Persuading the Bear: How to Lead Without Authority

Please log in to watch this conference skillscast.

Based on Michael’s bestseller : Project Influence and Leadership

After hiking towards a glacier in Denali National Park Alaska, we were making camp near a small dreary lake. Suddenly I heard my friend saying: “Michael there’s a bear here, it is on this side of the lake”. And there it was, a 250 pounds Grizzly not more than 10 feet away…frightened to our underwear we followed through with the recommended protocol for bear encounters in the wild…we waved our hands and begged it not to snack on us…years later I had a similar bearish encounter with a CFO at a fortune 100 company; this time waving my hands above my head was futile; we had to come up with an influence approach fast!

There is no right way, nor is there only one way to influence others. Your job requires you to influence just about all of the time. It may take the form of gaining support, inspiring others, persuading other people to become your champions, engaging someone's imagination, creating relationships.

Whatever form it takes, being an excellent influencer makes your job easier.

In this practical and insightful presentation, the audience will learn best practices for leading and influencing without authority, giving them the skills, they need to effectively persuade others, listen and engage as product leaders, lead diverse teams, and get valuable products delivered better, safer and happier.