Challenging and Supporting People to do the Most Important Work of their Lives
This video is about Cialdini’s 6 Moments of Power from his book “Influence”.
Here is Dr. Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”
You’ll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.
This video comes from IESE during the Executive MBA (EMBA) intensive week in Barcelona. Florian Mueck, John Zimmer, Tony Anagor and Tobias Rodrigues all share wisdom on:
Here is why… If you are reading this via email, check out the video on the blog: Why are Experts so often poor Communicators?
This is a video about Experts and Fakes, Charlatans and Gurus. I share a 2×2 matrix looking at the 4 types of skill/communication ability.
I also discuss the idea of “craftsmanship” – where one person does all of the parts of a job from idea to execution and the special type of innovation that can come when one single individual understand how all the elements of the work flow together.
Check out Rich Mulholland’s video about “craftsmanship”:
You are going to give a TED talk? You want to give a TED talk? It is on your bucket list to deliver a TED talk? This video is for you…
This is a 20 minute video covering 10 areas that you will need to work on in order to Prepare, Deliver and benefit from a TED Talk.
My TED Experience
This is my TEDx talk “Who would you bet on?” I shared this talk at TEDxUniversidaddeNavarra back in 2013.
As of today it has 990,774 views (29 May 2019).
In Rationalia, all decisions are taken because scientific data is collected and the evidence supports the law. If you want to change a law, you suggest an experiment. If the experiment produces evidence that the new law improves the conditions of Rationalia, then the law is passed.
In this land, reason wins.
This is not a country that we are living in now.
This post is not going to get into the pros and cons of the nation of Rationalia.
If I listen to political debate (Trump vs Hillary, UK Labour party, Brexit referendum) I do not hear rational arguments being put forward for a range of proposed policies.
I hear arguments that go to credibility (or Ethos, for those followers of Aristotle amongst you):
There is nothing here about policies. There is nothing here about the danger of the other’s flawed policies. There is only raising of my trustworthiness and decreasing of the other’s trustworthiness.
I understand this shift. I see three big reasons:
There has been such a broadening of accepted beliefs over the last half-century that there are few value systems that can be assumed to apply to the whole electorate. There are few symbols that represent the same value to the whole electorate. There are few bases for logical argument that starts from a widely held truth.
There is much more data, in many more forms (graphics, reports, video, analyst reports…), there are many more experts, there are many more sources for information. The experts come at us through new channels – online, cable, satellite, podcasts, blogs, facebook, twitter…
It is confusing.
In this environment we seek voices we can trust. (Check out The Trust Equation for an in-depth analysis of the 4 components of trust in relationships)
It is only a trusted voice that can open our eyes to a new perspective.
If you want to persuade someone, build a relationship. If there is no relationship, there is little chance of persuasion.
We only really change our minds when a trusted friend who knows us finally asks a question in a private conversation “Hey, why is that so important to you? What effect do you think it is having on your life? on those around you?…”
Who are your trusted friends? Who do you allow to have influence on you?
What is charisma? Charisma means “special gift” in Greek. It is something that allows some people to magnetically attract others to them and their projects.
Is it innate or can it be learnt? According to John Antonakis, Marika Fenley and Sue Liechti in the Harvard Business Review June 2012 article “Learning Charisma”, it is learnt.
“After executives were trained in these tactics, the leadership ratings observers gave them rose by about 60%.” John Antonakis
Practice these tactics with video (check out my email based course to lead you through 10 weeks of practice). Practice these tactics with your peers. Practice leads to doubling the usage of these tactics in everyday life. Use of these tactics led to ratings of competence increasing by 60%.
These tactics work because they create an emotional connection between speaker and audience.
Check out the HBR June 2012 article Learning Charisma.
I was watching a few Charlie Munger speeches recently – Warren Buffett’s partner in leading Berkshire Hathaway.
Charlie talks a lot about “Inverse Thinking”…
Charlie does provide his answer to how to make life worse.
His answer: The perfect path to a miserable failure of a life is combining:
Another of Charlie’s particular questions he asks himself is how to keep from fanatical ideology? He sees that human beings are so open to self-deception that we must (yes even you) all be on the lookout for our own beliefs that have become fanatical.
Can you state the arguments against your position as well as your opposition? If you can state the arguments against your position as effectively as the opposing camp, then you can allow yourself to feel that you are not being fanatical.
Be careful about being in situations that motivate unhappy behaviour. Are the incentives in the systems in which you operate motivating behaviours that make you a better person, or a worse person. Be careful if you think your answer is “neutral”…
Don’t work for those who you do not admire.
Never.
It will damage you.
There is one random quote that stuck with me from Charlie:
“Hope is not necessary to persevere” Frederick the Great
There… those are my thoughts for this Sunday afternoon 😉 It is now time to head to the Camp Nou for FC Barcelona’s game against Espanyol… key for the league, and the Barcelona derby!
Cassandra lived in the time of greek myth, before we put numbers to the years. She was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of the city of Troy. She was a strong willed, beautiful red head. Her beauty was so great that she is considered the second most beautiful woman of all greek pre-history. (who was the most beautiful? *answer is at the end of this post) My own daughter’s name is a variant of Cassandra (Alexandra).
Her beauty and character brought her to the attention of the god Apollo. Apollo fell in love with her.
In order to seduce Cassandra, Apollo tried several approaches. Finally she made clear her demand: she would marry him in exchange for the gift of prophecy.
Apollo granted her this gift and Cassandra became able to see the future, to see all that was to come.
The wedding day came, Apollo was waiting… but Cassandra did not come. She broke the engagement. Apollo was angry.
The rules of greek gods were clear: what the god has given, he may not take away. Apollo could not take away prophecy. In his anger he cursed Cassandra with a cruelty that only greek gods could achieve.
Cassandra would never be believed. No one would ever believe her words.
Cassandra saw that her brother would die in the fight with Hercules, she saw the arrival of the greek army, she saw the truth of the Trojan horse. She tried and tried and tried to get her parents, her friends, the leaders of Troy to listen, but none would believe.
Cassandra ended her days as a mad, mad red headed beauty.
Imagine knowing the future and nobody believing you. Imagine having a plan for a project and nobody will get involved. Imagine trying to create a new business and nobody will invest, no client will buy and no supplier will agree to work with you. It is a maddening agony.
Cassandra was cursed by Apollo, but some of us choose the curse by not paying attention to our reputation, our character and the impression we create when we meet other people.
A Definition:
There are 3 killers of Credibility that will bring upon you the curse that Apollo cast upon mad, mad Cassandra.
In essence, don’t be Cassandra. In greek myth, the opposite mythological role is Orpheus. He was always listened to, always believed. He is known as “The Inspired Singer”.
Orpheus was always believed. His word was trusted. His plans were listened to. His requests for help were met with attention, resources and committed people.
Nobody is born as Orpheus. It is the fruit of choices about how you live your life. No matter what your role or position, Orpheus’ credibility is something that you have to earn. It takes time, patience, and consistency to build credibility. Credibility most grows when you are helping others achieve personal success.
According to Aristotle, there are three categories of ethical character. (His exploration of character comes from an exploration of the Socratic question: “how should man best live?”)
Aristotle separates the ingredients into two levels, the first level are two virtues that are the foundation of all the rest. The foundational virtues are:
The edifice of credible character is then built of the following lived virtues:
Aristotle’s deepest thinking on this theme is in his work Nicomachean Ethics.
Lets bring this down to practical steps. Here are 5 practical guidelines:
*The most beautiful woman in all greek myth? Helen of Troy, the twin sister of Cassandra.
Over the last 10 years I have increasingly moved from product businesses towards a services business.
In the world of private jets we had simple rules: if the trip is not paid, the plane doesn’t leave. It was policy, not decision.
In the world of coaching leaders to build cultures of disciplined high performance, there is often a wide grey area between free discussion and paid consulting. I find it very difficult to mark that line clearly. I love talking about psychology and high performance and getting the best out of people. I am interested.
My landlord only accepts money for rent. Not good intention. So I have to do the same myself.
UCD Smurfit Business School will be hosting a 3 day Influence and Persuasive Communications Seminar on January 14-16 2015.
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is Ireland’s leading business school and research centre. The school offers a wide range of postgraduate business programmes that equip students to become the business leaders of the future.
UCD Smurfit are one of less than 60 business schools worldwide to hold triple accreditation from the US, Europe and the UK accrediting bodies.
This three-day Influence and Persuasive Communications programme will strengthen executives’ abilities to engage and influence diverse stakeholders, including clients, colleagues, employees and top management.
Using a wide range of practical tools and concepts, participants will learn how to use both emotional and rational intelligence to persuade others in one-on-one situations and presentations.
It is a highly interactive course that will see participants acquire techniques for establishing credibility and managing nervous energy.
In addition they will gain valuable expertise in delivering diverse types of speeches by mastering the clear and powerful communication that is vital for accomplishing any business objective in today’s economic climate.
More information is available on the UCD Smurfit website: Influence and Persuasive Communications programme
