Why You Cant Kill a Bad Habit with a Magic Bullet

V I TA L S M A R T S R E S E A R C H

THE SIX SOURCES OF

INFLUENCE
Use four or more of these sources of influence
to change bad habits:
1. Personal Motivation overcome your
own reluctance and resistance
2. Personal Ability learn how to master
the necessary skills for success
3. Social Motivation enlist help from
leaders or other opinion leaders
4. Social Ability leverage teamwork
5. Structural Motivation reward your
early successes
6. Structural Ability surround yourself
with a supportive physical environment

ABOUT THE RESEARCH. The study

collected responses via an online survey of
1,068 individuals in December of 2007. Margin
of error is approximately 3%.

LEARN NEW SKILLS. To learn how

Influencer Training can help you change your
bad habits, visit www.vitalsmarts.com or call
1.800.449.5989.

According to our study of more than 1,000 people, 98 percent of Americans fail to
change their bad behaviors. But most importantly, the study reveals why the other two

those who use four or more influence

strategies to change bad habits are four times more
likely to succeed.
percent succeed

The survey also revealed that the

reason most people give up on
changing their bad behaviors is
because their approach usually
consists of only one magic bullet
solutiona trend proven by the $23
billion Americans spend annually on
diet pills (The Diet Drug Report, 2007).
The key to real change is to guarantee
success by leveraging as many
strategies of influence as you can.

KEY RESULTS

98%

of people fail when making

resolutions to change bad behaviors

Those who use

or more influence
strategies to change bad habits are four times
more likely to succeed

For example, one respondent demonstrated how, after decades of struggling to lose weight,
she increased her physical activity and changed her life when she marshaled multiple sources
of influence.
I was inactive for many years. After a serious health condition almost took my life, I knew I had
to change my ways. I changed everything about my life to make exercise a very high priority. I
started working part time instead of full time. I made time to exercise before work. I changed my
diet by bringing my lunch to work. I put my house on a diet and made an agreement with my
family to keep bad food out. I engaged my husband in the effort and he agreed to watch the kids
while I worked out. Since I changed the influences in my life, I have not only lost the weight but
also kept it off.
An innovator in corporate training and leadership development, VitalSmarts combines three decades
of original research with 50 years of the best social science thinking to help leaders and organizations
change human behavior and achieve new levels of performance. VitalSmarts has identified four highleverage skill sets that, when used in combination, create healthy corporate cultures. These skills are
taught in the Companys award-winning training programs and New York Times bestselling books of the
same titles: Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability, Influencer, and Change Anything. VitalSmarts
has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and trained more than one million people
worldwide. www.vitalsmarts.com