The Art of Influence: Persuading Others Begins with You

Excellent product, price ... everything. One of the best short, to the point, influential books I ever read. Extremely good for young and old persons. Highly recommended.

Read THE ART OF INFLUENCE by Chris Widener . . . it is a short but powerful parable about a recent college graduate who learns valuable lessons from one of the country's wealthiest men. What made it so good was the fact that I really cared about the characters . . . they were believable, and their stories were interesting too. I also liked how the author revealed each of the four key principles via discussions that seemed as if they actually happened . . . such as this one, involving a successful baseball manager, who advises: * Don't forget the power we have to influence ourselves. When you make a mistake you should never start telling yourself negative things. Those negative words produce negative thoughts and actions. For us, it is a player who strikes out and then tells himself he can't hit in the clutch. Guess what happens? From that point on, he can't hit in the clutch. For your situation it may be a person who botches a presentation and then tells herself that she can't speak in front of others. She'll never move up because she can't lead from the front of the room. Negative words produce results. So I teach people how to take control of their minds and thoughts and the words they say to themselves." Then there was this equally significant tidbit about how one of the character's daughters increased her income by just applying another of the principles: * "For the first few weeks she was bringing home about twenty-five dollars a day in tips. But then all of a sudden her tips jumped significantly, up to nearly seventy-five dollars on many days. Obviously, I wanted to know what was going on. She said, 'I finally figured people out.' Well, I wanted to know what the new insight was. 'Dad,' she said, 'people love to talk about themselves! I used to just make their coffee and not say much. Now I ask them all kinds of questions about themselves.' That was it. By getting people to talk to her about their lives she was subconsciously influencing them to tip her more." And, lastly, I liked this bit of advice that was given that all employees should take to heart: * "Excellence is something we practice in even the smallest details. You know, when I am walking through one of my properties, if I see a small scrap of paper on the floor, I personally stop and pick it up. I don't go to the manager and have him or her get someone to do it. I do it myself. And do you know what happens?" "What?" "My staff sees that even the small details matters to me. They get it. They see that I lead by example. It inspires them to pay attention to even the smallest details too. Excellence in everything we do is what makes guys like Bobby and me so influential." As you can see, none of the above is particularly profound . . . but it all makes sense--a lot of sense. By the way, in case you're wondering, here are the four principles to increase influence: Live a life of undivided integrity. Always demonstrate a positive attitude. Cons

This is an easy-read book and depicits a very foundational direction for everything you do in your life, and what to look for in the people you surround yourself with. It's warm and insightful

I really enjoyed the book. It was very helpful and very true. WAY to go!

After How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business and Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Widener's book is among my favorite about the topic of influence (but Widener should have read the first two). Although I'm not given to reading "inspirational" books (the other two titles are in the realm of scientific inquiry) I found it a useful and entertaining look at what drives and motivates us. I'm more inclined to ask Widener "How can you say that works better, on average, than an alternative?" then perhaps many readers of inspirational books. The experience of a single person, no matter how moving, can only tell us so much. But, again, it worked for me.