Nearly Half of Americans Say Presidential Candidates Lack Influence
Study Shows 45 Percent Doubt Even Their Preferred Candidate Can
Influence Change
PROVO, Utah (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) April 1, 2008 --
A study conducted by the authors of a new bestseller on influence found
that despite candidates’ battle cries for
change, nearly half of Americans don’t believe
the current presidential hopefuls have the power to change the issues
that matter most to them.
Specifically, the three most pressing issues respondents don’t
believe candidates can change are terrorism, global warming and the
federal budget deficit.
The survey of 580 respondents also uncovered which front-runners voters
believed would be most able to achieve his or her position if elected to
office. Here’s how the candidates ranked:
-
Barack Obama: 32 percent
-
Hillary Clinton: 28 percent
-
John McCain: 27 percent
Joseph Grenny, coauthor of Influencer:
The Power to Change Anything (McGraw-Hill), says Americans’
cynicism toward the current presidential candidates is a result of
society’s inability to influence change.
“Influence is something everyone struggles
with, and powerful politicians are no exception,”
Grenny says. “Candidates will need a lot more
than inspiring rhetoric and track records of success to convince voters
they can effect real change.”
Grenny’s new book, Influencer, teaches
that creating change requires more than throwing extra resources or more
money at problems.
Grenny traveled the world to study influencers who solved major world
problems such as: preventing more than five million cases of AIDS in
Thailand; eradicating a debilitating disease in 11 countries in Africa;
and rehabilitating more than 14,000 hardened criminals. Some of these
influencers had political power behind them, most did not. But one thing
they had in common was that they used the same set of powerful skills to
bring about profound change.
“The good news is it is possible to change
persistent and resistant problems,” says
Grenny. “As soon as our political leaders can
acquire the skill set to assemble an influence strategy as big as the
problem they’re trying to tackle, they will
make change in this country inevitable and increase voters’
confidence.”
About VitalSmarts
An innovator in corporate training and organizational performance,
VitalSmarts is home to award-winning training products that deliver
powerful tools that enrich relationships and improve end results. The
company also has three New York Times bestselling books, Crucial
Conversations, Crucial
Confrontations, and Influencer.
VitalSmarts has been listed twice on the Inc. 500 list of
fastest-growing companies and has taught more than two million people
worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com
Note to editors: Joseph Grenny, coauthor of Influencer:
The Power to Change Anything, can share with your
readers/viewers the common skill set used by the world’s
greatest influencers to solve profound problems. Fact sheet with details
about the skills available upon request.
About the research: The study collected responses via online
survey tool from more than 580 individuals. Margin of error is
approximately 3 percent. Full survey results are available upon request.
MULTIMEDIA GALLERY http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5646690
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