strategic use of groups on these networks to cross-pollinate ideas and draw out our crowd. More often they emerge via referral from within our massively-networked community, which is globally based and spans many disciplines.
Growth is driven by need and the size of
our Crowd is irrelevant. What matters is the quality of the pool we are drawing from and our ability to precision target the people we need. Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point speaks directly to our needs, and guides us in terms of isolating the specific individuals we seek. Gladwell identifies the special characteristics of certain rare personality types as crucial in terms of successfully growing a disruptive and ground-breaking new venture, specifically:
• Mavens: they are ‘information specialists’, or ‘people we rely upon to connect us with new information’. They accumulate knowledge (particularly about the marketplace) and thus become experts in
certain areas. Mavens
are intense gatherers of information and impressions, and so are often the first to pick up on new or nascent trends. They are unselfish with their knowledge and in fact love to share it with others. In network theory a maven is regarded as someone who has a disproportionate influence on other members of the network. The role of mavens in propagating knowledge and preferences has been established in various domains, from politics to social trends; • Connectors: they ‘link us up with the world, they are people with a special gift for bringing the world together’. In essence they are the people in a community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions. A connector is essentially the social equivalent of a computer network hub. Connectors usually know people across an array of social, cultural, professional, and economic circles, and make a habit of introducing people who work or live in different circles. • Salesmen: They are the ‘persuaders’, charismatic people with powerful negotiation skills. They tend to have an indefinable trait that goes beyond their obvious eloquence that makes others want to agree with them. They are able to easily establish physical and conversational harmony with others. Although
The Innovation Journal
“DISCOVERY CONSISTS OF SEEING WHAT EVERYBODY HAS SEEN AND THINKING WHAT NOBODY HAS THOUGHT.”
– ALBERT VON SZENT-GYORGY.
the salesman is obviously dictating the terms of the interaction he is able to generate a high degree of empathy and synchronicity that ensures the other person is interested, enthusiastic and happy.
To find and ‘filter-out’ these special individuals
requires us of manage the interaction dynamics of ‘our’ Crowd via a natural, ‘organic’ process of constant and continuous peer-evaluation that enabling the cream to rise to the top.
Their subsequent interaction; vertically, horizontally and especially laterally, in a peer to peer environment produces an interesting dynamic, literally a melting pot of creative thought from which new product concepts of vast value potential continuously bubble to the surface. From these we select projects that match our exacting criteria
for success and
profitability, and adhere to our organisational principles and code of ethics.
For a disruptively innovative new product to gain rapid traction one cannot rely on luck. Instead we use the principle of ‘cause and effect’.
By identifying a cause that resonates in the collective psyche of our potential adherents, we are able to recruit and rally our activists. Their financial contribution to our Crowdfunding Campaign makes them ‘part of the team’ and buys them a stake in our success.
September 2012 | Management Today 9
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