Have you ever wondered why some tech companies make it big while others never get off the ground?

The answers are just as applicable to the individual as it is to the companies which reach for and grab the brass ring.

Here’s the original idea. They call it the “Betamax problem.”

Decades before internet streaming and YouTube, during the era of audio cassette tapes, there were a couple of companies which came up with the bright idea that something akin to this technology could be applied to video.

These two companies were Betamax and VHS.

By many if not most accounts, Betamax was the superior technology.

However it was discovered that superior technology is not what drives superior adoption.

Superior adoption is what drives superior adoption!

What???

Think about it. As more people use a certain standard, more people are inclined to decide to use that same standard going forward.

See, every subsequent sale is first preceded by the choice to purchase one format or the other.

As a result, those who do their research are more inclined to purchase into the technology which offers the most selection and as that purchaser joins ranks, the scale tips  a bit more in the favor of their chosen technology.

Regarding the example of Betamax, VHS got the upper hand and as a result Betamax was ultimately eliminated as a choice. It was winner take all!

But here’s the key, even before the elimination of Betamax as a choice, VHS had rendered this a fait accompli by surpassing the “tipping point.”

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell explains this concept as …

[T]hat magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate.

Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm uses a psycho-graphic to pull these concepts together.

Pictured above on his book cover is a segmented bell curve.

This bell curve represents technological adoption.

For those mathematically inclined, the x-axis represents time and the y-axis represents aggregate numbers of people adopting the technology at various points in time.

The segmented portions from left to right represent: (a) Innovators (light blue); (b) Early Adopters (green); (c) Early Majority (dark blue); (d) Late Majority (yellow); and (e) Laggards (gold).

The chasm is the wide (red) segment between Early Adopters and the Early Majority.

Betamax never crossed the chasm; VHS did. We know this because VHS took over the market.

But this begs the question:  Why does the chasm exist?

The difference between Early Adopters and the Early Majority is that the former have the passion to rush in because the offering resonated with them.

Early Adopters are folks best described by Steve Jobs quip: “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”

Early Adopters generally know what they want and they are willing to go out and get it.

And if it doesn’t work out quite like they expect, they pick themselves up and get going again.

The latter? Well, members of the Early Majority are unwilling to attempt a course for which they don’t see a clear path.

Their saying might be best described as: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Yet, once they do start to see it, they too jump in. That’s the tipping point!

The tipping point occurs at about 13 -15% of market penetration.

So, what should a leader do to cross the chasm and with it the tipping point?

Actually, it’s more helpful to frame the question as: “To cross the chasm, what should a leader decidedly NOT do?”

Instead of pursuing those who are “unwilling to believe it until they see it”, the better strategy is to focus on delivering extraordinary value to the Early Adopters who do.

It is the Early Adopters who then provide the testimonials and referrals to their less certain contacts which serves as the impetus to get the later to also make the decision and move forward.

This group of contacts are the Early Majority. Their entry marks the tipping of the scales and closing of the gap.

Hmm? “Closing the Gap?” That sounds interestingly familiar.

In fact, all of this great information is both familiar and interesting.

And that is precisely the problem.

Until one applies it, that’s about all the value there is to it: “Interesting.”

How would you like to be able to convert what I have just explained into results?

Regardless if you want to do something great on your own, with family, or with your company.

You can if you and those who you lead have the desire and are willing to make a committed decision to get into action.

This is what my work with the Proctor Gallagher Institute is all about.

We call it “Closing the Knowing/Doing Gap.”

“Closing the Knowing/Doing Gap” to manifest results is not so much a matter of doing many things well…

It’s a matter of doing many times just a few things in a certain way calculated to yield results and then to persist until so habituated that it too becomes a fait accompli.

There are a number of things required if you are going to “cross the chasm” and move from merely dreaming to actually receiving that which you really want.

Belief, conquering self-doubt and fear, and persistence, these may sound like really simple concepts and they are.

What my PGI coaching program does is to help you to move these simple concepts across the line between conscious and subconscious understanding.

When you do that, when you surpass your own “tipping point”,  your world is completely different.

This is because you have internalized it – YOU OWN IT!

The vast number of people who attempt to do this on their own find that a solitary attempt to cross the “knowing/doing gap” is too great an undertaking; it appears to be a huge chasm.

Those who work with me though learn to step out of their current situation.

They learn to view the chasm as a fissure and just get on with the work at hand.

Why? Because I’ve spent almost 2 years learning and internalizing these materials and I’m working the best.

Bob Proctor is the world’s foremost expert on human success and achievement. He’s been engaged in this work for 60 years!

So, why would you hold off for even a second. Life’s short and some shots you never get to take twice.

Reply right now and let’s talk about getting you moving forward with “THINKING INTO RESULTS.”

You will be so happy and grateful you did!