How to Get People to Do Stuff: Master the art and science of persuasion and motivation 1st Edition

.I am a believer that exceptional leaders are masters of human behavior. When I teach leadership to professionals my mantra is "human behavior is not logical but it is predictable." When we study and understand this predictability we are able to successfully navigate our way to the achievement of goals both individual and organizational regardless of our official authority level.A lot of what is in Ms. Weinschenk's book is not new and I have read and recommended some of her references for years. However, the book is EXCEPTIONAL BECAUSE IT PULLS TOGETHER A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES IN A READABLE, ACTIONABLE MANNER. This book will now be the first book I recommend to my leadership class participants when it comes to human behavior.To quote Ms. Weinschenk "The more you understand psychology, the better you'll be able to sync what you want people to do with what they want to do. Ultimately it's not about manipulation- it's about understanding."Below are just 10 excerpts from the book that ring true with me... these may seem simple or obvious but the book provides powerful context associated with the statements below.1. "When people feel they are working with others as a team to reach a goal, they are more motivated to achieve the goal, even without any extrinsic reward, than if they are working alone."2. "...our brains react in a special way to people we know. People are more likely to do stuff if they know the person asking them, regardless of whether they have differences of opinion with the person."3. "Research in psychology over the last 15 years has revealed that people process information unconsciously and make very quick (a second or less) unconscious decisions about people."4. "People will listen to the leader and be more likely to do what the leader suggests. If you want to be the leader, and you want people to do stuff, make sure you speak first."5. "No idea in this book is more powerful than the idea of using stories to affect behavior."6. "People often confuse negative reinforcement with punishment, but they are not all the same thing. Negative reinforcement is powerful in changing behavior, and punishment is not as effective."7. "One way you can get people to do stuff is to invoke a fear of loss. Our instincts are so alert and averse to loss of any kind that we are unconsciously more motivated to take action based on the fear of loss than the anticipation of gain."8. "To get people to do stuff, you need to offer a few (three or four at most) clear choices so they feel in control."9. "A good teacher knows how to take a body of knowledge or skill set and break it down into smaller chunks. A good teacher is a master of mastery. Knowing how to chunk skills and information into the right-size bites for a particular individual is what a good teacher does."10. "When you can get people to ask themselves a question beginning with "Will I...," you're more likely to get them to act on the statement."Human behavior for leaders is worthy of lifelong study and this book is an excellent resource for that study.Dr. James T. Brown, PMP PE CSPAuthor - The Handbook of Program Management

If you ever need to get other people to do stuff (and who doesn't!), then this terrific book is a must-read.As a huge fan of Susan Weinschenk's two excellent "100 Things" books, I just finished "How to Get People to Do Stuff" and absolutely loved it! In fact, after an initial first read, there were so much thought-provoking ideas in it that I went back to the beginning and started going through it all over again, page by page, with red pen in hand, to underline, circle, and strategize on how I might take advantage of all the insightful and valuable tips it has to offer.And I've been recommending it to my students and to all my corporate training and coaching clients as well.One of the things I really like about it is that it is a practical, short-and-straight-forward, easy to understand (though definitely not simple to do!) handbook and toolkit for motivating and influencing people. Unlike so many other similarly-themed books out there, it is not overloaded with filler and repetitive examples, or too much academic research. This practical guidebook gets right to the point with a collection of powerful, well-organized tips and strategies, accompanied by numerous impactful and memorable real-life examples.There are few skills in business or in life more necessary and valuable than having the ability to negotiate a positive outcome, gain buy-in for your ideas, and/or lead others with confidence. And this book, drawing on the work of some of the top, current thought-leaders in the field of influence and motivation (Robert Cialdini, Dan Pink, Barry Schwartz, Charles Duhigg, Daniel Kahneman, and others), will help increase your odds of successfully achieving your people-related objectives...whatever they may be.

This is highly recommended reading for those who want to master persuasion and increase their level of influence among people.I found the scientific research very helpful. The summaries/nuggets included in textboxes also reinforce the tips being advocated by the author.This is an easy read and is not boring.Highly recommended!

I've just finished it and am feeling empowered with new knowledge that I can practically apply at work, or in life.I've tried to read some other psychology books. However, those tries were not usually successful and I gave up after reading a couple of chapters at the beginning. The reasons would be their subjects are too focused on ones that did not quite resonate with me.This book is all about 7 drivers for motivation and written in a very clear and simple way; the author explained each one in depth and later, provided some cases to demonstrate how to apply those drivers in real life situations.I specially appreciate the strategy sections provided at the end of the detailed explanations. The couple of sentences in this strategy sections well summarized what I just read and reinforced my memories of what I've just learned. Also, all the strategies are listed in over the ending pages that will work effectively for me to refresh my memories and will be used as knowledge reference for helping me locate a specific information. I'd like to highly commend this psychologically designed content structure.In general, I really like reading this book, appreciate the practical knowledge I've gained from this book, and highly recommend this book to others who are interested in how people's minds work.