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Your response to my request for feedback has been overwhelming. I know you are all very busy and I have
been thrilled to get so many responses. Here is a quick summary and response showing how we will develop the
blog over the coming months.
According to the many people who responded to the survey, the Influence Blog "brand" appears to
be practical, stimulating and useful! That's lucky because that is pretty close to what
I set out to achieve two years ago. In particular, people seem to like the small, bite-sized approach to
relevant challenges in their working life.
Its usefulness is verified by many clear examples provided of where the posts have led directly to
readers taking a different approach and getting results. Included in the examples were things like
winning over the COO, creating a leadership team strategy, building relationships by coaching two teams
in conflict, asking for commitments — and getting them — including winning a business deal. And
many more — it was a long list!
All of this bodes well for the future of the Influence Blog and it is very encouraging to get such
positive feedback from so many busy people. Thanks!
- Frequency: The decision is to retain the current frequency of emails and alert readers to more topics
at the end of each email. Just under half of you wanted an increase, but several people specifically commented
they have too many emails and increasing it would dilute value. The full online version of the blog will
have more frequent content to browse at will — and all retaining the focus on influence in the workplace.
- Length: Current post length appears to be acceptable; however, I will take opportunities to link to further
expansion of topics online where possible, thus reducing the length of emails.
- Comments: Given that 80% said yes or were not sure, and that comments are easily ignored when viewing
online and don't appear in the emails, the comments facility will be reintroduced later this month. I
am really keen to encourage readers to actively engage with this material. This enhances learning for all concerned,
including me. Several people wanted more examples to feature in the blog, and one way of doing this is to
add your own. I too will incorporate real-life examples where possible.
- Media: Several people also suggested adding different media like video and podcasts. To be frank, videos
fill me with dread, but I am committed to experimenting with these alternatives to enrich the blog over the next six months.
- Platform: During May, we will transfer the blog over to a new platform to make all of the above easier for us
and for you. The changeover should be seamless and will increase our ability to focus on quality content which
continues to add value to our growing readership. Essentially, we are splitting the blog away from our main corporate site.
Finally, several kindly asked me to make it easier to share the blog. Of course I will do this, and
I would also like to encourage everyone to proactively share our ideas within the usual commercial boundaries (e.g. copyright
legislation). Doing this will help to build critical mass and make this an even more valuable resource going forward. Requests
to add posts to your blogs and websites are very welcome and rarely refused — just ask.
After two years of commitment, your feedback has given me the encouragement to maintain this blog as a vehicle for
sharing ideas and best practice about how to be influential at work.
The feedback process doesn't end — let me know what you think any time, engage with us and each other through the blog, and
feel free to share so more of us can learn how to influence more effectively in the workplace.
Best Wishes, Colin We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 16-May-2012. Viewed 238 times |
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Building Influence at Work, presented by Colin Gautrey on 25th April 2012 at CASS Business School in London. Following
Colin's very popular event with the CFA last year on Influencing Styles, he has been invited back this year to share
his experiences and the Stakeholder Influence Process covered in his latest
book, Advocates & Enemies. This will help
those attending to become more strategic about their influence, learn how to diagnose the stakeholders and ultimately, create
a practical strategy for greater success.
This evening session is primarily aimed at talented financial analysts however is open to all members and a
limited number of non-members. For more details, please refer to
the CFA(UK) website and/or our special
preparation page here.
We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 20-Apr-2012. Viewed 428 times |
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As a follower of The Influence Blog you will be aware of the sharp focus we
place on practical action. Based on feedback, we know this works but, we are also aware that many of you would like the
chance to be able to discuss the topics raised with like-minded people.
So, we have responded by launching a new LinkedIn Group — Let’s Talk Influence. The discussions will be stimulated by
the blog, moderated by us, and all of it will focus on how to become more influential. Although it is an open group, we will
not be permitting promotions or jobs. In this way, we hope to keep it focused on learning.
Please come and engage in a little debate, learn more about influence and become more successful.
Visit Let’s Talk Influence and
join the debate today.
We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 03-Apr-2012. Viewed 242 times |
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We are delighted to announce the appointment of Tally PR to provide us with media and press support. Natalie Trice, the founder of Tally PR has 15 years working with brands including Adobe, Cartoon Network, CNN, Discovery Channel, Earthwatch, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Sense and Turner Classic Movies.. With a fresh outlook, vigorous approach and natural talents in this domain, Natalie is a brilliant addition to the team.
During 2012, we have a busy schedule created by our niche focus, expertise and the growing recognition that influence is a vital skill. Natalie is going to be busy!
All media and press enquiries, please email Natalie.
We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 18-Jan-2012. Viewed 584 times |
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If you would like to keep up-to-date with our work, including our blogs, updates and the insights we share, you can now do so via our RSS Feed. If you are not familiar with this term, take a look at What is RSS for a quick overview.
To follow our feed, just visit the Gautrey Influence Insights Feed
As we continue to produce more content, this is an excellent alternative to the email subscriptions to our blogs. In fact, since investigating this topic, we have become hooked on RSS, and find a perfect way to stay current while on the move (we use the Feeddler Reader for iPad/iPhone). We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 01-Jan-2012. Viewed 687 times |
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You may have noticed that we recently removed the comment facility from our blogs. Sadly, a despite receiving a large number of relevant and constructive contributions over the last year or so, we have found it increasingly time consuming dealing with all the junk and spam which gets posted. Time which is better spent developing new content to inspire the development of influencing skills. So, we have redirected this time, and the early signs are that this was definitely the right decision, as you will quickly see over the next couple of months.
However, this does not mean we do not want to hear from you. We always welcome input, feedback and reactions to our work. Each post will now contain an email link so that you can send us your thoughts, or you can post a comment on our new Facebook page. While we cannot promise to respond, we probably will to all who want to engage in constructive dialogue. So come on, tell us what you think! We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 28-Dec-2011. Viewed 761 times |
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We are pleased to announce that the new Influencing Skills Survey has been launched. It is
based on the same research as the original Influencing Skill Assessment. What we've changed with
the new survey is...
- Multiple use: Now you can do it before development, and
after to check your progress.
- Simpler admin: In the two years since the release of
the original assessment, we have learned how to make it much easier to use.
- Team Development: Because it is now easier than ever to use, leaders, trainers and coaching
will find it very effective to help develop other people.
To mark the occasion, we are providing free upgrades to the new survey to all those who have
previously used the paid version of the ISA. If you have so far only done the free self-assessment, you
can now also do the new survey. If you want to compare your results with the original ISA, we're
offering a 25% discount during October and November 2011.
More Information We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 28-Dec-2011. Viewed 1185 times |
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Are you responsible for outsourcing, supplier management or strategic alliances? In fact, if
you are closely connected to any large-scale commercial relationship, you may well be interested
in our new tool, the Collaboration Survey. Originally built to help one of our clients
strengthen their outsourcing relationships with large organisations such as Accenture and Orange,
the survey collects data on the elements which our research indicates are critically important
in all successful big-ticket relationships. These are very closely linked to our specialist
area — influence.
The survey can include people in both organisations and has already proved highly
effective. In one example, it was used jointly and led to a direct and significant improvement
in the quality of their team working. Another helped to influence the
case for a renegotiation of certain elements of the contract. Many more have
helped people to readjust their attitude towards the relationship.
Available on a team basis, the Collaboration Survey is simple to use and will help the whole team to
focus on the quality of the relationship. If
you'd like to discuss how it could help you, please contact us.
Find out more.
We'd love to hear what you think about this. Please email us or post on our new
Facebook Wall.
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Posted on 21-Nov-2011. Viewed 1041 times |
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Ok, we're excited about this one. As
many of you know, Colin has been working in the area of power and influence for over eight
years. A key theme through all of this work is Stakeholder Management. In that time, he has been
learning more about the simple application of the approach. We are now delighted that he has
written a book, 
