翻译天堂  2016-10-21

Don’t Sell a Product, Sell a Whole New Way of Thinking

We all know the story.  A team creates a groundbreaking new innovation only to see it mired in internal debates. When it is eventually launched in the market, there is an initial flurry of sales to early adopters, but then sales cycles become sluggish. Pilot customers are enthusiastic, but broader adoption is slow even with customer support and training. All the pieces are in place to create “disruptive innovation” and to “cross the chasm,” but the results are disappointing. What’s missing? 人人都知道这样的故事：一个团队开发出一种突破性的创新产品，但是这种产品在公司内部讨论多时，却迟迟未能上市。后来，它终于面市了，一开始还在首批购买者中掀起一股销售热潮；可是好景不长，销售疲软的残酷现实接踵而至。虽然首批客户热情洋溢，然而产品的大范围推广却进展缓慢，即便提供客户支持与培训也无济于事。团队尽了一切努力去实现“颠覆性的创新”和“跨越鸿沟”式的技术性突破，但是结果却令人十分沮丧。到底还有什么地方做得不够呢？

The problem is that data, information, and value propositions are not enough to sell innovative products. We all know the saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But when it comes to innovation, the truth is often “I’ll see it when I believe it.” To sell your idea to executives, buyers, and users, you have to change not only what they think, but how they think. Without the right mental model, they won’t see the problem, understand the benefits, or make the change. 问题就在于，单靠数据、信息、价值取向这些元素，并不足以实现创新产品的顺利销售。虽然俗话说“眼见为实”，但在创新这件事上，真理却往往是“我信故我见”。假如你要向管理人员、购买者、用户推销你的创意，那么你要做的就不仅仅是改变他们思考的内容，而且还要改变他们思考的方式。如果没有恰当的思维模式，他们就无法理解问题，无法明白将会得到的好处，更无法着手改变。

Mental models are how the brain makes sense of the vast amount of information to be processed every moment of every day. They are the lens through which we see the world. The filter that separates the signal from noise. The framework for attributing cause and effect. The “sorting hat” to decide what makes it into our conscious awareness. 我们的大脑每时每刻都要处理大量信息。而思维模式指的就是，大脑如何理解这些信息的方式。我们思维模式，是我们看待世界的透镜，是从庞杂信息中分离出有用信号的过滤器，是我们判断前因后果所依据的框架，同时还是决定让何种信息进入我们意识觉知的指挥官。

To understand the power of mental models, consider Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, a physician working in Vienna in the 1840s. He observed that the death rate for puerperal fever fell tenfold when doctors washed their hands before treating patients. He shared his findings with his colleagues to introduce hand washing as a standard practice. Despite the data, his fellow doctors dismissed his findings. In fact, his colleagues and even his own wife thought he was losing his mind. They had him committed to a mental institution where he died shortly thereafter. 要了解思维模式的力量，就不得不提到一个人——19世纪40年代的奥地利医生伊格纳茨·塞麦尔韦斯。塞麦尔韦斯发现，如果医生在为病人治疗前先把手干净，那么，产褥热的死亡率就会降低10倍。他把这个重要发现告诉了他的同事，希望能使洗手这种行为成为医护人员的行为规范。尽管有数据支持，可是其他医生都对塞麦尔韦斯的发现不以为然。事实上，塞麦尔韦斯的同事们乃至他的妻子，都认为他发了疯，还把他送到了精神病院。进院后不久，塞麦尔韦斯便在精神病院里郁郁而终。

Why couldn’t Semmelweis persuade people of his innovation? In the 1840s, the mental model of disease was an imbalance of four “humours” in the body such as phlegm, bile, and blood. Every disease was entirely internal and unique. With this mental model, Semmelweis’ colleagues couldn’t see how handwashing could affect a person’s health. It didn’t matter what the data said. 为什么塞麦尔韦斯无法说服人们接受他的创新？19世纪40年代，人们的思维模式是这样的：他们认为疾病是由于体内四种体液——黏液、黄胆汁、黑胆汁和血液——的不平衡所引起的，每种疾病都独一无二，并且只与体内因素有关。基于这种思维模式，塞麦尔韦斯的同事无法理解洗手这种行为将如何影响人的健康。无论数据指向怎样的事实。

数十年之后，路易斯·巴斯德证明了致病的主要成因是细菌而非体液。这种新的思维方式，让医生们得以明白，为何洗手有益于健康。于是，个人卫生就成为了一条新的医疗规范。不幸的是，这种转变对于塞麦尔韦斯医生而言来得太晚。他无法扭转同事们的想法，因此也无法改变他们的行为。A few decades later, Louis Pasteur proved that germs, not humours, were the primary cause of disease. With this new mental model, doctors could understand how hand washing would affect health. Personal hygiene became a new standard of care. Unfortunately, this was too late for Dr. Semmelweis. He had failed to shift his colleagues’ thinking, and thus failed to shift their behavior.

创新者改变着我们看待世界的角度。那些成功地将创新产品推广、销售出去的公司，不仅善于改变人们对产品的看法，同时还善于改变他们对自己、对市场、乃至对世界的认知。史蒂夫·乔布斯正是我们这个时代了不起的思维转换大师。他极力主张“不同凡想”，改变了无数人对技术的看法，让技术变得更个性化、更人性化。Innovators change the lens through which we see the world.Companies that successfully market and sell innovation are able to shift how people think not only about their product, but about themselves, the market, and the world. Steve Jobs was one of the great mind shifters of our time. He championed the mantra “think different” and shifted the way people think about technology to be more personal and human.

比起传统的思想领导力，思维模式的转变会带来更深远的影响。思想领导力大多倡导，在不改变当前思维模式的情况下，将一家公司打造成业界的佼佼者。而转变思维模式，则是要挑战当下盛行的思维方式。Shifts in mental models go deeper than traditional thought leadership. Most thought leadership tries to establish a company as an expert within the existing mental model. Shifts in thinking challenge the prevailing model.

过去十年，Salesforce.com从一家创业公司发展成为企业软件领域的市场领导者。Salesforce.com自创立以来，不但一直关注信息处理技术模式的转变，同时还十分重视改变消费者的思维方式，以便让他们更好地接受其产品。Over the last ten years, Salesforce.com has grown from an upstart to a market leader in enterprise software. From the beginning, Salesforce.com has focused on shifting the paradigm of computing as much as shifting customers over to its product.

For years, the company’s marketing strategy has focused on the idea of “No Software,” reflecting the shift from packaged, installed software to cloud computing and software-as-a-service. Salesforce.com recognized that only after buyers understood the mental model of cloud computing could they understand the benefits of Salesforce.com as a product. 多年来，该公司的市场战略始终聚焦于“零软件”的构想，这种构想折射出一种转变，即：各种打包的安装软件将日渐式微，云计算和“软件即服务”模式将统领未来。Salesforce.com明白，只有当购买者能够理解云计算这种模式时，他们才会晓得Salesforce.com这个网站所能带给他们的好处。

To put the power of mental models to work in your business, start with three steps: 如要使思维模式在你的业务中发挥威力，请从以下三步做起：

A. Identify the shift

The first step is identifying the underlying shift inthinking. This is different than your value proposition. It’s an assumption (usually unconscious) about how the world works.

To find the shift, ask yourself a few questions. What was the original insight that led to the innovation? Where do you feel people “don’t get it” about your solution? What is the “aha” moment when someone turns from disinterested to enthusiastic?

Try to frame it as a From and a To. This is not about bad to good, just better for the current context. As an example, consider companies selling software and services related to “big data.” The shift is not about “simple to intelligent” or “smaller to bigger.” In the area of data, the “aha” might relate to a shift in thinking about decision-making (from intuition to analytics), in data models (from spreadsheets to algorithms), or how the data is used (fromtarget to empower)

A. 识别转变

第一步是要识别潜在的思维转变。这有别于你的价值取向。这是一种关于世界如何运行的设想（通常是无意识的）。

要找出这种转变，就要问你自己几个问题：最初是什么样的洞见引领你走向创新？你觉得你的解决方案中的哪些地方让人们难以理解？人们在什么时候恍然大悟，从原先的不感兴趣变得兴致勃勃？

试着把你的答案一一列出。答案无关好坏，都是为了改善目前的情况。举个例子，想想那些销售“大数据”软件与服务的公司。这种转变指的并不是“从简单到智能”或“从较小到较大”的转变。在数据领域，顿悟的时刻或许跟决策层面的思维转变有关（从依靠直觉到仰赖分析），跟数据模型的转变有关（从运用制表到运用算法），或者跟数据使用方式的转变有关（从定位到授权）。

B. Find the sticking point

Next, determine how mental models are getting in the way of your success. The sticking points are usually in one of three areas. You can tell which one by the associated symptom.

B.找到症结

接着，分析思维模式如何妨碍了你的成功。问题的症结通常跟以下某一种情况有关。联想相关症状，答案自会浮现。

PRESENT: The model of how things work today. Do people fail to see a problem that seems obvious to you? If so, they are operating with a different model of the current state. This is often because they don’t see how things are related. As an example, the movie An Inconvenient Truth was successful in shifting many people’s mental model of the relationship between greenhouse gases and global warming. If you are trying to get people to see a problem or opportunity, focus on disrupting their existing mental model.现状：关于目前事物如何运行的思维模式。对于某个在你看来似乎显而易见的问题，人们是否毫无察觉？如果真是这样，那么他们对现状的认知，运用的就是与你截然不同的一种思维方式。这通常是由于他们不清楚事物之间有着怎样的联系。举个例子，电影《难以忽视的真相》叙述了温室气体与全球变暖之间的关系，成功地改变了许多人对这个问题的思考方式。当你试图让人们看到问题或机会的时候，重点就是打破他们现有的思维模式。

FUTURE: The model of how things could be in the future. Do people recognize the problem, but fail to see how your solution could solve their problem? This was the situation faced by Dr. Semmelweis in his Vienna hospital. People agreed that mortality was a problem, but they couldn’t see how handwashing could make a difference. If you are trying to get people to understand the benefits of your solution, focus on shifting their thinking in a way that reveals why your solution would be effective.未来：关于未来事物将如何发展的思维模式。人们是否已经意识到某个问题，却不清楚你的方案将如何解决问题？这是塞麦尔韦斯在维也纳的医院里曾面临的窘境。人们承认高居不下的死亡率确实是一个问题，但他们并不明白洗手这件事将如何带来改变。如果你想让人们明白你的解决方案将带来何种好处，那么你就需要展示你的方案，解释它为何有效，从而扭转人们的想法。

TRANSITION: The model for how to bring a new future into being. Do people recognize the problem, and the value of your solution, but fail to make the change? Sometimes people recognize the need to jump from the trapeze bar they are on, and can see the merits of the new bar you are offering them, but feel they can’t make the jump. In this case, focus on a mental model related to the transition. Define a roadmap that explains to them how to get from where they are to where they want to go.过渡阶段：关于如何让全新的未来成为现实的思维模式。人们是否认识到问题所在，明白你方案的价值，却依然未能作出改变？有时候，人们意识到有必要从旧的悬吊杆上跳下来，也清楚你所提供的新悬吊杆有各种优点，但他们就是觉得难办。在这种情况中，不妨把注意力集中在与过渡有关的思维模式上。制定一份路线图，告诉人们如何逐步地摒弃旧的习惯，采用新的做法。

C. Build the program

Shifts in thinkingdon’t happen overnight, any more than going to a weekend yoga workshop makes you flexible. Think of it like learning a second language or building a new habit – in this case a mental habit. People need to see how the newway of thinking plays out in different contexts and situations.

“The really good innovations – the ones that change the world – need to be explained before they’re accepted,” Beth Comstock, the Chief Marketing Officer of GE, recently wrote. One of GE’s mantras is therefore “mindshare before market share.” GE’s strategy focuses on being a “content factory” to disseminate powerful stories. Interestingly, GE is also the home of Crotonville, one of the world’s top corporate universities. Perhaps in the future we will see corporate universities expand beyond employees to serve customers and clients as well.

Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Companies that help customers shift their thinking will be more effective at solving problems and ultimately selling products.

C.制定计划

思维方式不可能在一夜之间发生转变，这就好比你不能指望参加一次周末瑜伽班就能让自己身体变柔软。思维的转变就好比学习第二门语言或塑造一个新的习惯——只不过我们现在要塑造的是思维习惯。人们需要了解这种新式思维如何在不同情景、不同处境下发挥作用。

“真正卓越的创新者——也就是那些改变世界的人——在他们的创想被接纳前，必须不断地向人们解释说明。”美国通用电气公司的首席营销官贝斯·康斯托克最近写道。通用电气公司的其中一条准则便是：“占领市场前，先占领思想。”该公司的战略是要成为一家“有内涵的工厂”，向千家万户输送动人故事（见文末译者注）。有趣的是，通用电气公司还是克罗顿维尔大学（世界顶尖企业大学之一）的所在地。也许在未来，我们会看到这类企业大学不断发展壮大，不仅服务于企业内部的雇员，同时还服务于消费者和客户。

阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦曾说：“我们不能用旧有的思维模式来解决问题，因为起初正是这种思维模式导致了问题的发生。”那些帮助消费者转变思维方式的公司，将更善于解决问题，并最终实现产品的成功销售。

马克·波恩彻可 是思轨公司促成革新方面的主要负责人，他帮助众多公司创建基于“拉动”而非“推动”的参与型战略，并且是转变研究院的创始人。