second, it is important to understand your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) position and leverage during negotiations, as circumstances can change. Third, to influence stakeholders without direct authority, build knowledge of their business processes to gain their trust and establish your authority on the project.

1. 26 PM NETWORK JULY 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
VOICES In theTrenches
Lessons
LearnedThree things I learned from my executive master of
business administration degree.
By Suresh Gopalakrishnan
AFTERA FEW DECADES OF IT-related project man-
agement across a broad set of industries, I recently
returned to school for an executive master of business
administration degree (EMBA). The 18-month pro-
gram was rigorous, challenging and exciting. Here are
my three big takeaways from the experience:
1. Emphasize Traits Over Skills
Traits are innate, but skills can be taught. Often in the
recruiting process, too much emphasis is placed on
skills and not enough on traits. Organizations—and
project managers—would be better served in the long
run by focusing more on these traits, known as the five
factor model:
1. Conscientiousness (dependable, efficient, achieve-
ment-oriented)
2. Emotional Stability (calmness, steady, self‐confident,
secure)
3. Extraversion (sociable, ambitious, active)
4. Agreeableness (courteous, optimistic, friendly)
5. Openness to experience (intellectual, imaginative,
analytical)
Individuals with the above traits can overcome
certain deficiencies in their skill set, while the reverse
isn’t always possible. Focusing on the five factor model,
more than technical know‐how, will help you form a
project team that can work well together.
Years back, I interviewed for a project management
position at a reputable firm. The interview process
was so focused on the specific technical details of the
company’s system that traits and experience were not
explored. I did not get an offer. A year later, I found
out that the person who accepted the position—
who had a very strong technical background—
was let go for not possessing leadership traits.
2. Negotiate Better
Throughout a negotiation, it’s critical to know
three factors: the most desired outcome, the least
acceptable agreement (the minimum agreement
that stakeholders will accept) and the best alter-
native to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA (a
plan in case an agreement can’t be reached). You
may start a negotiation with weak BATNA, but
the dynamic nature of business events can
change that.
A few years back, I was tasked with salvaging a
troubled project. Going in, my BATNA position
was very weak, and I had no choice but to absorb
an unfair share of costs as a demonstration of
good faith. A few months into the project, due
to some of my corrective actions, project perfor-
mance improved significantly. However, I failed
to recognize the change in my leverage, which I
could have used in my favor and helped save a
few thousand dollars.
Another negotiation lesson I learned is to sepa-
rate interest from position. The classic example is
of two chefs fighting over an orange, only to real-
ize that one wants only the juice and the other
only the skin. It is impossible to satisfy them
both based on their position—they each want
the orange. But their interests—why they want
it—are different, and a smart negotiator uncovers
these and realizes both parties can get what they
want. When dealing with conflicting priorities,
project practitioners should explore the interests
behind stakeholders’ positions.
Similarly, remember that negotiations can be
win-win, which some call “expanding the pie.”
One of my professors liked to point out that in
many situations we tend to take an “or” approach
and lose sight of two additional options. When
we say A or B, we forget that there’s always the
possibility of A and B or neither A nor B.

2. JULY 2015 PM NETWORK 27
Suresh Gopalakrishnan, MBA, PMP, is a
program manager at Fujitsu America Inc.,
San Diego, California, USA.
3. Influence Without Authority
In consulting, one of the biggest challenges is get-
ting clients’ acceptance and willingness to share
their business processes. Often we encounter
people who believe their business is so complex
that no one else can understand it. This can lead
to many difficulties during the initial stages of a
project, such as getting entrance and exit criteria,
a complete business scenario listing and
detailed requirements.
I once faced a similar challenge on a project:
Despite our best efforts, we were not able to get a
complete list of business scenarios against which
we could test the system we were building. Every
time my team requested the listing, we were told,
“Our business is so complex that we could only
write 15 scenarios. Please keep in mind that there
are a million other combinations that we cannot
define.” Basically we were asked to read the client’s
mind and build a system that would meet all the
requirements. Despite multiple escalations to client
leadership, the situation did not improve.
My “Science of Persuasion” course had an inter-
esting equation:
Knowledge + Trust = Authority. Analyzing my
challenge in retrospect, it’s clear that the project
team lacked authority and assumed that escala-
tion would force the client to comply with project
needs. Our business analysts did not have a thor-
ough knowledge of the organization’s processes,
which put us in a very weak position to influence
the business. To prevent this situation, project
practitioners should spend some serious time
understanding business processes so they have
an authoritative position from which to navigate
a project. PM
When dealing
with conflicting
priorities,
project
practitioners
should explore
the interests
behind
stakeholders’
positions.