The Influence Factor – Part 7

Here's a recap of The Influence Factor. I hope that it has been meaningful to you. It has certainly been a good reminder to me.

5 Types of Influence

Experience Influence - The Personal Testimony: Few people have more credibility than the person who has actually lived it. Heath & Heath talk about this in their book Made to Stick. Their words are not merely factual detail but storied history filled with color and shape.

Knowledge Influence - Mentoring: Information is valuable, but when that information is passed along in life-on-life experiences it takes on a whole new dynamic. If only we were all lucky enough to have people pouring into every facet of our lives: professional, relational, emotional, physical health.

Celebrity Influence - Trusted Recommendations: Celebrity Influence can extend beyond late night infomercials. Knowing what influences and moves your heroes can be a powerful influence on your own development as both professional and artist.

Character Influence - The Reliable Adviser: Some people claim to be good judges of character. Sometimes you don't have to personally know someone to just sense that they are trustworthy. Certainly, character generates respect in many situations. Those who are truly able to utilize this form of influence should recognize one key element of character: humility.

Relationship Influence - Life Together: The more I grow, the more I realize the importance of having solid relationships in my life. It seems that the ones that last the longest are the ones that I least expected to do so. It doesn't come easy, but for those who are willing to put in the effort, the reward is immeasurable.

So, here's my challenge for you: Think about several key interactions that you have with people on a daily/weekly basis.

• What type of influence are you utilizing in these situations?
• What about the other person?
• Are there ways that you can widen the stretch of your influence in these situations? That is can you move beyond to character to add relationship or experience?
• But before you do anything, take a good look inside and ask yourself "what am I influencing people toward?" Positive things? Negative things? Their advancement? My own gain?

The Influence Factor – Part 3

Knowledge Influence

"Knowledge is Power." I'm not sure who said it and I'm not quite sure that I hold it to be true. One thing that I do believe, however, is that Knowledge Enables Influence.

The most obvious picture of this is in the classroom. Informed teachers not only educate students, but have the power to influence the direction of their lives. In fact, a knowledgeable person who is passionate about what he knows has the power to turn everyone else around him on to that knowledge.

This has some personal connection for me. When I was very little - say, 4 years old - I would hang out with a friend of my parents who was a computer programmer. He got me started using a computer around that time. And it wasn't just that he would load a game for me to play, but it was me getting out the 5 1/4" floppies and loading DOS by hand, then digging through a stack and finding the program that I wanted to use. Certainly this is not something that I would have sought out on my own, but he passed his knowledge on to me and now I feel that I'm pretty well informed about how to find my way around most any computer that you put me in front of.

Strangely enough the Knowledge Influence Model was what carried us along as a civilization for hundreds of years (and in some industries, still does). Think back to blacksmiths and all the other smiths from the middle ages up through the late-1800s. Even today, the electrical and plumbing are formed around the ideas of masters teaching their craft to journeymen. As much as I love the classroom, there's just something captivating about that idea of someone pouring into you out of their own knowledge.

Yesterday we talked about Experience Influence. Here's a different way to think about Experience and Knowledge Influence

• Experience Influence - Personal Testimony
• Knowledge Influence - Mentoring

On Monday we'll talk about Celebrity Influence

The Influence Factor – Part 2

Experience

One of the most powerful sources of influence is Experiential Knowledge. Those who have "been there before" often have a lot of buy-in from the people they interact with.

Shared Experience is one of my 3 Defining Elements of Culture. People who have experienced the same thing (especially when they've experienced it together) often find an unspoken bond between themselves.

This is precisely what is at work in the story that I told yesterday about my relative. Someone who has experienced the same things as him has a lot more authority to talk to him about his life and make suggestions for improvement.

Of course, there are places where this doesn't work. I think, most obviously, is when someone tries to stretch their experience too far to make it fit your situation. I experienced a loss several years ago and someone tried to identify with me in their own experience. I had to explain to him that, while I appreciated his openness and desire to help, our situations were really, completely different.

If experience is the road that you want to take with someone here are several considerations:

• Is this person's situation really the same as mine?
• Is hearing about my experience the going to be of value to them?
• Do I have enough social capital with this person that they will listen?

In my estimation, experiential influence is best used in large group settings. This would be where a speaker tells a personal story. It seems that when you are face-to-face with someone, it is often better to listen. In these situations, perhaps a different type of influence would be best.