Mass Influence draws mostly on my personal observations and teaching. Although the ideas delve into a new realm, I’d like to acknowledge some brilliant thinkers who have influenced my work.
Broad-scale (or mass) influence is distinct from individual influence. Individual influence, which was studied by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence: The Psychology of Influence 1 is the ability of one person to influence another. I recommend it, although many of the principles of one-on-one influence change when you move into the realm of mass influence—the ability of one person to influence large groups of people.
The subject of books like Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point 2 or Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick 3, is the influence of one individual on the masses. Even before reading these great works, I knew I wanted to dive deeper into the influence conversation to get more practical, real-time information on becoming influential. In my conversations with colleagues and clients, I found I was not alone. Many others shared their stories with me of blindly having ineffective conversations with gatekeepers4. When I got the tools to effectively befriend the gatekeepers and build relationships with the influential, my world opened up. I’m excited to pay that forward. Mass Influence picks up where the ideas of other books leave off by giving you the rules, the etiquette, the mistakes to avoid and, most importantly, the mindset of how to win at the Influence Game.