legal sanity

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In my house, you’ll often here the rousing cry “Go Blue” on a football Saturday. Yup, although my wife threw away my beloved plastic Wolverine helmet years ago, I’m still a faithful fan of the Maize and Blue. So, it’s not surprising that my attention was grabbed by Debbie Weil’s terrific blog post connecting word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) and passionate UM sports fans.

Titled Michigan vs. Wisconsin: rock concert meets WOMM, the post relates Weil’s experience of a recent Big House contest attended by a “record 111,000-plus fans.” Marveling at the call to action that inspired the fans to all wear the same, newly issued shirt; perform well-choreographed waves; and cheer, chant and groan in unison, Weil ends with this great marketing query:

“Now how do you get 111,000-plus people together and create that same kind of energy, enthusiasm, and cooperation (there was no pushing or shoving) for your own cause? How do you harness the kind of passion Michigan Wolverine fans exhibit? To persuade and inform whether it's a political campaign or a new product?”

I’ve previously discussed my views on creating passionate legal service providers and consumers. As with the Big House fanfare, this kind of passion arises organically from the larger cultural milieu. It’s not the byproduct of some directive from on high stating “now get out there and act passionate, people.”

Some additional insight into the organic nature of passion, inspiration and motivation is offered by Kathy Sierra in a post called Motivating others: why "it's good for you" doesn't work . She points to studies and other support for the proposition that joy, fun and meaning are much more powerful motivators than fear (including the oft-cited fear of death).