Authority

Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia says, in part:

In politics, authority...is often used interchangeably with the term "power". However,... while "power" refers to the ability to achieve certain ends, "authority" refers to a claim of legitimacy, justification and right to exercise that power. For example, whilst a mob has the power to punish a criminal, such as through lynching, many people consider only the courts have the authority to order capital punishment.

This is important for entrepreneurs because if they can achieve a sort of ligitimacy in the market place, their products sell faster and their business grows more quickly. Or, if they can import legitimacy they can make their products better known, and word of mouth will spread farther and wider.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Entrepreneurship informs everything I do. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for entrepreneurial writing, to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com

Social Proof

Social proof happens in a social situation when a person has or wants to do something yet is not sure the right thing to do. They seek social proof from someone or something outside of themselves to help them make their decision. The source of that proof could be parent, television personality, child, friend, or "expert" opinion in a book they read.

Social Proof is one of six psychological "principles" that direct human behavior identified by Robert B. Cialdini in his book, Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion(New York: William Morrow, 1984, 1993).

The six principles given by Cialdini are: consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. (p. xiii)

For example, you are driving on your way home which is down the road about a mile. You come around a bend and see an emergency vehicle's lights flashing and a detour sign and a police officer in uniform telling you to take a side road. You do it because you have ceded authority to the guy in the uniform and to the emergency vehicle whose lights are flashing.

But if you came across the same situation with a car off to the side of the road, no emergency vehicle, and a guy in old clothes waving at you from the side, you'd probably be concerned and drive on past. You might call 9-1-1 to report someone in trouble, but you certainly wouldn't stop and let him in.

That's the power of social proof: the emergency lights and the uniform. What if that was a scam to rob people going by. You assume it's on the up and up because of the situation.