I walked to the front of the meeting room past my muttering colleagues.
My hands clammy, my shirt beginning to soak with perspiration in the air conditioned room. Blinded momentarily by the projector, I faced my audience. Their faces raptly attentive as they waited for the first words to come. I noticed my boss as he glanced at his watch. A phone buzzed in silent mode on the table and all eyes were drawn toward it. Someone muttered an apology as he picked up the errant phone and read the message. I had spent weeks preparing for this meeting. We were about to introduce a new computer system across the entire business and everyone in the room would be
Blinded momentarily by the projector, I faced my audience. Their faces raptly attentive as they waited for the first words to come. I noticed my boss as he glanced at his watch. A phone buzzed in silent mode on the table and all eyes were drawn toward it. Someone muttered an apology as he picked up the errant phone and read the message. I had spent weeks preparing for this meeting. We were about to introduce a new computer system across the entire business and everyone in the room would be
I noticed my boss as he glanced at his watch. A phone buzzed in silent mode on the table and all eyes were drawn toward it. Someone muttered an apology as he picked up the errant phone and read the message. I had spent weeks preparing for this meeting. We were about to introduce a new computer system across the entire business and everyone in the room would be
I had spent weeks preparing for this meeting. We were about to introduce a new computer system across the entire business and everyone in the room would be affected. Nobody wanted the new system. I stumbled through my slides, gave them all the facts and outlined the plan. Still nobody wanted the new system.
Nobody wanted the new system. I stumbled through my slides, gave them all the facts and outlined the plan. Still nobody wanted the new system.
I had failed to influence my colleagues to support the project.
So why had my long-prepared presentation failed to achieve the intended result?   When we link the required resources to the goal through personal benefit - we create motivation to change. That is, we influence the person to change.
The answer lies in the Triangle of Influence
When we are influenced to do something, we connect three things inside the brain:
The goal we will achieve
The resources achieving the goal costs, and
The personal benefits that we get out of achieving the goal.
When we believe that we have more value in the benefit than the cost, we will be motivated to act on achieving the goal. But if we believe that the cost outweighs the benefit, we will not be motivated to act.
[player]
Download the Triangle of Influence PDF
Download the Triangle of Influence audio
Everyone has influence!
We all have the power to affect another person. The very definition of influence. But do you have the necessary power to affect the people you need to influence? When I was presenting to my colleagues in an attempt to influence them to support my project I neglected a few critical points. In particular:
The objective of the project was not as clear for them as it needed to be.
I couldn't really explain the cost to them, nor
What was in it for them, personally.
Not surprising then that they weren't motivated to action. People are influenced when they link a clear action (goal) with the PERSONAL benefits that they will gain that are greater than the cost to them of undertaking the action in their mind. It is critical that we realise that people are influenced when THEY make the link.
Influence to act = PERSONAL Benefits > PERSONAL costs
Surely it cannot be this simple?
Well it can. But importantly, simple does not mean easy. If we wish to influence another person to undertake a particular action, to be certain that we motivate them to action, we need to know:
What they PERCEIVE to be the personal benefits
What value they place on those bene