Trying to get your organization to embrace change? Apparently the magic number is 5%.
Back in February, my Dvorak feed called my attention to this interesting article: "Sheep in human clothing – scientists reveal our flock mentality". In it, scientists at the University of Leeds found that it takes just 5% of the population to change the behavior of the remaining population.
They conducted a series of experiments where people walked randomly in a large hall, but selected a few who were told to walk in a specific manner. It took only 5% walking in a pattern to influence the majority of random-walkers.
While this study showed that 5% was the magic number to influence people acting without direction, I expect it may require more effort to get people to change course. Perhaps it will be useful in introducing new technology in areas where there is no set direction already.
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