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INFLUENCE

Gain Cooperation  Gaining cooperation means we help others become committed to working as a team. If we get “compliance,” it is only a matter of time before results suffer and the team becomes mired in unmanageable conflict or, worse yet, becomes indifferent to the goals of the organization and non-committal to one another. The best way to gain cooperation is to be cooperative ourselves and to be emotionally intelligent about the needs of the team.  Dale Carnegie provides 12 principles for gaining cooperation. Not only do these principles help us win people to our way of thinking; they help us tap the energy and intelligence of the team. This encourages innovation, cooperation, and bottom-line results!  

• The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.  An argument is 90% emotion and 10% nonsense. A mature professional avoids arguments.  
• Show respect for the other person’s opinion. Never say, “You’re wrong.”  Avoid making others defensive. It shrinks the channels of communication. Simply ask why they feel the way they do.  
• If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.  This disarms conflict and opens up lines of communication. 
•  Begin in a friendly way.  If we aren’t open and friendly, winning people to our way of thinking is nearly impossible.  
• Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.  It’s important to begin by agreeing on something. Then the challenging ideas are more easily accepted.  
• Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.  Not only will the person share information, but he or she might “talk themselves” into cooperating. 
•  Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.  What is right, not who is right, is most important. By following this principle, we build another person’s confidence and willingness to share ideas and strengthen the team.  
• Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.  The other person’s point of view may be clearer than ours. Learn what you can from other points of view.  
• Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.  Being understanding and sympathetic is a sure way of keeping channels of communication open.  
• Appeal to the nobler motives.  Most people will work very hard for ideals and the higher aims of the organization if they know what they are and how they apply in a particular situation.  
• Dramatize your ideas.  A unique idea should have a unique package. Use creative approaches to help sell your idea.  
• Throw down a challenge.  Most of us have a competitive side. Challenging others to action often produces unexpected positive results.

Read the latest from SAP today. Stay inspired and motivated.

RAPPORT

Enhance Relationships and Build Trust  The continuum for growing our people and leadership skills starts with changing ourselves. Mr. Carnegie encouraged us to "become a friendlier person" so that we could earn trust and enhance relationships. Enhancing relationships is the essential foundation for being more influential and becoming a highly respected leader. 

•  Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.  Criticizing another person not only damages that person’s reputation, but puts a dent in our own.  
• Give honest, sincere appreciation.  Appreciation builds our image faster than any other practice. After all, the success of every job demands cooperation and effort from others. People contribute to our success as much as we contribute to theirs.  
• Arouse in the other person an eager want.  As business professionals, we are constantly selling our ideas. But people consent to help for their own reasons, not ours. If we make it clear how our ideas will benefit them, there is no limit to the cooperation we could receive.  
• Become genuinely interested in other people.  Regardless of the physical or financial assets a company may have, it’s the people who make it successful. They are an organization’s key asset, and getting to know them should be as high a priority as learning the technical aspects of one’s job. The key is to be genuine. Don’t get a reputation for only being interested when you want something. Getting to know others should always be mutually beneficial.  
• Smile.  Whether or not we’re pleasant to be around depends less on the situation than on our behavior. Rapport in business is fueled by seemingly minor considerations, such as a friendly, accessible demeanor and a welcoming smile.  
• Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.  Using a person’s name is crucial, especially when meeting those we don’t see very often. Respect and acceptance stem from simple acts, such as remembering a person’s name and using it whenever appropriate.  
• Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.  A business runs on information, so what better way to learn what's going on than following this principle? We must listen with everything we’ve got. How we listen says volumes about how we think. Be focused, engaged, and sincere.  
• Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.  Truth be told, we spend most of our time thinking about ourselves. Why not create strong business relationships by putting away our own concerns and talking about what others are interested in for a while?  
• Make the other person feel important—and do it sincerely.  In our dealings with others, building them up shows we appreciate their contribution. The bond that results can help us withstand the pressures of our own day-to-day struggles.