Why You Can’t Kill a Bad Habit with a
Magic Bullet
New study shows using 4 influence strategies to change bad habits is
4 times more successful
PROVO, Utah (Business Wire EON) January 23, 2008 --
A study by the authors of a new bestseller on influencing change found
that 98 percent of Americans fail when making resolutions to change
their bad behaviors. Most importantly, the study reveals why the other
two percent succeed.
According to the study from the authors of the New York Times
bestseller, Influencer: The
Power to Change Anything (McGraw-Hill, 2007), those who use four
or more influence strategies to change bad habits are four times more
likely to succeed.
The survey of more than 1000 Americans also revealed that the reason
most people give up on changing their bad behaviors is because their
approach usually consists of only one “magic
bullet” solution—a
trend proven by the $23 billion Americans spend annually on diet pills
(The Diet Drug Report, 2007).
Joseph Grenny, co-author of Influencer,
says despite decades of failure, the good news is that most people are
just an idea or two away from overcoming their most resistant habits.
“Forget diet pills and quick-fix solutions,”
says Grenny. “The key to real change is to guarantee
success by leveraging as many strategies of influence as you can.”
Grenny’s new book Influencer teaches
that there are six possible influence strategies or sources that
determine how we behave. And if people learn to leverage these sources,
change becomes inevitable.
The Six Sources of Influence:
1. Personal Motivation – overcome your own
reluctance and resistance
2. Personal Ability – learn how to master the
necessary skills for success
3. Social Motivation – enlist help from
leaders or other opinion-leaders
4. Social Ability – leverage teamwork
5. Structural Motivation – reward your early
successes
6. Structural Ability – surround yourself
with a supportive physical environment
For example, one respondent demonstrated how after decades of struggling
to lose weight she increased her physical activity and changed her life
when she marshaled multiple sources of influence.
“I was inactive for many years. After a
serious health condition almost took my life, I knew I had to change my
ways. I changed everything about my life to make exercise a very high
priority. I started working part time instead of full time. I made time
to exercise before work. I changed my diet by bringing my lunch to work.
I ‘put my house on a diet’
and made an agreement with my family to keep bad food out. I engaged my
husband in the effort by him agreeing to watch the kids while I worked
out. Since I changed the influences in my life, I have not only lost the
weight but also kept it off.”
Influencer draws on
the skills of hundreds of successful individuals who have solved
seemingly insurmountable challenges using multiple sources of influence.
About VitalSmarts
An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance,
VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver
powerful tools that enrich relationships and improve end results. The
company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial
Conversations, Crucial
Confrontations, and Influencer.
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
Note to editor: Joseph Grenny, coauthor of, Influencer:
The Power to Change Anything, can give your readers/viewers tips
on how to create a simple, yet effective influence strategy to change
bad behaviors. Tips available upon request.
About the research: The study collected responses via online
survey tool from more than 1000 individuals. Margin of error is
approximately 3%. Full survey results are available upon request.
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