Page 275 - The Power to Change Anything

264 INFLUENCER

in order to succeed. They make use of peer influence and
ensure that social circles support the effort rather than get in
its way.
When it comes to enabling performance by making use of
the physical world, most people typically fail to even think about
this powerful and yet largely untapped source of influence. Dr.
William F. Whyte came up with the idea of building the restau-
rant order spindle when he was dealing with restaurant argu-
ments, but nobody else thought of it. Dr. Frederick Steele
explained this mental gaff by suggesting that most of us are envi-
ronmentally incompetent. We rarely see the effect the physical
environment is having on us, nor do we make use of environ-
mental features when crafting an influence effort.
In short, you must address all six sources of influence when
designing an influence strategy. Stop thinking of influence tools
as a buffet, and recognize them as a comprehensive approach
to creating systematic, widespread, and lasting change. Di-
agnose both motivational and ability sources of influence, and
then lock in the results by applying individual, social, and struc-
tural forces to the solution. You now have a powerful six-
source diagnostic tool at your fingertips. Use it liberally.

MAKE CHANGE INEVITABLE
Let’s end on the concept of making change inevitable. More
than anything else, this characteristic sets effective influencers
apart from everyone else. Individuals who routinely hit their
change goals overdetermine vital behaviors in order to make
change inevitable, meaning that they routinely look at all six
sources, find methods from within each source, and continue
adding new influence strategies well after others have stopped
searching for change levers. They do this for a good reason.
Typically the change they’re attempting to orchestrate is so
audacious—so completely hopeless—that they pull out every
influence tool available.