Six weapons of influence ( First 2 of 6)

Once you get used to doing nothing, you find that there is no energy left to become successful - Dr V V Rao

While endeavoring to execute our dream effectively and efficiently, the six weapons of influence understanding and practicing will fetch you to new heights. This week I will discuss about Social Proof and Reciprocation hereunder can be leveraged in our day to day life: [Michael Porter]

Principle #1: Reciprocation:

Reciprocation recognizes that people feel indebted to those who do something for them or give them a gift. All of us are taught we should find some way to repay others for what they do for us. You probably already use this principle, but it is much stronger than you suspect. 

You can build a sense of indebtedness in someone by delivering a number of uninvited ‘first favors’ over time. For example, if a colleague helps you when you are busy with an important health issue, you might feel obliged to support her ideas for improving their family. You might decide to buy more from a supplier if they have offered you an aggressive discount. Or, you might give money to a charity fundraiser who has given you a flower in the street. For example, according to the American Disabled Veterans organization, mailing out a simple appeal for donations produces an 18% success rate; but, enclosing a small gift in the form of personalized address labels boosts the success rate to 35%.

Principle #2: Social proof

When people are uncertain about a course of action they tend to look to those around them to guide their decisions and actions. They especially want to know what everyone else is doing – especially their peers. Once people have made a choice or taken a stand, they are under both internal and external pressure to behave consistently with that commitment. When you can get someone to commit verbally to an action, the chances go up sharply that they will actually do it.

For example, before starting your next meeting, ask each person to commit to following the posted agenda. Then, if anyone goes off on a tangent, just ask them to explain how it fits the agenda. If they cannot, they will quickly fall back in line. One more example, we are more likely to work late if others in our team are doing the same, put a tip in a jar if it already contains money, or eat in a restaurant if it is busy. 

Here, we are assuming that if lots of other people are doing something, then it must be OK. Mass approach is the belief for a quality and sustainability. One researcher went door to door collecting for charity and carrying a list of others in the area who had already contributed. The longer the list, the more contributions it produced. We are particularly susceptible to this principle when we are feeling uncertain, and we are even more likely to be influenced if the people we see seem to be familiar to us. That is why commercial advertisements often leverage moms, not celebrities, to advertise household products.

Our advance worrying become advance thinking and plan

Plan the best reality - Dr V V Rao

The “CAPA DRILL” methodology helps one execute the best reality in driving one’s tasks, goals and dreams towards practical achievement.

A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door. - Confucius

PLAN your goals keeping a clear rationale and with the end results and stakeholders in sight. Define practices which when implemented along with usable techniques help execute the daily, weekly and monthly actions as planned.

‘Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now’ - Alan Lakein

Deployment of actions in relevant spheres of one’s life and goals using a systematic, structured approach with timelines for reaching the goals in mind will enable progress and satisfaction.

‘Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning’ - Winston Churchill

Assess and Refinement of levels of efficiency and effectiveness with which plan and actions are being executed within planned timelines would essentially help timely risk mitigation and steer one’s progress and actions in a direction that brings one on course.

‘Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.’ - A. A. Milne

Creativity and Innovation are tools that need to be identified and prioritized to leverage innovative ideas with which to execute ones plans and strategic goals that result in enhanced results, satisfaction and joy of having accomplished the strategy more innovatively.

‘Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.’ - Peter F. Drucker

Learn and Improve your skills, ideas, thoughts and actions by replicating the good practices being followed by others. This would also improve opportunities for innovative ways in which things shall be thought, planned, viewed and probably executed that it enhances its value and results. Learning and improving need to be your constant companions for there is so much knowledge around us that one should never cease to learn and improve. 

Every well built house started in the form of a definite purpose plus a definite plan in the nature of a set of blueprints. - Napoleon Hill

A person’s behavior is fundamental to the process of effective planning and scheduling. You need to know yourself thoroughly, in terms of what are your capabilities and what is your business and will you be able to leverage those capabilities most effectively in enabling you achieve success. If there is a shortfall, consider expanding your capabilities that would help you meet the requirements and work towards enhancing your capabilities.

Divide your movements into easy-to-do sections. If you fail, divide again. - Peter Nivio Zarlenga.

Want to know an inside secret? The person you should write your schedule for is you, not your mentor and advisors. Mentors and advisors use their individual objective criteria with which to make money-lending decisions. Of course, the fact that you have a schedule will definitely count in your efforts and your gut.

Before beginning, plan carefully. - Cicero

You will be better prepared with a schedule. Preparing and finalizing a schedule forces you to think through basic questions and lets you fine-tune your ideas, steps, resources and dream to reality.

How can you connect your own DOTs!?

You can't change past DOTs, but present DOTs are at your service - Dr V V Rao 

You need to stimulate your own awareness of leadership in all aspects to connect your DOTs. Top seven DOTs most of the greatest leaders mastered them and connected them flawlessly U TOO can do it.

That means being aware when it is required in a given situation and aware when it is lacking. It is also entails an awareness of the changing requirements of your own dream which will deepen your awareness of the importance of good leadership if free men and women are co-operative effectively.

You need to establish your understanding of the principles, requirements and /or functions of leadership. The poor leadership of many can be attributed, in part or full to ignorance. No one ever told you the functions of leadership. So you miss out some important factor. A good leader understands the whole spectrum of leadership behavior, and knows when a given function is required.

You need to develop your skills in providing the necessary functions. You shall learn nothing about leadership unless you make a conscious effort to Connect UR DOTS to your real life experience. It is essential to bear in mind that people learn by the interaction of principle, theory, experience and practice. Your practical knowledge gained from both observation of actual leaders and your own practical experience, must be brought to bear in a constructively critical way to accomplish your dream to become a good leader.

A survey of 75 top leaders carried out by American business journal Fortune listed fifteen executive qualities. 1.Objectivity, 2.Decisiveness, 3.Dedication, 4.Dependability, 5.Drive, 6.Energy, 7.Initiative, 8.Emotional stability, 9.Fairness, 10.Foresight, 11.Human relations skill, 12.Integrity, 13.Judgment, 14.Cooperation & 15.Ambition. Are these so simple to attain and posses ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and both why?

Some people are born leaders, some people become leaders, and some have leadership thrust upon them. The art of good leadership is highly prized, and demands a keen ability to appraise, understand and inspire people around.

How one can connect these important 7DOTS?

First DOT:According to Burns, when "leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation" through the strength of their vision and personality, leaders are able to inspire followers to change expectations, perceptions, and motivations to work towards common goals.

Second DOT:When you are focusing on the role of supervision, organization and team performance. People perform their best when the chain of command is definite and clear.

Third DOT:Your behavior can be conditioned according to this school of thought behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner with no consideration of internal mental states. As Watson's suggests, that any person could potentially be trained to perform any task, regardless of things like genetic background, personality traits, and internal thoughts [John B. Watson]

Fourth DOT:Your leadership can also be very much participative through which members can take a more participative role in the decision-making process. Researchers have found that this learning style is usually one of the most effective and lead to higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale.

Fifth DOT:You can be an autocratic and an authoritarian leader you can have control over all decisions and little input from others. Autocratic leadership can be beneficial in some instances, such as when decisions need to be made quickly without consulting with a large group of people.

Sixth DOT:Use and utilize your strengths as much as possible be as you and believe in yourself. People may want to describe you as intelligent, honest, and brave as Major characteristics. [Gordon] for this you have to be true to yourself.

Seventh DOT:The world's most famous leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Alexander the Great helped us learn from them. Herbert Spencer suggested that the leaders were products of the society in which they lived. Can they re-create themselves in these circumstances? Firmest answer would be ‘NO’. In today’s circumstances and environment you have a better chance to become a game changer.

As individuals you start connecting all SEVEN DOTS day in and day out every aspect of life you will notice that you are becoming a better and better as a leader and as a person.

General Robert E. Lee was one of the finest military Leaders in the American Civil War. At the outset both sides sought him as their commander-in-chief. In the three day battle of Gettysburg any hope of victory for the South suffered a severe setback. The decisive point came when an attack led by one of Lee’s subordinates, failed. An eyewitness was present when news of this disaster reached Lee. His face did not show the slightest disappointment, care or annoyance, and he addressed to every soldier he met a few words of encouragement. ‘All will come right in the end’, we will talk it over afterwards. And to a Brigade Commander speaking angrily of the heavy losses of his men: ‘Never mind, General all this has been my fault. It is I who lost this fight, and you must help me out of it the best way you can.’  

As a leader he has his Calmness in Action and failure can connect a DOT too.

Right spirit in the mind to be right to a right dream

765 - Live like a child with right spirit

Creation of the right spirit in the in our mind is another prerequisite in managing managers and therefore the life. A mean spirit turns out mean persons and whereas a great spirit produces great personalities. 

The purpose of human mind is to make common men do uncommon things. It is the test of an individual to neutralize the weaknesses of mind minute by minute. 

For example many great organizations do have programs and coaches to bring out the strengths of individuals to enable the ordinary people produce more and better. The focus is to be on what one can do rather than on what can not be done. Good spirit implies ensuring full potential for individual excellence and providing recognition, reward as well as encouragement. 

Further it also means that enabling individuals as well as groups to constantly improve performance so that yesterday’s good performance becomes the minimum achievement level for today and yesterday’s excellence turns out to be the average standard for today. Further one has to focus on excelling rather than conformance all the time.

“You are making history, bloody it is your fate to deal with challenges” – Dr V V  Rao

In ancient Greek mythology Pygmalion, a sculptor and king of Cyprus, carved a statue of the ideal woman, fell in love with his creation, and through the strength of his own will and assistance of the goddess Venus, brought it to life.

Centuries later, George Bernard Shaw wrote a play, Pygmalion, using this theme of transformation. He told of how the will, effort and confidence of Professor Henry Higgins transformed a tattered, ill-mannered Cockney flower girl into a beautiful, sophisticated lady capable of making her own way in London society. [Robert W Goddard]

Since the time of Ovid the self-fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion Effect has been central to our social and psychological existence. Innumerable research studies show that what we see reflected in many objects, situations or people are what we put there with our own expectations.

We create images of how things should be, and if these things are believed, they become self –fulfilling prophecies.

Modern behavioral science provides an abundance of evidence that people learn from the structure of their environment and react the way the environment suggests they should. Self-image, other words, is the key to human behavior and sets boundaries of individual accomplishment. Thus your attitude towards, and subsequent treatment of, someone has the power to transform that person. Your expectation alone can bring about change in the behavior.

Think back to your childhood. If you were given loving parental messages, such as “You are so smart,” “You are so beautiful,” and “We love you,” you probably developed into an adult who believes you are intelligent, beautiful and lovable.

Conversely, if you received negative messages, such as “You’re a pest” or “You are a dummy,” you have a high probability of being an adult who feels you do not quite measure up.

Two MIT researchers for example, analyzed the careers of 49 American Telephone and Telegraph managers and discovered that their success, as measured by promotions, salary increases and performance appraisals, was directly proportional to the company’s expectations of them as individuals.    

At an Army command training center 10o+ soldiers tested for aptitude and randomly assigned to three expectancy categories: high, regular and unknown command potential. Trainees of whom instructors expected better performance score significantly higher.

As an individual, you can use the self-fulfilling prophecy positively by being aware of how and why your expectations affect your own growth and performance of your own dream. If you demonstrate through words and actions that you have confidence in yourself and expect superior performance you will probably raise your own bar to accomplish your dream to a reality.