CG News: Why even zebras are now getting ulcers
Length: • 3 mins
Annotated by AJ
June 15, 2023
Andrew Joe,
A recent book about how to write business books begins with this lesson: to hook a reader you need to induce fear – “scare the crap out of them.”
Yep.
Just check out any book or article on AI or the never-ending pending recession.
We are living in a moment of fear and uncertainty.
The science on this is clear: if you get scared, then you are easier to manipulate for some kind of short-term reaction (to buy or vote, for example).
And if you are scared, you can’t think clearly. And if you can’t think clearly, then you increase the odds of going it alone and making a bad decision.
I know this firsthand from my childhood.
Since then I've made it my life's work to help myself and others slow down, think, and ask for help (in Councils, Never Search Alone, Reading Odyssey, Slow Art Day, WBRG, etc.).
So, simple question: do you want to be tossed around as if you’re a zebra with a lion constantly on your tail?
Then hook up your nervous system to the fear matrix.
If you want to go a different route, then know you have a choice.
It’s not easy to slow down and think, but it does mean fewer ulcers and maybe even a few better decisions.
Best,
Phyl
P.S. The title of this newsletter comes from Stanford biologist Richard Sapolsky’s terrific book – Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. The basic idea is that zebras feel stress while being chased by lions, but when the danger is over, they calm down and get no ulcers. Humans, however, trigger the same fear reaction sitting at their desks 10 times a day. I asked CG members to read this book back in 2009 and then had Prof. Sapolsky come speak. Get it (though it’s not light reading).
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"The Internet Will Drive A Truck Through Your Business Model"
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My first experience of the “scare the crap” out of them rule in business was in 1999 when I was keynoting an Internet conference.
The speaker before me screamed: “If you don’t act now, the Internet is going to drive a truck through your business model” (it helps if you re-read this quote and imagine it being said by that 1980s TV ad voice: “monster truck show: one weekend/one weekend only”).
So, I got up and said let’s all take a breath. That truck is coming, but we have time to figure out what to do.
And then I laid out a path for the audience to better understand their customers (and help their senior leaders better understand them), and make decisions based on those customer insights.
People came up afterwords and thanked me as if I had been a Buddhist monk.
The one downside: the scare tactic is more effective at getting clients in the short-term. So I gave up some client acquisition in the name of helping people.
To that point, maybe I should forget this slow down to think mantra and instead go for the scare tactic and give this keynote today: Artificial Intelligence will drive a driverless truck through your business model – one weekend/one weekend ONLY.
Collaborative Gain
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