We’re slaves to our adhesions.

Left to our own devices, we do what we always do. When prodded to change our ways, we shift gears and become “Flexible Man (Homo Erectus Offsite-icus),” the proto-human archetype that attends time management seminars and role plays with feigned enthusiasm.

When the coffee and doughnuts are withheld, Flexible Man returns to his cube and places the newly won binder on the shelf. With all the others.

Changing behavior is hard.

Human behavior and the establishment of habits is one of the brain’s great success stories. No wonder we’re fighting an uphill fight here. But change it we must (at times). Whether because opportunities are going unclaimed, competition has improved its game or management simply wants more than what they’re giving, sometimes we must change or suffer the consequences of failure.

So what do we do when we have to change these all-to0-human patterns of behavior – quickly?

Here’s three ideas to get you started.

The power of “we.”

A recent piece on Fast Company’s Design blog discussed the power of social networks like FourSquare and Facebook to affect positive change in people, specifically with regard to New Year’s resolutions. We can review the research on group behavior and agree that we, as individuals, will most often keep our promises when we willingly and publicly state our intentions to our peers. Social networks can help us stay off cigarettes, lose weight and quit our other nasty habits when our physical presence can be tracked and we can get constant support from others.

How does this translate to changing behavior in a corporate setting? Answer this:

1. How can you establish a set of group behaviors (meetings, forums, process checks) that keep the desired behaviors front and center in daily dialog?
2. How can you ensure the changes are socialized in a face to face setting? Understand how important this is – we’re not talking about automation, we’re talking about people telling their peers they’re not holding up their end of the bargain. Much more powerful.
3. How can you incrementally move your people along the desired axis over time?

Associations and connections.

I recently spoke to Peter von Conta, the VP of Design and Development at shoe company Vibram, makers of the utterly unique – and dramatically growing – Five Fingers shoe. Yes, it has five “fingers” for your toes. This design attribute allows for the closest thing to barefoot training possible, and with everyone from Harvard researchers to its now over 100,000 Facebook fans extolling the virtues of this more natural way of training, Peter is in the business of making the outlandish desirable.

One way he bridges this emotional gap is by creating associations, ensuring that the user has a comfortable stepping off point, an intermediate step, between his or her anchor point and this new idea. If he can create a five fingered training shoe that looks like one of the sprinter’s spikes we used to wear in high school, or maybe something that looks like a SCUBA boot, we’re halfway there.

How does this translate to changing behavior in a corporate setting? Answer this:

1. How can you connect your desired behavior to an established anchor point? Trying to teach people to do something different is much harder than teaching them how to do what they’re already doing easier, better and with greater results. What’s the bridge?
2. What are the associations you’d like to attach to your desired results? What’s your metaphor, your goal?

 Touching the nerve.

Being aware of the problem is 90% of the solution. Once we go down the road of changing our behaviors, we must consciously tap these nerves ourselves and remind ourselves to use these new tools and processes or they will quickly live forever on the shelf next to the binder.

How do we touch the nerve and keep our people moving along these new paths? Answer this:

1. How can you establish a new set of shared experiences and shared vocabulary? Creating a new sense of identity within your group, through a vivid and shared experience, separates them from their “old ways.” And once they’ve been indoctrinated, their new vocabulary becomes part of their unique way of doing things.
2. How can you formalize processes and approvals around this new set of processes? How can you formalize the use of your new vocabulary? How can you visually keep these new ideas present in a meaningful way? How can you keep them present and in use over time?

These are three ways to break adhesions. There are many, many more. But this is what we do, from instilling in teams a new set of thinking tools and vocabulary to creating systems that help you uncover opportunities that others – your competitors – miss.

How have you overcome adhesions in your organizations? Tell us in the comments below. Thanks!

You’re in the business of influence.

It really doesn’t matter what your title is. You could be the EVP of Worldwide Sales, the Chief Marketing Officer or the VP of Human Resources – your job is about getting someone to do something.

Buy my stuff.

Believe in my message.

Follow my lead.

And yet, many see “influence” as manipulation or brain-washing or something vaguely unsettling. It isn’t. Using the best possible tools to help you get your message heard is smart business. And if you know in your heart that what you’re promoting in your words and deeds is in your market’s best interests, it’s your job to see the job at hand well done.

Do you believe your product works? Do you think your message is worth listening to? Do you want others to hear your message and get on board? Of course you do. Then I’ve got great news. We’ll teach you not only why the social psychology of influence matters – we’ll teach you how to implement it right now, right here, so you can put it to work today.

Why is this important?

You know what it’s like when your programs fall short. This isn’t just frustrating. In this day and age, it’s cause for worry. The good news is that your customers want to hear what you have to say. The bad news is they’re just not listening to you. It’s not your fault – you’re simply not tapping their psychological decision triggers.

Here’s a more vivid way of looking at this. We took a very sophisticated promotion aimed at CIO’s in Fortune 500 companies and turned what should have yielded a 2% to 3% return and instead turned it into a 33% return. What’s more, we did this in New York and New Jersey, one month after 9/11 – when no one was supposed to be buying anything. We did this by re-engineering every possible touch point so that each would tap the decision triggers of the intended market. And it worked.

So who are we, anyway?

Decision Triggers is Dr. Steven Feinberg and Stephen Denny. We work with corporate clients to improve their sales, marketing and business performance by applying the social psychology of influence to critical customer-facing initiatives.

Dr. Steven Feinberg has spent 30 years researching and applying the social psychology of influence in academic and professional settings. He’s also the author of the highly acclaimed book, The Advantage Makers: How Exceptional Leaders Win by Creating Opportunities Others Don’t (FT Press, 2008). Dr. Steve brings the perspective of the psychologist to the partnership.

Stephen Denny (me) is the business end of the partnership. I’ve spent 20+ years as a senior executive at brands like Sony, Iomega, Onstar and Plantronics. My first book, Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, will be published by Portfolio in March, 2011. I’ve been applying the influence principles we use for over 10 years to complex customer facing initiatives and bring the implementation perspective to the partnership.

We help companies launch products, re-engineer programs that affect long-term behavioral changes, get rapid traction on promotions and create the right environmental assets – from websites to in-store experiences – for their customers.

We’ve developed a proprietary framework based on the social psychology of influence that taps your customer’s decision triggers and moves them to yes – faster. The 9 Principles in our framework can improve your results by up to 10 times what you hoped for. We have the proof.

What’s Next?

Read on. Comment on the blog, please – we enjoy the conversation. And please give us your email so we can keep you on our monthly newsletter, where we’ll dig a little deeper into how decision triggers can impact your business, as well as round up the best of what we’ve seen elsewhere.

The gap between success and failure may be an inch wide, but it’s a mile deep.

Steve Feinberg and I were sitting in a coffee shop some months back and we ended up having a front row seat to an unfolding drama illustrating both the best opportunities in social influence but also how they can miss by an inch and fall flat.

It was about 11:00AM, too early for lunch and after the traditional “get a cup of coffee in the morning” time. The place had half a dozen people sitting in it, working on laptops and reading papers. This particular coffee shop was attached to a bookstore that was similarly populated with browsers. The sidewalks and patios outside had reasonable foot traffic.

As we worked, I noticed that one of the two people working in the coffee shop was preparing a tray of small, shot-glass sized drinks and bite-sized muffins. “Watch,” I said, “she’s going to walk over and offer us a sample…” But no. She then walked to what turned out to be an intercom and blasted, “Attention, shoppers. We’re offering free samples of [some sort of chai drink] and [some sort of muffin] here in the coffee shop…”

We looked at each other and both had the same reaction. “Wow. What a let-down.”

A moment’s preparation is one hell of a lot better than a day of clean-up.

Any time we need something to happen, we’ll find that reciprocity is the decision trigger that either makes it or breaks it. Give before we ask to receive. We feel social pressure to give back when we have received something, often far out of the scope of the original gift. And the nature of the gift being unexpected uncovers the problem with what our waitress did.

She was smart to offer samples, particularly in a down-cycle of the day. She was smart to offer them to browsers in the bookstore, as well. By announcing it over a loud speaker, however, she turned a gift into a reward. The curtain was pulled back and we saw it for what it was. A bribe, and not a very personal – or personable – one. “If you’ll come into the coffee shop, where you aren’t at the moment, I’ll give you something small – and in return, my expectation is that you’ll buy something larger.”

Key Takeaways.

A gift is more powerful than a reward. And often far smaller, too. We all see the bribe coming and often will take active countermeasures to avoid it. The guy at the counter offering free anything is someone we often avoid eye contact with, isn’t he? Why? We’re reluctant to fall into social debt so easily.

The difference between a gift and a reward often comes down to expectation. When the recipient isn’t expecting it, the gift can become a real “word of mouth-worthy” event.

Most consumer-facing brands don’t get this. They rely on rewards. It isn’t their fault, either – they haven’t been trained to think in this way and they’re usually perfectly content with average results. That isn’t to say that you should be, though.

What could she have done?

She could have had her colleague staff the counter and she could have walked through the bookstore – and even the coffee shop, and maybe even the sidewalk or patio – and offered free samples with a simple, “Can I offer you a milk chai? It’s new and it’s really good.”

A gift. No strings. Unexpected. Very welcome. Notice the personal hook, too? Saying, “It’s new” triggers the Rule of the Rare – it’s exclusive because it’s new. Saying, “It’s really good,” is social proof – she’s telling you what she likes – and you might like it, too. Personal, connected, insider knowledge amongst friends.

The likely result? Good feelings and the memory that you can get that new milk chai drink in the back of the bookstore. And they have muffins, too. I might go there now and I might go there later, but regardless I really like this bookstore and that girl that gave me the free drink.

On the other hand, she could announce it over a loud speaker and no one would bother listening. If a sampling program results in no samples being handed out, is it a program at all? Ponder this koan over a small cup of milk chai, why don’t you.

Gifts are powerful.

They set up relationships, are genuinely appreciated, and put in motion chains of events that can positively conclude with our making a natural and welcome request. When someone says, “thank you,” you have a socially acceptable opportunity to ask for something in return. 

Regards.