In business, the extremely successful business is one whose product or service appeals to a widely perceived need (whether real or manufactured) and can be quickly and efficiently scaled up if and when demand explodes. There is nothing worse in business than to create or identify a need and then not be able to satisfy demand.
The same can be said about ideas or concepts. Every now and then I stumble across one that is instantly recognizable as correct in every way imaginable. Its simplicity is often deceiving because the deeper you dig, the more applications it can be applied to. It screams truth and is self evident and the more you think about it, the more you see. And it is scalable to infinity.
In my view, the entire purpose of the ZH blog is to expose the lies of the Ponzi and to speak truth to power. There are endless comments (including mine) bemoaning the fact that so many people are either ignorant or in denial of the truth. I suspect the vast majority of us would like to see a movement of some sort to throw the bums out and bring sanity back into vogue. But how do you do this?
This extremely short Ted Talk video by Derek Sivers is remarkable in its power, delivered in pictures and words. Watch it twice, then watch it again. During the first viewing, watch the video in the background as Derek speaks. Feel the power of what you are seeing. During the second viewing, focus solely on what Derek is saying. Think about how to apply this in dozens of ways. Then watch it the third time for the shear joy of the experience.
If I were to condense this idea down to the 30 second elevator pitch, it would be as follows. During the critical first moments of a budding populist movement, it's not the leader who's most crucial but the first follower, who validates the leader, and the second follower, who validates the first. Herd mentality can work both ways.
http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html
Same video, different location.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg
And another derivative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPShQ_hVJqY&feature=related
Be public. Be easy to follow.
Cognitive Dissonance 4-2-2010
