Six Weapons of Influence
Cialdini defines six "weapons of influence":
- Reciprocation - People tend to return a favor.
- Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, verbally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment.
- Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing.
- Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts.
- Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like.
- Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini
He is best known for his popular book on persuasion and marketing, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Influence has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into twenty-six languages. It has been listed on the New York Times Business Best Seller List. Fortune Magazine lists Influence in their "75 Smartest Business Books."
Time, commitments, and over extension
168 hours per week.
That's the limit. We can spend less, we can spend it all, but we can never over spend. I can't use an extra 20 hours this week, and only have 148 hours in some future week. I can't save 10 hours this week, and apply it towards next week.
Each week we have to consciously decide how each of the 168 will be spent. X hours on work. Y hours on family. Z hours on sleep. No matter the number of variables, the total will always be 168.
I proactively schedule all my time. My calendar is filled with blocks of color denoting. Work, drive time, family time, sleep, free time(yeah right!), and everything else are neatly blocked off. Yet I find it too easy to commit to new projects. I'm actively reducing extraneous activities until I spend what's in my budget of 168 hours.
168.