Growth is hard because it almost always involves pain. Think about children. Sometimes they wake up in the middle of the night crying because of growing pains. They don’t understand that their bones are stretching, their bodies are changing, but they know they’re experiencing pain. The same is true throughout life. When I competed in […]
Full confession: I don’t feel bad when I don’t open your email. I don’t feel bad when I don’t return your phone call. And I don’t feel bad when I don’t reply to your text. That might sound strange coming from someone who teaches ethical influence. After all, isn’t it polite to respond when someone […]
Father’s Day was Sunday, a time when many families celebrated the men who helped raise them. For some people, however, Father’s Day is complicated. Over the years, I’ve learned that even referring to God as “Father” can be difficult for some people because their experience with their earthly father was painful. Some never knew their […]
In my LinkedIn newsletter last Friday, I wrote about the Silent Nudges We Rarely Notice but Often Feel. The post focused on how our subconscious mind influences many of our decisions, even when we’re unaware of it. Not long after writing it, a perfect example came to mind. I was working out in my basement […]
Salespeople often ask me, “What’s the most powerful principle of influence when it comes to sales?” While every sales situation is different, I believe the principle of consistency is often the most powerful influence principle in the sales process. Why? Because the best salespeople talk less. That may sound strange, especially if your experience with sales involves […]
Most people familiar with Dr. Robert Cialdini’s work know the seven principles of influence. But there’s another psychological concept that deserves attention because it’s always at work in our thinking. It’s called contrast. Simply put, people understand things by comparing them to something else. When someone says a person is tall, what do they mean? […]
AI is a great tool, but like any tool, we can get lazy using it. A calculator is helpful, but kids still need to learn basic math. If they don’t, when the calculator spits out a wrong answer, they may not recognize it. AI is similar. If we don’t understand how to use it well, […]
People often ask me whether Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Dr. Robert Cialdini’s principles of influence are still as effective today as they were more than 40 years ago when his book hit bookstores. My answer is always the same: Absolutely! Technology has changed dramatically. We’ve moved from letters to email, from phone calls to texts, and […]
After traveling quite a bit recently and taking countless Uber rides, I’ve started wondering: Is social proof becoming less reliable? If you use Uber regularly, you’ve probably noticed something interesting. It’s hard to find a driver rated below 4.9 stars. Most drivers I see fall somewhere between 4.95 and 4.98. Think about what that means. […]
Last Saturday we said goodbye to my father-in-law, Charles “Chuck” Baily. For 38 years, he and I shared a relationship filled with plenty of back-and-forth good natured teasing. For example: After finishing a biography on Abraham Lincoln that I suggested, I asked him if he voted for Lincoln or Douglass. He once asked about the […]
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