2050, much?

Waste not, want not.

The world as we know it is changing.  And it’s not just climate change. 

Resources are being depleted, consumers aren’t consuming and whole economies are destroyed by big business (as with the BP oil spill).  And speaking of oil… With Gaddafi still acting up in Northern Africa, gas prices are expected to hit over $4 a gallon over the next few weeks and possibly $5 to $6 dollars by summer. 

Yeah… so the flimsy ‘recovery’ of the economy will be squashed with these prices looming.  The bottom line is that employers will not hire, in fear of the exorbitant costs fuel will leave in its wake.  And consumers will not be able to get to work, as their gas prices exceed their costs for food and shelter.

Right now gas is at about $100 a barrel, but should the price top $150 as it did in 2008, Americans will spend a billion extra dollars at the pump they simply cannot afford to spend.

But, this isn’t exactly the point I want to make.  It’s just a piece of it…

I read an article on Yahoo! News that proclaimed, “Planet could be ‘unrecognizable’ by 2050.’  Pretty weighty title, huh?

Weighty indeed.  The article explained that as we prepare to reach 7 billion world inhabitants, this number will jump to 9 million by 2050 creating a food and resource problem for anyone who is not wealthy… even so called ‘middle to upper middle class’ Americans.   And as the space between the have and have not’s increase, so does access to resources, (i.e. fuel, food, shelter, and gas) and opportunity. 

This quote from Jason Clay from the World Wildlife Fund sums it completely:   “More people, more money, more consumption, but the same planet,” Clay told AFP, urging scientists and governments to start making changes now to how food is produced.”

Buuuuut, you can’t buy food, if you don’t have money.  As the wealthy shift from suburbs to cities, in America, the problem of executives getting to work will be greatly diminished by their location.  In these city spaces they will walk, use public resources and bike to their places of work.  The poor, who have shifted to the suburbs for a ‘better life,’ have been hoaxed completely about their circumstance.  City communities will continue to be regentrified and know that the inhabitants in the margins, the poor, will continue to struggle in unforeseeable ways as the years progress.

Watch what I say… Capitalism will thrive in the city among the wealthy and the poor will suffer in the suburbs as the divide from wealth to poverty continues to shift. 

Waste not, want not.  Put the pieces together and plan accordingly for the big picture. Follow the money…. if you can.

Why’d you buy it?

Cover of Influence by Cialdini

Recently I was exposed to POP.

No, not good old soda pop, but the Power of Persuasion (POP) through the text Influence:  The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  This book is probably a close forth to As a Man Thinketh by James P. Allen, The Richest Man in Bablylon by George S. Clason  and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill on my general ‘Rules for Life’ book list related to basic life, business, finance and overall human interaction principles. (If you haven’t read any of them, they are transforming at any age.)

This Influence text by Cialdini is important because means of persuasion and influence are used everyday by family, companies, churches, and virtually everything we come into contact in our lives.  Thusly, learning about the how of why these weapons used (and work) on us, helps us to discern ourselves from our uninformed counterparts.  Check Cialdini out in this video.

Back to the book.  There is absolutely nothing new about POP, nothing.  Not any one thing in the book will resonate in the ‘I never knew that before type of way’, but it is the conciseness of the principles, what they represent, and how they can be used for gain are what remains embed when the last word is read.  And while the way Cialdini breaks down influence is almost astonishingly simple, it is the cause-effect complex of the principles and how they are used to bring back big returns on not only business levels, but personal ones that remain embed in our brains.

Here are a couple of my favorite principles:

Reciprocity – Be the first to give a gift or offer a favor at an unexpected time and its startling how quickly the gifted will seek to return the action often in a multitude of ways.  Guard yourself against the human tendency to ‘pay back’ the favor if you are suspicious that these ‘good deeds’ are veiled with controlling intentions

Commitment – Once a commitment is made, it is the bar by which all other standards must be abided.  Watch your commitments because if levied carelessly, they can lead to attacks on personal character and can impact your brands consistency.

Social Proof – So long as you understand the principles of Groupthink, this principle is the sad truth of the human psyche.  It reminds us of the power of social behavior among groups and how easily any behavior or action can be normalized even to the detriment of the world.

The book offers three additional means of influence: Liking, Scarcity, and Authority but when any of these are combined and/or even used independently of one another socially or in business, these actions influence us and carry a powerful impact on all of us.

What is material though is that these ‘weapons’ are used on us daily by marketers.  (and even our kids!)  Once we have created a literate consumer base that is appraised of these tools of influence and power, then our culture will be saturated with informed, conscious and savvy decision makers instead mesmerized drones of persuasion, acting thoughtlessly.  Yep, it’s happened to the best of us.

Pick it up and apply it to your life. You won’t regret it.

Fast Company’s 2011 List of the Top Women In Technology

Fast Company's Top 2011 Women in Technology

Check it out here.  Its always great to be inspired by women work hard, live well and love what they do.  Congratulations to all of the ladies who made the list this year and years previous.