Book SummaryInfluencer, by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, et al.

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Influencer

Influencer is a book for leaders who want to more effectively accomplish their goals.

According to the authors, effective leaders can accomplish big goals by strategically influencing human behavior. They call people with this skill “influencers.”

With a shared background in social science and organizational change, the authors (Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, [David...

Influencer Summary The Importance of Being an Influencer

In this first section, we’ll delve into what it means to be an influencer and preview the three steps required to become an effective influencer.

The authors argue that influence is about more than just convincing people of something. It’s about understanding how and why they act the way they do, then finding ways to inspire and support them to change their behavior. According to the authors, being an effective influencer has broad implications across numerous fields, and it holds the potential to unlock big goals—from eliminating recidivism to saving thousands of lives.

The Rise of the Term ‘Influencer’

In today’s vernacular, an influencer has come to mean someone...

Influencer Summary Step 1: Make Measurable Goals

To inspire people to change their behavior, effective influencers must first outline specific and quantifiable goals.

According to the authors, a strong goal has two parts: a clearly defined purpose and measurable benchmarks. They must be clear on what they want the long-term outcome to be. A specific and quantifiable goal allows everyone to know what you're working toward and how you'll know when you get there.

The Questionable Effectiveness of S.M.A.R.T. Goals

At first glance, the authors’ recommendations for goal-setting align closely with the popular S.M.A.R.T. goal model, which defines well-developed goals as specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. This model has become almost ubiquitous in corporate and educational settings and is used widely as a goal-setting and accountability tool.

However, a study found that [employees...

Influencer Summary Step 2: Identify the Critical Practices

Having established a measurable goal, influencers must then identify the critical practices necessary to reach that goal. They must know what behaviors need to change to make their goal possible. In this section, we'll define critical practices and discuss strategies for identifying the critical practices that will be most impactful in reaching your desired outcome.

Critical practices are the behaviors that need to change in order to accomplish a goal. While identifying the necessary behavior changes can seem overwhelming, the authors argue that there are usually one or two critical practices that have a disproportionate impact on the desired outcome. For example, if you wanted to minimize texting-related car accidents, a critical behavior might be placing cell phones out of reach while driving.

(Shortform note: While many agree that behavior change is a critical step in accomplishing long-term goals, there are different psychological theories about what causes long-term behavior change. For example, the theory of reasoned action suggests behavior change requires intention, shaped by attitude and social norms. The social cognitive theory on the other hand posits that...

Influencer Summary Step 3: Use Every Area of Impact

After creating a goal and identifying critical practices, the third step of being an influencer is using every tool in your tool box to encourage the adoption of the necessary critical practices. In the following section, we'll explore six areas of impact identified by the authors and discuss strategies for influencing behavior in each area.

To ensure that people adopt critical practices, influencers must exert as much influence as possible wherever possible. (Shortform note: Unlike the authors of Influencer, some self-help authors, like Tony Robbins, focus only on the individual’s ability to change their own behavior, without acknowledging the multiple co-existing variables that impact an individual’s conscious and unconscious decision-making.)

The authors suggest that two main variables affect behavior: inspiration and skill. They identify six areas of impact that influence people’s ability and desire to change their behavior:

• Individual Inspiration: Do I want to do it?
• Collective Inspiration: Do the people around me...

Shortform Exercise: Practice Setting Goals

According to the authors of Influencer, when trying to achieve a goal, the first step is to state exactly what your goal is and how you'll know when you get there.

Consider a big goal you have in your personal or professional life. Write your goal below.

Shortform Exercise: Use Your Influence

After setting a clear goal, influencers need to identify the critical practices that will have the greatest impact on their goal, then figure out how to effect change in those areas.

Considering the goal you wrote down, what are three practices that you think would have a significant impact on your goal?