Marketing pyramids and other objects

Recently, I came across the Arbinger Influence Pyramid™, which is a framework created by C. Terry Warner for encouraging change in an organization.

It’s actually a really great concept.

It emphasizes how leaders would do better to focus on building relationships, coaching, and setting a positive example as opposed to trying to directly change bad behavior.

It got me thinking about another influencial pyramid: Maslow’s hierarchy.

The interesting thing to note is Maslow’s pyramid has about 3x more search engine results than Warner’s, despite it being heavily contested in the scientific community and that Arbinger (Warner’s company) has offices all over the globe.

Certainly one could argue that Maslow was more prolific or that his work is more influential. But it’s also interesting that his pyramid was never trademarked.

That’s because he wasn’t trying to make a profit. He was trying to change the culture. He gave it away, and his ideas caught on.

Wanna guess what Warner did?

Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean you should try to profit from it. If it’s good enough, it’ll reward you somehow.

Because ideas, it turns out, have their own karma.

The best ideas spread. Ideas that spread win. And free ideas spread even faster.