What is influence? Are communities changing the dynamics that engage influence, or are they simply injecting transparency into them? How do you connect with real results for your business? Can influence be bought or sold?
These are all age old questions and, for many, the answers have been a moving target.
There are other, subtle, and possibly even more powerful forces that influence outcomes. You may not have thought about them in those terms, you should. You know about parents, loved ones, and those you find yourself with in close quarters in a long journey.
Do you think about:
- the people you hire -- are they helping you move the needle in perception by thinking expansively, by being agents of change, or are they merely telling you what they think you want to hear? Are they going to solve problems creatively, or are they going to be the bottleneck for your organization to get out of its own way?
- the people you do business with -- are they good partners, transparent and upfront, helping you build a healthy network of relationships, or are they not telling you about issues that could potentially jeopardize your position?
- mentors and teachers -- do they help you break away from your own patterns, see beyond the obvious, feel like you matter? Or are you seeking those who confirm the choices you've already made?
What defines influence in business? Join us for the chat on Twitter at 12Noon ET today. Hash tag #kaizenblog.
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I just have to say that I love the cover on this presentation!
As a rider (albeit not for years due to a neck injury), I can say that influencing a horse is the strongest influence a person can have. And it's NOT about control... it's about trust, understanding, compassion, partnership, patience, frustration, and connection (i.e. knowing when to back off for the greater good, knowing when to get back in the saddle after being bucked.).
It's ultimately a two-way street between horse and rider. It's an invaluable life lesson.
Posted by: Beth Harte | July 16, 2010 at 10:49 AM
I love those #kaizenblog chats! Connecting with real influence is something I always stride for in my marketing/writing because it's one of the most powerful things you can hope to achieve.
It's hard to measure influence at times, but even if I have affected one person in a positive way it makes the efforts worth it.
Posted by: Steve Campbell | July 16, 2010 at 11:05 AM
@Beth - you are so right about horse back riding and trust. I don't have the experience you have, I went only a couple of times in the hills of Tuscany when I was staying in a farm, and I concur with your assessment. Horses are powerful and beautiful animals and can be amazing partners in healing, too.
@Steve - we have such a good group of smart people participating to the chat. This one had high energy from all, a record 600+ messages and 81 participants. We can measure actions and do a better job at identifying correlation to understand the effect of influence.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | July 18, 2010 at 03:38 PM