Business

Persuasion psychology and unintended conseqence Cialdini’s magnum opus is based on three years of field research. He applied for and trained at used car dealerships, fundraising organizations, and marketing firms to observe real-life situations of persuasion. His research revealed six key principles of how humans persuade one another: Reciprocation Commitment and Consistency Social Proof Liking Authority Scarcity Unity — a bonus principle added in a later edition When he first published this work, Cialdini aimed to help the scientific community better understand human psychology. He goes out of his way to explain how readers can apply each principle ethically. An unintended consequence: the book sold millions of copies to salespeople eager to use its insights to manipulate customers for financial gain. Charlie Munger (of Berkshire Hathaway) found the book so useful that he famously gifted the author a share of Class A Berkshire stock. ...

Silicon Valley has lost it’s way Caution: this book was penned by billionaire tech executive and his “yes man.” Still, there are some solid ideas and themes presented. Here’s the one that resonated with me the most: America’s brightest minds in science and technology used to rally around great things. They invented and build tools and tech that benefited humanity (or, at least, the US). However, for about the last 20 years this cohort have followed the money - they’ve largely worked on building apps like social media that are a detriment to our culture. And they are largely working in the private sector, where their main beneficiaries are investors. China are basically focused on the opposite - their tech sector is closely aligned with government. This is likely highly problematic for the US, and we’re in trouble if we don’t change course. ...