I recently received a pre-release copy of "Influencer: The Power to Change Anything." To be blatantly honest, I usually speed read self help and improvement books so they don't put me to sleep, but I did not want to speed read this book. I thought the promotional materials were vague, and loaded with a lot of excess hype, but after reading the book, I really liked it. This is truly an example of why you should not judge a book by its cover. It is a shame that the promotional material did not use the tools that are in the book to influence people to buy the book, but I have to blame poor marketing for that. The promotional material made me believe the book was going to be along the lines of NLP, and The Secret. Instead, it was a based more on actual strategy, and studies that prove how people are influenced. The book was packed with interesting stories that had me laughing hysterically sometime before page 30. This is the newest book by the authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller "Crucial Conversations."
While reading the book, I looked back at times in my life when I was or was not successful at being influential. The first account of me being influential was in a conversation that I don't even remember. According to my father, I was about two years old with big brown eyes and black curly locks of hair that framed my two chubby little cheeks. I told my dad that I wanted to go to church because I really liked those nice people there. We rarely missed a church service after that, and Dad dropped all of those 1970 "behaviors" and became "Born Again." Things have changed since then, but when I consider what the book has to say, I realize that at age two I had lined up the variables that help to influence my dad perfectly. I was too small to see the preacher behind the podium, and yet I became and influencer for the first time.
I really enjoyed one story in the book about a CEO who was struggling to find a way to help his company improve their bottom line. One day he held a company meeting and presented a question. He said, "Someone told me that I am unapproachable. I would like to get some feedback on that." The room went completely still as he looked around. The silence was deafening, and it was proof that employees really did find him unapproachable. The CEO was about to move on to another topic when someone named Ken stood up and said, "I believe I may have some suggestions for you." The CEO acknowledged him, and later met with Ken to listen to those suggestions. The entire company was astounded, and the gossipers had plenty of criticism in regards to Ken. They gawked at his foolish move. As a result, the CEO was able to change the environment, and people who had once been stagnant participants in a failing company, were able to loosen up and make changes to processes that were in the way of progress. Ken didn't get fired, and the company changed for the better.
Here is a phrase from Edward Murrow about one great international influencer:
"a private man without wealth, without property, without official title or office. Mahatma Gandhi was not a commander of great armies nor ruler of vast lands. He could boast no scientific achievements or artistic gift. Yet, this one “little brown man in the loincloth” changed the course of the world and influenced billions of people."
So, if you have ever had trouble influencing people you work with, if you have great ideas but found your influential skills need sharpening to get your team into action, I recommend this book. Read it, and let me know what you think.
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Thanks Linda for your kind review. We wrote Influencer because we believe the most important capacity people possess is their ability to influence behavior—their own behavior and that of others.
By “influence” we don’t mean persuasion tactics. Persuasion, getting a person to say “yes” only sets the stage for influence. For example, getting a son to agree to stop smoking is just the beginning of his struggle with his addiction. Our book is designed to help you help him with his entire struggle. Every leader in every organization, team, and family faces problems that stem from persistent, resistant behaviors. This book is for them.
We try to avoid simplifying or making the process sound easy. Actually, the big message is that change is possible. We studied influencers who have saved millions from AIDS, changed the culture of our healthcare system, turned around the lives of thousands of criminals and drug addicts. There are no silver bullets or magic answers, but the good news is that there are powerful sources of influence that work.
How can you become an influencer? Here’s a very abbreviated summary of the approach.
1. Educate your eyes. We see behavior we’d like to change but can’t see what’s causing it. There are six sources of influence that make change seem impossible. Learn to see them and you can learn to change them. Your world is perfectly organized to create the behavior you’ve got. Find out how and you’re on your way to greater influence.
2. Overwhelm overwhelming problems. Don’t ask what one influence strategy will work. Marshal enough of the Six Sources of influence to overdetermine success.
I loved the anecdote about your father. It would be fun to look at how the sources of influence lined up prior to your talk with him, and how they played out afterwards.
David Maxfield
Posted by: David Maxfield | October 9, 2007 8:04 AM | Permalink to Comment