I was going to buy a copy of The Power of the Positive Thinking, and then I thought: What the hell good that do?
~RONNIE SHAKES
Influencer : The Power to Change Anything
is about learning to influence because:
An INFLUENCER leads change.
An INFLUENCER replaces bad behaviors with powerful new skills.
An INFLUENCER makes things happen.
Find vital behaviors
Start with vital behaviors. There’s no use putting together several complex techniques all aimed at the wrong actions.
Dr. Reid taught us to look for best practice research that compares top performers to others, teases out the unique behaviors that separate the best from the rest, and then teaches these vital behaviors to lower-performing individuals. If they then make significant improvements, you have something worth trying.
When you find yourself sorting through a list of possible influence strategies, demand this same level of scientific rigor. Accept only those recommendations that have been proven through similar comparative analysis.
After identifying the vital behaviors that have worked for others, learn what works best for you by applying the principles of positive deviance.
Add a source
Behind each vital behavior you’ll find six distinct sources of influence.
1. Make the undersirable desirable: Personal Motivation.
2. Surpass your limits: Personal Ability.
3. Harness Peer Pressure: Social Motivation.
4. Find strengh in numbers: Social Ability.
5. Design rewards and demand accountability: Structural motivation.
6. Change the environment: Structural ability.
If you’re lucky, any one of these sources might be enough to put your change strategy over the top.
Diagnose before you prescribe
Figure out which sources of influence are behind the behavior you’re trying to change. Most leaders fail to take this step and simply throw together an influence strategy they believe should work under any circumstances.
Add more sources
When the behavior you’re trying to change is currently supported by several sources, you’ll have to load up your influence strategy to address everything you’re up against. The world is perfectly organized to create the results you’re currently experiencing.
Make change inevitable
Individuals who routinely hit their change goals overdetermine vital behaviors in order to make change inevitable, meaning that they routinely look at all six sources, find methods from within each source, and continue adding new influence strategies well after others have stopped searching for change levers.
Complement Influencer with Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action and Leading with your strengths.