Compel: How to Get Others in Your Organization to Think and Act Differently

By Robert D. Gilbreath

Advance praise for Compel : "For over thirty years, Mr. Gilbreath has wowed audiences with his dynamic presentations and influential books. For the first time, he is pulling away the curtain and revealing the underlying dynamics that have made him one of the most compelling speakers and authors of our generation." -Howard Drutman, PhD, clinical psychologist "Spend time with Bob Gilbreath and you'll see what 'compelling' looks like in person. Read this book and you'll see what it looks like on paper. In years past, Bob and I have shared the podium, coauthored a handbook, laughed hard, and had great fun working together. I've never had a more powerful thinking partner, and you won't find a more authoritative voice on how you can become more compelling yourself." -Price Pritchett, PhD, coauthor of High-Velocity Culture Change "There are very few writers who can do what Bob Gilbreath does: take on this topic with proven experience and heartfelt, genuine intent. This book is compelling, offering literally hundreds of practical ideas to implement in everyday management situations." -Robin Jones, PhD, Global Business Strategy Leader, IBM Business Consulting Services "I have worked with Bob many times in my thirty-six-year professional consulting career. His presence and his ideas have always been compelling, and now I know why! If you need to get important things accomplished with and through others, this is the book for you. Be sure to have pen and paper ready from the start." -John D. Smith, former partner, Accenture

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470051450
• ISBN13: 9780470051450
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

I like this book!

I think there's something wrong with the Cover Jacket Design, and probably with the Title! This book deserve more that the few review and (probably) sales! The writer is a very successful speaker, but most probably the not a good marketers? i m not sure, but i think this is a GREAT BOOK with GOOD CONTENT. I came across when opening several books and i was still unsure about this one, but there are no other books i can pick, so i bough this one, and it turn out to be a great book that i like very much. There are only 201 pages with large fonts and not cramfull of printed letters but the insight and ideas are great. The book is about how to get others to act differently to affect a much better outcomes. I like the MESSAGE, about how we should use the message in a communication to make other do the way we want them to. Some biased in how people like to be persuaded, like: Simple over complex, powerful over weak, direct over subtle, predictable over possible, necessary over optimal, scare over abundant, want over need etc will make you a better communicator. There are 4 chapters: MESSAGE, REACTION, GROUPTHINK and WITNESSING. I found golds scatter around that i can use, even that the whole book is not really that well narrated into one flow. But all in all this is a great book that will help you compel others.

Not What I Expected...But Better

With a title like 'Compel' and a man leading a donkey on the cover I guess I thought I was in for a manual on how to bludgeon my staff into submission or possibly how to hoodwink others into doing my will. What I got was a rather eccletic but readable and insightful set of how to steps on leading, inspiring, and guiding others to change themselves. How many business books these days can cite the Talmud, Kahil Gibran, Thoreau, Picasso, Camus, Quintus Aurelium Symmanchus, and Dante -- all without seeming pretentious, strained, or misplaced? Bob's recommendations on how to move others in your direction is both folksy and far-sighted; he interweaves many vignettes from professional experience and historical happenstance to elucidate his points. I particularly like the analogy of the long distance runner and the effect of personal timepieces - that is one of those interesting factoids that, once learned, seems almost common sense but helps those of us searching for effective means of continuous feedback to search for better metrics. If you are looking for a primer on how to motivate and lead others in a new direction, this is a must read prior to launching the effort. One note of quibbling - I am not sure I agree with Bob's discussion of the 'Dark side of simplification' as I think he reduces the argument ad absurdum.

Insightful and effective

I am typically disappointed by business books that present a theory and some related anecdotes about the theory in 'action'. But, Bob Gilbreath's book provides real world application advice about how to 'compel' others to follow your lead. This book is geared toward people who are faced with the daily challenge of getting people to move in a desired direction, and if you are at all tasked to lead people (large groups or small) - this book is for you. --Tim Galpin

Gilbreath on target again!

I found this to be Bob Gilbreath's best book since "Forward Thinking." He gives sound advice on how to really be successful in the business world. Many an MBA has foundered in the real world due to the lack of this essential skill. (I could very well be one of them.) Being intelligent, articulate,and well educated is a good start. But being compelling is what puts the winners over the top. This book entertains and informs. I highly recommend it for everyone's personal business library. Keep it for yourself, don't tell your friends. Let it be your secret weapon!

REAL-WORLD INSIGHTS

Few business books could be described as fun to read, but Bob Gilbreath's newest offering entertains while providing nuts-and-bolts advice on how to thrive in business (and in life) by getting others to follow your lead. This book isn't a flakey meditation on some abstract concept of "leadership," nor is it a textbookish tome designed to impress management professors. Instead, it's accessible, real-world insights from today's most interesting business guru. The chapter on the Change Curve, a seemingly simple yet undeniably profound management tool that Gilbreath has used for years, is worth the price of the book. --Randy Noles