6 Principles:

1. Simplicity

Prioritization rescues people from the quicksand of decision angst, and that’s why finding the core is so valuable. Put the core right up front.

I.e: Southwest: “THE low cost airline”, local newspaper: “Names, names, names”

Simple = Core + Compact

Tap the existing memory terrain of the audience. Use analogies or high-concept pitches. For instance to describe Alien it would be “Jaws on a spaceship”.

Proverbs are the holy Grail of simplicity.

2. Unexpected

How do I get people attention? How do I keep it?

Surprise: sticky ideas propose surprising facts: “The great wall of China is the only man-made structure visible from space!” Urban legends…

Interest: keeps your attention. Conspiracy theories, gossip, etc keep us interested.

Surprise: for instance commercials for automobile safety. It is unexpected since it violates our preconceived schema in our brain. Surprise is triggered when our schemas fail, and it prepares us why the failure occurred.

Good process to make ideas stickier:

1. Identify the central message you need to communicate – finding the core
2. Figure out what is counterintuitive about the message – what are the unexpected implications of your core message, why isn’t it already happening naturally
3. Communicate your message in a way that breaks your audience’s guessing machines along the critical, counterintuitive dimension. Then, once their guessing machines have failed, help them refine their machines

By creating mystery at the start of the class, return to it during the lecture, and reveal the answer at the end.

The “Gap theory” of curiosity: curiosity happens when we feel a gap in our knowledge. To take away the pain of ignorance we need to fill the knowledge gap. The gap theory relies on our ability to point out things that people.

One complication is that people tend to think they know a lot. Making people commit to a prediction can help prevent overconfidence. “Concept testing”, by the simple act of committing to an answer makes the students more engaged and more curious about the outcome. Overconfident people are more likely to recognize a knowledge gap when they realize that others disagree with them. To increase this effect the discussion should be designed to produce disagreements about the right answer.

As we gain more information we are more and more likely to focus on what we don’t know. i.e: Someone who knows the state capitol of 17 of 50 states may be proud of her knowledge. But someone who knows 47 may be more likely to think or herself as not knowing of herself as not knowing 3 capitals. Curiosity comes from gaps in our knowledge. Knowledge gaps create interests.

3. Concrete

Concrete language helps people, especially, novices, understand new concepts. Concrete ideas are easier to remember. Learning by experimenting it: example of the class teacher that separates blue eyes from brown eyes children to explain racism.

4. Credible

A person’s knowledge of details is often a good proxy for her expertise. Concrete details and statistics lend credibility to the authorities that provide them. Demonstration is the final twist, to make the data meaningful to the listeners. The point is to hit people in the gut.

The Sinatra Test: “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere”

5. Emotional

Mother Theresa: “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.”

For people to take action, they have to care. Appeal to self-interest: “the secret of how to betaller”, “Retire at 55”… Project the future benefits to the consumers not the attributes of the products. Appeal to identity: interest for the group: “What’s in it for my group?”. Keep asking “why?” helps us to remind us of the core values, the core principles, that underlie our ideas. Create empathy for specific individuals. Show how our ideas are associated with things that people already care about. We appeal to their self-interest but also to their identities – not only to the people they are right now but also to the people they would like to be.

6. Stories

Get people to act. Stories as simulation (tell people how to act). Stories as inspiration (give people energy to act). Tell as springboard story: a story that helps people how an existing problem might change.

Goal Setting
DETERMINE YOUR BUY-IN OBJECTIVE
What action do you want your audience to take regarding your idea, proposal, product, service, or organization?

First Step
ESTABLISH YOUR STRATEGIC STORYLINE
To generate the action you want, what is the “big picture” or vision of a positive future you want your audience to see?

Second Step
DEVELOP YOUR STORYLINE IN 3 CHAPTERS THAT TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE’S AGENDA
What are this particular audience’s needs, wants, and future goals?
In the future you are projecting, what are the 3 most important ways in which this audience’s agenda will be fulfilled?

Third Step
CALL YOUR AUDIENCE TO ACTION
Ask for commitment of first step toward the action you want

            

Example of the Battle of Cannae, Italy, 216 b. JC

This battle is considered as a master piece of military strategy. The troops of Hannibal had to struggle with a 50% numerical inferiority over the Roman troops. They won the battle with few losses. Hannibal asked himself the right questions, created the right the strategy and won the battle.

The Romans used their usual strategy: a compact rectangular army, with the spears pointed to their enemies in front, and shields protecting the legion.

Hannibal drew up his least reliable infantry in a semicircle in the center with the wings composed of the Gallic and Numidian horse. The Roman legions forced their way through Hannibal’s weak center, but the Libyan Mercenaries in the wings, his best soldiers, swung around by the movement, menaced their flanks. The onslaught of Hannibal’s cavalry was irresistible, and Hasdrubal who commanded the left, pushed in the Roman right and then swept across the rear and attacked Varro’s cavalry on the Roman left. Then he attacked the legions from behind. As a result, the Roman army was hemmed in with no means of escape.

Due to these brilliant tactics, Hannibal, with much inferior numbers, managed to surround and destroy all but a small remainder of this force. Depending upon the source, it is estimated that 50,000-70,000 Romans were killed or captured at Cannae.

“It is vital in war to attack the enemy’s strategy” – Sun Tzu

Process of questioning:

• What is the enemy’s strategy?
  It is necessary to know the enemy: what are his possibilities? What are his intentions?
• What is the enemy’s weakness?
  How can I attack its strategy?
• Depending of his weakness, how can I exploit it?
  The solution should make in sort that the enemy, by applying his strategy, contributes to his failure. More he applies his strategy more he loses.

To obtain this result, we have to consider 3 principles:

• How can I concentrate my efforts in order to achieve the goal?
• How can I maintain my liberty of action?
• How can I save my forces considering the 2 first questions?

“If you leverage the intrinsic motivation of creative workers by stimulating their minds and minimizing hassles; if you raze barriers between managers by ensuring that your managers are creatives, too; if you tap into the creative talents of your customers instead of looking just to your nurture long-term relationships with users and employees alike, you will increase your creative capital manifold.” Says Richard Florida and Jim Goodnight in their article Managing for Creativity.

I used to have classes at night during my MBA program. Therefore I saw so many students doing the same ritual during the break: buying a bottle of water at the vending machine. It amazed me, as a French, to see that so many people in the US were willing to spend about $1.50 / $2 for a bottle of Aquafina or a bottle of Dasani. Let me explain why.

The water in a bottle of Aquafina or Dasani is purified water (it’s written on the bottle), which means that the water sold $1.50 is basically tap water in a bottle. So basically when buying one of these bottles, you don’t really buy the water, which has no value, or not even one cent, but in fact the packaging. People pay $1.50 for a packaging. Even worse next to the vending machine there were the restrooms and tap water outside, which meant FREE WATER! Furthermore a bottle of water is as much expensive as a bottle of Coke or Pepsi, the colas use the same water as the one contained in a bottle of Dasani but added with sugar and other ingredients. So to me a bottle of Coke has more value than a bottle of tap water and therefore should have a higher price.

So my conclusion is that people definitely buy the packaging. In fact they buy the bottles because of:

• Comfort: people don’t have to carry a bottle during the day
• Convenience: it’s easy to find a vending machine everywhere
• Peace of mind: people feel safe by buying a new bottle, free of any bacteria

For the story, each week during my MBA I used to take an empty bottle of Aquafina and filling it up before the class with the fresh tap water right next to the vending machine. I never got sick and I am still alive today. I know that the argument of the risk of getting sick is a strong argument but I please you to read this article. This article describes the failure of Dasani in the UK and how Dasani by purifying its water got the consumers sick.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/03/25/uk.dasani/

Loïc Bonnaillie

1. Establish credibility

The first hurdle persuaders must overcome is their own credibility. A persuader can’t advocate a new or contrarians position without having people wonder. Can we trust this individual’s perspectives and opinions? Such a reaction is understandable. In the workplace, credibility grows out of two sources: expertise and relationships. People are considered
to have high levels of expertise if they have a history of sound judgment or have proven themselves knowledgeable and well informed about their proposals. People who are known to be honest, steady, and reliable have an edge when going into any persuasion situation.

2. Frame for common ground

Even if your credibility is high, your position must still appeal strongly to the people you are trying to persuade. After all, few people will jump on board a train that will hire them to ruin or even build discomfort. Effective persuaders must be adept at describing their positions in terms that illuminate their advantages.

Remember: Numbers do not make an emotional impact, but stories and vivid language do.

3. Connect emotionally

Good persuaders are aware of the primacy of emotions and are responsive to them in two important ways. First, they show their own emotional commitment to the position they are advocating. Effective persuaders have a strong and accurate sense of their audience’s emotional state, and they adjust the tone of their arguments accordingly.

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The post was inspired by the article The necessary Art of Persuasion written by Jay A. Conger, published in the HBR of May/June 1998

What’s the secret to elevating a packaging to iconic status?

The concept of designing an iconic package, a package that, in its essence, becomes a signature part of the overall brand, has become something of a holy grail for brand managers and package designers these days.
The stories of their origins many times sound like beautiful accidents. It just happened that their design, not to mention the taste of the product inside them, hit a nerve with the public. That spark grew over time into loyalty, and even nostalgia.
Newer brands don’t have the luxury of age, but they do have plenty of data to show what works and what doesn’t in the overcrowded arena of the grocery store shelf. Still, there’s no flawless science to designing a package that will become a truly essential part of the brand.

                  1. They’re simple
Iconic packages steer away from the ornate and opt for strong, simple shapes and graphics. “The really iconic packages, like Coke or Campbell’s, stand out for their distinctiveness and simplicity.” Says Andy Gutowski.

          2. They use bold, basic colors
Packages that stand out in consumers’ minds tend to be ones that adopt a simple, contrasting color palette that doesn’t introduce too many accent colors or competing elements. That a consumer can recall without thinking twice that the Kraft macaroni and cheese box is blue and yellow, the Q-tips dispenser blue and white, the Tide bottle orange and yellow means the core colors work together successfully to trigger consumers’ memories.

              3. They dare to be different
Package design is a tough balance. On one hand, a brand doesn’t want to stand out too much basic sameness in package design within a category is safe and puts competing products on the same level. But iconic packages are ones that “had the courage to step away from category cues,” says Rob Wallace, managing partner at Wallace Church, a New York-based brand identity and packaging design firm. With some slight but meaningful change, these packages gain an edge by becoming even more memorable and distinctive at the shelf.

          4. They know when to hold them and when to fold them

Recognizing when they have a sure thing on their hands, the brand managers have protected the package’s core design over the years, refusing to veer from their course in the face of fads and competition. They acknowledge when a light refresh or cleanup of the package architecture is necessary to keep a brand relevant and easy to shop, but they do the work to keep the emotional integrity of the iconic package intact. Deciding what and how much to change can be tricky, but in the end consumers must be left with the impression that they’re still buying their beloved product in its familiar old package, even if the package has been modernized and made more accessible.

            5. They contain exceptional products
A package’s design can hit a home run, but if consumers don’t love and have emotional connections with the food or beverage inside it, the chemistry rarely works. “When you have a simple, distinctive package with a great product, you have a winner,” says Gutowski.

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This post is based on the article Isn’t It Iconic? written by Stacey King Gordon for the Brand Packaging Magazine.

Coleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision – are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.

Self-awareness
It is to “know thyself”. Self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives. Leaders are honest – with themselves and with others.
How can one recognize self-awareness? People with high self-awareness are able to speak accurately and openly-although not necessarily effusively or confessionally about their emotions and the impact they have on their work.

Self-Regulation
It is the component of emotional intelligence that frees us from being prisoners of our feelings. Why does self-regulation matter so much for leaders? First of all, people who are in control of their feelings and impulses-that is, people who are reasonable – are able to create an environment of trust and fairness.

Motivation
The motivated persons are driven to achieve beyond expectations- their own and everyone else’s. The first sign is a passion for the work itself-such people seek out creative challenges, love to learn, and take great pride in a job well done. Interestingly, people with high motivation remain optimistic even when the score is against them.

Empathy
Empathy is particularly important today as a component of leadership for at least three reasons: the increasing use of teams; the rapid pace of globalization; and the growing need to retain talent. Cross-cultural dialogue can easily lead to miscues and misunderstandings. Empathy is an antidote. People who have it are attuned to subtleties in body language; they can hear the message beneath the words being spoken. Beyond that, they have a deep understanding of both the existence and the importance of cultural and ethnic differences.

Social Skill
Social skill is friendliness with a purpose: moving people in the direction you desire, whether that’s agreement on a new marketing strategy or enthusiasm about a new product. Socially skilled people may at times appear not to be working while at work. They seem to be idly schmoozing-chatting in the hallways with colleagues or joking around with people who are not even connected to their “real” jobs. But in fact, they build bonds widely because they know that in these fluid times, they may need help someday from people they are just getting to know today.

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This post is based on the article What makes a leader? written by Baniel Coleman, published in the HBR of January 2004.