Positively Persuasive (HBR OnPoint Collection)

HBR OnPoint collections save you time by synthesizing and distilling the essence of three Harvard Business Review articles that, together, help you meet a specific management challenge. One-page overviews draw out the main points. Annotated bibliographies point you to related resources. Original HBR articles included. Capture your audience! Convert your opponents! Secure consensus! The seemingly magical power to persuade has always been important-but it's critical now, with flatter management structures, cross-functional teams, and intercompany partnerships. Everyone-whether a leader or individual contributor-must be able to influence. But persuasion doesn't mean begging, cajoling, or manipulating. Quite the contrary, it's how we get things done through others-no matter who we are. The secret behind persuasion has long captured management theorists' attention. Is persuasion art? Science? A blend of both? Are the best persuaders born that way, or can the rest of us hope to master this elusive ability? This Harvard Business Review OnPoint Collection reveals that, yes, persuasion is an art that does come more naturally to some-but it's also grounded in basic scientific, practical, and learnable principles. That's good news for those of us with no formal power-or only a whisper of charisma. The three Harvard Business Review articles in this collection: "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini (HBR reprint R0109D), "The Necessary Art of Persuasion" by Jay A. Conger (HBR reprint 98304), "Breakthrough Bargaining" by Deborah M. Kolb and Judith Williams (HBR reprint R0102F).