Enchantment

1. Enchantment goes beyond manipulation, creating voluntary and enduring change

Enchantment transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility. It reshapes civility into affinity. It changes skeptics and cynics into believers.

Enchantment defined. Enchantment is the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. It goes beyond simple persuasion or manipulation, aiming to create a voluntary and long-lasting change in hearts, minds, and actions. This transformation is mutually beneficial, creating a win-win situation for all parties involved.

When to use enchantment. Enchantment is particularly useful in situations that require:

• Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results
• Making difficult, infrequent decisions
• Overcoming entrenched habits
• Defying a crowd
• Proceeding despite delayed or nonexistent feedback

Ethical considerations. Enchantment should always be used ethically. Ask yourself:

• Are you asking people to do something you wouldn't do?
• Do your interests conflict with theirs?
• Have you hidden your conflicts of interest?
• Are you telling "noble lies"?
• Are you enchanting gullible people?

2. Achieve likability through genuine smile, appropriate dress, and acceptance of others

Make crow's-feet.

The power of a smile. A genuine smile, one that creates crow's-feet around the eyes, is the first step to achieving likability. This Duchenne smile, named after French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne, involves the orbicularis oculi muscle around the eyes, not just the zygomatic major muscle that controls the mouth.

Dress for success. Aim to dress equal to your audience, not superior or inferior. This communicates respect and a sense of partnership. Your clothing should also align with your message and personal brand.

Accept others. To be likable, you must accept others. Remember:

• People are not binary (all good or all bad)
• Everyone is better than you at something
• People are more similar than different
• People deserve a break

Other factors that contribute to likability include:

• Getting physically close to people
• Not imposing your values on others
• Pursuing and projecting your passions
• Finding shared passions
• Creating win-win situations
• Using appropriate language and swearing (when done right)
• Defaulting to saying "yes"

3. Build trustworthiness by trusting others, disclosing interests, and demonstrating competence

If you want people to trust you, you have to trust them.

The foundation of trust. Trustworthiness begins with trusting others first. This creates a reciprocal relationship where others are more likely to trust you in return. A prime example is Zappos, which trusts its customers with a generous return policy, leading to increased customer trust and loyalty.

Be a mensch. A mensch is someone who is honest, fair, kind, and transparent in all dealings. Some ways to achieve "menschdom":

• Always act with honesty
• Treat people who have wronged you with civility
• Fulfill unkept promises from the past
• Help someone who can be of no use to you
• Suspend blame when something goes wrong

Demonstrate competence. Knowledge and competence are crucial for building trust. This means not only knowing what to do but also doing what you know. Showcase your expertise through:

• Educational background
• Relevant work experience
• Customer references
• Certifications and awards
• Consistent delivery of results

Other trust-building strategies include:

• Disclosing your interests upfront
• Giving for intrinsic reasons
• Showing up and being responsive
• Baking a bigger pie (creating value for all)
• Positioning yourself clearly and concisely

4. Create a remarkable cause that is deep, intelligent, complete, empowering, and elegant

Crap is not.

The DICEEE framework. A great cause should possess these qualities:

• Deep: Anticipate and fulfill customer needs as they progress
• Intelligent: Solve problems in smart, innovative ways
• Complete: Provide a comprehensive experience, including service and support
• Empowering: Enable users to do new things or do old things better
• Elegant: Show care for user interface and experience

Conduct a premortem. Before launching, imagine your project has failed and identify potential reasons for failure. This exercise helps prevent problems and increases the likelihood of success. Benefits include:

• Early identification of potential issues
• Reduction of premature launches
• More creative problem-solving approaches
• Heightened sensitivity to warning signs
• Increased team participation

Remove obstacles. Make it easy for people to adopt your cause by:

• Eliminating unnecessary fees or charges
• Using simple, easy-to-remember names
• Providing clear, straightforward information
• Creating smooth paths for desired actions

5. Launch your cause with compelling stories and immersive experiences

Genuine influence goes deeper than getting people to do what you want them to do. It means people pick up where you left off because they believe.

The power of storytelling. Craft a compelling narrative around your cause using these story lines:

• Great aspirations: Heroes making the world better
• David versus Goliath: Underdogs defeating giants
• Profiles in courage: Overcoming adversity
• Personal stories: Relatable, individual experiences

Create immersive experiences. Go beyond telling stories to fully engage people:

• Enable vicarious experiences through audio, video, or virtual reality
• Recreate realistic settings that mimic actual use scenarios
• Demonstrate your product or service in action
• Anchor your cause in familiar concepts, then add a twist
• Differentiate from past experiences with novel elements

Promote trial. Encourage hands-on experience with your cause by making it:

• Easy to try without extensive training
• Immediately accessible
• Inexpensive or free to test
• Concrete in its results
• Reversible if not satisfied

Other launch strategies include:

• Priming the pump with environmental cues
• Planting many seeds (artificial dissemination)
• Asking people directly about their intentions
• Providing the right number of choices
• Illustrating salient points clearly

6. Overcome resistance by providing social proof and finding shared passions

Familiarity breeds commitment, not contempt.

The power of social proof. People are more likely to embrace something if they see others doing it. Leverage this by:

• Showing examples of others adopting your cause
• Creating the perception of ubiquity or scarcity (depending on the situation)
• Demonstrating your "magic" through behind-the-scenes looks or tours

Find shared passions. Overcome resistance by connecting on a personal level:

• Do your homework to learn about the person's interests
• Assume you have something in common and seek it out
• Look for ways to agree, even if it's just agreeing to disagree

Other resistance-busting techniques:

• Use data sets to change mindsets
• Incur a small debt (ask for a favor)
• Enchant all the influencers, not just the decision-maker
• Frame your competition strategically
• Control haptic sensations in your environment

Remember, resistance is normal and expected. Persistence and genuine connection are key to overcoming it.

7. Make enchantment endure through internalization and ecosystem building

Enchantment is a process, not an event.

The path to internalization. For enchantment to last, people must internalize your values. This process involves three stages:

1. Conformity: Initial adoption due to peer pressure or desire to belong
2. Identification: Seeing commonality and shared interests with the group
3. Internalization: Truly believing in the cause, beyond pleasing others

Build an ecosystem. Create a community around your cause to foster endurance:

• User groups: Passionate fans who provide support and enthusiasm
• Websites and blogs: Information hubs run by enthusiasts
• Consultants: Experts who help others use your product or service
• Developers: Create additional value through apps or add-ons
• Resellers: Provide convenient access and credibility
• Conferences: Gather like-minded individuals and showcase growth

Other strategies for lasting enchantment:

• Push implementation down to grassroots levels
• Use intrinsic motivators rather than extrinsic rewards
• Invoke reciprocity by giving generously
• Catalyze commitment and consistency
• Diversify your team to maintain relevance
• Promote spreadability of your ideas or products

8. Use push technology like presentations and social media to spread your message

Death is the great equalizer—we all die equal as a lump of tissue, bone, and fluid. While we're living, we need to get over ourselves and accept others if we want to enchant people.

Craft enchanting presentations. Key elements of a great presentation:

• Customize the introduction for your specific audience
• Sell your dream, not just products or services
• Think in terms of a three-act screenplay
• Use evocative visuals and minimal text
• Keep it short (10-20-30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font)
• Practice extensively
• Warm up the audience before you begin

Leverage email effectively. Tips for enchanting emails:

• Use a professional email address
• Get an introduction if possible
• Personalize the subject line
• Keep the message to six sentences or fewer
• Show you've done your homework on the recipient
• Minimize attachments
• Ask for something concrete

Master Twitter. Strategies for enchanting tweets:

• Provide informative links
• Engage manually with followers
• Use promotional content sparingly (5% of tweets)
• Make responses personal by checking profiles
• Repeat important tweets for different time zones

Remember to engage fast, engage many, engage often, use multiple media, provide value, give credit, and accept diversity across all push technologies.

9. Leverage pull technology such as websites and blogs to attract and engage

Enchanting Web sites and blogs are not brochures that tell a marketing story and seldom change.

Create compelling websites and blogs. Key elements:

• Provide valuable, frequently updated content
• Skip flashy intros and ensure fast loading times
• Use graphics and pictures to enhance engagement
• Include a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page
• Craft an informative "About" page
• Help visitors navigate easily
• Introduce your team to add a personal touch
• Optimize for various devices
• Offer multiple access methods (RSS, email, social media)

Leverage Facebook. Strategies for an enchanting Facebook presence:

• Create a welcoming landing tab
• Use Friend Lists to manage connections
• Utilize @ tags strategically
• Provide an area for fans to promote themselves
• Respond promptly and personally to fan posts
• Surprise fans with special events or content
• Offer exclusive gifts or downloads
• Engage in live chats or video streams
• Involve fans in product or content creation

Maximize LinkedIn. Tips for professional enchantment:

• Complete your profile thoroughly
• Participate in LinkedIn Answers and Groups
• Use advanced search features to make connections
• Leverage shared interests and backgrounds
• Check reputations of potential hires or employers
• Scope out companies and trends

Optimize YouTube. Strategies for enchanting videos:

• Provide intrinsic value (inspiration, entertainment, enlightenment, education)
• Keep videos short and start with a bang
• Use relevant keywords, titles, descriptions, and tags
• Encourage sharing and embedding
• Build a personal following through comments and group participation

10. Enchant employees by providing mastery, autonomy, and purpose (MAP)

Bakatare. It means "stupid" or "foolish," and it's the perfect description of people who think disenchanted employees can enchant customers.

The MAP framework. Motivate employees by providing:

• Mastery: Opportunities to improve skills and competency
• Autonomy: Freedom to work independently and make decisions
• Purpose: A meaningful reason for the organization's existence

Empower employees. Trust your team to make responsible decisions and do the right thing for customers. This builds satisfaction and enables better customer service.

Other strategies to enchant employees:

• Judge your results and others' intentions
• Address your own shortcomings first in performance reviews
• Lead by example and "suck it up" when facing challenges
• Never ask employees to do something you wouldn't do yourself
• Celebrate team successes
• Appoint a devil's advocate to encourage critical thinking
• Follow Bob Sutton's "Good Boss Manifesto"
• Regularly tell employees "We want you"

For volunteers, set ambitious goals, manage them well, enable them to fulfill their needs, ensure paid staff appreciates them, provide feedback and recognition, and offer perks like free food or branded items.

11. Enchant your boss by making them look good and delivering results

The best way to enchant your boss is to make her look good.

Prioritize your boss's success. Understanding that your success is tied to your boss's success is crucial. Make your boss look good within ethical and moral boundaries.

Respond promptly to requests. When your boss asks for something, drop everything and do it. This demonstrates your efficiency and effectiveness, even if it seems suboptimal in the short term.

Other strategies to enchant your boss:

• Underpromise and overdeliver
• Prototype your work early for feedback
• Show and broadcast progress (without antagonizing others)
• Form professional friendships throughout the organization
• Ask for mentoring
• Deliver bad news early, along with potential solutions
• Create win-win situations

Remember, enchanting your boss isn't about manipulation, but about building a mutually beneficial relationship that advances both of your careers.

12. Resist unwanted enchantment by avoiding temptation and thinking long-term

Sometimes the best way to enchant people is to make it easy for them to go with your flow.

Avoid tempting situations. The simplest way to resist unwanted enchantment is to avoid exposure to temptation. If avoidance isn't possible, delay decisions, especially when stressed or tired.

Think long-term. Ask yourself: "What will the impact of this decision be a year from now?" Consider both positive and negative outcomes in the distant future.

Other resistance strategies:

• Know your limitations and seek outside perspective
• Beware of pseudo salience, misleading data, and false experts
• Don't fall for the example of one (anecdotes aren't data)
• Defy the crowd when necessary
• Track your previous decisions and learn from them
• Allow yourself to be enchanted in small, low-risk ways
• Create a checklist for evaluating enchanting propositions

Remember, the goal isn't to resist all enchantment, but to make informed decisions that align with your best interests and values.

Last updated: January 23, 2025