Today, the topic is Managing Influence. 

Welcome to IAM Talking, a periodic podcast interview series, with your host, Dan Keldsen, Chief Innovation Officer at Information Architected.

Today IAM Talking with Alan Kelly, CEO and Founder of Playmaker Systems, and Author of “The Elements of Influence.“

Want to know how to model influence, know when people or organizations are attempting to influence you, the market, and in short, turn influence into more a science than an art?

In 2006, Alan Kelly wrote “The Elements of Influence” – and as luck would have it, I literally stumbled onto it in a random collection of books at the now defunct Borders bookstore in the Financial District of Boston.

Little did I know that “The Elements of Influence” and the recently revised Version 2.0 edition of the Playmaker Influence Decision System, would become one of my favorite tools in understanding how influence is (or isn’t) at play, whether inside an organization, or market-facing.

Not a “natural” influencer?

Listen in as we discuss how Alan came to uncover the need for a system of influence, the concepts of plays and counter-plays (aspects of gamification, certainly behavior design and behavior modeling), how the system has been “battle tested” in scenario planning for commercial applications, political, intelligence, and non-profit organizations.

Don’t leave influence to chance – study the science, and use the Table of Influence to guide you.

Thousands of hours, and millions of dollars have gone into the development and refinement of Alan’s work – and while your mileage may vary, I’ve found his approach, and the many examples that he and his team provide publicly via the “Play of the Day” articles from across political, marketing, PR and other scenarios.

Comments or Questions?

We cover why the science of influence is needed, how it was developed, as well as examples from the 2012 Election campaign (What plays did Donald Trump attempt to run against President Obama and for Governor Romney?), from the plays that Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung run against each other in the market, and in the court of law.

Any questions, comment below, and we’ll answer and discuss together. There is much more that we can all learn about successful influence plays and strategies.

Listen now!

IAM Talking about Managing Influence - Cycles, Tables, Plays and Players, with Alan Kelly, CEO and Founder of Playmaker Systems [ 31 min 16 s ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download