Here's an interesing article from that Moonie rag, The Washinton Times. (The link is dead so I haven't verified it -- pulled it off a newsgroup.) Anyhoo, it's sort of interesting that there is a "parallel universe" of organisations that concern themselves with human manipulation, "social engineering," and covert influence that trade in guile and deceit. It appears there are at least as many of these as there are legitimate organisations. A predator doesn't do very well if he can't disguise his intentions and most of these organisations, as does Landmark, teach the *appearance* of ~authenticity & integrity.~
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www.washtimes.com]
August 28, 2000
Study says success follows popularity
By John Blake
COX NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA As waves of youngsters head back to school, it might be tempting
to suggest that popularity doesn't matter. After all, the rugged
individualist is an American icon.
But popularity does matter, even and perhaps especially in adulthood. As
Sally Field once gushed when she accepted an Oscar as best actress:
"You like me."
Popularity rules. People who play the popularity game often become
leaders in government or business, movie stars, advertising pitchmen, the
president of the local garden club, the person on everybody's guest list.
A study by the Center for Creative Leadership, a business consulting
group based in Greensboro, N.C., discovered that the biggest reason
executive careers derail is an inability to be a popular leader.
For instance, this year's presidential race will focus only partly on
issues. It ultimately may become, as in past elections, a popularity
contest. People vote for people they like.
It has been 64 years since Dale Carnegie published his book "How to
Win Friends and Influence People," which has sold at least 14 million
copies. The Dale Carnegie Center of Excellence, based in Atlanta, helps
2,000 people annually with their "people skills."
"People who know how to make people like them have a tremendous advantage
in life," said Roger van Bakel, an editor with the Ad Age Group, a New
York-based collection of advertising and marketing publications. "People
want to work with them. People want to hire them. . . . I think that
rugged American individualism is a bunch of crock."
Popular people don't even have to be particularly good at what they do,
he said.
Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova has never won a singles title
on the professional tour. Yet Forbes magazine lists her as one of the
richest athletes in the world because her attractive looks make her a
sought-after commercial endorser. In fact, Miss Kournikova earns more
each year than Martina Hingis, the top-ranked women's player.
"Because she is incredibly hot, she makes more money than Martina Hingis,"
Mr. van Bakel said.
"Likability is the name of the game in advertising."
The more popular a business executive, research suggests, the greater the
chance of success. A 1996 study by the Center for Creative Leadership,
seeking to learn why some business executives succeed while others fail,
determined that most executives who failed to advance did so because
they lacked "people" skills.
"A lot of these managers were good," said Jean Leslie, co-author of
the study. "They knew the ins and outs of their job, but they were
considered demanding, aloof. They isolated themselves from others and
didn't have empathy."
Successful business executives displayed "interpersonal savvy," she
said. They were good listeners, made themselves available to others and
were supportive of other people's ideas.
"A lot of the work of more senior executives is relationship-oriented,"
Miss Leslie said. "The technical skills become less important than the
interpersonal relationships."
Even the sharpest managers can fall when they lose favor with their
employees or their bosses. Lee Iacocca, former president of Ford Motor
Co. and by all measures an excellent business executive, was fired after
helping introduce the fabulously successful Mustang. When Mr. Iacocca
asked his boss why, Henry Ford II reportedly replied, "I just don't
like you."
Cultivating popularity is crucial in politics as well. Perhaps no
other U.S. president in recent years has been lauded as much as Ronald
Reagan. But Alan Abramowitz, an Emory University political science
professor, said Mr. Reagan was widely considered to lack knowledge of
policy and foreign affairs.
"If you don't have popular support, no matter how good your ideas, no
matter your knowledge, you're not going to be able to lead Congress or
lead the people," he said.
A popular person doesn't even have to be a celebrity to exert tremendous
influence, says Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point," a book
that explores the power of ordinary people and events to spark social
transformations.
Such people Mr. Gladwell calls them "connectors" wield tremendous
power, he thinks. That's the reason Paul Revere, not William Dawes,
is remembered today, he said. Both men took a midnight ride on the
same night in opposite directions to warn people that the British were
coming. But nobody listened to Mr. Dawes because he was unknown.
"People listened to Paul Revere because they all knew him," Mr. Gladwell
said. "He had the biggest Rolodex in New England."