May 15, 2012 – Provo, UT – VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, today released the fourth edition of Crucial Conversations® Training, one of the training industry’s leading courses in teaching high-leverage skills to improve dialogue, relationships and bottom-line organizational results.

The two-day award-winning training course is based on extensive research including 10,000 hours examining thousands of opinion leaders in team meetings, high-stakes discussions and face-to-face confrontations. Through this research, VitalSmarts’ authors found the specific behaviors and skills of high-leverage interpersonal dialogue demonstrated by the most influential leaders. The research is also published in the long-running New York Times best-seller Crucial Conversations, which has sold more than 2 million copies.

Since 2003, more than 640,000 people have graduated from Crucial Conversations Training and Fortune 500 organizations around the world have used the course to improve results in quality, efficiency, satisfaction, safety, etc. Results include:

• Productivity & Quality. Sprint Nextel saw a 93 percent improvement in productivity and a 10 to 15 percent improvement in quality, time and cost metrics.
• Teamwork. Employees at MaineGeneral Health were 167 percent more likely to speak up and resolve problems with colleagues after being trained in Crucial Conversations.
• Relationships. Franklin Pierce College reduced passive-aggressive behavior amongst employees by 14 percent and increased trust levels by 15 percent.
• Efficiency. AT&T reduced billing costs by 30 percent and Sprint Nextel reduced customer care expenses by $20 million annually.

Joseph Grenny, co-founder of VitalSmarts, says Crucial Conversations 4 builds on the high-leverage skills that have produced bottom-line results for the past decade.

“The new features and research in Crucial Conversations 4 provide an enhanced learning experience for participants and seamless delivery for trainers,” says Grenny. “The training teaches skills to foster open dialogue around high-stakes, emotional or risky topics in an even more powerful and relevant way.”

Crucial Conversations 4 includes the following new features:

• Video Refresh. 62 original videos including updated videos from previous editions and new videos that reflect today’s workplace challenges.
• Updated Model. The Crucial Conversations model has been reformatted into a linear step-by- step process.
• Robust Skill Rehearsals. Participants practice specific skills in the context of their real-life crucial conversations, while getting feedback from a coach.
• Streamlined and Revised Content. By reducing redundancies and sharpening the focus of key exercises, the course better accommodates the two-day schedule as well as allows more time for practice and application.
• New Instructional Platform. The new VitalSmarts Instructional Platform (VIP) 2.1 enables trainers to train all four VitalSmarts courses from one platform, suppress slides and create custom tracks.
• New Post-training Tool. Participants receive a free, one-year premium subscription to the online behavior change platform, ChangeAnything.com.

Crucial Conversations Training has received several training and development industry awards including an ASTD Excellence in Practice Award in 2008, Training Product of the Year in 2004 and a Corporate University Cubic Award in 2004. VitalSmarts’ network of 7,400+ trainers and 19 licensed international distributors provide training to organizations in 36 countries.

Product Availability:

Crucial Conversations Training is now available by contacting a VitalSmarts sales representative at 1-800-449-5989. The training is offered as a two-day course to the public (for training dates and locations visit http://www.vitalsmarts.com/crucialconversationstraining/). VitalSmarts also offers trainer certification for in-house trainers. Public courses for Crucial Conversations Training are $1195.00 USD. Public courses which include trainer certification are $3595.00 USD.

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, co-founder of VitalSmarts, is available for interview. Access the Crucial Conversations 4 digital press kit here: www.vitalsmarts.com/pdfs/Crucial%20Conversations%204%20Press%20Kit.zip

About VitalSmarts:

An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to multiple training offerings, including the award-winning Crucial Conversations®, Crucial Confrontations®, Influencer Training™, and Change Anything Training™. Each course improves key organizational outcomes by focusing on high-leverage skills and strategies. The Company also has four New York Times best-selling books. VitalSmarts has helped 300 of the Fortune 500 and trained more than 800,000 people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

CONTACT: Laura Potter of VitalSmarts, L.C. +1-801-510-7590, or lpotter@vitalsmarts.com.

The online poll of more than 1,000 participants reveals why the last five years have left ugly scars on people’s personal finances, and the financial downturn is only part of the problem. Most report that they’ve failed to adjust their habits to new realities. As a result, two-thirds are currently in financial trouble and only 6 percent are on track to save enough for retirement.

Grenny, author of Change Anything, and Langemeier, author of Yes! Energy, say the failure to kick bad spending and savings habits isn’t necessarily because people are apathetic to change; rather the world is perfectly organized to cause them to spend more and save less.

“We often believe the success of our goals hinges on our ability to summon the necessary self control or willpower,” says Grenny. “But the truth is, we’re powerless to change our financial habits until we recognize the enormous number of influences that suck us into financial self-destruction. The key to change is not just to beat yourself up, but to take control of the influences around you.”

Grenny says examples of influences that govern our financial habits include:

• Internet bookmarks – if your home page is Nordstrom, you think about Nordstrom and what you think about you eventually buy.
• Accomplices – if all you talk about with your friends is fashion, you will acquire more clothing.
• Wicked incentives – merchants masterfully use incentives to make you feel like you’re losing out if you don’t make a purchase.
• Credit cards – research shows the further we get from paying with cold, hard cash the more likely we are to blow our budget. Casinos use chips rather than cash for this very reason.

Langemeier says that in addition to powerful external influences, our attitude weighs heavily on our ability to change long-standing financial habits.

“The tough financial pressures from the last five years have left most people in a state of no energy and dwindling motivation,” says Langemeier. “We can open ourselves up to greater success and financial freedom by saying ‘yes’ to the opportunities before us.”

While 76 percent are stuck in a cycle of bad habits, what do the successful minority do differently?

According to the study, the average person’s plan to gain control of his or her finances includes trying one or two behavior-change tactics such as cutting up a credit card or unsubscribing from coupon mailers. However, those who boosted their plan to include four or more tactics were 53 percent more successful in reaching financial goals.

Here are the financially fit’s top five behavior-change tactics for meeting their short and long-term financial goals. Grenny and Langemeier say the key to success is to do all five of these, or similar tactics, in combination:

1. Keep score: Track and review past spending. Mindless spending is the real enemy. Tracking expenses increases your awareness and motivates you to improve.
2. Learn what you don’t know: New habits always require new skills. Changing spending habits means learning new skills like budgeting, reducing expenses and replacement behaviors.
3. Step away from accomplices: Avoid groups and activities that are likely to cause you to spend more than you should.
4. Reward yourself: Look forward to inexpensive or free treats after achieving spending and saving goals. It takes very little to make yourself feel good for accomplishing a short-term goal.
5. Make the easy cuts: Everyone could cut 5 to 10 percent of their current spending without creating much pain. Consider reducing utility bills, cutting extra cable channels you don’t even watch, or discontinuing data plans or magazine subscriptions.

About Joseph Grenny:
Joseph Grenny is a behavior change expert and the four-time New York Times best-selling author of Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success. Grenny has conducted more than 25 years of research in behavior change and interpersonal communication. He is also the co-founder of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance. www.changeanythingbook.com

About Loral Langemeier:
Loral Langemeier is an innovative money expert and the five-time best-selling author of Yes! Energy: The Equation to Do Less, Make More. She accelerates the conversation about money, sharing how to not just survive this tough economic climate, but how to succeed and thrive. As Founder and CEO of Live Out Loud, Inc., Langemeier travels the world as a leading entrepreneurial speaker, coach and mentor. www.yesenergybook.com

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, author of Change Anything, and Loral Langemeier, author of Yes! Energy, are available for interview. Copies of the books are available upon request.

About the research: The study collected responses via an online survey tool from 1038 individuals. Margin of error is approximately 3%.

CONTACTS:
Laura Potter of VitalSmarts, L.C. +1-801-510-7590, or lpotter@vitalsmarts.com.
Lindsay Sherman of Live Out Loud, Inc. +1-415-475-4990, or lindsay@liveoutloud.com.

Joseph Grenny, co-founder of VitalSmarts, says Change Anything Training teaches individuals stuck in life- and career-limiting habits a proven method for driving rapid and sustainable behavior change.

“Our research shows an individual’s failure to improve his or her performance is due more to a lack of skill than a lack of will,” says Grenny. “Organizations that equip their employees with the how to of behavior change realize bottom-line results.”

This one-day classroom course expounds on the principles and strategies found in the New York Times bestseller, Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success (Business Plus, 2011), and is designed to solve the following organizational problems:

• Performance Management – Research shows 70 percent of employees who are aware their boss is unhappy with their performance can’t tell you what they are doing wrong or how they will change. However, employees skilled in self-directed change can realize their professional potential.
• Corporate Wellness – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts a $3,391 price tag on each employee who smokes, including $1,760 in lost productivity and $1,623 in excess medical expenditures. Companies that teach employees to achieve greater personal health substantially reduce their healthcare costs while increasing the well-being of their workforce.
• Change Management – Few organizations can successfully drive rapid, comprehensive change— even when the organization finds itself on a burning platform. While leaders might understand the recipe for change, they struggle to get their people to adopt the required behaviors. Leaders who enable their employees with the skills to direct their own behavior are ten times more likely to influence system-wide change.

Grenny and his team uncovered the change model taught in Change Anything Training by combining 50 years of social science research with an in-depth study of 5,000 people attempting to overcome intrepid career and personal challenges. By learning that model, training participants leave the course equipped with the skills to:

• Diagnose what’s keeping them stuck in the status quo
• Recognize the personal, social and environmental sources of influence working against them— and turn them in their favor
• Create change plans that lead to desirable and lasting results
• Translate performance feedback into action

Cory Bouck, Director of Organizational Development & Learning at Johnsonville Sausage, LLC, said their organization is turning to Change Anything Training to improve their business.

“The skills learned through Change Anything Training give our employees the power to meet their professional goals, improve workplace performance and make long-awaited changes to bad habits,” says Bouck. “In short, this course will improve our company’s business performance.”

Change Anything Training contains the hallmark features of VitalSmarts’ award-winning training products including a customized platform with trainer tools, a trainer guide, a participant response system and award-winning video.

To date, more than 750,000 people have graduated from one of VitalSmarts’ other training programs: Crucial Conversations®, Crucial Confrontations® and Influencer Training™. The company also supports a community of 7,400+ trainers who are certified to teach these courses in organizations around the world. In 2009, Influencer Training was named one of five top training products of the year by Human Resource Executive magazine. Crucial Conversations Training received the same award in 2004.

Product Availability

Change Anything Training is now available by contacting a VitalSmarts sales representative at 1-800-449-5989. The training is offered as a one-day course to the public (for training dates and locations visit http://www.vitalsmarts.com/changeanythingtraining.aspx). VitalSmarts also offers trainer certification for in-house trainers. Public courses for Change Anything Training are $695.00 USD. Public courses, which include trainer certification, are $1990.00 USD.

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, co-founder of VitalSmarts, is available for interview.

About VitalSmarts

An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to multiple training offerings, including the award-winning Crucial Conversations®, Crucial Confrontations®, Influencer Training™, and Change Anything Training™. Each course improves key organizational outcomes by focusing on high-leverage skills and strategies. The Company also has four New York Times best-selling books. VitalSmarts has helped 300 of the Fortune 500 and trained more than 750,000 people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

CONTACT:
Laura Potter of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-510-7590, or lpotter@vitalsmarts.com.

Under Hoffman’s direction, the Training/Consulting team has achieved tremendous results and contributed to VitalSmarts’ growth by creating a scalable and consistent training experience for the Company’s clients as well as support a community of 7,400+ certified trainers.

To date, the Production Services team has also flourished under the leadership of Platte Clark, who recently signed a book publishing contract and has decided to step down from his role at VitalSmarts to pursue a career as an author. Under Clark’s direction, the Production Services team has been instrumental in the creation of VitalSmarts’ high‐quality, award‐winning training products.

VitalSmarts executives are thrilled for Clark’s success and pleased to turn this transition into an opportunity to integrate two key departments with the goal to streamline the creation and delivery of the VitalSmarts Training suite. They are also confident in their choice to appoint Hoffman to lead this new division.

“We are pleased to announce that Emily Hoffman has earned the promotion of vice president and will lead the new Development and Delivery department,” said Andrew Shimberg, chief executive officer of VitalSmarts. “Emily has played a critical role in ensuring that our products excel within the learning environment, and I am confident that under her leadership, VitalSmarts will see further growth and success.”

About Emily Hoffman Vice President of Development & Delivery As vice president of Development and Delivery, Hoffman is integral to the success of the Company’s training products. Under her leadership, VitalSmarts designs award‐winning classroom training programs and supporting materials. Her team also supports a community of more than 7,400 certified training professionals with nationwide development opportunities, conferences, and training implementation tools. Hoffman travels around the world speaking, training, and consulting to VitalSmarts’ roster of Fortune 500 clients. She graduated from Emory University with a BA in English, received an MD from the University of Utah School of Medicine and an MBA from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.

About VitalSmarts

An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award‐winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving end results. The company also has four New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, Influencer, and Change Anything. VitalSmarts has consulted with 300 of the Fortune 500 and trained more than 695,000 people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

CONTACT: Laura Potter of VitalSmarts, L.C. +1‐801‐510‐7590, or lpotter@vitalsmarts.com.

October 11, 2011—Provo, UT—New research reveals the most difficult issue for women in the workplace to discuss and successfully resolve is negotiating limits on their workload—it’s also one of the main issues that cause 1 in 5 women to leave their job.

The online poll of 845 women in business, conducted by Joseph Grenny, leadership expert and bestselling author of the recently released second edition of Crucial Conversations, and Cynthia Good, CEO and founding editor of the top women’s business website, Little PINK Book, also found that women struggle most to hold high-stakes discussions with other women rather than with men.

The 4 most difficult issues for women to discuss in the workplace are:

1. Negotiating limits when asked to do more than is reasonable or possible
2. Giving performance feedback to someone without hurting his or her feelings or damaging the relationship
3. Asking for a raise or a change in a performance plan related to a raise
4. Not receiving support from other women

According to the study, only 13 percent of women are “very” or “extremely” confident in their ability to candidly and effectively bring up these issues while the rest fear how they’ll be perceived if they speak up or simply don’t work for an organization that supports candid dialogue.

The inability to speak up and resolve these issues is a substantial drag on productivity. The majority of women waste an average of 1 to 5 days ruminating or complaining to others about the issue before stepping up to the crucial conversation.

What happens when a crucial conversation goes awry? Nearly half admitted a failed high-stakes discussion caused their productivity and/or engagement to drop, and 1 in 5 women said they’ve had a crucial conversation go so poorly they left their job.

Grenny says women can increase their satisfaction and success at work by mastering the ability to hold high-stakes discussions.

“Most of us fail to make the connection between our ability to speak up and our personal influence,” Grenny said. “And yet our research clearly shows that women who are skilled at stepping up to difficult issues at work experience greater satisfaction and increased productivity.”

Good echoes Grenny in encouraging women to not cower when the stakes are high, opinions differ and emotions run strong.

“The bottom line is women can, and must, take the initiative to be advocates for themselves,” Good said. “The mantra at PINK is, ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get.’ Of course how you ask is key too.”

Joseph Grenny offers six tips from Crucial Conversations for navigating the most difficult issue at work, negotiating workload limits:

• Earn the right. Asking for fairness in work limits is easier when you have a reputation as a hard worker. Before raising concerns, evaluate if you are truly doing more than your share.
• Clarify intent. Don’t start the conversation with complaints—start by establishing mutual purpose with your boss. Begin with, “I have a concern about my workload, but I want to be clear that I care about helping our team succeed. I don’t want to request changes that will make your life harder or put our goals at risk.”
• Focus on facts. Don’t start with broad conclusions or generalizations that put others on the defensive. Build the case for the point you want to make by sharing objective facts. For example, “I’ve observed that those who do their work get rewarded with more work.”
• Clarify boundaries. Be clear about any hard and fast limits you have on your workload. If, for example, you have family commitments or personal time values you won’t compromise, lay those out clearly and stick with them.
• Propose solutions. Don’t just come with complaints—come with recommendations for how to make this work for your boss. If you just dump the problem on your boss, he or she may help you solve it, but you’ll strain the relationship.
• Invite dialogue. Finally, invite your boss or teammates to share their viewpoint. People are willing to listen to even challenging views as long as they believe you are also open to theirs.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, Influencer, and Change Anything—award-winning training products and New York Times bestselling books that enrich relationships and improve results. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and trained more than 650,000 people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

About PINK: Little PINK Book is “the No. 1 digital platform for America’s 70 million working women.” Little PINK Book is the only global online community, free daily e-Note (delivered right to your inbox, with more than one million e-Notes going out each month) and national event series exclusively for professional women. www.littlepinkbook.com

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, bestselling author of Crucial Conversations, and Cynthia Good, CEO of PINK, are available for interviews. Copies of the second edition of Crucial Conversations are available upon request.

About the research: The study collected responses via an online survey tool from 845 individuals. Margin of error is approximately 3%.

CONTACTS:
Laura Potter of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-510-7590, or lpotter@vitalsmarts.com.
Danielle Jackson of PINK +1-404-240-2524, or djackson@littlepinkbook.com.

September 19, 2011—Provo, UT—According to a study from the four-time New York Times best-selling authors of Crucial Conversations, the person people most struggle to hold difficult and life-changing conversations with is their boss. Spouses and co-workers are the second and third most difficult audiences when discussing high-stakes issues.

In the authors’ online survey, 525 respondents identified a single conversation that had life-altering consequences, and more than half said the effects of this one conversation lasted forever. Respondents reported results like ending a business partnership, losing a job, and being disowned by a family member.

Other negative outcomes include:

• Nearly two-thirds permanently damaged a relationship
• One in seven harmed a career
• More than a third are still suffering from the effects even many years later

The top three reasons for failure in holding crucial conversations are:

1. Inability to control emotions
2. Not gaining the other person’s trust
3. Getting defensive, vengeful or fearful

Alternatively, many respondents reported they handled similarly terrifying conversations in ways that worked surprisingly well—reporting outcomes like keeping a plane from an emergency landing, working with an impossible boss and receiving vital medical treatment.

The study—part of the authors’ ongoing research into effective dialogue—supports the contention that the difference between a positive and negative outcome isn’t luck or circumstances—it’s skill.

The authors studied the difference between successes and failures and found a trend among those who report profoundly positive results.

“This data from people who have approached almost exactly the same topics under the same circumstances and with the same dynamics, shows the difference between those who succeeded and those who failed is a handful of identifiable and learnable skills,” says Joseph Grenny, co-author of the long-running best-seller Crucial Conversations, which has sold more than 2 million copies.

According to the study, those who succeed in holding effective crucial conversations:

1. Express respect and care for the other person
2. Focus on long-terms goals for the conversation and relationship
3. Discuss the heart of the issue instead of ancillary concerns

“This finding confirms what our research taught us 25 years ago about truly influential people,” says Grenny. “In crucial moments, when most of us either clam up or blow up, the most influential people are significantly more skilled at reaching agreement, solving problems and preserving valuable relationships by the way they communicate.”

He shares four tips from Crucial Conversations Second Edition (McGraw-Hill, September 16, 2011) for navigating high-stakes situations and realizing significant results:

• Reverse your thinking. Those who are best at crucial conversations think first about the risks of not speaking up.
• Change your emotions. Separate people from the problem. Try to see others as reasonable, rational and decent human beings—even if they hold a view you strongly oppose.
• Help others feel safe. Start your next crucial conversation by assuring others of your positive intentions and your respect for them. They’ll let their guard down and begin to listen to even unpleasant topics.
• Invite dialogue. After you create a safe environment, confidently share your views and invite the other person to do so as well. If you are open to others’ points of view, they’ll be more open to yours.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, Influencer, and Change Anything—award-winning training products and New York Times best-selling books that enrich relationships and improve results. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and trained more than 650,000 people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, author of Crucial Conversations, is available for interview. Copies of the new second edition are available upon request.

About the research: The study collected responses via an online survey tool from 525 individuals. Margin of error is approximately 3%.

CONTACT: Laura Potter of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-510-7590, or lpotter@vitalsmarts.com.

In CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High (McGraw-Hill; September 16, 2011), four-time bestselling authors Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler show how to successfully handle conversations that occur when the stakes are high, opinions differ and emotions run strong and what’s possible when you do. Relationships strengthen, silos break and performance improves. The proof is in 25 years of research by the authors involving more than 100,000 people:

The majority of people avoid crucial conversations, producing enormous costs:

• Employees waste $1,500 and an eight-hour workday for every crucial conversation they avoid 85 percent of high-stakes business initiatives fail when executives avoid discussing five crucial issues

In contrast, those skilled in crucial conversations experience profound professional and personal results:

• Leaders who effectively handle crucial conversations are 50 to 70 percent more likely to fully achieve project objectives Companies whose employees effectively step up to crucial conversations are two-thirds more likely to avoid injury and death due to unsafe conditions
• Parents who are able to have crucial conversations with their children are more than twice as likely to describe their relationship as very good or extremely good

Since it was first published in 2002, CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS has sold more than 2 million copies and has influenced individuals and organizations across the globe. Now, almost 10 years later, McGraw-Hill will publish the Second Edition of this classic guide to high-impact conversations with a new foreword by Stephen R. Covey, a new preface and afterword by the authors, and substantial new content including new research, updated facts and figures, skill applications, case studies and links to new videos and other online resources.

The authors teach skills for handling such high-stakes, emotional and crucial moments as:

• Standing up to a colleague or boss when you disagree or are disappointed Salvaging a broken relationship with a loved one Addressing family tensions during the holidays
• Talking to a rebellious teen with candor and respect
• No matter how heated they get, crucial conversations don’t have to be led with flying fists and fleet feet. With the Second Edition of CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS, you’ll discover that the individuals who are the most influential—who can solve problems and get things done while also strengthening valuable relationships—are those who master their crucial conversations.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler are the cofounders and leaders of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance that has trained more than 650,000 people worldwide. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies. In addition to Crucial Conversations, the authors wrote three other New York Times bestsellers: Influencer, Crucial Confrontations, and Change Anything. They have appeared on “The Today Show,” CNN, Fox News Channel, ABC News and CNBC. They live in Utah.

ABOUT THE BOOK: CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High (Second Edition) By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler McGraw-Hill $18.00/Hardcover/288 pages ISBN: 978-0-071-77132-0 Publication Date: September 16, 2011

For more about the authors or Crucial Conversations Second Edition, please go to: www.crucialconversations.com

May 26, 2011—Provo, UT—According to new research from the New York Times best-selling authors of Change Anything, 97 percent of employees report they have some Career-Limiting Habit (CLH) that keeps them from achieving their potential at work. These habits cost employees raises and promotions they might have otherwise received.

Take Rick, for example. His boss—who also happens to be the CEO—describes him as both brilliant and a tyrant. He recently told Rick he is not on the succession plan for the CEO position because the board believes his bad temper would destroy the company.

That comment from Rick’s boss underscores the other key findings in the study. The study shows the vast majority of bosses are pessimistic their employees will ever change their CLH. In fact, bosses report that only 10 to 20 percent of their employees actually make profound and lasting changes to their CLH.

“This finding is incredibly discouraging when you consider the enormous investment companies make in performance management,” says Joseph Grenny, co-author of Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success.

The top 5 Career-Limiting Habits:

1. Unreliability
2. “It’s not my job”
3. Procrastination
4. Resistance to change
5. Negative attitude

Other CLHs that limit employees’ progression include: disrespect, short-term focus, selfishness, passive aggressiveness and risk aversion.

Can you truly succeed without changing your CLH? According to managers, the answer is a resounding, “No.” Nearly half of bosses report that addressing employees’ glaring bad habit is three times more important than increasing their technical skills.

However, the online poll of 972 people, 493 of which were managers, found there are predictable paths to success for employees who want to reverse their CLH.

“Most of us think willpower and commitment are the key to changing our long-standing bad behavior, but successful changers know better,” says Grenny. “Those who aligned six unique sources of influence to help them change were ten times more likely to get rid of bad habits and improve their chances of advancement.”

Grenny offers examples of the kinds of tactics people use to successfully shape better habits for career success.

1. Create a Personal Motivation Statement. When you hit a motivational wall while changing your work habits, motivate yourself by visiting your “default future”—the career you’ll have if you are repeatedly passed up for promotion. Specifically, our research shows if a 30-year-old employee earning $60,000 is passed up for a promotion with a 2 percent raise, he or she will incur a loss of $59,780 over his or her career.
2. Invest in professional development. New habits always require new skills. Top performers hone their craft. Actively develop the skills you need to be viewed as a top performer through training, workshops or books—but make sure this is only one part of a bigger change strategy.
3. Hang with the hard-workers. The Career-Limiting Habits that keep you back are likely enabled, tolerated or encouraged by others. Use positive peer pressure by surrounding yourself with hard-working friends who share your career goals. Distance yourself from the office slackers.
4. Find a mentor. Changing habits requires help. Find a trusted mentor to encourage your progression and help you navigate the career development opportunities that exist within the organization.
5. Put skin in the game. Reward yourself for reaching short-term goals by placing money at risk. For example, if you reach your goal in your next performance review you can purchase a reward with the money you set aside. However, if you fall short, the money goes to support the political party you oppose.
6. Control your workspace. Make your new habits easier by enlisting the power of your surroundings. If you’d benefit from close association with another team, ask to move offices. When possible, turn off electronic interruptions that keep you from being as productive as you need to be to move ahead.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer—award-winning training products and best-selling books that enrich relationships and improve results. In April, the company released its latest New York Times best-seller, Change Anything. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and trained more than 650,000 people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, author of Change Anything, is available for interview. Copies of the book are available upon request.

About the research: The study collected responses via an online survey tool from 972 individuals. Margin of error is approximately 3%.

CONTACT: Laura Ashby of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6269, or lashby@vitalsmarts.com.

Provo, UT – April 11, 2011 – Is willpower overrated? Most people blame lack of willpower for their inability to change a bad habit. But it turns out willpower has surprisingly little to do with whether or not people succeed at changing their bad habits finds CHANGE ANYTHING: THE NEW SCIENCE OF PERSONAL SUCCESS (Business Plus; April 11, 2011), a book based on the latest psychological and medical research and a study of more than 5,000 everyday people at the award-winning Change Anything Lab in Utah.

When it comes to kicking bad habits, the three-time New York Times bestselling authors prove that we have far less control over our behavior than we think we do. That’s because our behavior is governed by outside influences that make us susceptible to bad habits. For example, if your fridge is stocked with junk food, your likelihood of eating fruits and vegetables decreases significantly, and the friends you meet at the bar aren’t friends at all, but rather accomplices who sabotage your goal to quit drinking.

The good news from these findings is that while we don’t have as much control over our behavior as we’d like, we can affect the influences that govern our behavior and that puts the power to change back in our control.

Whether trying to amp up your career, get your finances in order, lose weight, or save a struggling relationship, the authors identify six sources of influence that are working against you. Once you understand these influences, you can knowingly counteract them with these four strategies proven to create enduring change:

• Identify crucial moments: Find what specific temptations distract you from your goal.
• Create vital behaviors: If you establish rules for avoiding temptations in advance of the crucial moments when you encounter them, you are more likely to change your behavior.
• Engage all six sources of influence: For example, change your environment and turn your enablers into allies in accomplishing your goal.
• Turn bad days into good data: Don’t look at failures as an opportunity to fall off the wagon, instead, learn from your failures and adjust.

With these proven strategies, anyone can escape the trap of willpower and create a robust change plan to kick any habit.

For example, reduce your plate size by three inches and consume 33 percent fewer calories, improve your workplace performance and avoid getting passed up for a promotion that will cost you nearly $60,000 in salary over the course of your career, change a bad behavior at work and save your organization $10,000 or more annually, or turn a few accomplices into friends who support your goal to quit smoking and increase your odds of success by 60 percent.

The book highlights real changers who used these principles to overcome life-long bad behaviors. Readers will also find out what happened during fascinating scientific experiments including the distraction techniques four-year-olds used to avoid the temptation of eating a marshmallow, how plate size affected the appetites of hungry ten-year-old soccer players, and on a more serious note, how real adults conquered alcoholism, addiction, weight loss and saved careers and marriages at risk.

The book was inspired by the author’s article, “How to Have Influence,” which won the 2009 Beckhard Memorial Prize by MIT Sloan Management Review for the most outstanding article on planned change and organizational development. Their research behind the article reveals people who use the model in CHANGE ANYTHING increase their odds of behavior change tenfold.

Debunking the myths about willpower and clarifying the real forces that shape our actions CHANGE ANYTHING will guide readers to make better decisions, change their outlook and replace bad habits with good ones.

Find free videos and tools at changeanythingbook.com

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Authors Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler are the leaders of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance that has trained more than 600,000 people worldwide. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies. This book is the fourth major work by this team of authors. Their previous works, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations were immediate New York Times bestsellers. They have appeared on “The Today Show”, CNN, Fox News Channel and other programs. They live in Utah.

ABOUT THE BOOK

CHANGE ANYTHING: The New Science of Personal Success by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler Published by Business Plus Publication date: April 11, 2011 Price: $26.99; Page count: 248 pages ISBN: 8-0446573917

CONTACT: Laura Ashby of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6269, or lashby@vitalsmarts.com.

November 17, 2010 – Provo, UT – The authors of the New York Times bestselling book, Crucial Conversations, and their award-winning video team, have put a holiday spin on the Old Spice phenomenon.

Holiday Spice: Relatively Speaking debuted on YouTube today.

The full-production Web video draws attention to a common holiday quandary: most people dread attending their family get-togethers during the holidays. In fact, according to research conducted by the authors, four out of five people have attended a “miserable” holiday party with their family due to their unruly relatives’ bad behavior.

Holiday Spice solves this common dilemma by encouraging viewers to learn the skills in the long-running bestseller, Crucial Conversations. Research shows nine out of ten people who are skilled at holding crucial conversations enjoy their family gatherings despite their relatives’ unruly behavior.

The one-minute Web video was produced and directed by the video production team from VitalSmarts and shot in Provo, Utah. Set construction took less than four days and the video itself was shot in less than eight hours and a total of 52 takes. Modeling the original Old Spice commercial, the video was shot in one continuous take without cuts or editing. Videographers used a Cannon 5D mark 2 camera.

The VitalSmarts production team has won multiple industry awards including three silver and five bronze Telly Awards (received in both 2010 and 2008). The Telly Awards honor the finest video and film productions and work created for the Web. The team’s award-winning videos can be seen at www.vitalsmartscanhelp.com.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving end results. The company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. Their fourth book, Change Anything, is scheduled for release April 2011. VitalSmarts has been listed twice on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies and has taught more than 2 million people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

CONTACT: Laura Ashby of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6269, or lashby@vitalsmarts.com.

Provo, UT – November 9, 2010 – Every Monday for five years, Natalie Luke looked in the mirror and said, “I’ve got a fresh start, this week will be different; I will lose those pesky pounds.”

However, week after week, diet after diet, nothing changed. Natalie figured she simply didn’t have sufficient willpower to succeed.

New research from the bestselling authors of Influencer reveals why people like Natalie fail to lose weight, and it’s not due to lack of willpower.

According to the online poll of 988 people attempting to lose weight, using six different behavioral strategies in combination increases your chances of losing weight by 10 times. However, most people fail because they rely on one source of influence alone. For example, some may only join a gym, read a book or download a smart phone app. These tools are helpful, but not enough to create lasting behavior change if used in isolation. In fact, of those who didn’t use six strategies in combination, only one in five lost more than five pounds in the preceding three months and more than half actually gained weight.

The poll was conducted by the authors of the New York Times bestseller Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, which outlines the six sources of influence aimed at creating lasting behavior change. In Spring 2011, the authors will release their fourth book, Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success, as well as launch www.ChangeAnything.com, a website that uses the principles of influence to help people accomplish a variety of personal change goals.

Joseph Grenny, author of Influencer, says despite popular opinion, lack of willpower is not the No. 1 reason people struggle to lose weight.

“When we fail to change our behavior, we assume it’s because we’re weak willed,” says Grenny. “However, the real reason we fail at changing our behavior is that we are blind and outnumbered to six sources of influence that shape our choices and habits. Our willpower doesn’t stand a chance against these deeply-engrained behaviors.”

One Monday at age 45, Natalie performed her weekly ritual and realized “vowing” to change was not enough, she needed to get serious about changing her behavior if she wanted to look in the mirror and feel good about the reflection. It was then that she created a change plan that leveraged the six sources of influence aimed at behavior change. Now, two months later, Natalie is more than half-way to reaching her goal of losing 25 pounds by the end of the year.

“Creating a change plan that included the six sources of influence gave me greater confidence and the tools needed for success,” she said. “I now understand the psyche behind behavior change—specifically for weight loss—and feel confident I’ll be able to keep the pounds off once I reach my goal.”

Grenny outlines strategies in the six sources of influence guaranteed to help people achieve their weight loss goals. The key to success is using at least one strategy from each of the six sources of influence:

1. Personal Motivation: Love what you hate. Motivate yourself to get healthy by changing the way you think about your health and weight. Natalie uses daily visualization exercises and listens to a popular podcast to change her negative perceptions about her ability to lose weight.
2. Personal Ability: Do what you can’t. Learn the weight loss skills you lack. Natalie uses a popular workout program that teaches her how to perform exercises that use muscle confusion to increase calorie burning.
3. Social Motivation: Turn accomplices into friends. Find out if your friends are helping or hurting your progress. Natalie lets others know about her weight loss goals so they are conscious and respectful of her exercise time.
4. Social Ability: Enlist coaches. Often, changing habits requires help. Natalie’s coach is the winner of The Biggest Loser season 4. He coaches Natalie to make changes that not only help her succeed but also maintain her weight loss.
5. Structural Motivation: Invert the economy. Motivate yourself to stay on track by planning rewards for small successes. Natalie selects a new outfit she wants to buy and shows her coaches so they can encourage her to earn that reward for meeting short-term goals.
6. Structural Ability: Control your space. Don’t underestimate the power of your environment. Because one of the largest barriers to Natalie’s success is the extra time she spends at work, she keeps a clock in plain view in order to leave the office early enough to exercise.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving results. The company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. VitalSmarts has taught more than 2 million people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Author Joseph Grenny and Natalie Luke are available for interview. Copies of Influencer and additional weight loss tips from Grenny are available upon request.

About the research: Responses collected via an online survey from 988 book readers in June of 2010. Margin of error is approximately 3%. Full survey results available upon request.

CONTACT: Laura Ashby of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6269, or lashby@vitalsmarts.com.

October 21, 2010 – Provo, UT — A new study from the authors of the New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations shows employees with poor people skills pay a “jerk tax” when being considered for promotion.

The online poll which analyzed 1,650 promotions, debunked the common misconception that jerky behavior is necessary to get ahead in business. According to the study, 92 percent said having poor interpersonal skills hinders advancement in their organization.

Joseph Grenny, co-author of Crucial Conversations, says riding roughshod over others does not increase one’s chances of promotion—in fact, it’s inhibiting.

“Too many employees suffer under the misconception that they have to be a jerk to generate the results necessary for workplace advancement,” Grenny said. “However, those most likely to be promoted excel not only in adding value but also in their interpersonal competencies.”

According to respondents, those most likely to advance in the workplace have strong interpersonal skills, are strong contributors and care a great deal about their organization. The research also reveals that the combination of strong interpersonal skills and strong results are by far the best predictor of whether an employee will be respected as a leader after the promotion.

Grenny advises employees interested in climbing the corporate ladder to learn how to generate results without generating contempt by developing their ability to communicate candidly and effectively with co-workers. He offers four tips for navigating crucial conversations—high-stakes, politically risky, or emotionally volatile situations—in a way that generates results and improves relationships.

1. Change your emotions. In stressful moments, separate people from the problem. Try to see others as reasonable, rational and decent human beings—even if your opinions clash. “Jerks” don’t bother with this principle—they make harsh judgments of others and act out those judgments through mistreatment.
2. Help others feel safe. “Jerks” disguise their harshness as “brutal honesty.” In contrast, effective leaders find a way to be both 100% honest and 100% respectful. They do both by starting high-stakes conversation by assuring the other person of their positive intentions and their respect. When others feel respected and trust your motives, they let their guard down and begin to listen—even if the topic is unpleasant.
3. Just the facts. Respected leaders describe problems in factual terms—stripping out the negative labels and punitive conclusions commonly used by “jerks.” Without the facts, judgmental statements are far from motivating and create animosity and resistance.
4. Invite dialogue. Effective leaders create dialogue while “jerks” settle for monologue. After confidently sharing your views, invite others to do so as well. If you are open to hearing others’ points of view, they’ll be more open to yours.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving results. The company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. VitalSmarts has taught more than 2 million people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, co-author of Crucial Conversations, is available for interview. Copies of the book are available upon request.

About the research: The study collected responses via an online survey from 550 book readers in September of 2010. Full survey results available upon request.

CONTACT: Laura Ashby of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6269, or lashby@vitalsmarts.com.

Dr. Bandura received the inaugural Albert Bandura Influencer Award—which is also named after him. The award recognizes leaders, scholars and scientists who have advanced both scholarship and practice in enabling self-directed human change.

The Albert Bandura Influencer Award was founded under the premise that human behavior is a direct cause behind the world’s most pervasive and significant challenges. As a result, the health, peace and prosperity of humanity hinges on individuals learning the science behind changing their own and others’ behavior.

“Albert Bandura has greatly influenced the field of human change and our research personally,” said Joseph Grenny, cofounder of VitalSmarts. “It is with great honor and respect that we present him with the first annual Albert Bandura Influencer Award.”

During his 60-year career as a professor of psychology at Stanford University, Dr. Bandura made groundbreaking contributions to many fields of psychology. The most-cited living psychologist of all time, he is widely recognized as the originator of social learning theory and the theory of self-efficacy—the belief that humans can alter their behavior to achieve certain goals.

“It’s an honor to have an award created in one’s name, especially by stellar personal and social influencers,” said Dr. Bandura. “And, it’s also an out-of-body experience to be the recipient of that award.”

The Albert Bandura Influencer Award was presented by the VitalSmarts Influencer Institute—a research subsidiary of VitalSmarts with the mission to significantly increase humanity’s capacity to change for good. Each year, the Institute will solicit nominations of individuals who have made significant contributions to improving personal, social or organizational well-being by researching and/or employing sound methods for influencing change through human behavior. A selection committee comprised of former award recipients, leaders and prominent social scientists will review the work of each nominee and select the winning candidate who will receive a $10,000 cash award in addition to being publicly recognized for their lifetime achievements.

More information and award applications can be found at www.vitalsmarts.com/influenceraward.

About the VitalSmarts Influencer Institute:

The VitalSmarts Influencer Institute promotes the development and application of sound research into human behavior change. Their mission is to significantly increase humanity’s capacity to change for good. To accomplish their mission, the Institute supports research and practice in the use of scalable technology to enable people to influence rapid and sustainable behavior change in their personal, professional and public lives.

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny is available for an interview. Please contact Laura Ashby at lashby@vitalsmarts.com or 801-724-6269 to schedule an interview. Live footage and a photo of Dr. Bandura receiving the award are also available.

CONTACT: Laura Ashby of VitalSmarts, L.C. +1-801-724-6269, or lashby@vitalsmarts.com.

Follow us at: www.twitter.com/vitalsmartsnews

You can also follow bestselling author Joseph Grenny at: www.twitter.com/josephgrenny.

CONTACT: Brittney Maxfield of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6272, or bmaxfield@vitalsmarts.com.

April 6, 2010 – Provo, UT—New research reveals employees waste an average of $1,500 and an 8-hour workday for every crucial conversation they avoid. These costs skyrocket when multiplied by the prevalence of conflict avoidance.

According to the study conducted by the authors of the New York Times bestselling book Crucial Conversations, 95 percent of a company's workforce struggles to speak up to their colleagues about their concerns. As a result, they engage in resource-sapping avoidance tactics including ruminating excessively about crucial issues, complaining, getting angry, doing unnecessary work and avoiding the other person altogether.

View the full results: http://www.vitalsmarts.com/userfiles/File/Research/TimeWastedConflict.pdf

In extreme cases of avoidance, the organization's bottom line is hit especially hard.

The study of more than 600 people found that a shocking 8 percent of employees estimate their avoidance costs their organization more than $10,000. And one in 20 estimates that over the course of a drawn-out silent conflict, they waste time ruminating about the problem for more than 6 months.

Joseph Grenny, author of Crucial Conversations, says it's time organizations stop viewing interpersonal competencies as soft skills and start teaching their people how to speak up.

“One of the most costly barriers to organizational performance is unresolved crucial conversations,” Grenny said. “The few who know how to speak up don't waste time avoiding crucial issues because they have the confidence and skills to raise them in a way that leads to productive dialogue.”

The research confirms people who are skilled at discussing crucial issues waste significantly less time complaining, feeling sorry for themselves, avoiding problems and getting angry.

Grenny advises organizations interested in curbing the costs of conflict avoidance to teach their employees how to speak up quickly and effectively when they have concerns with their colleagues. He offers four tips to get started.

• Confront the right problem. The biggest mistake people make is to confront the most painful or immediate issue and not the one that gets them the results they really need. Before speaking up, stop and ask yourself, “What do I really want here? What problem do I want to resolve?”
• Rein-in emotions. We often tell ourselves a story about others' real intent. These stories determine our emotional response. Master communicators manage their emotions by examining, questioning and rewriting their story before speaking.
• Master the first 30 seconds. Most people do everything wrong in the first “hazardous half-minute”—like diving into the content and attacking the other person. Instead, show you care about the other person and his or her interests to disarm defensiveness and open up dialogue.
• Reveal natural consequences. The best way to get someone's attention is to change their perspective. In a safe and non-threatening manner, give them a complete view of the consequences their behavior is creating.

About VitalSmarts: An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving results. The company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. VitalSmarts has taught more than 2 million people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, author of Crucial Conversations, is available for interview. Copies of the book are available upon request.

About the research: The study collected responses via an online survey tool from 618 individuals. Margin of error is approximately 3%. Full survey results: http://www.vitalsmarts.com/userfiles/File/Research/TimeWastedConflict.pdf

CONTACT: Brittney Maxfield of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6272, or bmaxfield@vitalsmarts.com.

PROVO – February 22, 2010 – A new study released today by VitalSmarts found that five threats to workers' safety are commonly left undiscussed and lead to avoidable injury or fatalities.

The study, named Silent Danger: The Five Crucial Conversations that Drive Workplace Safety, surveyed more than 1,600 frontline workers, managers, and safety directors across 30 safety‐conscious organizations in 2009.

According to the data, 93 percent of employees say their company is currently at risk and nearly half are aware of an injury or death caused by one of five avoidable workplace dangers. However, despite being aware of these five threats, only one in four employees speaks up and tries to correct unsafe conditions.

“Silent Danger shows the tragic secret behind most workplace injuries is that someone is aware of the threat well in advance, but is either unwilling or unable to speak up,” said Joseph Grenny, cofounder of VitalSmarts and leading researcher of the study. “The greatest dangers to workplace safety are the norms, habits, and assumptions embedded in our corporate cultures that stifle employees' ability to speak up and confront unsafe practices.”

Each of the five threats to workplace safety outlined in Silent Danger was identified as being costly, common, and undiscussable. The five threats are:

• Get It Done. Unsafe practices that are justified by tight deadlines.
• Undiscussable Incompetence. Unsafe practices that stem from skill deficits that can't be discussed.
• Just this Once. Unsafe practices that are justified as exceptions to the rule.
• This Is Overboard. Unsafe practices that bypass precautions considered excessive.
• Are You a Team Player? Unsafe practices that are justified for the good of the team, company, or customer.

However, not all employees remained silent bystanders when confronted with these and similar threats. A small minority, ranging from 25 to 28 percent, say they are able to speak up effectively in these crucial moments and address unsafe conditions. More than 82 percent of this vocal minority says that when they speak up, their actions result in a safer work environment for everyone.

Grenny says additional training, safety audits, and other tools, while important, will never be enough to create a truly safe environment. “The reason we are seeing safety improvements begin to stall is not because the systems and policies we have implemented don't work, it's because people don't speak up and hold one another accountable,” says Grenny. “Accidents in the workplace will not be prevented until senior leaders eradicate cultures of silence.”

Grenny outlines recommendations senior leaders can follow for teaching their employees to speak up in crucial moments. One year after implementing Grenny's recommendations, Pride International, an offshore drilling contractor, decreased its total incident rate by 55 percent and reported zero accidents that required employees to miss time on the job.

The full Silent Danger research results and recommendations for leaders are available for download at www.vitalsmarts.com/safety.

About the Silent Danger Study

In early 2009, VitalSmarts began identifying ways to improve workplace safety incidents that led to 4 million injuries and 5,600 deaths per year. The Silent Danger study began with interviews and focus groups with 130 people from eight organizations. Trends unveiled in the interviews were verified through a survey administered to 1,500 employees from 22 organizations to test the impact communication breakdowns had on workplace safety. Full results available at www.vitalsmarts.com/safety.

About VitalSmarts

An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving results. The company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. VitalSmarts has taught more than 2 million people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Author Joseph Grenny is Full study results, a research summary, and additional information are available at www.vitalsmarts.com/safety.

CONTACT: Brittney Maxfield of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6272, or bmaxfield@vitalsmarts.com.

Provo, UT – November 18, 2009 – Latisha grew up on the east side of Detroit surrounded by drug dealers and violence. Her sister was pregnant at 15. She had horrible grades and no social life. She had never even heard of college or a career. Determined not to become a product of her environment, Latisha joined the Air Force and they helped her enroll in a summer trial program at Eastern Michigan University. Against all odds, she excelled.

Today Latisha is finishing a Master's Degree in Human Resources, is mentored by executives at Comerica bank and has jumpstarted her career—working directly under the CHRO at her current employer.

But what was the secret behind Latisha's phenomenal success?

“In order to be successful, I knew I had to create a personal network filled with successful people,” she said.

According to new research, Latisha's instinct to surround herself with active supporters—and distance herself from those who would hold her back—is exactly what people who are looking to keep resolutions, beak bad habits and achieve goals in 2010 should do.

A study conducted by the authors of Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, a New York Times bestseller about behavior change, found that people who surround themselves with friends who actively encourage or support their efforts are significantly more likely to succeed at achieving new goals (up to 38 percent more likely).

But that isn't all that's necessary to change. Joseph Grenny, author of Influencer, says that while the number of friends you include in your network is important, an even more important factor to success is who you exclude.

The survey of 3,400 respondents revealed that more than 50 percent of people who are trying to achieve a personal goal have one or more active accomplices—someone who enables their bad habit or whose attitude and behavior impedes their success. Shockingly, this 50 percent are significantly less likely to succeed at changing their bad habits as a result of their accomplice.

“Our research shows our friends have enormous influence over our success—whether for the better or worse,” says Grenny. “The trick is knowing who to spend time with and who to ignore as you try to accomplish your goals.”

For example, Michael Emeheiser lost 82 pounds after he spent more time with a couple of regular exercisers and less time with those who regularly fed his Dutch pastry obsession. A.J. Wagner finally quit smoking after spending less time visiting with her father in person and more time with her new friend Robin, from her exercise boot camps.

Grenny shares four recommendations for activating your friends and kicking out accomplices to achieve goals and break bad habits in 2010.

1. Take an honest inventory of friends and accomplices. Are your close friends and family accomplices or active supporters? What activities do you do together? Who models, encourages or enables your bad habit? Who could you spend more time with that would do the opposite?
2. Convert or push back accomplices. Sincerely share your goals with those who are impeding progress. Ask for their support and help with changing your behavior. In extreme cases, distance yourself from those people whose actions draw you back to your old habits.
3. Surround yourself with supporters. Find as many active supporters as you can. Turn passive supporters into active supporters. Ask these friends to hold you accountable for your behavior and provide coaching and encouragement when you succeed.
4. Be aware of distant acquaintances. It’s fine if distant acquaintances share your bad habit, so long as they don’t actively oppose your efforts to change. If they do, kick them to the curb until you have your habit under control.

About VitalSmarts

An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver powerful tools for enriching relationships and improving results. The company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. VitalSmarts has taught more than 2 million people worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com

Note to editor: Author Joseph Grenny, Latisha, Michael, and A.J. are available for interview. Copies of Influencer are available upon request. Contact Brittney Maxfield at bmaxfield@vitalsmarts.com.

About the research: Responses collected via an online survey from 3,424 individuals in October of 2009. Margin of error is approximately 3%. Full survey results available upon request.

CONTACT: Brittney Maxfield of VitalSmarts, L.L.C. +1-801-724-6272, or bmaxfield@vitalsmarts.com.

October 1, 2009 – Provo, UT – Influencer Training™ by VitalSmarts, a provider of corporate training and organizational performance products and services, has been named one of the 2009 Top Training Products of the Year by Human Resource Executive