Envisioning a digital infrastructure for a Learning Health System
Inspire don’t Manipulate
As the result of a watching a TED talk video about Simon Sinek I purchased Start with Why, Sinek’s book that provides more detail than the talk. Â After saying in chapter 1 what he said so eloquently in the TED video, in chapter 2 Sinek writes:
There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it…Typical manipulations include: dropping price; running a promotion; using fear, peer pressure or aspirational messages; and promising innovation to influence behavior – be it a purchase, a vote or support.
He also writes that those companies that have an unclear idea about the reasons customers buy their product are very likely to use manipulation to make their sales because manipulations to sell products and services. Â Companies pay a price for manipulation, usually in product quality and, eventually, competitiveness, sales and profitability.
The alternative is to inspire your customers, as, Sinek says, does Apple for instance.  Inspiring customers requires an understanding of what your potential customers want to buy.  By purchasing an Apple iPhone or computer, an individual reinforces their desire to be perceived as unique and different (1).  The image of a different product that stands out in a world of commodity smart phones and computers Apple uses to inspire its potential customers to buy their products.
As for the business I am currently developing, the Biomedical Informatics Think Tank ™ has, initially, potential customers in government agencies interested in improving healthcare, as well as academics leading in defining a biomedical informatics infrastructure for population studies, clinical effectiveness research, public health research, CDSS design and translational research.  In fact, if the latter group is inspired to join the BITT ™, as 21 individuals have already joined, I’m confident that the resulting think tank will be what attracts the potential customers in government agenices.  Thus, my focus is on attracting a strong team with exciting projects.
