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    • Field Guide for Effective Communication
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    • Communicating Success: The Value of a Strategic Communications Plan
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    • Must-Read Books of the Free-Market Movement
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Must-Read Books of the Free-Market Movement

Turning Ideas into Consequences

by Kelly R. Young

Ideas may have consequences, but we should not confuse mere ideas with human consequences.  And we should not take for granted the challenge of turning ideas into consequences for that is no easy feat.  While it may be satisfying to debate the finer points of political philosophy or argue the merits of market-savvy public policies, success requires that we convince others that our ideas have merit and that we persuade them to adopt those ideas.  The self-satisfaction that we are right is cold comfort if our ideas are ignored.  After all, change in the real world is the ultimate measure of our work.  So, how does change happen?

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Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations (Free Press; 2003. 512 pages) lays out a comprehensive theory for how new products, technologies, and other innovations spread through communities and become the practice of individuals.  Because we are all trying to diffuse ideas -- whether it is the power of liberty and individual choice through the general population or a specific tax policy through a state legislature -- we must first understand how people choose to adopt something new.  The answer it is not self-evident, which is why Rogers' work is so valuable.  His first chapter is an absolute MUST read for anyone serious about spreading the principles of liberty on any scale.  A great companion read is Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point (Back Bay Books; 2002. 304 pages), a journalistic take on this interdisciplinary body of research that is rich with examples from all aspects of life.

But understanding the phenomenon of diffusion is no substitute for practical expertise in persuading others.  That is where the rubber meets the road.  Market advocates tend to be analytical and discount the effectiveness of anything besides raw economic analysis, but that is a small part of human life.  In Influence (rev): The Psychology of Persuasion (Morrow, William; 1993. 309 pages), Robert B. Cialdini dissects the many ways in which people influence each other and offers concrete advice for harnessing that knowledge.  Ultimately, each of us is working to influence others, whether it is to provide financial support to our organization or to take some political action -- or even to sell us that car at 10% below factory invoice -- so it is critical that we understand how influence works and become fluent in its mechanisms.  Based solidly in social science but directed at everyday life, Cialdini is an advisor we all need.

Less enjoyable than Cialdini but just as valuable is Max H. Bazerman's Judgment in Managerial Decision Making (4th Edition.  John Wiley and Sons, Ltd; 1997. 208 pages)  Bazerman describes the various obstacles that get in our way as we make decisions, including cognitive biases, misapprehension of uncertainty, and negotiation complexities.  While Bazerman is a bit academic, his tools are most valuable.  A less academic take on the same material is offered by J. Edward Russo and Paul J. Schoemaker in their Decision Traps:  The Ten Barriers to Brilliant Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them (Doubleday & Company; 1989. 280 pages) Their subtitle says it all. 

So lean on these resources if you want to make better decisions, be more influential, and see your ideas and policies spread further and faster.  The status quo deserves to be challenged.  And it needs to be challenged with the best tools available.

Kelly R. Young is former vice president of the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation.