Do you have “Ultimate Influence?” Are you able to get other people excited about your ideas?  Can you convince your kids to do their chores without constant reminding?  Are you able to change your boss’s mind about something? Bestselling author Bob Burg says, “Ultimate Influence is the ability to get the results you want from others, while making them feel genuinely good about themselves, about the situation, and about you.” In my work as a consultant, I encounter many intelligent, well-intended, skilled people who consistently get only mediocre results because they don’t know how to influence others. Burg, the author of Adversaries into Allies:  Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion says: “You can have practically every positive trait working for you – you can be talented, or high character, ambitious, kind, charitable, hardworking, thrifty, and energetic.  You can have a knack for numbers and a head for business; you can be even-tempered, creative, et cetera. However…. Unless you are able to influence the way others think and act, your chances for success in any aspect of your life are limited. “ Ouch. Whenever I bring up the subject of influence, one of the common pushbacks is, “I don’t want to be manipulative.”  People often perceive that trying to influence others is somehow deceitful. Burg (www.Burg.com) writes, “Faced with the task of persuading someone to do what we want, most of us expect, and often encounter, resistance.  We see the other person as an adversary and often resort to coercion or manipulation in order to get our way.  But while this approach might at times bring us short-term results, it leaves people with a bad feeling about themselves, and about us.  At that point our http://www.mcleodandmore.com/2014/03/04/how-to-turn-adversaries-into-allies-without-manipulation-or-coercion/