Influence 2 Part 4 Emily May 2026

Your integrity isn’t in your warmth. It’s in your awareness.

The danger isn’t malice. It’s automation. Your brain shortcuts: “I like them → I trust them → I say yes.”

We’ve all heard it: “People buy from people they like.” influence 2 part 4 emily

In Part 4, Emily shares a quiet story: a manager who kept promoting a well-liked underperformer because “everyone wanted him on the team.” Liking overrode competence. Sound familiar?

Here’s what she wants you to understand. Your integrity isn’t in your warmth

It sounds warm, fuzzy, and harmless. But in Influence, Chapter 2, Part 4 , Emily pulls back the curtain on the Liking principle—and her take is sharper, darker, and more useful than the typical “just be friendly” advice.

Her point: Liking isn’t a leadership tool—it’s a cognitive bias. And when you don’t name it, it runs the table. It’s automation

Emily argues that we rarely notice when we’re agreeing with someone because we like them, rather than because their logic is sound. That charismatic coworker? That charming salesperson? That influencer who feels like a friend? You’re not just being social—you’re being influenced.