Power, Influence, and Persuasion: Sell Your Ideas and Make Things Happen

This is one of the volumes in the new Harvard Business Essentials Series. Each offers authoritative answers to the most important questions concerning its specific subject. The material in this book is drawn from a variety of sources which include the Harvard Business School Press and the Harvard Business Review as well as Harvard ManageMentor®, an online service. I strongly recommend the official Harvard Business Essentials Web site (www.elearning.hbsp.org/businesstools) which offers free interactive versions of tools, checklists, and worksheets cited in this book and other books in the Essentials series. Each volume is indeed “a highly practical resource for readers with all levels of experience.” And each is by intent and in execution solution-oriented. Although I think those who have only recently embarked on a business career will derive the greatest benefit, the material is well-worth a periodic review by senior-level executives.

Credit Richard Luecke with pulling together a wealth of information and counsel from various sources. He is also the author of several other books in the Essentials series. In this instance, he was assisted by a subject advisor, Kathleen K. Reardon, a professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, who is a leading authority on persuasion, negotiation, and workplace politics.

Together, they have carefully organized the material as follows. First, they explain why power is necessary in organizations “even though our society distrusts power and those who seek it.” Next, they examine the sources of power. Then they explain why power is realized only through some form of expression. In Chapter 4, they examine influence in sharper focus, illustrating three specific tactics which any manager can use. Then in the next two chapters, Luecke and Reardon shift their attention to the concept of persuasion. They identify the four elements of persuasion and discuss how various audiences and people with diverse decision-making styles are receptive (“susceptible”) to different forms of persuasion. Then in Chapter 6, they explain how to appeal both to the mind (with logic and/or evidence) and the to heart (by anchoring the given proposition in a human context). Hence the importance of compelling details, vivid images, similes, metaphors, analogies, and especially stories achieve resonance with an audience.

In Chapter 7, Luecke and Reardon provide some excellent suggestions to increase and enhance the impact of a formal presentation. “It suggests a presentation structure and a number of rhetorical devices perfected by the ancient Greeks. It also explains the various learning styles used by people and explains the importance of adapting each formal presentation to the needs, interests, and temperament of the given audience.

I also appreciate the three appendices provided. “In Leading When You’re Not the Boss,” Luecke and Reardon offer useful tips on how to be productive and effective in situations in which (usually lower-level managers) are expected to lead but have no formal power or authority to do so. Appendix B includes two forms by which to assess an audience and to assess one’s own ability to persuade others. (Please check out Figures B-1 and B-2 on pages 135-139.) In the the third appendix, Luecke and Reardon offer seven “Rules” to follow when preparing visuals for presentations which will have maximum impact.

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Robert B. Miller and Gary A. Williams’ The 5 Paths to Persuasion and Annette Simmons’ The Story Factor as well as Doug Lipman’s Improving Your Storytelling (he wrote the Foreword to The Story Factor), Stephen Denning’s The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, and Storytelling in Organizations co-authored by John Seely Brown, Denning, Katarina Groh, and Laurence Prusak.

Rating: 5 / 5

Excellent for new & existing managers or anyone else in the corporate world who wants to pitch an idea to an individual or a group. It is an easy read touching on all areas of selling your idea. This even discusses the unethical use of influence.
Rating: 5 / 5

Got this book a few weeks ago. Haven’t finished it yet, but so far it’s been an easy and very informative read. There’s no amazing, never thought of before ideas, but it points out many ideas and strategies that one may have already known about but never considered using. I bought this book because of a review posted by another person commenting on “48 laws of power”. Haven’t read that book, but I’m glad I got this one. I highly recommend it to anyone in a management position or who presents ideas to other people. Great all around book whether you are in business or not.
Rating: 5 / 5