In a similar vein, study has shown that by asking potential voters to predict whether they will vote on an election and to provide a reason for their prediction, participation rate could be increase 20% to 25%.

So what’s actually driving the drastic increase? Based on my recent interesting read of <Yes! 50 scientifically proven ways to be persuasive>, there are two important psychological steps involved in the success of this technique. First of all, when people are asked to predict whether they’ll engage in a socially desirable behavior in the future, they feel compelled to say yes because that’s the socially appropriate thing to say. Secondly, after most of these people have publicly state that they’ll perform the socially desirable behavior, they’ll be motivated to behave consistently with the commitment they just made.

What lessons can we draw from this human factor that can be effectively employed in our lives?

1. If you plan on joining a charity run for a nonprofit, start by asking your friends, family and co-workers whether they think they’ll donate
2. If you manage a restaurant or doctor’s office, having your receptionist ASK instead of TELL when taking a reservation. Simply by changing “Please call if you have to cancel,” to “Will you please call if you have to cancel?” I ensure you the no-show rate would drop significantly!
3. If you are designing a nonprofit/corporate responsibility website where voting mechanism is the center piece, make sure to cement those potential voters’ commitment by making it voluntary, active and publicly declared to others.

Small and easy changes to our messages and to our requests can be made vastly more persuasive, just remember: asking a little goes a long way!

Management≠ Leadership

Management is about manipulating resources to get a known job done. Managers know exactly what they need to deliver and they are given resources to do it at low cost. Managers manage a process they’ve seen before, and they react to the outside world, striving to make that process as fast as cheap as possible. Great leaders create movements by empowering the tribe to communicate. They establish the foundation for people to make connections, as opposed to commanding people to follow them.

Leaders are dark horses

Leadership almost always involves thinking and acting like the underdog. That’s because leaders work to change things, and the people who are winning rarely do.

The art of leadership is everything

Leadership only happens in a spectator’s mind. Everything else is a distraction… You cannot cross over into the world of leadership until you put everything else aside and behind you – including your own desires and needs – and focus on bringing an experience to the tribe.

It’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission

Nobody is going to listen to your idea for change, sagely shake his head, and say, “sure, go do that.” Nobody is going to see your powerpoint presentation and hand you a check. Change isn’t made by asking permission. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later.

Innovation devalues over time

“Not yet” is the safest, easier way to forestall change. Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late.

We have a choice of being helpful

If we see my new product but don’t buy it, that’s my failure, not yours.

If you attend my presentation and you’re bored, that’s my fault, too.

If I fail to persuade you to implement a policy that supports my tribe, that’s due to my lack of passion or skill, not your shortsightedness.

What’s helpful is to realize that we have a  choice when we communicate. We can write so our audience hears us. We can present in a way that the people absorb the material. Most of all, we get to choose who will understand (and who won’t).

Tribes are more effective

A crowd is a tribe without a leader.  Most organizations spend their time marketing to the crowd. Smart organizations assemble the tribe.

Success is a matter of accretion

If your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either.

P.S. I plan to give this book to my friend Kevin, who is a student of public administration and also a deviant, a future leader.   Leading changes is a long journey, it’s always good to have some brave souls to keep you company