Influence and Impact: Discover and Excel at What Your Organization Needs from You the Most
Bill Berman and George Bradt
Wiley (June 2021)

What your organization REALLY wants from you may not be what you think it is

According to Bill Berman and George Bradt, they wrote this book in order to help their readers to increase the impact they have on others — their influence — in ways that result in a significant  or major effect on their manager, their team, and their organization. “This is the key to professional success in organizations: Doing the job that is needed, in the way that is needed, consistently and effectively.” They explain how and why “developing an enhanced focus, one that is “delivered in a manner that is aligned with with what their job is, invariably results in more influence with other people, and a larger impact on the organization and the mission.”

The business world today is much more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous than it was at any prior time that I can remember. That is true of the global competitive marketplace and it is also true of the workplace environment.

Years ago in his classic work, Future Shock (published in 1970), Alvin Toffler suggests, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” I am convinced that only those organizations and individuals that have the literacy to which Toffler refers will have decisive influence and impact.

Hence the unique importance of this book. In it, Bill Berman and George Bradt provide an abundance of invaluable information, insights, and counsel that can help those who read it to do “the job that is needed, in the way that is needed, consistently and effectively.” One key to the success of those efforts is effective collaboration between and among those involved.

Also, here is excellent advice to keep in mind, framed in an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”