Relax, Nothing Beats Word-of-Mouth Communication

What's Your Tipping Point? ... How do ideas spread? What causes organizations to change? Which real estate technologies will gain widespread adoption? These are the critical questions being asked by real estate executives and venture capital investors alike. For insight into these kinds of questions, read Malcolm Gladwell's, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. A Tipping Point is "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point." For example, the rise of Hush Puppies and the fall of New York's crime rate.

Gladwell describes how ideas and social change spread in a process similar to the spread of an epidemic. And he outlines a conceptual framework -- the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. But it all begins with a conversation! ... "It is safe to say that word of mouth is -- even in this age of mass communications and multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns -- still the most important form of human communication."

So you'll want to look within your own firm for Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Connectors are the social glue, Mavens are the data banks and Salesmen are the persuaders. In fact, Gladwell argues that these are the only people that really matter if you want to start a word-of-mouth epidemic. You don't need many people, just the right people. Each type plays a very distinct role. You need all three to create change. ... Do you have folks like these within your organization? How are they making a difference? Send e-mail to me at ppike@pikenet.com.

PikeNet Expo... Want to register online? Want to sponsor an event? Want to join one of the dozen Pike's Parades? Go to the new Expo web site at www.pikenet.com/expo and contact Eileen Circo ecirco@pikenet.com. ... Connect, Communicate and Collaborate at the PikeNet Expo in the New York Hilton, Oct 23-24, 2000. ... Calling all Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen!

--Peter