Social signalling
Since the dawn of time, we humans have been social signallers. We’ve adorned ourselves to attract — or sometimes repel — others (tattoos, piercings, jewellery, hair styles), worn uniforms that signify affiliations (think goths, bogans and tradies), and developed language patterns specific to group and status (accents, word usage, tonality).
In fact, whether we know it or not, nearly all of us are masters of understanding a myriad of signals in every interaction. How many social signals can you count in the photo below?
But, now signalling is moving from the flesh-and-blood (and ink) worlds to the metaverse, and fast. There are 30 billion likes per month on Facebook alone; I buy weird music on Bandcamp where my profile is visible to others (and theirs to me); and of course, entire ‘skin economies’ are emerging from online games like Fortnite where players pay to signal to friends and foes via digital costumes (Epic games made $50m from one skin alone last year).
Entire legal and economic infrastructures will be built to handle virtual identities and the large economies that are already forming around these. For instance, the Philippines economy contracted 10% from COVID, driving large numbers of people who lost their physical earning capacity to a community-owned blockchain game called Axie Infinity. Players buy 3 pets (‘Axies’) in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and then breed, battle and trade these. They convert successes to cryptocurrency, and then to real Philippine Pesos. There are even non-profits that provide training to potential players who need income, and (non-profit) financiers that advance money to enable them to buy their first Axies.
Now, you might think these are ‘just games’, or ‘another form of gambling’, or they’re fads, or that they’re technologies for the young. I predict you’ll be wrong, and that in 10 years all businesses and organisations will have to understand how to build — and participate in — communities in virtual ‘metaverses’ where the rules of social signalling are as complex as those we use on the street today.
Question: How could you better harness the positive social signals of your customers?
Make great friends
Years ago as part of a strategy project, I asked a large number of parents a single question: “What one thing do you most want for your child?” I was shocked at how many gave me exactly the same answer.
Now, these were parents of a very specific group: their kids were under school age and had significant disabilities. Mostly intellectual disabilities, autism and the like, but also behavioural disorders. I thought they’d say things like “Live independently” or “Get a job” but the same answer more than 80% gave me was this: “I just want my child to have friends”.
Nowadays, as father of a 12yo (who doesn’t have a disability), this is pretty much my main ‘lead indicator’ of success for my son too.
As you probably know, a lead indicator is a metric that predicts future success. In other words, a child who not only makes friends, but makes good friends, is likely to use this power to drag other successes in her or his wake. Lead indicators are powerful: they act as crystal balls, whereas lag indicators (that measure past performance) are simply rear-view mirrors.
Unfortunately, we find it easier to measure lag indicators, and they’re often generic: EBITDA, on-time delivery, occupancy. Powerful lead indicators on the other hand are often quite specific to a sector or organisation e.g., adherence to quality standards, percentage of research-active clinicians, non-value-adding time spent. And, they are sometimes counter-intuitive: for example, a youth mental health organisation told me a lead indicator of suicide rates in groups of young people was the frequency with which names of prescription drugs pop up in text / social messaging.
Question: What are your 2 - 3 most powerful lead indicators?
Irrational boundaries
Last weekend, I went in search of a recent documentary called “Sisters with Transistors” — about the unsung 1960s and 1970s female pioneers of electronic music. (For instance, did you know the theme music to Dr Who was realised by a woman called Delia Derbyshire, who cut up kilometres of tape to create that famous pulsing theme with the eerie melody on top?)
But, I was quickly thwarted, as you will be too, if you’re Australian. Despite all the streaming options available to us, we can’t see it. Like book publishing which operates on geographic ‘rights’, certain parts of the world can see ‘Sisters’ while others can’t. But why not?
In today’s world, these sorts of boundaries are irrational, as anyone with a computer and a credit card should be able to access content freely. But, it got me wondering about the other ‘irrational boundaries’ that organisations design into their processes: airlines that will sell a ticket in one direction, but not in another; suppliers that won’t post to certain destinations; privacy boundaries that allow a male voice to give my credentials to a bank, but not a female one (try getting someone of a different gender to try to use a phone banking system on your behalf).
I ended up working out how to pretend to be British, so I did watch ‘Sisters’, but that’s a story for another time.
Question: What irrational boundaries exist in your organisation?
I’d love it if you provide social proof of reading this - just click the heart below. It honestly does work to encourage others to read 5MSM, so you’re doing me - and others — a favour by simply clicking.
I hope this coming week you can explore a small corner of a metaverse where you can interact with people with whom you feel a connection. Substack, which hosts 5MSM is a good example of this, and there are plenty of great writers to engage with.
Until next Friday, have a great week.
Andrew
The article on Irrational Boundaries is thought provoking and will stay in my mind as I encounter the usual weekly wicked problems to solve in my organisation.
Thanks Andrew, I love your insights and they always make me think.