My first inclination was to tell you about the 3 ways you can become a person of influence. After all, isn’t that how the literature of professional insights works? 7 Habits, 10 Reasons, The Five People, and so on and so forth. The word ‘the’, in these cases, functions as an advanced period–the thought ends when the author runs out of more ideas. That’s not a bad thing, but it lends an air of prescriptive finality that, in one man’s opinion, makes it difficult to take any one idea further than the author walked it.
In the course of business over the last several weeks, I’ve become fixated on three ways of becoming an influential person. But don’t let them limit you: if you want to influence CSX security policy, robbing trains is one method not covered in this blog post. In fact, there are so many ways of influencing niche decisions and realities that the best I can do is call these three really great character traits that make you influential by nature. In other words, influence can be a force you exert, or you can be influential.
#1: Keep your promises. Even during a scam, conmen focus on reliability and trustworthiness. They work hard to keep the little promises as the con unfolds because people innately desire stability and expectation. Since, in business life, we want relationships that last a little longer than the average scam, we should focus on keeping our promises. This is made easier by keeping a watchful eye on the promises you make (never make a promise just to appease someone in the short term) and keeping detailed records of the promises you do make (never break a promise just because you forgot you made it).
#2: Be quiet. Influence is gained and wielded best by people who have the broadest knowledge base in their little corner of the world. Listening not only broadens your personal faculties, but it also helps you identify external sources of wisdom and insight. Being quiet also puts supply and demand economics on your side: when the supply of your words is lower, demand is higher.
#3: Wear shoulder pads. Develop the ability to take on new responsibilities and administer them effectively. There’s only so much you can carry on your God-given shoulders, so learn how to augment your capabilities by enlisting help from the right people at the right time. Being indispensable is being influential.
Of course, influence is useless without vision, so be sure you’ve got a clear idea where you’re going before you offer people a ride!
Question: How do you determine which people have influence in your life? How do you cultivate your own influence?
