Everyone knows that there is something deeper than behavior that matters a lot.
Coworkers, employees, parents, children, clients—we all know this. Some call it motivation,
others call it attitude. For some it is presence, for others, authenticity.
Everyone knows that when this deeper thing, whatever it is, is off in some way—when one's
attitude is poor, for example, or when one is not being authentic with others—this deep
deficiency undercuts the effectiveness of everything that we do. Our teenagers won't listen
to us even when our advice is good, for example, and our coworkers resist our efforts even
when we think we are trying to help! In such cases, our influence seems to amount to nothing.
So this deeper matter—whatever it is—matters. It matters to us, and it matters to those with
whom we interact. It matters a lot.
The trouble is, as important as this deeper thing is, most people lack clarity about what it is,
and how to change it even in ourselves, much less in others.
This introduction to the work of The Arbinger Institute introduces a language that illuminates
this deeper level of human experience. Fully understood, this language allows us to think as
precisely about (and change) the deeper matters as our everyday language equips us to think
about (and change) outward behavior. Such deep change changes everything—attitude, influence,
relationships, life.
And it all starts by understanding a single, most important, choice.
