Kissing up Like a Pro: A New Study Says How to Do It Right

Re:Kissing up Like a Pro: A New Study Says How to Do It Right by wallflower on Wednesday November 10, 2010 @12:14PM (#1891060)

This method is much more effective (in personal experience):

> Charlie [Munger] also talks about Ben Franklin working the system: "As he was rising from obscurity in Philadelphia and wanted the approval of some important man, Franklin would often maneuver that man into doing Franklin some unimportant favor, like lending Franklin a book. Thereafter, the man would admire and trust Franklin more because a nonadmired and nontrusted Franklin would be inconsistent with the appraisal implicit in lending Franklin the book."

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=145544

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Re:Kissing up Like a Pro: A New Study Says How to Do It Right by MrFlibble on Thursday November 11, 2010 @03:16AM (#1893261)

I heartily agree. Getting someone to do you a favor, even a small one, is indeed a very effective way to gain trust & build rapport. When I first learned of this concept I was skeptical, so I made a conscious effort to see if it would actually work at my job. Indeed, even a simple "could you grab me a cup of coffee while you're getting one for yourself" favor resulted (usually) in a slight uptick in the other person's perception and treatment of me.

The human psyche is pretty fascinating at times.

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