done!

I have always wondered how the Disneyworld powers-that-be convince some college kid to wear a heavy Eyeore costume while posing for pictures with bratty little kids in 200 degree weather in Florida. How do you make that attractive? Maybe by using some of the techniques like those from a book I just finished reading.

"Influencer" was not a fast-reading book for me...I would read a section, then re-read it to make sure I understood what I just read. But I'm glad I stuck it out because there were some great messages throughout the book. These are good!

1. People will attempt to change their behavior if (1) they believe it will be worth it (2) they can do what is required.

2. Make the Undesirable desirable. Make an activity an issue of personal significance.

3. When people are able to meet their personal standards, they feel validated and fulfilled.

4. The instant you stop trying to impose your agenda on others, you eliminate the fight for control.

5. Smart leaders accomplish great results when they replace dictates with dialogue.

6. It is wrong to assume that when people don't change, it's because they don't WANT to change.

7. Telling people to hunker down doesn't improve performance.

8. Opinion leaders are those who are most admired and connected to others. They aren't seen as using their knowledge to manipulate or harm, but to help. They rub shoulders with those who look up to them.

9. Make the Undiscussable discussable. Create an environment where formal and informal leaders encourage vital behaviors and skillfully confront negative behaviors. We should never accept the argument that it is wrong to talk openly and publicly about a problem.

10. Reward small improvements in behavior along the way. Don't wait until people achieve phenomenal results. Apparently people hand out praise as if it were being rationed, and usually only for outstanding work.

11. Watch coaches as they speak about the importance of teamwork and then celebrate individual accomplishment. Kids quickly learn that it's the score that counts, not the assist, and it turns many of them into selfish prima donnas.

12. In many companies, the only way to get fired is to get caught in a raging violation of ethics or political faux pas. If you aren't willing to go to the mat when people violate a core value (such as giving their best effort) , that value loses its moral force in the organization.

13. Make the Invisible visible. Search for subtle features from the environment that are silently driving you and others to misbehave.

14. Physical proximity affects our behaviors and relationships. If you want to predict who doesn't trust or get along with whom in a company, take out a tape measure. Distance keeps people from routinely interacting, often leading to animosity and loss of influence...and loss of informal contact where casual conversation oftentimes turns into a shared task.

**Those were the highlights with many, many case studies included throughout the book. Which of the above statements stood out in your mind...the one that made you say "Amen!".

I would like to know.