9: Leveraging the Power of Interpreters
Not only do interpreters study the way in which people give meanings to things, they also have the power to influence the manner in which people give meaning to things. When a firm delivers something entirely new and foreign to the market, it may either count on the market to accept the product based on what they think, or change the way the market things about products. The latter is very rare, and very alluring, as a firm that can change the tastes of the market toward its own products has considerable power.
This is neither automatic nor magical - the market is more likely to ignore something significantly different than it is to embrace it or prefer it, particularly if it takes them by surprise Putting out something novel generally does not cause tastes to change, but it requires a great deal of effort to introduce a significantly new idea to the culture so that the market is ready for something new.
It is ironic that large firms that have the resources, relationships, and communication networks in place to effectively introduce an innovation tend to do very poorly when it comes to leveraging these resources to introduce an innovative product to the market.
Communicating with Innovators
The channels that are most effective in reaching the masses are not ideal for communicating with the innovators. The tools of the traditional channels are geared toward superficial conversation rather than deep conversation and the culture of traditional channels is normative, favoring ideas that are already known and popular over those that are unfamiliar and unusual. To innovators, the mass-market channels give them a sense of the present state of things, not a glimpse into the future.
Historically, innovators have existed in enclaves - cloistered colonies of individuals who are distinct from the mass markets, in which they are able to communicate unusual ideas to a receptive and thoughtful audience. While these ideas will eventually delivered to the general public, they are not incubated in the open. Where a commercial organization wishes to gain entry into an enclave, it must respect the conventions and culture of the enclave. (EN: And given the horrible behavior of commercial organizations when approaching enclaves in the past, it will need to be a slow and gentle entry.)
The author mentions some of the specific activities that commercial organizations that have been successful in gaining entry: sponsoring research, publishing books and articles, sponsoring and organizing events, etc. The firm places emphasis on what is of interest to the audience rather than how to exploit the audience to serve its own interests.
It's also noted that innovators are knowledge-seekers and are very curious, but not in a predictable manner. While firms wish to control the innovators to steer them toward thinking about ideas that have commercial value, innovators are very resistant to this influence. The firm that engages with innovators must be prepared to gain broad insight - and then to take upon itself the responsibility of finding a commercial application for the knowledge it gains from the innovators.
Leveraging Cultural Prototypes
By cultural prototype, the author means "a medium that embeds the results of a manufacturer's research ... rather than being a product, it is an articulation of a new meaning or language." Essentially, a prototype is a collection of principles that define the goals it seeks to achieve and the methods it will use to achieve them.
A CP is not "a brochure promoting a product." Promotional materials are often written after a product is developed, and much of them are reverse-engineered. In essence, the company is saying "I meant to do that" when the product is praised in some way. A CP is known before a product is developed or even conceived and it serves as inspiration to those who design products.
A CP is not marketing or public relations material. It is not intended for consumption outside of the firm, but is for insiders.
A CP is as detailed as it needs to be to communicate a concept. If a given concept is conceptually deep and challenging, the CP may be quite verbose.
Also, there may be as many CPs as necessary to communicate the culture as extensively as possible. Because it is not marketing, it doesn't need to be short and snappy, but can be sprawling and redundant.
In addition to providing inspiration and direction to innovators, a firm's CP also provide a touchstone against which any proposal may be assessed to determine if it is in line with the company's desired culture and direction. This ensures the integrity of the firm across multiple undertakings.
It's also suggested that CPs are essential to enabling a firm to create unique and sustainable competitive advantages. Because the products are derivative of the firm's culture, they will be easily distinguished from competing products that derive from other cultures, even if the products have the same functional value. Also, once a firm has established and adheres to its CP, any additional product will be identified by the market as a product of that firm, even without logos and other branding elements. Also, anyone who attempts to imitate the product without understanding the culture will invariably create a "semiotic chaos" such that the market regards its product as a knock-off or imitation.