You Can Change the Minds of the Powerful</h1> <article> <h1>You Can Change the Minds of the Powerful</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:52:48 +0000</p> Can ordinary people make a difference? Yes, says author Amy Showalter, who offers tips on how to be a persuasive underdog in “The Underdog Edge: How Ordinary People Change the Minds of the Powerful. . . and Live to Tell About It"... Click <a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Galleries/changing-the-minds-of-the-powerful.aspx" target="_blank">here</a> to read more. </article> <article> <h1>Tales from the Front Lines – How Your Appearance Affects Your Upward Influence Success</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:41:51 +0000</p> As I talk to more readers of <a href="http://www.underdogedge.com" target="_blank"><em>The Underdog Edge</em></a>, it’s fun to hear their stories and applications of Underdog Edge influence moments----real-world experiences that illustrate the seven extreme influence strategies and over 50 tactics for upward influence success. I’ll be sharing them in this blog as they occur. As I wrote in <a href="http://www.underdogedge.com" target="_blank"><em>Underdog Edge</em></a>, the top dogs whose minds were changed by someone “down” the food chain made a common observation—that one’s appearance matters, and that it represents a mental shortcut to help them decide whether to give access and time to that person, especially if they are younger and don’t have a long track record of success. As I remind my audiences, if you have the... </article> <article> <h1>Politics in the Workplace is Good for Business</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:41:41 +0000</p> Just in case you are having "issues" with some who think grassroots programs and PAC's don't belong in the workplace, here is my take on it published on CNBC's web site: <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/47144504" target="_blank">http://www.cnbc.com/id/47144504</a> </article> <article> <h1>Does “Big = Bad” in the Persuasion Process?</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:40:24 +0000</p> As I stated in chapter one of The <strong>Underdog Edge</strong>, (<a href="http://www.underdogedge.com" target="_blank">www.underdogedge.com</a>), there's nothing wrong with being a "big" organization, but especially in recessionary times, "big is bad." That is the challenge for any political candidate, as well as any organization that wants to gain trust and goodwill---you have to be very careful about how you characterize your size and power. There is a reason small business organizations get more sympathy, attention and persuasion success than large business organizations in the legislative process. See Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza's piece on this topic: <em>"Big is bad for politicians this election year as populist sentiment prevails"</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-politics-big-is-bad/2012/04/08/gIQAKE8q3S_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-politics-big-is-bad/2012/04/08/gIQAKE8q3S_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics</a> What do you think? Does "big = bad" in the persuasion process? </article> <article> <h1>Underdog Watch: Rhode Island State Treasurer Gina Raimondo</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:31:26 +0000</p> I was gratified to see <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204136404577207433215374066.html " target="_blank"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a> run an opinion piece on Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island State Treasurer, for her work overhauling the state’s pension system. I picked her as one of my “Top Underdog Persuaders of 2011”, which is featured on Fortune Management’s ’s CNN Money site: <a href="http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/30/the-most-notable-underdogs-of-2011/">http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/30/the-most-notable-underdogs-of-2011/</a> I know what you are thinking---- she’s the Rhode Island State Treasurer, so she can’t be an underdog. However, underdog status is contextual; the position and resources of your influence prospect vs. your resources and position determines your underdog status. Raimondo was taking on the state public employee unions, who, when aroused, have a tendency to make public officials nervous. If I were to study all of her... </article> <article> <h1>Twitter Ties and the Implications for Grassroots Professionals</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:35:59 +0000</p> At my recent Innovate to Motivate Conference, I asked each participant to share their top goal for 2012. A clear majority of the grassroots professionals in attendance stated that they want to “build or increase the size of their grassroots network.” While there are many options for doing so, one popular way is through social networks. <a href="http://www.kstreetcafe.com/twitter-ties-and-the-implications-for-grassroots-professionals/" target="_blank">Read the full blog at K Street Cafe</a>. </article> <article> <h1>Can Companies Go Too Far When It Comes To Their PAC?</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:02 +0000</p> I2M faculty member Brett Kappel of Arent Fox <a href="http://www.arentfox.com/" target="_blank">www.arentfox.com</a> advises his clients to create PAC bylaws that suit the political needs and culture of the company. However, Brett says a company can go too far in trying to ensure that the PAC is run consistently with the corporate culture. Here's what he says about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's PAC "argument": <a href=" http://arentfoxnews.com/cv/b725299375d575713993da6aaa4205606c8948a7" target="_blank"> http://arentfoxnews.com/cv/b725299375d575713993da6aaa4205606c8948a7</a> </article> <article> <h1>The April ROS Newsletter is Out!</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:11:33 +0000</p> Check out the lastest issue of the Roots of Success Newsletter: <a href="http://www.showaltergroup.com/newsletter/april12-newsletter.php" target="_blank">http://showaltergroup.com/newsletter/april12-newsletter.php</a> </article> <article> <h1>Social Media – Should It be the Driver or Passenger in your Grassroots Influence Strategy?</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:48:16 +0000</p> Several years ago our Innovate to Motivate conference hosted then Gallup Managing Partner Ron Balmer to talk about Gallup’s research on customer engagement and how it applies to grassroots organizations. It was one of our most highly rated workstorms. Gallup has been at the forefront of engagement research; they define it as the degree to which people will work for or against your organization or brand. I think most of us would agree that definition of stakeholder engagement is worth pursuing. They have published recent research which reinforces Ron’s prescient admonitions. Read more here: <a href="http://www.kstreetcafe.com/social-media-should-it-be-the-driver-or-passenger-in-your-grassroots-influence-strategy/" target="_blank">http://www.kstreetcafe.com/social-media-should-it-be-the-driver-or-passenger-in-your-grassroots-influence-strategy/</a> </article> <article> <h1>The Upside of Under: What Big Organizations Can Learn from Their Smaller Brethren</h1> <p>Amy Showalter — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:00:33 +0000</p> I read with interest a recent study which showed that 90% of Americans have a good opinion of small business, and only 60% of them have the same warm feelings toward big business. As someone who has spent my professional life helping large for-profit (and non-profit) organizations maximize their influence potential in the legislative arena, this is not news. It’s pretty much an article of faith that helping “the little guy,” in this case small businesses, makes us feel better about ourselves. As it should. There is a lesson here for large organizations ( and I will use the term “organizations” rather than simply “big business” because big non-profits are at risk also), and that is that small is the new... </article> </main></body></html>