Twenty-Two: The Importance of Why

The (short) final chapter begins with a ramble about the complexity of the human brain - billions of neurons capable of quadtrillions of binary operations per second. Scientists remain staggered by its complexity and cannot begin to fathom how it works the way it does.

But the question of "how?" is far less important than the question of "why?" The way that a system works is an academic pursuit that fails to provide knowledge that can be put to any practical use. The reason that a system works is far more valuable - the knowledge of "why" enables us to accomplish things.

The "why" of human behavior reveals the motives and intentions that lead to human behavior as well as those that inhibit it. If our task as marketers is to influence human beings, understanding the "why" is critical. And just like the science of "how," the sum of knowledge about human behavior ahs barely scratched the surface.

And modifying behavior is exactly our goal: we wish to motivate prospects and customers to interact with our brand and shun the competition. We wish them to do this for our profit and their own benefit.

Then, a final grandiose claim: that understanding motivation and influencing behavior is the only way to accomplish things greater than that which we are capable of doing alone. Those who are successful in understanding motivation will be successful in changing behavior, and because it is human behavior that changes the world, we who motivate people are building the future of mankind.