Written by adjunct faculty Margaret Kadoyama
Have you ever wondered why there is a "buzz" out in the community about some museums, but not others? Ever wondered what it is about those that draw attention? It may not be due to large advertising budgets! It may be due to a unique combination of factors -- ones that you might be able to influence, without spending an arm and a leg!
I picked up a book recently --
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell, published in 2000 -- and found a great deal in it that made me say, "Aha! -- so that's why some things (like trends) take off and some things don't, even with good planning!" It's a very readable book demonstrating how changes large and small can be spread just like viruses, and that they become epidemics through three characteristics: the changes are contagious, little causes can have big effects, and changes happen all at once -- in one dramatic moment. That one dramatic moment is the tipping point.
What are some of the critical elements of each of these? For something to become contagious, it needs to involve exceptional people -- people who are very social and are exceptional networkers and connectors, people who are extremely knowledgeable, energetic, enthusiastic, or exceptionally influential. I know people like this, and they truly are the ones to make things happen. When I want to know whom I should call if I'm interested in anything in the nonprofit community in my county, I call my friend Cecilia Zamora, who is a networker extraordinaire. Cecilia is an active leader in many of the county's organizations and committees, and whenever we go out for lunch, she is always running into friends and colleagues and introducing me to them. Who in your community or at your museum is the "go-to" person -- the one who knows everyone?
What is another critical element? It's what Gladwell calls "stickiness" -- the ability of a message to stay with you. And here is where it becomes very applicable to museums (or any number of things for that matter!) Gladwell notes, "The Stickiness Factor says that there are specific ways of making a contagious message memorable; there are relatively simple changes in the presentation and structuring of information that can make a big difference in how much of an impact it makes."
The third critical element is what Gladwell calls "the power of context" -- that people are sensitive to their environment. Gladwell notes, "Epidemics…are strongly influenced by their situation -- by the circumstances and conditions and particulars of the environments in which they operate." He also notes, "The key to getting people to change their behavior…sometimes lies with the smallest details of their immediate situation." So, for a museum to see a change in behavior -- for example, to see visitors engage with the museum in a deeper way, means that the museum staff need to pay attention to many aspects of their visitors' environments.
Gladwell provides many great stories illustrating each of these elements. While reading it, I saw direct applications to museum work. My copy of the book is fairly bristling with sticky notes! There are implications for hiring practice (paying attention to the kinds of people who make things happen), implications for how messages are delivered (impacting marketing, public relations, education, exhibition, and interpretation) and paying attention to the museum's environment (impacting building operations and visitor services, to name just two.)
The Tipping Point is a "sticky" book -- I keep going back to it -- and I appreciate how it helps me see familiar things in new ways!
