Quarterly Newsletter

2020 is hindsight and I think we’re all happy it’s in the rearview mirror! Given the pandemic the first three months of the New Year will be very hard but with the advent of vaccines and prospect of warmer weather ahead I think there’s reason for hope.

Despite Covid, I hope there were bright spots in 2020 for you. While we wish it hadn’t happened, all we can do is choose how we will respond. On the business front, not knowing with the future holds in terms of travel and in person workshops and keynotes, I’ve converted a spare bedroom in our home into a studio to film courses and do live training events. You’ll see more about that in the weeks and months ahead. What are you doing differently in 2021 given the world you find yourselve in?

Sincerely,
Brian

What’s Influence PEOPLE all about?

• Why – Help you enjoy more professional success and personal happiness.
• How – Teach you the science of ethical influence.
• What – Speak, write, train, coach, and consult.
• Who – Clients are primarily leaders, salespeople, business coaches, insurance professionals, and attorneys.

Starting a business then facing a pandemic in year #2 isn’t something I anticipated but with a pivot to virtual I was very fortunate. Despite the pandemic my second year was a good bit better than my first year so I’m very thankful for that. One last time I’d like emphasize this truth; we can’t change the circumstances we find ourselves in but we can choose how we respond. I hope you find ways to make 2021 better than you might have imagined and maybe, just maybe it will be your best year so far.

Here’s What’s New

Blog Posts

With the conclusion of 2020 I completed my 12th year blogging. April 17, 2021 will be the actual 12 year anniversary. For the past dozen years there have been weekly blog posts from me or guest writers. That’s a lot of writing! I hope what you’re reading each week is helping you. All of the blog posts are chronologically listed and tagged on my website. To search for any old posts click here.

Podcasts

I continue to be a guest on lots of podcasts. Another dozen or so shows were posted during the fourth quarter. Each show is hashtaged with #Influence, #Sales, #HR, #Marketing, etc., to help you locate shows that are most relevant for you. Click here to start listening.

Writing

My second book, Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents, is in the final stages of formatting. I’m shooting for January 12th as the pre-order date with the book being available on January 27th. Fingers crossed! The book also serves as the basis of a one day workshop for insurance companies and insurance agents. If your organization is interested in learning more about the workshop reach out to me.

Another way I used my 2020 pandemic lockdown time was to keep writing. I’m excited to share that I’m nearly halfway through book #3. The Influencer: Secrets to Success and Happiness follows the life of John Andrews as he learns about what it takes to enjoy professional success and personal happiness through relationships. The book is a completely new writing style for me because it’s a story format. I’ve never had so much fun writing! I know I’m on to something good because, after listening to part of the book my wife Jane said with surprise, “I can’t be you wrote that!”

Best of…

Each quarter I share interesting content with readers. With an uncertain future socially and economically, sharpening your skills is the best way to invest in yourself. My old high school football coach drilled into us, “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.” Continually working on your skills is the best way to prepare for opportunities that might come your way. Below are great books to read, podcasts to listen to, and shows to watch.

Books

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. I’m a big fan of all of Pink’s books and read this book right away when it came out in 2018. Pink explores how understanding timing can help you in a variety of ways. In the opening writes, “This is a book about timing. We all know that timing is everything. Trouble is, we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives present a never-ending stream of ‘when’ decisions—when to change careers, deliver bad news, schedule a class, end a marriage, go for a run, or get serious about a project or a person. But most of these decisions emanate from a steamy bog of intuition and guesswork. Timing, we believe, is an art. I will show that timing is really a science.” When is an excellent book but don’t just take my word for it. With more than 1200 Amazon reviews and a 4.5 star rating lots of other people feel the same way about the book as I do.

Online Influence: Boost Your Results with Proven Behavioral Science by Bas Wouters and Joris Groen. Full disclosure, Bas Wouters is a friend. However, my recommendation for the book comes because of his expertise in the science of influence. Like me, Bas is one of only a few dozen Cialdini trainers in the world. He teams up with Joris, a psychologist who specializes in translating human sciences into practical design guidelines for the online world. That’s a powerful combination! If you’re looking to improve your online presence and getting more yeses then this is the book for you. Many times I found myself setting the book down so I could tweak my website with ideas I was getting.

Podcasts

Leadership Lab Podcast is the brainchild of Patrick Leddin, Ph.D. Dr. Leddin is a former Army Ranger, author and professor at Vanderbilt. What I love about his approach is that he combines real world experience with research. But the show isn’t just his view on leadership. He has a variety of interesting guests on the show to explore very specific aspects of leadership.

Insurance Business Talk Podcast is hosted by Paul Lucas. If you’re in the insurance industry this is a show you want to sign up for because all of the interesting guests and ideas have direct application to your daily activities. Paul lives in London so guests and ideas come from all around the world.

Watch

Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? is a 24-part PBS series hosted by Harvard professor Michael Sandel. Each 30-minute episode shows Sandel lecturing and interacting with his students. It will challenge your thinking! While it’s not all about racial justice, the topics explored will force you to look at and think differently about a variety of topics. I first watched this series many years ago over Christmas break and it remains one of my most enjoyable learning experiences ever.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT®, is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE, LLC. An author, TEDx speaker, international trainer, coach and consultant, he’s one of only 20 people in the world personally trained by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s LinkedIn Learning courses on sales and coaching have been viewed by more than 100,000 people around the world. His blog, Influence PEOPLE, is read by people in 200 countries across the globe.