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The Business of Belief by Tom Asacker
THIS book is an explanation of the role of belief in our lives - how beliefs are created, and how people get others to change their beliefs.
“Belief is what humans do,” says author Tom Asacker. Our beliefs shape our choices of products and services, and, collectively, determine our futures.
What you believe will determine what clothes you wear, what car you drive, what charity you support, which neighbourhood you live in, what you eat, how you pray, and who you are going to vote for next year.
We all have a powerful, personal and evolving story of who we believe we are, how we believe we should behave, and why. We already have an embedded set of beliefs, even if they are not clear to us or well articulated.
The challenge to marketers and leaders is to get people to change these strongly-held beliefs in their favour. Whether it is a product, a service or a world view, the challenge is the same, becoming part of the target market’s set of “comforting convictions”.
There are two realities that need to be factored into the process of changing others' beliefs.
The first is that we have so many choices in all areas of our lives that selecting one of many is in itself a daunting task. The second is that we have become very distrusting and easily distracted, so that simply securing our attention is difficult.
It is no longer enough to simply have people know about your product or service or ideas. We need to go beyond knowledge to have an impact that will make them choose us, support us, work with us, and recommend us. We need people to believe.
The difficulty is compounded by the fact that our minds do not reflect reality like a mirror; rather, reality is a reconstruction based on what we believe already. What we believe already comes from so many sources: snippets of conversations we do not consciously remember, experiences long forgotten and adverts only subliminally heard.
When what we hear clashes with what we already believe, we happily reinterpret the new idea, dismiss it, or rearrange it to fit our beliefs. Henny Youngman, the violinist and comedian, said: “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.”
Our brains select and modify all input and make our own, subjective sense of things. When we cannot easily connect the dots and form a credible picture, we invent dots until it forms a coherent picture.
“Our minds crave consistency in our beliefs and behaviors. We want to appear logical, to ourselves and to others. And when faced with evidence which contradicts our beliefs, our minds work to eliminate the psychological discomfort,” Asacker explains.
He uses a clever image to describe the process changing beliefs. Changing a belief is like crossing a long and rickety footbridge stretched above a deep chasm. To cross it requires a reason and evidence that it is worth the risk.
Skilled marketers and leaders know how to motivate people to cross a new bridge, to change their beliefs and behaviour. This cannot be achieved by trying to command or cajole people.
Instead, skilled marketers and leaders guide them to a new destination, a new way of feeling, thinking and acting that is aligned to their personal desires and values.
Before you can lead people, you have to know where they want to go.
As the marketer or leader sees the people inching their way across the bridge of belief, they need to understand that it is a delicate process. You cannot force them forward, and you do not want them to become distracted or suspicious. You need to acknowledge their feelings.
To allay fear, we need to make everything appear familiar, comforting, and easy to interpret and accept. It is for this reason that Apple makes every product intuitive, so easy to use that there is no need for a manual. The marketing for the iPad proclaimed: “You already know how to use it.”
When we investigate a product and find confusing information, we walk away. Great leaders simplify the belief process by eliminating difficulties and competing options on our attention. They work really hard to make belief really easy.
People are drawn across the bridge of belief by their anticipation of something better, whether it is a better experience or a better life. Napoleon described a leader as “a dealer in hope.”
In 1988 Chileans were asked to vote for or against the extension of the rule of their military dictator, General Augusto Pinochet. The opposition countered with "hope”, an uplifting vision of Chile’s future. “Chile, happiness is coming!”
This is a light and too easily digested book. It is worth reading slowing and reflectively.
Readability: Light -+--- Serious
Insights: High +---- Low
Practical: High ---+- Low
- Fin24
* Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy. Views expressed are his own.
THIS book is an explanation of the role of belief in our lives - how beliefs are created, and how people get others to change their beliefs.
“Belief is what humans do,” says author Tom Asacker. Our beliefs shape our choices of products and services, and, collectively, determine our futures.
What you believe will determine what clothes you wear, what car you drive, what charity you support, which neighbourhood you live in, what you eat, how you pray, and who you are going to vote for next year.
We all have a powerful, personal and evolving story of who we believe we are, how we believe we should behave, and why. We already have an embedded set of beliefs, even if they are not clear to us or well articulated.
The challenge to marketers and leaders is to get people to change these strongly-held beliefs in their favour. Whether it is a product, a service or a world view, the challenge is the same, becoming part of the target market’s set of “comforting convictions”.
There are two realities that need to be factored into the process of changing others' beliefs.
The first is that we have so many choices in all areas of our lives that selecting one of many is in itself a daunting task. The second is that we have become very distrusting and easily distracted, so that simply securing our attention is difficult.
It is no longer enough to simply have people know about your product or service or ideas. We need to go beyond knowledge to have an impact that will make them choose us, support us, work with us, and recommend us. We need people to believe.
The difficulty is compounded by the fact that our minds do not reflect reality like a mirror; rather, reality is a reconstruction based on what we believe already. What we believe already comes from so many sources: snippets of conversations we do not consciously remember, experiences long forgotten and adverts only subliminally heard.
When what we hear clashes with what we already believe, we happily reinterpret the new idea, dismiss it, or rearrange it to fit our beliefs. Henny Youngman, the violinist and comedian, said: “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.”
Our brains select and modify all input and make our own, subjective sense of things. When we cannot easily connect the dots and form a credible picture, we invent dots until it forms a coherent picture.
“Our minds crave consistency in our beliefs and behaviors. We want to appear logical, to ourselves and to others. And when faced with evidence which contradicts our beliefs, our minds work to eliminate the psychological discomfort,” Asacker explains.
He uses a clever image to describe the process changing beliefs. Changing a belief is like crossing a long and rickety footbridge stretched above a deep chasm. To cross it requires a reason and evidence that it is worth the risk.
Skilled marketers and leaders know how to motivate people to cross a new bridge, to change their beliefs and behaviour. This cannot be achieved by trying to command or cajole people.
Instead, skilled marketers and leaders guide them to a new destination, a new way of feeling, thinking and acting that is aligned to their personal desires and values.
Before you can lead people, you have to know where they want to go.
As the marketer or leader sees the people inching their way across the bridge of belief, they need to understand that it is a delicate process. You cannot force them forward, and you do not want them to become distracted or suspicious. You need to acknowledge their feelings.
To allay fear, we need to make everything appear familiar, comforting, and easy to interpret and accept. It is for this reason that Apple makes every product intuitive, so easy to use that there is no need for a manual. The marketing for the iPad proclaimed: “You already know how to use it.”
When we investigate a product and find confusing information, we walk away. Great leaders simplify the belief process by eliminating difficulties and competing options on our attention. They work really hard to make belief really easy.
People are drawn across the bridge of belief by their anticipation of something better, whether it is a better experience or a better life. Napoleon described a leader as “a dealer in hope.”
In 1988 Chileans were asked to vote for or against the extension of the rule of their military dictator, General Augusto Pinochet. The opposition countered with "hope”, an uplifting vision of Chile’s future. “Chile, happiness is coming!”
This is a light and too easily digested book. It is worth reading slowing and reflectively.
Readability: Light -+--- Serious
Insights: High +---- Low
Practical: High ---+- Low
- Fin24
* Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy. Views expressed are his own.
