Telling a Story Twice

Malcom Gladswell's "The Tipping Point" does an excellent profile on the kid's show "Blue's Clues". When "Blue's Clues" was launched, the producers of the show made an interesting programming decision. They ran the same episode 5 days in a row! The strategy was to see if see if repetition would enhance the interactive nature of the show, and to study the retention and learning behavior of children. The study showed that as the show continued throughout the week, kids were answering the questions that the main character would ask the TV audience, and were remembering the details of the show in much more vivid detail when quized after the show was over.

If anyone has seen LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman speak, you are probably familiar with his "build an airplane after jumping off a cliff" or "scuba diving" metaphors to describe the challenges that a startup faces. I have seen Reid speak 3 times over the course of the last year. The last two times were near carbon copies. Reed remains relevant and interesting despite repetition. I find myself referencing Reed's scuba diving analogy on a regular basis, as I am in this blog. The basic premise is that as a startup, you are in the deep with a limited amount of oxygen. Your goal is to get to the surface. The more cash you have, the more oxygen you have. Having more oxygen, doesn't mean that you will go in the right direction, but it gives you more time to make your way to the surface. A couple of "take aways" you get after hearing Reid speak is manage your cash effectively and have a sense of urgency to produce results quickly to survive.

The most useful advice is usually not the most novel. The method in which the advice is delivered and framed is often what provided the necessary impact. I did not understand the hype behind the Spencer Johnson's "Who Move My Cheese?" business book, but that 94-page book made a major impact on corporations around the world. Short, simple, and common sense. "Who Moved My Cheese?" provided the necessary analogy and messaging to get workers and corporations to embrace "change-management" in their jobs and organizations. If there is a writer, artist, speaker, activity or friend who motivates you into action, return to that source as long as you it give you that spark.