Influence Innovating

Have you experienced friction in your work? Perhaps it's when a great idea goes unrecognized. Perhaps it's when your team spends all day in endless meetings and it feels as though nothing gets done. Perhaps it's when you feel as though you just can't get through to a colleague on why a certain priority is important.

In Innovating Influence, you'll learn scientifically-proven strategies from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and organizational behavior on how to get past these common hurdles in your professional relationships. You'll learn strategies to build professional relationships to support your ideas and empower your teams to maximize success.

You'll also learn techniques from motivational interviewing to help people around you tap into their own personal motivations—even when they're at first resistant to ideas. The strategies behind motivational interviews are so powerful that they've proven effective in getting anti-vaxxers to vaccinate their children, highly prejudiced voters to reexamine their biases, and—perhaps most practical for our purposes—even to get stubborn colleagues to open their minds to new ideas.

Over the course of the 8-week class, you'll come away with strategies to build long-term and mutually beneficial relationships—and also to inspire people (including yourself) even when they're resistant or when motivation is low to get motivated to give their best performances.

Your Instructor

Matt Vassar

Core Lecturer, Stanford University

Matt Vassar empowers people in innovation to take their ideas and spread them. As a core lecturer at Stanford University, he's worked with thousands of engineering and business students to help them shape their messages and get their ideas recognized. As a coach and consultant, Matt has worked with clients from Fortune 500 Companies (like Gap), tech unicorns (like Nextdoor), and venture capital firms (like Greylock Partners). He's worked with people named to Forbes 30 under 30, founders of multi-billion dollar tech unicorns, and CEOs of major organizations.

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FAQ

  • What is the overall format of the course?

    Prerecorded course content is already available from the moment you sign up and can be reviewed on your own time. There will be exercises between sessions that you can use to practice building your influence. In addition, there will be optional weekly meetings Thursdays 7:00-8:00 PM PST beginning on Thursday, January 30th and running through Thursday, March 20th. During the optional sessions we will get together over Zoom for questions and further practice in breakout rooms. Finally, there will be an online community via a Facebook group where you can ask questions and exchange ideas 24/7 with your peers.

  • How much time will this take?

    That depends on you. The course content will be released once a week for 8 weeks. The videos will be appx. 1-2 hours of content each week with exercises that you can practice on your own for about 1 hour / week (although you're welcome to continue practicing beyond that too). If you want even more, we'll have an hour each week Thursday nights from 7:00-8:00 PM PDT that is completely optional, but will give you an opportunity to connect with Matt for group coaching. And if you want even more than that, we'll also have a Facebook group that runs 24/7 where you can ask questions and share your thoughts and ideas.

  • What are your pricing options? Do you offer a payment plan? Do you have a VIP package? Group discounts?

    Yes. The course itself is $997, or you can do a 12-month payment plan of $97 / month. You can also opt for a VIP package for $2997 that includes both the course and also 2 hours of 1-on-1 strategy calls with Matt to receive targeted advice on your specific influence situations. And we offer group discounts, so contact us if you're booking on behalf of a group.

  • How long will I have access to the course?

    How does lifetime access sound? Even after you complete the course, you'll have access to the course content and the Facebook group for life.

  • What if I get busy and can't fully participate?

    No worries. With lifetime access, you can always revisit course content whenever the timing is right for you.

  • What is your refund policy?

    If for any reason you decide this is not the right course for you, I offer a full refund within 30 days. (If you've purchased the VIP package, 1:1 coaching sessions are nonrefundable, but the portion paid for the course tuition is refundable.)

  • Could you tell me more about your background with teaching?

    Certainly. I've worked all of my adult life in education, primarily at Stanford University where I work both with students and working professionals (through the Stanford Continuing Studies Program) on presentation skills and influence. My courses are among the very most popular at Stanford and I've taught over 5,000 students over the course of my tenure. My courses and workshops have also rated among the very highest in teaching evaluations (my lifetime average is a 4.9 out of 5.0).

  • Is the course content relevant to me if I work in a corporation? What if I work as an entrepreneur?

    Yes. The strategies covered in this course will apply to relationship building and influence across all fields.

  • Will it be a problem if I don't live near you?

    Not at all. The course is 100% online and the primary vehicle for learning takes place asynchronously and on your own time.

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Group Discount

Booking on behalf of a group? Contact us for a group discount.

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