Trade Off - Maney

Malcolm Gladwell has given us three lenses through which we can view certain market phenomena that on the surface seem mystifying.  "The Tipping Point", which allows us to see that once things reach a critical mass with "stickiness' ' and the right combination of salesmen, connectors, and mavens a product might undergo explosive growth.  In "Blink" we were introduced to the idea that sometimes a very complex event can be dealt with in a very intuitive way, just an instinct for making the right decisions.  In "Outliers' ' Gladwell provided us a framework to understand how some successes are more than random.  Gladwell helped us see that there are a lot of market phenomena occurring that we don't fully understand, he gave them a name and some exposure to see that it is happening, but not necessarily what to do about it. With the release of Kevin Maney's new book, "Trade Off - Why Some Things Catch On and Others Don't", we are treated to another lens through which to view seemingly mystifying market events.  But he has given us what Gladwell missed, a practical business tool to build a working strategy -- as so many of the successful business leaders he covered did intuitively.  It is no surprise Maney wrote this book.  First, after covering technology for 22 years for the USA Today, Maney had a front row seat to digest, understand, and report on the rise and fall of many technologies, he is an expert.  Second, having put in the requisite 10,000 hours as a journalist, as Gladwell would suggest is the necessary number of hours for mastering his reporting skills, who better than to report the phenomenon he has dubbed in the first chapter as "The Fidelity Swap".  And finally, and most importantly, Gladwell was never really able to definitively explain "stickiness", that unknown phenomenon that produces an attraction to a product or service.  Maney has now given us the essence of the Gladwellian "stickiness".  It is that characteristic about a product or service that compels us to love it or require it in our lives...as a necessity.  The two extremes of that which we love, those high fidelity, high quality experiences that move our every sense which we are willing to sacrifice and pay top dollar for, and that which we need, to use, consume, or connect everyday by either force of habit or necessity that must be simple, convenient, and cheap. The markets continuously trade between fidelity and convenience because the consumer makes the same swap in their daily lives.  With all that has been written about the complexities of the economy and drivers of our markets Maney has given us something simple, intuitive, and more important fundamentally true.  I have used his simple lens to view my experiences.  I have not found a single instance where I would argue his framework does not hold up.  Sure there are products that fall into his "Fidelity Bubble" which for lack of something we love more or has not been very convenient, we are forced to use.  It is here, on the axis of his "Fidelity Swap" that he has given the next generation of entrepreneurs an incredible advantage and has given corporate leaders a framework for discussing their intuitive vision of products and services.  The Wharton School of business should immediately award Maney an honorary MBA for giving us the concept of a Fidelity Swap. We are principally sensory beings equipped for live performance with all of our senses turned on.  We are also very lazy.  The fidelity mirage is the ultimate dream state -- titillate all of our senses from the comfort of our own beds.  Maney has pegged the human condition in the epoch of high technology.