The Power of Persuasion 200
The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold | |
author | Robert Levine |
pages | 278 |
publisher | John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
rating | 8 |
reviewer | Colin Cannell |
ISBN | 0471266345 |
summary | An engaging, highly readable survey of the sophisticated methods of persuasion we encounter in various situations. From television to telemarketing and from self-deception to suicide cults, Levine takes a hard look at all the ways we attempt to persuade each other - and how and why they work (or don't). |
The book is quite balanced in its approach and unusual in that it looks at the art of persuasion through the lens of psychological field research. Levine doesn't merely muse about the vagaries of the mind; he gets out there and investigates it. He takes a job selling knives from a "multi-level marketing" company. He interviews former car salesmen, entrepreneurs, and marketing directors. His students conduct experimental bake sales.
The Power of Persuasion is at its most interesting when it shows how human behavior frequently travels outside the lines of economic theory. Chapter 6, "The Hot Button," details the situations in which we're likely to do something irrational, like buy the most expensive of four very similar-looking toasters, because a decision-making shortcut in our brain has been tripped (in this case, we equate higher price with higher quality despite there being little evidence for that).
The Power of Persuasion covers a certain amount of ground that has already been covered by such books as Robert Steiner's Don't Get Taken and Gerald Zaltman's How Customers Think. What I liked about this particular book's approach is that it takes a position between the two previously mentioned: for the most part it neither condemns the act of persuasion nor celebrates it. Levine is usually content simply to observe how persuasion is done and occasionally marvel at the way, say, a door-to-door salesman often has greater insight into the human brain than a psychologist.
Levine's writing style is fairly consistent throughout the book. In each chapter, he takes a particular theme or area of the art of persuasion and breaks it down to show what psychological and cultural forces are at work. He does this through well-reasoned arguments interspersed with amusing anecdotes, factoids, and citations of interesting studies and statistics.
For example, in the first chapter, "The Illusion of Invulnerability," he uses the metaphor of Garrison Keillor's fictional Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above-average, to describe how people consistently underestimate the extent to which they are personally influenced by advertising and the likelihood that they would fall for deceptive claims and scams. He punctuates this with a story of how he was preparing a university course on the use of mind control in social psychology and became so wrapped up in his thoughts about totalitarian governments and secret police that a man claiming to be a chimney sweep was able to hoodwink him out of $250. After this, he said, he realized that "it's the people we're unprepared for who present the greatest threat. The fast-talking salesman puts us on alert. But the nice guys, the friendly thieves who sell beneath the threshold of our awareness, put us at their mercy."
The following chapters deal with other facets of persuasion, including:
- The illusion of authority, i.e. "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV."
- The use of generosity or kindness to create a sense of obligation.
- Contrasting what you're selling with something very similar or very different to create a "false dilemma" in the buyer.
- Moving from "Yes, I'll look at your brochure" to "Yes, I'll sign over my life savings to you" through a series of "gradually escalating commitments."
- One of my favorite chapters, and one that I identified with personally, is "$2 + $2 = $5," which takes a look at "The Ten Rules of Framing." Just like the lottery is "a tax on people who are bad at math," the rules of framing take advantage of the way we perceive numbers emotionally to subtly influence us toward decisions that don't necessarily make logical or financial sense.
Rule #1, for example, is "Separate Gains." Levine cites studies showing that people would prefer to win a $50 prize and a $25 prize rather than a single $75 prize. "This is because we respond less to the cumulative total of the gains than the fact that it is a gain," says Levine. "Every gain brings pleasure." This is why you always see Sports Illustrated offering you a "free" book, video, or football helmet mug, even though most of us would be better off if they would forget the video and just lower their subscription price. "The company wants you to file the gift in your unexpected windfall account," Levine writes, "where its perceived value is psychologically inflated, rather than mentally bunching it together with the other products into one big purchase."
In fact, I found a number of "hey, someone else wonders about that too" topics in The Power of Persuasion, such as the idea of the JND, or Just Noticeable Difference. This is the idea that you can quantify how much something can be changed before people notice that it has done so.If our product costs $5.49, and we raise the price to $5.59, will customers care? What about $5.99? Levine looks at how the JND is different at different price points and in different circumstances.
There are a few problems with the book:
- It includes some minor factual errors, such as the paragraphs in which Levine discusses the ad campaign that introduced "Infinity," which he describes as Toyota's luxury car brand. (I assume he means Infiniti, which is actually Nissan's luxury marque).
- The penultimate chapter is entirely devoted to an analysis of Jim Jones and the cult of Jonestown, whose members committed mass suicide in 1978. The analysis is interesting, and someone who hasn't studied Jonestown will find a good introduction here, but I wasn't convinced it deserved a chapter to itself. Levine's rationale appears to be that Jonestown represents the logical extreme, the "dark end of the dark side of persuasion," and there but for the grace of God go we, etc.
- The last chapter, "The Art of Resistance," turns toward the advocacy that I was so relieved not to find in the rest of the book. It contains advice on "asking disconfirming questions," avoiding groupthink, and being sure to practice "persuasion with integrity." This advice is very intelligent and well-founded, but most Slashdot readers will probably find themselves being told things they already know.
I would strongly recommend The Power of Persuasion to anyone whose job involves selling, who has ever wondered why in the world they bought that sweater/car/time-share, who lives in a capitalist economy, or who is just looking to fill a few hours with a fascinating book. It's an insightful, scientific look at a force that permeates the existence of anyone who has to interact with other people but that we rarely take the time to examine.
Besides being a cracking good read, it's fully footnoted, indexed, and so stuffed with information as to make a worthy addition to anyone's reference library. The next time you wonder what possessed you to pay $50 for a medallion commemorating the series finale of Friends, you'll know where to turn.
You can purchase The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
*waves hand in front of face* (Score:5, Funny)
Re:*waves hand in front of face* (Score:2, Funny)
Re:*waves hand in front of face* (Score:2, Funny)
Re:*waves hand in front of face* (Score:2)
Passing over brochure with an order form.
I included an order form for you to fill out. Here's a pen.
Cash, Check or Charge ?
You're all Individuals!!! (Score:2, Funny)
la di da (Score:5, Funny)
Great (better?) book on influence/persuasion (Score:5, Informative)
It's pretty cool -- after reading it you'll be able to read into (or see through) a lot of marketing/sales techniques that you see out in the real world (and won't be fooled by them -- or conversely, can use them for your own business or personal goals.)
Amazon link (not a referrer link) [amazon.com]
Check it out.. the book rocks.
-fren
Re:Great (better?) book on influence/persuasion (Score:2, Insightful)
It actually looks like this book has borrowed quite a bit from Cialdini. I hope he is given credit.
Re:Great (better?) book on influence/persuasion (Score:4, Informative)
Cialdini's six "weapons of influence" are:
Best Pursuasion (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2, Funny)
I kinda see a pattern...
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2, Funny)
It's demeaning you insensitivie clod of a dolt!
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2)
Or just Insult Monger [insultmonger.com], you malodourous toad?
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2)
http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/30
Re:Best Persuasion (Score:2)
stupid git.
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2)
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2)
I don't believe in God because those brilliant guys did. I'm just mentioning that they did. I would believe anyway.
Re:Best Pursuasion (Score:2)
Newton, Galileo, Kepler, Dirac, Faraday, Planck, Kelvin, Maxwell and Einstein had testicles. So do I.
sick mind (Score:4, Funny)
Speaking of Methods of Persuasion (Score:4, Funny)
"From television to telemarketing and from self-deception to suicide cults, Levine takes a hard look at all the ways we attempt to persuade each other [...]."
Hmmmm. I wonder where Slashdot moderation fits in that spectrum....
Re:Speaking of Methods of Persuasion (Score:2, Funny)
Hate Microsoft
Love Apple
Love Open Source
Love Linux
Love OS/2, BUT dislike IBM
Hate SCO period.
Oh, fuck! I guess, I'm not getting any karma bonuses now!
If he understands it so well (Score:5, Funny)
So, "those who can't do, teach"? (Score:2, Interesting)
Plus, "persuasion" might even be considered a form of teaching, so the best doer may in fact be the best teacher.
All in all, the AC has a good point. Ultimately, though, the fact that it isn't a #1 best seller might be more illustrative of the limits of the power of persuasion and its haphazard effects than of the author's abilities.
The Real Measure (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The Real Measure (Score:2)
Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:2)
You should be rolling in the chicks (or with them, whatever) in no time.
Re:Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:2)
Right here. (Score:2)
It's available online at www.mbusa.com
Re:Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:3, Informative)
"Strip" away all the manipulative embedded suggestion nonsense and the dumb macho ideology, and there's a few gems in there
You have to check this out... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:You have to check this out... (Score:2)
This is why you should get a disposable e-mail adress from Hotmail before signing up for anything. Then, when you get bored with it, request removal (if you want to be nice) and abandon the adress - let them spam it to their hearts content.
So you see, Microsoft *is* actually doing some good for the community :).
Tiny speech changes make big difference (Score:3, Interesting)
On that note, friend, I'd like to ask you to visit my artist interview [fulcrumgallery.com]. See? It works!
Re:Tiny speech changes make big difference (Score:2)
One alerting factor was singling me out as "friend"; if you had addressed "friends", I would've felt like I was slipping under the radar, like I could visit the site without being noticed, which appeals to my introverted side. Second, the use of "friend" in other contexts, namely spam, gives it a very negative connotation. Thirdly, of course, you alerted me with "
Re:Tiny speech changes make big difference (Score:2, Insightful)
A-doo-doo-doo, A-daa-daa-daa (Score:4, Interesting)
"Poets, preists, and politicians
Have words to thank for their positions."
Re:A-doo-doo-doo, A-daa-daa-daa (Score:4, Insightful)
what about the icon (Score:2)
Concentrate on the Sound of my Voice... (Score:5, Funny)
Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:5, Insightful)
They're really common in Las Vegas and in the Orlando area. They have booths set up in hotels and in small buildings located in the parking lots of plazas in commercial districts.
They give you a nice little breakfast buffet at a nearby resort, and tell you that they'll only take 90 minutes of your time, and there's no obligation.
Four hours later you're signing one document after another, agreeing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars over the next ten years for something that's not worth jack squat, and then you go and get your stupid theme park tickets.
Stay away from those things, and if you do go to one, don't buy into it. You can buy them second-hand MUCH cheaper from someone else who got suckered. When they start trying to close the deal, you say, "Nope, not signing anything. Give me my discounted park passes now, please." If they hem and haw, and say that the deal they're offering is only good if you sign right there and then, you have to say, "Then I guess that's my loss. I'll take my discounted park passes now, please."
Don't let the mind control kick in.
And if you do sign up, you've got ten days to cancel, at least in Florida. But it's much easier to just not get suckered in the first place.
Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:5, Interesting)
After an hour long tour (which was actually enjoyable) and listening to the sales pitch, I started to feel a tiny bit pursuaded. And that feeling made me so uncomfortable (knowing that his smooth talking had even slight power over my thought process) that I got up and left. Although as soon as I did, the salesman informed me that a new deal had just opened up. It was for half the original price, and he couldn't legally offer it to me once I walked out the door...
Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:4, Interesting)
When I was in college, I lived in a really cheap apartment. I don't know if they somehow aimed for the neighborhood, but my phone and mailbox were constantly bombarded with every scam imaginable. Maybe the previous residents collectively got that address on all the wrong mailing lists, I don't know.
Anyway, this one called me up and offered me a $50 gift certificate (to Wal*mart!) if I just saw some presentation. Easy $50, I figured. And I'm certainly too strong and smart too buy into one of these deals.
Anyway, my usual bad habit of arriving aggregriously late worked in my favor, and I wasn't let in to see the "main presentation". Instead, I was moved directly to a salesman who would work on individual prospects after they had seen the main presentation and not decided to buy.
And, I have to say, it was weird -- I really did start to feel a tiny but persuaded. The salesman told me that the offer was just for me, just for now, and that strangely made me not want to miss out on it. Of course, a totally different part of my brain told me that was why it had to be complete bullshit -- which I wisely listened to.
Still, I'll always remember that weird feeling I had, despite my best intentions and clear good sense contradicting it, so that perhaps if I ever feel it again I'll know for sure to discount it at all costs.
Almost Suckered... (Score:5, Informative)
I was on a cheap trip to Vegas with my Fiancee... Cheap meaning we drove there, stayed in $30/night hotel room, and $10 in nickle poker machines. While walking around we got stopped and offered free tickets if we listened to their talk about time-shares. We say okay because free stuff on a cheap trip cannot be refused. Long story short... 3 hours of talking and I was ready to put $2k down on a timeshare... ofcourse I only had $200 in my bank account (ie. the cheap trip). Me and my s/o fought it out... he even left so I could pursuade her and even kept trying to boost my male ego.
Thank god for the level headed, no-bullshit woman I married. She almost left me after all the shit I gave her during all that presentation. Ofcourse she'll never let me forget... and so I still remember the horrible feeling I had afterward that I was manipulated.
Ohh the humanity....
--D3X
Re:Almost Suckered... (Score:2)
It scared me a little because she was now teaming with them against me, and they had almost convinced me to drop $5,000 when I was aiming around $2,000, mostly because they could have it in time for me to watch my Patriots win the superbowl.
Anyway, I never buy anything before reading reviews, a
Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:2)
All these replies underscore a key point... these salespeople are professionals, experts at closing the deal by whatever means necessary, alternating between cajolery and insults. "I can tell you're smart enough to know a good deal when you see one," or "You're not stupid enough to walk away from a deal like this, are you?"
They weave a spell over the prospective buyer, not unlike the way a high-performing car salesman w
Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:2, Funny)
I mean, there has to be *someone* out there to defend slimy sales tactics, right? ;)
Taft
Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:2)
I realize some people have less willpower than others, but for those that have it, I'm curious what tactics they use to k
Sounds alot like... (Score:5, Interesting)
See http://www.memecentral.com/votm.htm.
As a sidenote, there is also thhis nice (e)mail chain-letter debunking page:
http://www.memecentral.com/antidote.htm
IMHO, the everything's-a-meme-thought is a bit exaggerated today, but it is still interesting.
Re:Sounds alot like... (Score:2)
First, Richard Dawkins, in his book "The Selfish Gene" both introduced the concept, and admitted that some of the very things which he had cited to prove his concepts about Genes cast some serious doubts on the idea of Memes. Since then, most of the people who have expanded on the idea of Memes appear to have not read page 209 of "TSG", where Dawkins admits that Memes have a much higher copying error rate than Genes, and that is a bi
Re:Sounds alot like... (Score:2)
I would buy this book but... (Score:5, Funny)
UK - don't buy from Amazon (Score:2)
Buy from Tesco (Score:2)
This is why I'm so.... (Score:5, Interesting)
If you come up to me and say "My, what a nice pair of shoes you're wearing!"
I'll think:
You want to sell me something..
You want money for nothing..
You want someting
I think it's worse for us Americans because everyone is trying to sell us something!
I once took a class from an Asian Chi Gong master. During his lesson he said that he had videos on sale. All of us just groaned under our breath. To make a long story short, he was sincere and wanted us to buy the videos to remember his lessons. Nothing else! He was the exception.
I'm still jaded and I haven't been wrong since. We're continually being bombarded to spend our precious income on shit in America. Companies are demanding that we buy their crap in order for us to be happy and to keep "our" economy working. My friends, who really care about me (I think), say supportive things, I just think they want something! I thought it was just me, but I'm beginning to think that it's a side-effect of living in America. Watch out, anyone who says nice things to you wants to sell you something!
Makes me want to shave the rest of my hair off, move to Thailand, and become a Buddhist Monk!
Re:This is why I'm so.... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:This is why I'm so.... (Score:3, Interesting)
They should teach this stuff in school (Score:2, Interesting)
I can't stand sales pitches.
It's gotten to where I find something cynical to say about every TV commercial I watch, even the story lines in TV shows. People have told me how cynical I am, but I feel like I have to fight against this seething mass of industrial psychology that's shoved onto us at every opportunity.
Why don't they teach this stuff in school, so we can be educated enough to make it go away?
I'm wondering if this kind of despair hits anyone else here on slashdot. Does being a code geek creat
Re:They should teach this stuff in school (Score:2)
The rampant commercialism is depressing for anyone who doesn't define their life in shallow materialistic terms. The other day I saw my (2yr-old) niece wearing some overpriced "J-Lo" branded clothing and I just all I could do was shake my head in disgust.
But, I don't despair as much as I used to once I realized how profoundly molecular manufacturing will change our economy in the near-future. No longer will people have to SELL SELL SELL useless shit for the sake of TRADE in order to put foo
Re:They should teach this stuff in school (Score:2)
Re:This is why I'm so.... (Score:2, Funny)
> pair of shoes you're wearing!"
> I'll think:
> You want something
Spot on.
Give me your shoes.
And throw in your iPod while your at it.
Re:This is why I'm so.... (Score:2)
The problem is that when you buy something because it had the best sale pitch rather than because it was the best product. This rewards scam artists and gives companies incentive to spend all their time developing better sales pitches than developing better products.
Re:This is why I'm so.... (Score:2)
My, what a great idea you just had!
And such a lovely post about it!
Say, what kind of razor will you be using?
:)
RaviRe:This is why I'm so.... (Score:2)
2) High-pressure salesmen are *everywhere*. Used-car salesmen in the USA, merchants in a Thailand street-mall
Sequel about Politics? (Score:2)
Doesn't this... (Score:4, Funny)
Darl submits to /.? (Score:2)
Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:5, Informative)
Don't get taken every time [amazon.com]
He also speaks at seminars sponsered by Credit Unions [google.com] , (Anyone can join one these days) which is where I met him.. got my (secondhand) book autographed too.
The people who sell you stuff are trained by professionals.
* They are NOT YOUR FREINDS!*
For the sake of your bank account and your sanity, it's worthwhile to educate yourself about the methods that are used, and how to circumvent them.
Re:Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:2)
* They are NOT YOUR FRIENDS!*
One of my roommates is a natural sales guy. It's amazing to watch him work, and nauseating at the same time. What's worse is when he tries it on me, because I know exactly what he's doing, but sometimes it works anyway.
"You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick!"
Re:Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:3, Interesting)
In a professional sense I am just taking a bribe to buy their widgets for production
Seriously, though, how can his tricks work if you know what he is doing?
What is the mechanism with which he is able to circumvent your logic?
Re:Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:2)
* They are NOT YOUR FREINDS!*
Actually, they are highly trained professionals. They may or may not be your friends. When you encounter a salesperson you can assume:
* They are experts on the verbal and non-verbal language of conducting business transactions.
* Every word is crafted carefully to create a precise response from you.
* They have a mastery of their product that may or may not be obvious. If they say "I'll have to ask engineering" they
Re:Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:2)
I would contest this one. I work with sales guys all day, and there's something I've noticed: The best ones sometimes know nothing about the products they're selling, but they engage engineering almost seamlessly. I've become convinced that a truly good sales guy can sell *anything*. Doesn't matter what.
Now, this is not to say that knowledge of his goods won't
Re:Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:2)
Agreed, absolutely.
* Every word is crafted carefully to create a precise response from you.
Garp. :)
* They have a mastery of their product that may or may not be obvious. If they say "I'll have to ask engineering" they already know the answer.
Like your other reply asked, could you clarify this? I understand the concept of refering to a higher authority, but I cannot fit that with what you said.
* Often they kn
Re:Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:2)
Nine out of ten times, referring to higher authority is a shell game designed to allow the salesperson to crafte a better response. More times than not, they actually know the answer to your question but do not like it and are going to try to find an engineer to tell them what they want to hear so they aren't the liar.
Seminal work? (Score:4, Informative)
The genre seems to be getting a bit bloated, though, with the review itself mentioning yet another two recent books covering the same ground--Robert Steiner's "Don't Get Taken" and Gerald Zaltman's "How Customers Think". There must be some great thinker who came before these guys to pioneer the field. I thought of Charles Mackay's classic "Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds", but it deals mainly with people as a herd (only one aspect of persuasion/influence, falling mainly under the umbrella of Cialdini's "social proof").
Is there a seminal work in the field of persuation/influence covering all the bases, or is this really just a recent thing?
Re:Seminal work? (Score:3, Informative)
Volume 1: http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/636
Volume 2: http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/713
Volume 3: http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/884
Heck I may stop at the library on my way home and read that one again
Re:Seminal work? (Score:4, Interesting)
I think the best advice is, if you are in university, to take a Social Psychology course. If you don't have the prerequisites or don't want to do the homework, just sneak into the lecture hall (like I did). It's facinating stuff.
The Cheat (Score:2, Funny)
StrongBad
Works in reverse, too (Score:2)
I just can't stand advertising any more (Score:2)
"Pull" information is fine. If I want something, I'll use Google to find it. But I don't want people pushing stuff in my face. Is that too much to ask?
Am I so bad? (Score:2)
Free e-book at my college (Score:2)
A student log-in is required, of course.
I hadn't even realized that my school carried e-books. Each individual page is a separate PDF, so dowloading it for offline viewing would be annoying.
Anyway, if my college has it, yours might have it too.
What do I get? (Score:2)
Syndicate (Score:2)
Who needs the book when you've got a persuadertron?
Trading Up (Score:3, Interesting)
There's an element of groupthink in that idea too -- that if others are doing it, so should I. They don't wield the con-man kind caliber of persuasion this book seems to favor, but they play on the idea that you'll be smarter, more attractive and a better person if you buy their brand. People will build emotional affinity with a company vastly out of proportion with the usefulness of that company's products.
I think discerning readers who read both will get a better idea of one of the problems of our times: if we turn on, tune in and veg out, someone is going to try to take advantage.
The #1 Tool (Score:2, Insightful)
Man, those guys were slick! Almost every other sentence had the word "money" in it. After watching a series of testimonies by people who claimed to have made thousands of dollars in just days, the speaker conducted a pep rally to get everyone excited about how rich they were going to become. He gave helpful pointers on how to deal with all the extra money coming in, like, "after you make
Manditory link to propagandacritic.com (Score:3, Interesting)
I know this site doesn't go into as much depth as a book could, but it's a good start. I honestly think that this material should be the basis of a required course in high school, or at least interwoven into english and/or history courses. The widespread use of propaganda is perhaps the greatest threat to democracy today.
best defense against persuasion (Score:5, Interesting)
sales enders I've used:
"Don't you want to save money?"
"No, I'm not really concerned with my budget."
"Please vote for candidate X."
"I don't believe in voting."
"Everyone should vote!"
"Oh yeah, tell me why."
"Who makes the decisions you or your girlfriend?"
"I let her decide every single aspect of my life. I'm basically just a pathetic sycophant."
Try them out, at least it will spice things up a bit!
Re:best defense against persuasion (Score:2)
Hard-selling: "For clarity, please put your best offer in writing - It will be considered alongside the other options next week."... any-old pressure technique saying why this is a bad choice..."What a shame. It sounds as if
online example of time-pressure sales (Score:2)
"Special offer: $59.95 (If you decide to buy until Wednesday, March 31, 2004)."
If you view the source, you will see that the date is javascript: my_date()
Persuasion and valuation in a free market (Score:2)
Not so impressed. . . (Score:2)
There is programming all over the place. It affects people on levels which are not even associated with advertising.
"Turn the other cheek"
"Forgive and Forget"
"The weak will inherit the Earth"
Sound familiar? These are nodules of effective societal control
Moo (Score:2)
Um, no. We equate lower price with cheapness, and there is much evidence of that.
Higher price is only a factor when the item is already "expensive". And then many factors are at play. When a software package costs more, it is assumed to have more features, because it is expensive. Not better quality, just more of an "enterprise" edition. It can also give social status, and the like. As for it being better quality, th
Dominating Meetings (Score:5, Insightful)
We were selling software software through a reseller. The reseller dissolved, and the partner we knew took her client list to a startup being funded by a VC firm. As far as I can tell, the startup has 2 people: the entrepreneur and a "manager". The manager, Jeff, probably works for the VC firm as a roving manager.
We were lured to a meeting with the entrepreneur to "discuss future possibilities." The meeting time was changed at the last minute (we were already in the car) to the following day so that Jeff could be there.
We arrived at the meeting. The table seated 3 people per side, plus one person on each end. Each team had 3 people. If you want to work with people, sit on the sides so you are close. If you expect conflict, the ends are the power positions. Jeff already had his stuff at one end of the table, with the reseller next to him. So I took the other end, and my associates sat on either side of me.
The reseller greeted us, but Jeff did not appear for about 5 minutes. (Being late implies that everybody else should wait on you.) Then they announced that the entrepreneur would not be joining us.
They already had glasses of water, but my request for some was denied. That is just bad manners. Did Jeff think we would talk less if our mouths were dry? (Later, I left the room while Jeff was talking to have water brought for us.)
Jeff finally entered the room, and as he sat down, he suggested that "Why don't you move closer?" It was a good tactic to get me out of a power seat. (We did not move.)
Then he demanded the source code for the product we sold through the reseller. They wanted to cut us out, and could not support the program without the source. He was quite persuasive saying that he knew they had a right to it because of all his experience and analysis of the situation. I let my business manager debate with Jeff (which he said was fun but pointless), and Jeff never noticed he spent the entire meeting debating with a subordinate. Jeff offered a royalty on future sales, but my manager had Jeff admit they had little interest in selling software. Unfortunately for Jeff, ownership of copyright can only be transferred by written contract, and no such contract existed.
I had fun with Jeff. Even though I have been in the software business for over a decade, and own this company, I gave him the impression that I was the stereotypical unworldly programmer and acted like an egotistical brat. This caused Jeff to make a few mistakes. I did try to move the meeting back to the original purpose of building a partnership relationship, but Jeff dismissed the attempt. At one point, after I interrupted one of Jeff's attacks, he said he was thinking of offering me a job, but now he wouldn't. (If you have read my other posts, you know I would never consider a regular job, and I avoid working with people like Jeff.)
He kept trying to hire my technical assistant. The techie had worked for the reseller and knew the customer's infrastructure. We hired him when he left the reseller. I am uncertain why Jeff tried, since the techie did not talk much in the meeting, and does not have the source. I think Jeff was trying divide-and-conquer, but the techie had already met Jeff, and disliked him intensely.
Jeff "complimented" my business manager by suggesting he should go to college to become a lawyer because "he would be good at it." This happened as we were leaving, so I was able to contain the laughter until we were outside. My business manager has been working in this field since the 70s, and has held upper management positions at several large companies.
Jeff's fatal mistake was to threaten to have the customer's lawyer contact us. Later that week we received a nasty letter from this lawyer. I believe the letter was written by Jeff, since it contained several of the fallacies he used in the meeting. That letter opene
Re:Did anyone see that MTV Spring Break show (Score:3, Interesting)
offtopic from your post but i don't want to post 2 comments..... i read the reviewed book, and there was an interesting section on how people who want to be classified as something, they will do whatever other people who are classified as that do.
now just as an example (this was actually an example in the book)... a 12 year old kid thinks he's good at computers, so he considers himself a nerd. He visits
Re:Ob. (Score:2)
Re:Admin: please fix unclosed [em] tag! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Speaking of these ... (Score:3, Informative)
(Disclaimer, yes I am a psychologist)