Influencers Make the Most Out of Every Person
This is a 10 page article. Be sure not to miss the rest of the story!
People are the most important asset to an influencer. Throughout this article, that point has been highlighted. People are what drives an influencer to great leadership. They follow the influencer because they want to. They desire the knowledge and insight of the influencer. They feel a kinship to the influencer because they feel valued.
When an influencer is operating, whether around a boardroom table or in the ether of the internet, they are consistently evaluating the people around them. They are trying to understand how those people think and operate and they are appealing to those people out of a position of respect and accountability. They understand that some people want to see the big picture while others want to understand the risk.
Sean Moffit said it best, in his post titled The Art of Word of Mouth Communication:
We’re all wired differently: trendsetters want to be first in line, experts want to know the facts, opinion leaders want to know the possibilities, tastemakers want to see the big idea, social ringleaders want to know how to share it with others, mainstreamers and laggards want to reduce risk and feel safe.
Influencers “get” this and approach their community seeking to engage each individual or group in the way that best suits them.
Former President George H. W. Bush (Daddy Bush) built a consensus among 34 different “militarily engaged” nations, and many more UN members that did not commit troops during the Gulf War. As an influencer, he led by example and built a consensus in the United Nations. Wikipedia describes the lead-up to the Gulf War in this way:
Shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, U.S. President George H. W. Bush started to deploy U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard units to Saudi Arabia (Operation Desert Shield), while at the same time urging other countries to send their own forces to the scene. UN coalition-building efforts were so successful that by the time the fighting (Operation Desert Storm) began on 16 January 1991, twelve countries had sent naval forces, joining the regional states of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states, as well as the huge array of the U.S. Navy, which deployed six carrier battle groups; eight countries had sent ground forces, joining the regional troops of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the seventeen heavy and six light brigades of the U.S. Army and nine Marine regiments, with their large support and service forces; and four countries had sent combat aircraft, joining the local air forces of Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine aviation, for a grand total of 2,430 fixed-wing aircraft.
How does one develop and rally that kind of consensus in a geo-political climate that has as many varied interests as it does political perspectives? How does one build that kind of consensus when dealing with tribal loyalties, religious conflict and trade concerns?
Clearly, the answer is that Bush was an influencer. Each nation was lobbied according to their interests. Jordanian and Saudi officials were approached on the basis of regional aggression. European NATO allies were rallied around shared threat concerns, as they were during the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact. Eastern asian allies were cognizant of conflict on their doorsteps and their own regional and tribal conflicts that had a degree of religious conflict crossover.
Influencers approach their community seeking to engage each individual or group in the way that best suits them.”
Big picture concerns were addressed with an addressing of oil risks, in both Iraq and Kuwait. Saudi oil fields were at risk should Saddam Hussein move on from an invasion of Kuwait to an unprovoked invasion of oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Israel clearly felt threatened militarily with Iraqi possession of intermediate range missiles (SCUDs) that could (and did) reach the major Israeli cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
With so many interests at play, an influencer could build the kind of broad ranging consensus that existed in 1990.
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About Aaron
I doesn’t take much skill/ talent/ ability to be a celebrity any more- but to be an influencer, or to actually make an impact on the people around you takes much more skill and finesse.
I do a few things to try to keep my own little brand identity- I use the same “handle” or screen name on every site i use, and I try to use the same profile picture, and recently I was recognised at a local blog meetup- and I feel that there is value in doing all these things- but I am working on becoming more of an influencer moving forward.
At some point I decided I’d rather be the guy with something valuable to add to the community, than the guy with 3 million hits on a youtube video where I wreck a 4-wheeler.
Arron,
It is a rare where I find a philosophy that closely mirrors mine. I see that some of traits mentioned are natural for me and a few I have to work on.
I congratulate you on a very well written blog (article); one that I’ll be proud to refer to my kindred friends.
Ed
Aaron,
I have to agree with what Ed said. It’s truly a great article, and I am spreading it out to everyone I know. Good job!
Excellent. Off to go link it on WW.
Great observations, I enjoyed the blog.
Cool. Thanks for the insight. “It’s been said, even, that character is what we are when no one is looking.” – outrageous but true.
Aaron,
Fantastic stuff. Timeless and timely. I’ll add a link on my blog, because I think folks in my biz, local television news, could use a refresher on engaging people. We’ve been taught for so long (entire careers for some) that we do our thing, and the audience will always be there. It’s not anymore. You need, as you suggest, to offer something to people.
Thanks again for sharing your insight.
Mark
To quote the great philosopher Bono: “This is just f*cking brilliant.”
Mark: Thank you, sir.
Andrew: That is why I love Bono.
Great observation! Good stuff, Aaron.
Great points, I agree completely.
I made it through the whole article and it was very informative. I am pretty energized by it and look forward to your keynote at IZEAFest. You really took your time and crafted a well thought out article with some great points. I have yet to read Dale Carnegie’s book, I started once but didn’t get too far, I think it is time to try again.
This is a very insightful paragraph:
“To be an influencer, you’re going to have to balance that self brand, personal marketing for the sake of being known with providing absolute, unquestioned value to the greater community. Carrying the mantle of an influencer means being a celebrity for the community. It means always giving of yourself so that the rest of the crowd benefits. It’s almost self-sacrificial, flying in the face of personal brand or celebrity.”
This phenomenon is due to human biology and social habits, every day our actions and thoughts are derived from others around and before us. Intellectuals are followers of previous intellectuals and commoners are followers of popular figures. However, one cannot say that we are brainless, but rather we belong to a massive network making up an overall societal “mind”. We never truly die, we each have significant effects on society that ripple and cascade endlessly.
Well done! I have been writing “traditionally” for some time and just recently joined the social media world. It can get a bit disheartening for those new to the scene to feel that they are competing with someone with 3,000 followers. Thank you for helping put all of this into perspective in a sound, academic article. I will certainly be sharing this with others.