Making moves behind the shoes

You’ve seen this new brand of shoes everywhere. On the bus, at the gym, on someone who definitely isn’t going for a run.

A year ago, you’d never heard of the brand. How did that happen?

Behind a sportswear brand are people making decisions, winning support and working through legal questions. These activities show how the Influence work theme can take different forms in the world of work.

Before the first range launched, someone had to decide where the business was heading. Who would it serve? What would it offer? They negotiated with suppliers, brought a team together and made decisions about where to put their resources. An adviser helped them weigh the options and work through plans for growth. In Work Sync, these activities sit within the Enterprise, Leadership and Advising work domain. The focus is on developing ventures, guiding organisations and helping people make decisions to achieve their goals.

Then there’s the work that brought those shoes to your attention. Someone researched potential customers, developed the brand’s message and planned a campaign. Another person met with retailers, explained why the range would appeal to their customers and negotiated an order. These activities belong to the Marketing, Sales, and Persuasion work domain: building interest, communicating value and influencing people’s choices. It involves understanding an audience and finding ways to connect with them.

Meanwhile, someone reviewed the supplier agreements, advised on protecting the brand’s designs and explained its responsibilities to customers. Their work involved interpreting legal requirements and helping the business understand its rights and obligations. These activities belong to the Politics and Law work domain.

Work Sync brings these three work domains together under the Influence work theme. What connects them is an interest in shaping decisions and action – whether by guiding a business, persuading customers or shaping laws and public policy.

Negotiating, presenting arguments and offering advice can feature in all three work domains. Those activities might help a team agree on a business direction, persuade a retailer to stock a product, or make the case for a change in the law.

These interests also find expression well beyond sportswear: in leading a community organisation, advising someone about their career, promoting a service or representing a client in court.

So next time a new brand catches your eye, spare a thought for the people who negotiated, persuaded and argued its way into the world.

A little influence goes a long way – even if you only bought the shoes for the colour.