How to Influence Innovation Better [Yes! And. Blog # 139]

How might you influence to innovate? “If you are going to influence the future you have to master four ways of perceiving things: as they were; as they are; as they might become; as they ought to be.” Dee Hock. Founder of the Visa organisation. Recently I was bag packing in a supermarket with a group of young Scouts to raise funds for the Scout troop. When I first asked people if we could help pack their bags, I was often refused and I learned quickly that it was best to have the children ask them. It seems the sight and sound of a seven year old with a cherubic face melts the heart and influences most shoppers to accept. Influence is as relevant to implementing innovations as it is to fundraising. I read One From Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Hock, the founder of the innovative Visa organisation, in which he describes its conception, the issues he had and how he overcame them. It struck me how well Hock influenced people when he had little or no authority. In their book, The Leader’s Guide to Influence, Mike Brent and Fiona Dent provide a very useful model on two axes which I summarise here (see illustration above): On the axis of emotion you influence through Logic or Inspiration On the axis of involvement you influence through being Assertive or Participative I will describe four examples from Hock’s story to illustrate this but first some background. Background Visa emerged from the original BankAmericard credit card programme. Back in the Sixties, Bank of America (B of...

76 Use Levers to Transform…

YES! AND… Creative Gorilla # 76 You can influence your life by applying leverage in a way that works for you… “Mind is the great lever of all things.”  Daniel Webster – American statesman Could you lever some basic strategies to make you more effective? I’m usually a fairly positive person but towards the end of last year, I found myself a bit rudderless and less than motivated. Does that ever happen to you? I could have attributed it [my lack of motivation] to the plumbers (a referral from our bathroom suppliers) who installed our new bathroom, tradesmen so bad we in Britain call them cowboys. They came in, spanners blazing and certainly made me miserable with their lies and bodges. On reflection though, I realised that I was not paying attention to the levers that influence my life, those key factors that give me direction, motivation and a sunnier outlook.  “Levers” are a metaphor for those key things in our life that we influence to achieve a certain outcome. These levers will be different for everyone but in my case they are: The amount of exercise I do The time I spend meditating Mapping what I have to do regularly The amount I snack You may wonder why I include the last one. Surely, if I snack more, that’s a bad thing? True. Essentially, if I increase the first three and reduce the last, I feel better and act more effectively; you don’t have to move levers the same way! I moved mine appropriately and feel more motivated and positive as a result. So You can apply this...