Influence is the precursor to success.
Why do we want to be successful?
In financial terms, success means retiring early, traveling when you want, earning a large amount of passive income, and being free.
That’s why.
And you get there through influence.
Let’s dive in.
I recently had the opportunity to attend a due diligence meeting in New York City with one of the most successful asset managers, Davis Advisors.
They aren’t the biggest or the richest or in the sexiest asset classes.
But for what they do, they are top-tier.
They have influence.
And it’s made them successful.
As a rule, either influence or be influenced.
That is a fine line to walk.
You don’t want to be the stubborn person who will not change for anything, nor do you want to be the person who changes at will.
No, you want to find the perfect balance between being influenced and influencing.
In that tension lies success.
Furthermore, you need a path to gain more influence.
This is more than just more influence over people.
It’s influence over yourself, your family, money, business/career, skills, etc.
So, with that, here are a few ideas to consider to grow in influence after hearing one of my investing heroes, Chris Davis, put on a master class on influence.
And to put more context on Chris, he sits on the board of Berkshire Hathaway with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, along with others, and has decades’ worth of investing $10b + in assets.
He’s incredible.
Here are five ways to grow in influence.
Humor – Humor is a sign of intelligence and a cheat code for building trust. It disarms people, is enjoyable, and creates an environment, one-on-one or in a group, where people can absorb your words.
Stories—facts tell, stories sell. People know what to do in most situations—largely speaking—yet the gap is often a lack of inspiration to move off the status quo. Enter stories, the ability to take complex ideas and realities and explain them in a story. This is an effective way to get your point across. Again, facts tell, and stories sell.
Praise—want to be liked more? Like people more. What more affirming words in your life? Be a generous giver of compliments. Be the person who sees the good, not the bad, and calls it out. Words matter, but so does what’s not said.
Standards – Simply put, have sky-high standards. If you want to be an NBA champ, you’ll have to shoot baskets for thousands of hours when no one else is looking. If your standards are low, that’ll be your level of influence.
Truth—this is a personal north star of mine—telling the truth. And it was Davis’ as well. Always tell the truth, and be relentless in seeking it. Once you find it, tell everyone about it.
Note-taking—this is a nuanced one, but very applicable. Be the person in the room taking notes. It always shows you are listening and communicating to people that you care. Always take notes.
Influence is a fickle thing. Everyone wants more of it, but it’s often found when you start looking at other people’s needs and solving their problems first, then yours.
In summary – how to grow influence.
- Tell great stories and lace them with humor.
- Be interested vs. interesting
- Have sky-high standards and always tell the truth
- Take notes.
