Steve Martin

But it’s what he discovered about how to win over respect

of his opposition—by inconveniencing them, no less—that might be most electrifying of all.35

Franklin himself best explains how he successfully won his respect and even his friendship

He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged

Was Franklin’s strategy, as illogical as it sounds, supported? Indeed it was. Jecker and Landy found that those who were asked to do the favor for the experimenter rated the experimenter more favorably than did those who were not asked to give back the money

Why? We know from other studies that people are strongly motivated to change their attitudes in ways that are consistent with their behavior

Franklin’s strategy lends itself to managing relationships in any number of different environments. To take one, often we are in need of assistance from a coworker, colleague, or neighbor who, for one reason or another, doesn’t view us in a particularly favorable light. We might be reluctant to ask for the favor because we’re afraid this person will like us even less. Rather than ask for such a favor, a more typical tendency is to put off the request, potentially delaying a timely accomplishment of the task at hand. The results of this research indicate that such hesitation is unwarranted

If you currently have nothing to show from your communications (or noncommunications) with this person, the worst thing that will happen is that you’ll end up with the same nothing. Try it. You truly have nothing to lose

Presumably a very little person first said, “Good things come in small packages.” Whoever coined the phrase, it’s clear that this person understood the power of thinking big by going smal

We thought that when asked to make a donation, even