This is a blog for the Education Leadership Collective. “If, say, one hundred headteachers in a town or city wanted to stand up for something reasonable, I don’t think anything could stop them. The power of collective action is clear. I don’t need to belabour that. Yet this level of unity is rare…” Unstoppable Forces […]
Category: Influence
The outrage economy
There are many ways to attract attention. Most of them require talent. You create something of use, insight or beauty and people come to look. If you lack talent, you can buy attention. If you lack talent and money, one surefire tactic for attention is to cause offence. Offence is perversely attractive. It has parallels […]
Political influence for insiders
I’ve seen professionals alienated and politicians infuriated. And public policy has been the worse for it. We need effective influence. Thinking hard about what did and didn’t work, I offer eleven tips for effective political influence…
Two tips for negotiations
There are plenty of good books on negotiation. There are plenty of bad ones too. I think a president may have written one… I don’t want to tread old ground or give a comprehensive overview, but I do want to share two key insights from my own experience. If you need my credentials: I’ve bargained […]
Political influence for outsiders
In any confrontation, the outcome will be driven by the actions of the most powerful participant. But that outcome need not be in their interest. That is, a weaker opponent can steer the powerful into delivering the outcome they want.
Note to self 