Higher Education CoP: What Do You Do About The Sandpaper People?

How to deal with "those" people? You know, the types of people who seem to only think about or respect themselves and their agenda with little regard to us. They are busy people who pride themselves in getting a lot done. What else could we get accomplished? What new levels could we reach if working with them was smoother? Someone once told me dealing with them is like working against sandpaper. "Sandpaper people"...Truth is they aren't going away, and neither are the things we need to communicate and accomplish. So how do we bridge the gap?

Learning Objectives:

Communication
Influencing
Listening
Trust
Strategizing