Influencer: The Power to Change Anything
Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
McGraw-Hill 2007
Are you planning to change your eating habits or change the world this year? The authors of Influencer claim that if you follow the findings of their research, whatever your aims, change is inevitable.
Brought to you by the team who wrote the bestsellers, Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations, Influencer : the power to change anything may be just the book to read as you realize that once again your New Year resolutions have come to nothing.
By bringing together the research of social scientists such as Albert Bandura - apparently the most cited psychologist alive - and the practical insights of practitioners working as far a field as Africa and the USA, the authors provide a hopeful account of how to change behaviour. I say hopeful because their examples – eradicating disease, empowering the unemployed, working with offenders – are powerful reminders of how individuals can make a positive difference. Would-be despots should take heart from the observation that the methods described in the book should be just as effective in your pursuit of evil.
After setting out compelling reasons why we should all engage in change and suggesting ways in which we can identify the key behaviours that make a difference, the authors cover six areas that they recommend are attended to in any change initiative.
Chapters deal with developing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, developing personal capability and exploiting the skills of groups. They also cautiously recommend traditional reward and incentive schemes but they stress the importance of small rewards aimed at reinforcing specific behaviours rather than focussing on outcomes.
A particularly useful chapter covers what the authors call structural ability. The essence of this factor is that there a number of quick wins that an influencer can enjoy by attending to the physical environment in which change is taking place. Change the environment and behavioural changes follow.
As psychologists, we love odd words to describe straight forward concepts and this chapter contains a great one: propinquity. Simply put, propinquity is physical proximity. The power of propinquity to change behaviour is quite remarkable.
When Leon Festinger and others started to look at this issue they found, among other things, that the frequency and quality of human interaction is largely a function of physical distance. What this means is that if you want to get two conflicting teams to improve the way they work together, put their desks in the same room. And if you never get round to practising that clarinet you bought five years ago, buy a stand for it and place it in the living room. While you are at it, put the sweets that are ruining your diet in the cellar and the bowl of fruit on your desk.
An important theme that emerges from the book is that change will not come about unless the issues are addressed from a number of angles. No single approach will be sufficient but attend to all six factors and you have a winning formula.
Where I have a gripe, it is about the style of this kind of book. They follow the “meet James, he wanted to change his community” approach. We find out all about James before we are told how he applied the principles and theories detailed in the book. I know that in chapter 3 the authors explain how stories are much more powerful influencing tools than simply presenting the facts but this way of winning me over just doesn’t do it for me. More theory please, less anecdote.
But don’t let this put you off. Skip the anecdotes and you will still have a wealth of influencing strategies at your disposal. You will also find that reading the book will have taken you half the time; leaving you more time on your hands to bring about world peace.
Book Review by Justin Spray, Mendas Ltd
