David T. Fagan: The Icon Influence Factor, What’s Your Number?

Influence can be a funny thing. You can actually accomplish more when you understand peoples’ Influence Factor. Want to know your number, your Icon Influence Factor number?

Answer these questions below. If you value each answer from 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest “yes,” you will have your Icon Influence Factor. (There is a more scientific way to determine this, but this is the quickest and most simple way for the purpose of a “quick read.”)

1. Are you knowledgeable in general or in specific answers? Having the answers is important.
2. Do you have a following, a group of fans or a lot of powerful friends? Who you know is essential.
3. Do you have the ability to make someone money or save someone money? The more money the better.
4. Are you intriguing, fascinating, and cool in some unique way? Sounds odd I know, but it’s the power of the Peacock.
5. Do people copy you when it comes to food, dress, music, or movies? The cool factor relates to the Icon Influence Factor.
6. Are you healthy? Health can be sensed by others and has been valued forever.
7. Do you have high energy, charisma, and the ability to make people laugh? The ability to entertain is paramount.
8. Do you have money? Money buys almost everything and someone who has it can do a lot.
9. Are you good with technology? Quite simply, it is its own language, and those that can speak it have a future.
10. Are you an effective communicator? You can’t have everything, but if you can’t sell your ideas and listen to understand, you’re useless.

People like Oprah, Trump, Cuban, Orman, Robbins, Gates, Jolie, Buffet, and Branson must be in the 90’s. These people are all on my Icon Power Rankings.  I think it’s pretty respectable to be in the 70’s. I also suppose your number can be relative to your geographic area, or even your industry.

Influence is all about what you can do for others. The more you can do for people the more influential you are. People will listen to and follow people of authority. That authority can be earned through your accomplishments, given to you through a connection, or in some cases purchased with money.

I believe most of society is only in the 30’s and 40’s.

People with higher numbers very rarely follow people with lower numbers … or at least not for very long. As leaders, many times we need to recruit people while on our journey to greatness. Just know that if you want to lead leaders then you must have a high Icon Influence Factor! Otherwise you are just leading losers. Kind of harsh, huh? The truth is, people are never losers or failures. Losing and failing are events; they are not people. Unfortunately, sometimes people come to accept these states of losing and failing.

What’s the saying… “It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you work with turkeys.”

Every person, every organization, and every movement requires others to take action; it all comes down to just how influential they are.

Just as your factor can fly up, it can also fall down. Every day it’s a work in progress. So what’s your number?