Page 155 - The Power to Change Anything
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144 INFLUENCER
fortune selling access to the private meeting between Ken and
the CEO. But in the end, the entire story came out—from the
CEO.
After meeting with Ken, the CEO sent out an e-mail de-
tailing the feedback he’d gotten. He made commitments to a
couple of changes that he hoped would make him more ap-
proachable, and he was as good as his word. Equally important,
the CEO sincerely thanked Ken for his candor. The CEO
showed his genuine support of the behavior of being candid by
not becoming defensive and by rewarding the person who had
taken the risk to be honest—even when it hurt—and he then
made personal changes to demonstrate his commitment.
The results were far-reaching. The CEO’s and Ken’s living
examples of seeking and giving feedback emboldened the
other 199 managers. Within months candor among employees
increased dramatically across the entire organization. Em-
ployees began to open up and successfully solve problems.
Although it’s true that neither Ken nor the CEO wore white
lab jackets, they did exert social influence. Both were respected
individuals, and both demonstrated how to break from tradition
and speak frankly. Had the CEO only given lip service to the
proposed vital behavior, he would have doomed the change
effort. Had he simply used verbal persuasion, his influence
would have been equally limited. Instead, the big boss encour-
aged candor, embraced it, celebrated it, and rewarded the first
person who had the guts to speak his mind.
When a respected individual attempts a vital behavior and
succeeds, this one act alone can go further in motivating
others to change than almost any other source of influence. But
take note, the living examples of other humans exert power
only to the extent that the person who is modeling the vital
behaviors is truly respected. For example, when an HR man-
ager at a midsized plywood mill we (the authors) consulted with
tried to put teeth into a training program she was touting, she
videotaped the president of the company singing the praises of
