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The book How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie is almost 100 years old. Ok, that’s slightly over-stated as it was first published in 1936 but that might as well be 100 years ago. If it was a pair of Levi’s it would for sure be considered vintage.
It appears highly ranked in many top 100 all time great non-fiction books type lists. That’s a fun rabbit hole to go down on the internet…this was my favorite of the lists but I also liked the Good Reads top 100 list.
I've been thinking about influencing lately. True influence is an art form. It's not manipulation, it's not about seeking capitulation and it's certainly not about determination. Influence is much more about discovery and open-ness and less 'what part of my plan is the right plan don’t you understand?'.
So why do we approach projects like we are going into war? Full military style 'rally the troops and go do battle.’ With an everyone-must-fall-into-place orientation? When the reality is we want to execute in a sneaky, crafty, they-didn’t-see-that-coming style. Execution that requires all brains on deck - permission to speak freely with maximum creativity and deftness.
Conversation is the key to excellent strategic execution. Through conversation we seek to more deeply understand our colleagues diverging views and, from that place of understanding, the organization absorbs knowledge and becomes smarter. Smarter wins the war.
In the only battle I care about, the battle for disruptive thinking in organizations, we need to think less about chain of command and more about elevating ideas. And for me nothing is more powerful than conversation: a work of art with more than one creator.
So this week as you find yourself doing battle, ask yourself what you can learn from those fighting on your side. Instead of insisting you are right, seek information. You might not just win friends and influence people - you might just also look smarter in the process.