There’s a fascinating theory that humans are a lot like bees, or ants.
Meaning that one way to look at human society is not as a group of individuals, but as one gigantic organism, slowly spreading across Earth.
I know this is controversial, and most of us (especially yours truly) doesn’t like the idea of being a simple speck in a much bigger machine.
But it can be valuable to at least look at human behavior from this perspective.
No matter what you’re doing, being able to look at the event from different perspectives can be extremely helpful.
I’m sure you’ve watched some crime dramas or movies where the cop had to “try on” the mindset of the killer in order to catch him, and then have trouble “coming back” to reality.
It’s a pretty common theme, because it’s pretty common.
For example, in sales, getting rapport is crucial. Without it, you can’t do much. But once you’ve got it, you’ve got to step back, just a little bit, and lead, instead of follow.
No matter who you are, and who you’re in rapport with, one person is going to be leading, and one person is going to be following.
In a personal relationship, this will naturally ebb and flow like the tide.
But in a persuasive relationship like sales, you’d better be leading.
I once knew a lady who was fantastic at getting rapport, but horrible at leading. She would slip into rapport with pretty much everybody that walked in the door.
But then she would fall into their world, instead of the other way around. Meaning she truly believed that they wanted the product, but simply couldn’t afford it.
Consequently, she never tried to increase the value of the product, and never got many sales.
One thing that’s cool about bees is how they tell each other where the food is. They all scatter at the beginning of the day, and then come back. When they do, they do a little dance. They based on the dance, they know who found the most food, and they also know exactly where it is.
Now, I know we’re not bees, but we do pay close attention to social signals, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Social proof is one of the many pieces of blue that binds our societies together.
To find out the rest, check this out: