THE EXPENSIVE WINE EFFECT. FUNCTIONAL MRI SCANS, DECEPTION, AND LESSONS FOR YOUR PROJECT.

In 2008, researchers?used functional MRI?to scan participants while they tasted wines that were deceptively labeled. When the price of a wine was increased, participants reportedly enjoyed the flavour more.

In 2017,?follow-up research?was able to confirm these results. Scanning the brains of those tasting wines, researchers found increasing the price of the product once again improved subjective reports of flavour.

What’s more, this deceptive pricing increased activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex of the brain, which is thought to encode for experienced pleasantness.

“The reward and motivation system is activated more significantly with higher prices and apparently increases the taste experience in this way,”?said?behavioral economist Bernd Weber from the University of Bonn in Germany in 2017.

OK, so wine buffs are just suckers. What’s this got to do with my project?

Prominence

So we know that wine that is more expensive tastes better, or so we believe. Did you also know that sommeliers in restaurants are able to?charge 10-20% more for the same bottle?of wine you would get in a restaurant that didn’t have a sommelier?

As humans, we are drawn to those people who are?‘in the know’. And we are prepared to pay more for it. We actively seek out those?‘in the know’. The prestige, the inside-track, the art and the mystery of the unknown has always attracted us more. Using this knowledge on your project can make you more successful.

Who has the prominence in your organisation?

You can spot the people with prominence without even thinking about it too much. Who are the people that, when they speak, everyone listens. When there’s a question the execs in your organisation have on a topic, who is the person they go to? This is prominence in action. Those people, for those topics, are perceived to have the prominence.

Like the wine, the answer may be the same even if they asked someone different. But prominence matters. The answer from the person with prominence carries extra weight. There are 2 ways to use this to increase project success.

Use those with prominence to deliver your messages

If your messages are delivered by those with prominence, your messages carry the extra weight that prominence provides. Of course, prominence is not universal. You wouldn’t ask your sommelier for advice on where to take your car for a service. Or if you did, their answer wouldn’t carry the same weight. But your mechanic friend would have prominence in this scenario.

When you have important messages, that just can’t?‘miss’, think! Who has prominence on this topic? Getting that person to convey your message will make it more likely to be heard and more likely to be acted upon.

It’s also super-easy to get someone with prominence to deliver your message. The more?‘The Prominent One’?continues to foster an aura of wonder and awe with their specialist capability, the more prominent they become. And your message will help them achieve this aim. Play to that prominence, be open and honest with them. The message from them carries more weight and therefore you would like them to deliver it. Chances are, that’s all it needs.

Build your own prominence

Such is the value of prominence, it can be worth the investment to build your own prominence. If you become the organisational expert, everything you say carries that extra weight. You now have access to prominence for your project whenever you choose to use it. You are?‘The Prominent One’.

Building prominence takes time. It needs consistent repetition on some key characteristics. Do enough of this and you will get prominence. Eventually.

• Choose your niche.?Then stick to it. Make sure the things you talk about are always associated to your niche. Don’t deviate and offer opinion on a different topic. Become the expert on your topic.
• Create engaging content.?Actively publish and discuss on your niche. Don’t just be the expert, show people that you are the expert. Think carefully about the data and opinion you publish. Make it interesting and engaging. You can’t build prominence if people don’t engage. So make sure your material is engaging.
• Share selflessly.?If you have information, publish it. Share it with everyone that will listen. It’s no use hiding your prominence. If people don’t know you’re the go-to, then your prominence will not develop. You have to share your insights and knowledge for no short term gain.
• Communicate with integrity.?Be nothing but truthful. Don’t try and twist a fact to suit your agenda. In fact, when facts don’t suit your agenda, share those selflessly too. Someone who shares the good and the bad will build prominence (and trust) on a topic quicker than someone who only ever shares the good.

Be careful. Prominence can be fleeting

Prominence is much quicker to lose than it is to build. And once it’s lost, it’s almost impossible to build it back. If you destroy your prominence, it ain’t coming back in a hurry. Use it wisely. Don’t guess, be sure of your facts, continue to double-down on the four tenets that help you build prominence. Most importantly, hold your integrity strong and central.

A level of prominence will help you communicate key messages and help you bring attention to key components in your project. If you don’t have it, consider building it. When you have important information to impart, use those with prominence to spread your message. Key messages taken seriously will help your project be more successful.