How to Get People to Do Stuff: Master the art and science of persuasion and motivation

Susan Weinschenk has a Ph.D. in Psychology, and over 30 years of experience as a behavioral scientist. She is a consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups, educational institutions, non-profits, and US government agencies. Susan is the founder of the Weinschenk Institute, LLC. She is a speaker and teacher, and has written several books, including How To Get People To Do Stuff, 100 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, and Neuro Web Design: What makes them click? Susan writes two popular blogs: the Brain Wise blog at Psychology Today, and her own blog at her website: theteamw.com/blog.

.
I am a believer that exceptional leaders are masters of human behavior. When I teach leadership to professionals my mantra is "human behavior is not logical but it is predictable." When we study and understand this predictability we are able to successfully navigate our way to the achievement of goals both individual and organizational regardless of our official authority level.

A lot of what is in Ms. Weinschenk's book is not new and I have read and recommended some of her references for years. However, the book is EXCEPTIONAL BECAUSE IT PULLS TOGETHER A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES IN A READABLE, ACTIONABLE MANNER. This book will now be the first book I recommend to my leadership class participants when it comes to human behavior.

To quote Ms. Weinschenk "The more you understand psychology, the better you'll be able to sync what you want people to do with what they want to do. Ultimately it's not about manipulation- it's about understanding."

Below are just 10 excerpts from the book that ring true with me... these may seem simple or obvious but the book provides powerful context associated with the statements below.

1. "When people feel they are working with others as a team to reach a goal, they are more motivated to achieve the goal, even without any extrinsic reward, than if they are working alone."

2. "...our brains react in a special way to people we know. People are more likely to do stuff if they know the person asking them, regardless of whether they have differences of opinion with the person."

3. "Research in psychology over the last 15 years has revealed that people process information unconsciously and make very quick (a second or less) unconscious decisions about people.Read more ›

If you ever need to get other people to do stuff (and who doesn't!), then this terrific book is a must-read.

As a huge fan of Susan Weinschenk's two excellent "100 Things" books, I just finished "How to Get People to Do Stuff" and absolutely loved it! In fact, after an initial first read, there were so much thought-provoking ideas in it that I went back to the beginning and started going through it all over again, page by page, with red pen in hand, to underline, circle, and strategize on how I might take advantage of all the insightful and valuable tips it has to offer.

And I've been recommending it to my students and to all my corporate training and coaching clients as well.

One of the things I really like about it is that it is a practical, short-and-straight-forward, easy to understand (though definitely not simple to do!) handbook and toolkit for motivating and influencing people. Unlike so many other similarly-themed books out there, it is not overloaded with filler and repetitive examples, or too much academic research. This practical guidebook gets right to the point with a collection of powerful, well-organized tips and strategies, accompanied by numerous impactful and memorable real-life examples.

There are few skills in business or in life more necessary and valuable than having the ability to negotiate a positive outcome, gain buy-in for your ideas, and/or lead others with confidence. And this book, drawing on the work of some of the top, current thought-leaders in the field of influence and motivation (Robert Cialdini, Dan Pink, Barry Schwartz, Charles Duhigg, Daniel Kahneman, and others), will help increase your odds of successfully achieving your people-related objectives...whatever they may be.