---
title: "Handling pushback and building buy-in"
course: "OPMT 130 · Run operations that work"
unit: "Leading and communicating operations"
lesson: 35 of 37
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/run-operations-that-work/handling-pushback-and-building-buy-in
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Handling pushback and building buy-in

Lesson 35 of 37 in **Run operations that work** (OPMT 130), unit "Leading and communicating operations". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Use a structured move (surfacing trade-offs, naming the decision rights, agreeing on the KPI of success) to drive a cross-functional team toward an operational decision.
- Defend a chosen position against at least one teammate's counter-argument and name one realistic source of resistance to the change and how you would address it without abandoning the human-owned judgment.

## Teaching notes
The tutor should play the role of one or more teammates with different priorities (e.g., a marketing lead, a finance lead, a customer-service lead) so the learner has to actually negotiate the call and address pushback.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 35 complete: Handling pushback and building buy-in."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Capstone, part 1: diagnose the operation" (lesson 36 of 37), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/run-operations-that-work/capstone-part-1-diagnose-the-operation.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Communicating to non-operations audiences
Next lesson: Capstone, part 1: diagnose the operation