Seth Godin
It's
tempting to seek to change just one person at a time. After all, if you fail,
no one will notice.
It's also tempting to try to change
everyone. But of course, there really is no everyone, not any more. Too
much noise, too many different situations and narratives. When you try to
change everyone, you're mostly giving up.
The third alternative is where real
impact happens: Finding a cohort of people who want to change together.
Organizing them and then teaching and
leading them.
It's not only peer pressure. But that
helps.
When a group is in sync, the change is
reinforcing. When people can see how parts of your message resonate with their
peers, they're more likely to reconsider them in a positive light. And mostly,
as in all modern marketing, "people
like us do things like this" is the primary driver.
I got a note from a reader, who asked,
"Not only you, but many business authors do promotions like if I buy 2,
10, 100... (or whatever number greater than 1) copies, I get perks. Honestly, I
never really got this concept. As I understand, you get the most value out of
business/self improvement books, if you buy them for yourself (and when you
read them in the right time of your life)."
The thing is, my goal isn't to sell
books, it's to make change. And with Your Turn, I took the idea of changing in groups quite
seriously. The site doesn't sell single copies, only multiples (when you buy
one, I send you two, etc.). Here's what I've discovered after five printings of
the book: When an organization (or a team, or a tiny group) all read and talk
about the same book, the impact is exponentially greater.
If you want to make change, begin by
making culture. Begin by organizing a tightly knit group. Begin by getting
people in sync.
Culture
beats strategy. So
much that culture is strategy.
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