Archive for May, 2009

Top Influencers v1.05 Jeanne Achille
Posted on 29. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser Influence depends on connectedness. The advantage often goes to people who have been around a while and done a lot of different things. Being connected is of little value without a reputation for quality work and high personal standards. The more I look, the more it seems that long term influence and […]
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Top Influencers v1.04 Elaine Orler
Posted on 27. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser Influence comes partly from the person and partly from the position. It’s the intersection of audience and content. More interesting and subtle than sheer power or prestige, influence is measured by its wake. Celebrity is not enough; in many cases, celebrity actually gets in the way. While it’s not necessarily a question […]
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v1.03 Kevin Wheeler
Posted on 22. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser Influence is not an homogenous thing. There are levels of integrity, intensity and innovation. It can be peddled or it can be earned. There’s not a shortage of players who can increase sales traction for a product that is indistinguishable (at best) from its competitors. Every savvy tech person can point to […]
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v1.02 Kevin Grossman
Posted on 19. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser Influence comes in a variety of shapes and forms. In some cases, it’s nearly causal – an analyst recommends a product and a customer buys it. In others, it’s contextual – an event manager picks the slate of speakers that drives industry buzz for the next 30 days. In still others, it’s […]
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Influence Happens In A Context
Posted on 14. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser As the Top 100 Influencers project unfolds, we’re going to provide a guided tour of the industry. After all, it’s a little illy to say “these people drive the thematic rivers of our industry without being really clear about the industry itself. For starters, we’ll just get the lay of the land. […]
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Key Influencers v1.01: Naomi Bloom
Posted on 11. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser There is a profound difference between power and influence. Where power is the ability to get things done, influence is a context for doing things. Over the coming months, I am going to introduce you to a number of people who influence the HR – Recruiting Industry. I think many of the […]
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Keys to Influence
Posted on 08. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser (May 06, 2009) Recently, Neal Bruce (the product development genius at First Advantage) said, “If you want to be an HR thought leader, you should have some thoughts.” (Actually the precise quote was “thoughts are a prerequisite for thought leadership“). Sadly, his tongue was nowhere near his cheek. Much of what passes […]
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Key Influencer
Posted on 01. May, 2009 by John Sumser.
By John Sumser These days, I am trying to figure out who the influencers are in our industry, I’m trying to come up with a list of 100. Then, I’m interviewing the people on the list. The whole question of who is influential is pretty interesting. Some people go to a lot of conferences and […]