Fascinate

I’ll never forget in 1993 when Hillary Clinton appeared before five congressional committees to present testimony on healthcare. Although I really wasn’t interested in healthcare at the time, I have to say that I was so fascinated by Hillary that I immediately begin taking an interest in this debate. And from this day forward, I have read almost every thing she has written and everything that has been written about her. Moreover, I have watched countless hours of her on YouTube.

So, why do I have such a fascination with Hillary? Well, I really didn’t know until I read Sally Hogshead’s book, Fascinate.

In her book, Ms. Hogshead discusses seven universal triggers. These seven triggers are: lust, mystique, alarm, prestige, power, vice and trust. When it comes to making any decision in our lives, each of these seven triggers plays a role. Thus, if we want people to buy our company’s products, buy into our message, or hire us, we must learn how to effectively use these seven triggers.

Nothing is, by itself, fascinating. In order for something to be fascinating, it must activate one of the triggers. It’s the context and meaning given to the product or person that makes it fascinating.

Hogshead uses an excellent example to illustrate how triggers work.

If you are familiar with the Chanel logo, you will know that it is comprised of two interlocking Cs. However, if you were to present these interlocking Cs to someone not familiar with the brand, they would be meaningless. For those familiar with the logo, the interlocking Cs trigger prestige. As a result, most people familiar with this brand are willing to pay almost 50% more for a Chanel brand than a brand of equal quality. In other words, they are paying for the feeling evoked by the trigger—prestige.

How does the HR Practitioner make their message more fascinating?

The first step is to evaluate how the world (our employees, peers, and bosses) communicates about us.

Here are the “golden hallmarks” of a fascinating message:

1. Do we provoke strong and immediate emotional reactions?
2. Do we create advocates?
3. Do we embody specific core values?
4. Do we incite conversation?
5. Do we force our competitors to follow our lead?
6. Do we trigger trends?

I believe, that as an HR Practitioner, we really want everyone to like us. Yet, Hogshead says that this type of approach will not fascinate anyone. In fact, if we are not generating some type of negative reactions, we probably aren’t fascinating anyone. Thus, contrary to what most of us have come to believe, being liked by everyone is not a necessary criteria for being a successful HR Practitioner.

Next, we must develop our message.

This begins with determining your “fascination badges.” Fascination badges are symbols of what you represent. These badges help employees, and fans, identify themselves with you, and through you.

There are seven types of badges. They are:

1. Purpose
2. Core Beliefs
3. Heritage
4. Products
5. Benefits
6. Actions
7. Culture

When I set about identifying my fascination badge, I found that the easiest way to do this was to ask some of my peers. They said that I am always happy and everyone trusts me. Thus, being a happy person equates to an “actions” badge and trust a “heritage’ badge. If you are having trouble determining your badges, I suggest asking your peers as well.

Once you have determined your “fascination badges,” it’s important that you build support for these badges. Fascination isn’t measured in what we say, but rather, what others say about us.

How Do We Measure Our Fascination Level?

Measuring our fascination level can be a bit tricky. Fascination is intangible and subjective. Common measurement forms won’t be effective. The only way to effectively track our fascination level is by determining how many people listen to and talk about our message to other people and then take action related to our message.

I recently had the opportunity to measure my fascination level. It started with a job being posted for an Area HR Manager.

Since I am currently a Human Resources Manager, becoming an Area HR Manager would be significant promotion. Within hours of this position being posted, by boss, and several of peers, immediately called me and suggested that I post for this position.

The fact that these individuals called and suggested that I post for this position, suggests that I have succeeded in crafting a fascinating message, because they took action and called me.

In summary, as HR Practitioners, we can best use the information presented in Fascinate to help us craft a message about us that provokes two or more of the seven triggers in our employees, peers, and bosses.

About the Author

Sally Hogshead is a speaker and author who has been featured in The New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS, and MSNBC. In 2006, she spent the year touring the country as a motivational speaker for CareerBuilder.com. She began her career in advertising and had won more awards in her first two years than any other copywriter in the U.S. You can learn more about Ms. Hogshead by visiting her website: www.sallyhogshead.com

Advertisement