Review: Practical, insightful, and well written
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2013
The Art of Influencing Others is a must read. This is a compact book. There are no long winded anecdotes, annoying buzz words, meaningless corporate jargon, or other unnecessary fluff and filler. The writing is very straight forward. It introduces new concepts and takes time to thoroughly explain things. The layout is quite elegant and easy to read, too. The paragraphs are broken up by a bold text which highlights the essential information and makes the new information easier to digest.The author draws upon his experience as he explains the philosophy behind the concepts and provides many examples to back it up. All the examples are relevant, and the writing is succinct and concise. The result is very refreshing, and you will walk away with advice you can actually use.You will realize that being an effective leader is something you can actually accomplish. This is something that is often talked about as some vague idea, leaving you to guess and wonder how to best live up to the image. This book will change all that and help you form a clear vision of where you want to be. You will also feel like you have a concrete plan to get there.True leadership is something that takes time to cultivate. While some people are natural born leaders, most of us need to learn the art of leadership. I really liked how this book made me feel like I was simply learning new skills, and not trying to change who I am. A lot of guides I have read on this subject left me with the impression that leadership and charisma are something some are born with, and the rest of us can only imitate.The Art of Influencing Others encourages the reader to use their own natural gifts and personalities to truly shine. As the title implies, it is an art that is very possible to learn if you are willing to put in the time and effort. It is mostly about getting into the right mindset and learning how and when to focus on others.No one can be a leader without followers, and the advice in this book will help you to become a person that others will want to follow. There are far too many insightful and practical tidbits to summarize here, but the one that stuck with me the most was this one: "make a person feel important and you will gain a follower".There are also numerous examples of physical gestures and mannerisms you can do to attract notice and increase your presence. There is a lot of information, but it is not at all hard to remember. There are no long lists or tired platitudes here; the advice is intuitive and just feels natural. You can immediately put some of the most basic information into practice, and there is plenty to build on and expand once you have mastered it. No matter where you are in your leadership journey, there is something in this book for you.