Influence in Action: How to Build Your Conversational Capacity, Do Meaningful Work, and Make a Powerful Difference

INTRODUCTION

The World Needs People Willing to Stand Up, Speak Out, and Make a Difference

. . . insist on taking part in what is healthy, generous, and responsible. Stand up, speak out, and when necessary fight back. Get down off the fence and lend a hand, grab a-hold, be a citizen—not a subject.

—EDWARD ABBEY

Inspiring and leading constructive change is never easy. Due to the organizational equivalent of Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, the status quo is preserved unless acted on by an intervening force. Put differently, when it comes to our teams, organizations, and communities, little progress is possible unless people stand up, speak out, and make a difference.

There is a growing need for people willing to do this. The soaring rate ...