This experience made me very aware of how strong the reciprocity principle is AND that people can very cynically take advantage of it. Consequently I’m much more able to resist it.

Jay, don’t you think this was intentional? If Jobs would have asked for something, anything, the council immediately would have wanted to privately discuss the issue. This way, they were able to give him, and Apple, praise because he didn’t ask for anything.

Sometimes you get more when you want less.

Brandon Hopkins

Here’s a link to the Ian Parker article for anyone interested.

John: I agree it’s a bit of a stretch to read too much into the “Job” thing. However, the influence strategies are real and if you are aware of them you’ll be better off.

“Last year, three researchers at Arizona State University, including Robert Cialdini, a professor of psychology and the author of “Influence: Science and Practice,” conducted an experiment in which they presented three groups of volunteers with information about Andrew, a fictional high-school student under consideration for a university football scholarship. One group was given Andrew’s football statistics typed on a piece of paper. The second group was shown bar graphs. Those in the third group were given a PowerPoint presentation, in which animated bar graphs grew before their eyes.

Given Andrew’s record, what kind of prospect was he? According to Cialdini, when Andrew was PowerPointed, viewers saw him as a greater potential asset to the football team. The first group rated Andrew four and a half on a scale of one to seven; the second rated him five; and the PowerPoint group rated him six. PowerPoint gave him power. The experiment was repeated, with three groups of sports fans that were accustomed to digesting sports statistics; this time, the first two groups gave Andrew the same rating. But the group that saw the PowerPoint presentation still couldn’t resist it. Again, Andrew got a six. PowerPoint seems to be a way for organizations to turn expensive, expert decision-makers into novice decision-makers. “It’s frightening,” Cialdini says. He always preferred to use slides when he spoke to business groups, but one high-tech company recently hinted that his authority suffered as a result. “They said, ‘You know what, Bob? You’ve got to get into PowerPoint, otherwise people aren’t going to respond.’ So I made the transfer.”

Sad, but apparently true. The Master Influencer influenced. By Powerpoint. Yeech.

Nomad: He’s definitely thinking long term like you say. I am only trying to point out the techniques he’s using (as I understand them). I only point out two, but you also point out other influencing techniques which are also quite effective.

The Godfather quote is indeed reciprocity, but it’s explicit. Cialdini’s book points out that there are internal drives (learned early as we are socialized) that cause you to reciprocate even if it’s not explicitly asked of you. And if you’re not aware of them, you’ll respond automatically. Quick example from the book — a psychology experiment showed that people were more likely to buy raffle tickets from a stranger who bought them a Coke earlier on (even people who didn’t like him). There are also more subtle examples.