I've recently read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, in which he explores the concept of an idea as epidemic, by way of a number of case studies, from trends in footwear to teenage smoking, from crime rates in New York City to Sesame Street, from the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon (and why Rod Steiger would be a better candidate for this game) to the Ya Ya Sisterhood. He touches on many concepts and ideas you will doubtless have heard from elsewhere (e.g. Crossing the Chasm gets a mention) and brings them all together into a coherent (and entertaining) whole.
Gladwell identifies three types of people who are involved in an information epidemic: Connectors (who know lots of people in different communities), Mavens (who have a predisposition towards obtaining all information on a topic, and can then draw upon this to advise others), and Salespeople (who have a variety of persuasive techniques that can influence the way people think). Beyond this, the stickiness of the idea (i.e. do people remember it), and the context in which it is delivered all play important parts.
A fascinating note about context: the crime rate in New York City plummeted through the late 80s and early 90s, and this is (to some extent) attributed to the subway being cleaned up of all graffiti. The logic goes: “if there are graffiti, then no-one cares, no-one is in charge, no-one is here to keep order. If no-one is here to keep order, then I can happily mug people.” They re-sprayed the trains, and the crime rate fell overnight.
Another interesting note about salesman: you will be aware that a good salesman builds up a rapport with his customer, adopting similar body language, rhythms of speech etc. Once the rapport is in place, the customer will feel more at ease with the salesman, and is likely to smile when he smiles, nod when he nods etc. So far, so “heard it before” - now for the interesting bit. Researchers conducted a study whereby they claimed to be testing headphone ergonomics, and asked subjects to wear the headphones and listen to a selection of spoken passages and pieces of music, whilst either vigorously nodding or shaking their heads. When quizzed afterwards, the subjects who were nodding their heads whilst listening to the spoken passage were found to be much more in agreement with the speaker than those who shook their heads : your physical actions seem to help determine or reinforce your reaction to a message!
Of course, the (not very well) hidden subtext is that these lessons can help you in business, and enable you to market your ideas successfully, bridging the gap between the “early adopters” and “early majority” (in Chasm-speak). Apparently Malcolm Gladwell has been one of the highest paid speakers at industry events over the past few years on the strength of the buzz around this book (which is curious, as it says little which could be seen as either new or innovative). However, that the book has been so successful proves that the ideas set out in the book work. Gladwell has some Maven-like qualities (devouring all of the research, and regurgitating it in a digestible form for the business community), has compelling and persuasive writing skills (i.e. he is a Salesman), and has been interviewed by a diverse set of publications in promotion of this book (i.e. he is a Connector, which given his day job as a writer on the New Yorker is not surprising). The idea is certainly sticky (and he has certainly taken steps to make himself more sticky - witness his memorable hair, like some crazed Art Garfunkel of the 21st Century). It is hardly surprising that The Tipping Point has elegantly reached its own tipping point!
Posted by nikn