Influencer
by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield,
McMillan, Switzler
A Happiness Science Book Review
If you ever wanted to change something- yourself, your spouse, your
community, or the world, and you were frustrated in your
efforts, then this book is for you.
Kerry Patterson,
author and principal researchers says,
The
most important capacity you possess
is your ability to influence behavior. Think about it—in almost any
area of life—from business performance to personal health to
relationship success—the most important problems we face will never be
solved until we become better at influencing our own behavior or that
of other people. And yet most of us stink at influence.
You don't have to be a "person of influence" to
be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are
probably not even aware of the things they've taught me.
Scott Adams
|
Influencer,
the Power to Change Anything provides groundbreaking
scientific research and practical advice that can be applied to
personal changes, families, companies and cultures.
Statistics indicate that 80% of corporate change efforts fail. Many
successful people struggle to lose weight or quit smoking. Destructive
behaviors ruin relationships. We can see the goal, but our failure to
influence the lasting changes needed to reach the goal lead to
frustration and unhappiness.
| Movies
can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the
realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal
adulthood.
Walt Disney
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These researchers set out to change all
that by focusing on the influence masters- those few successful change
agents who have successfully changed behaviors with amazingly positive
results.
The book starts with several specific examples of these change agents,
from a half-way house in San Francisco that turns hardened criminals
into productive workers to controlling an AIDS epidemic in Singapore by
teaching young sex workers to insist on condoms, to improving literacy
in Mexico City, plus several more.
The authors examine the principals
behind these success stories, then lay out a framework anyone can use
to successfully influence change.
Their research shows that it is not enough to simply define the change
you want, although this is a vital first step. It is important to break
the change down into 3 or 4 vital behaviors that will bring about the
change.
| Think
twice before you
speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either
success or failure in the mind of another.
Napoleon
Hill
|
For example, when changing my own behavior to permanently lose
weight, I know that I must: (a) start exercising daily, (b) limit my
portions, (c) limit fat and sugar, and (d) eat more vegetables. If I
can develop regular habits that allow me to do all 4 of these things, I
will lose weight and keep it off based on extensive studies of people
who have successfully lost weight.
When influencing people to go straight after a
lifetime of crime- or
even generations of crime- there are a series of behaviors aimed at
helping people experience the joy of working, being part of a team,
being depended on, and being capable and competent at a desired skill.
Once
we understand the vital behaviors, the next step is to look at the
forces that create change and to bring as many of them to bear as
possible. The authors identify six sources of influence:
- Personal motivation- an
individual's desire to change and their belief it is possible.
- Personal ability- an
individual's skill, knowledge and resources for the change.
- Social motivation- a peer
group or societal motivation to change or support the individual's
change through rewards and recognition. If all my friends walk during
their lunch hour, I am socially motivated to exercise during lunch.
- Social ability- the natural
consequences built into the social structure that support or oppose the
change. If my mother believes that eating her homemade cake every night
at diner is a sign of love and to turn it down will hurt her feelings
and cause guilt, I do not have the social ability to influence this
change.
- Structural motivation- the
degree that the environment motivates the change. If all the vegetables
are at the front of the refrigerator and I have to move them aside to
get to the cake my environment motivates me to eat right.
- Structural ability- the
degree that the environment allows me to change. If there are no
vegetables in my kitchen, my environment does not support my ability to
eat more vegetables.
To Kerry Patterson's point- most of us stink at
influence because real
change through sustained influence takes work and skill. If you are
motivated to change or to be an agent of change in your community or
organization, but lack the skill and knowledge to make that change
stick, then this book has what you need.
This book is:
- very readable
- solidly based on research summarized
within the book
- full of personal and social examples and
experiences
- contains clear advice on how to make
changes
- contains advice that has worked repeatedly
We recommend this book for anyone who is interested in influencing
their own behaviors or the behaviors of others in pursuit of a happy
life.
Why not become an influencer in your happy
life!
If you liked Influencer, you might also enjoy these other
fine books by the same authors- Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron
McMillan, and Ron Switzler.
Our Top Recomendations for Selp Help Books on:
1) How to Be Happy
2) How to Have Better Relationships and More of Them
3) Happiness Science
4) How to Develop Happy Habits
Or, try our Movie
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