This Is Why You Fail to Influence Others

Today I am going to demonstrate WHY it is so difficult for you to get others to do what you want. This includes getting them to fund your projects, embrace your ideas, hire you, promote you, double your budget, triple your income, or let you work from home on Fridays in the summer.

Did you notice that butterfly up top? Unlike most butterflies, this one has a name. Its name is A. Yes, the capital letter "A". 

You may think that A is a strange name for a butterfly. Stop and think for a moment whether you have ever before heard of - nevermind met - a butterfly (or any other creature, for that matter) with a single letter for a name.

No? Yes? In any event, this reddish-orange butterfly is named A.

This is important because A has something in common with you. A represents the specific point in time when you seek to influence another person (or people) to do what you want. 

Imagine that your new butterfly friend is floating down towards the very end of that handcrafted, live edge black walnut table your CEO loves so much... just at the moment that you are engaged in the pitch of your life. You have just ten minutes to persuade your CEO to take your proposal to the board meeting one month from now.

The butterfly lands. The CEO doesn't seem to notice. You do, and almost lose your train of thought, but then you gather your wits and start pitching.

Now for the problem...

Even if your pitch is brilliant, one month will elapse between now and the board meeting. During that time, your CEO will probably be in 84 meetings and receive 2,045 emails, proposals, or letters. He will literally be assaulted by a broad range of ideas competing fiercely for his attention.

The chasm of time = your problem

Most people think that their challenge is to deliver a great pitch, or to simply influence others at a specific point in time.

This is dead wrong.

Your challenge is to influence someone while the butterfly is on the table but to do it in such a memorable and powerful manner that they still do what you want when the butterfly is long gone.

This is why sales professionals walk out of a pitch with confidence but are "stunned" three weeks later when they lose. 

It's why you rocked your interview but didn't get the job.

It's why voters applaud a candidate but then vote for another candidate.

And now for the bad news...

Unlike all my previous articles, I am not going to include the solution in this article. To get you to understand the enormous challenge of extending your influence across a chasm of time, I am going to wait until Sunday night at 9:30 ET to publish another article that contains the solution.

By that point, you might lose interest. You might have forgotten all about this piece. But if that happens, I will have succeeded. Because at that point, you will have a visceral demonstration of one of the biggest challenges in your career, and in all our careers: how to be memorable enough to influence actions across the chasm of time.

See you Sunday night (I hope).

Bruce Kasanoff helps professionals like you find the right words to advance your career. Learn more at Kasanoff.com.