It’s hard to imagine two groups less likely to unite in the UK in the mid-1980s. On one hand the miners of South Wales, locked in a bitter, violent, year-long strike against pit closures. On the other: London’s lesbian and gay community, engaged in its own battle against discrimination. Yet this unlikely union is what… Read More »Great movie leaders: Mark Ashton in Pride
We all have people in our organisations who don’t receive the recognition they may deserve. The ones who work away in the background, not getting the limelight – yet just as important in determining whether a project or organisation succeeds or fails. The movie Hidden Figures is a great example. It spotlights… Read More »Uncovering the leadership lessons in Hidden Figures
Some 2300 years ago in Ancient Greece, Aristotle wrote his three pillars for public speaking. Surprisingly, they’re just as relevant today as they were then. So relevant in fact, that in Gravitas, Caroline Goyder uses them to define that mystical quality of influence and how to get it. Gravitas, says… Read More »Martin Luther King and the secret of gravitas
In Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, with pressure growing for his release from prison, Nelson Mandela is taken to a secret meeting with four government officials charged with finding a way out of their current political situation. Once the introductions are over, Mandela chooses a seat and invites the others… Read More »An influencing trick from Mandela you may be ignoring
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” Albert Einstein Communicating effectively is surprisingly difficult. In our attention-starved, multi-tasking society, we rarely have people’s undivided attention when we’re communicating. The onus is on you to make your audience sit up and take notice. And the simpler you… Read More »Five simple ways to make your message memorable
In our last post, we looked at the the first four key influence tactics described in the Mind Gym: Wake Up Your Mind: Reason, Inspire, Ask and Feel Good. Here we’ll look at the last five tactics and where you can find examples of them in movies. Deal Deal is a simple… Read More »Under the influence: nine tactics for persuasion (2)
Whatever your role – leader, manager, parent – it’s a fair bet that influencing is one of the skills you’ll be using most today. Whether it’s getting your manager to back your idea or encouraging your teenager to knuckle down to their studies, influencing is a core skill. And it’s become… Read More »Under the influence: nine tactics for persuasion (1)
Imagine you’re in a meeting with 11 of your peers. They are all in agreement and keen to move on. You are the only one to have doubts, but the stakes are extraordinarily high: a man’s life. What do you do? That’s the premise of Sidney Lumet’s 1957 film 12… Read More »Six ways to influence 12 angry men