It suggests that our brains hang onto to titillating details about people - do they lie or cheat, are they altruistic or heroic, loyalt or disloyal? But that same brain doesn't get as interested in big complex things like significant cost overruns, failed projects, or bad quality control reports.
I think this is important for people who lead change. It's one thing to try to make a convincing case using sophisticated graphs and numbers, and assume that's what our stakeholders care about. But what they seem to really care about is - are we trustworthy? And, sadly, PowerPoint can't accomplish that for us. In this rational age, it is easy to miss this distinction. As Hank Davis, one of the researchers cited in the article said, "We are continuing to navigate through the modern world with a Stone Age mind."
Learning How to Influence People Many of you know that my work on resistance and change management is built on the education I received at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. I began studying there in 1991 and have taught there since 1996. Getting to teach there is a labor of love for me and I truly believe I learn as much as the students.
I teach in the
Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener (BEI) program. This program is designed for people who need to influence others in order to get their work accomplished. We typically get consultants, leaders of organizations, and managers who are looking for a place to improve their skills in working with others. The five weeks (spread out over nine months) is intensive. Some lecture, but lots of practice and feedback in various sizes and types of groups. In fact, during one session participants consult to an organization in the Cleveland area.
We are gearing up to start the program again in October. If BEI sounds like something you might be interested in, please read the program description at
BEI And, you might want to listen to a short audio clip of why I decided to study in Cleveland.
Rick's Audio And, if you like what you see, please feel free to give me a call. I love talking about this program. By the way, the 2007/2008 BEI program just ended last Saturday and we had people from all over the US as well as India and Norway. It's quite an exciting and motivated mix of people.
