Unleash Your Ideavirus

You're at your business-school reunion. Everyone's bragging about how successful they already are -- and trading lies about what they're doing to become even more successful. Frank the Jock talks about the dotcom he's just started. Suzie the Wallstreeter says that she has already made her money and is now turning her energy toward rebuilding Eastern Europe. And then the group looks at you.

"Well," you say, "I think the future -- the really big money -- is in owning a farm. A really small one, no more than 100 acres. Of course, I'll invest in a tractor. I expect that in just a few years my husband and I can cash out and buy ourselves a nice little brownstone in the city."

Ludicrous, no? Owning a farm may bring tremendous lifestyle benefits, but it hasn't been a ticket to wealth for more than 200 years.

So let's rewind the tape. Once again, your B-school buddies turn to you expectantly, and this time you announce, "I've just taken out a loan to buy my own hot-stamping press! In no time at all, I'll be turning out steel widgets. Before you know it, the United Auto Workers will want to organize my dedicated team of workers -- and after that, Look out, auto-parts industry, here I come!"

Uh, no, wrong again. Most of us can agree that the big money went out of factory ownership at least 30 years ago. So, one more time, hit rewind. One more time, your bragging buddies turn to you, and this time you say, "I'm about to unleash my ideavirus!"

Soybeans, Wal-Mart, and Ideaviruses

The first 100 years of our country's history were about who could build the biggest, most efficient farms. The second 100 years were about the race to build efficient factories. Welcome to the third century: This one's about ideas.

At the moment, nobody knows how to build a farm for ideas, much less a factory for ideas. This much we do know: Ideas are driving the economy, ideas are making people rich, and, most importantly, ideas are changing the world. So even though we're clueless about how best to organize the production of ideas, one thing is clear: If you can get people to accept, embrace, adore, and cherish your ideas, you win! You win financially, you gain power, and you change the world.

What does it take to win? What do you need to do to change the conversation in business, and, if you're lucky, to change the world? If you're a farmer, you want nothing more than a high price for your soybeans. If you're a manufacturer of consumer goods, you dream about a display at the cash register at Wal-Mart. And if you're an idea merchant? You want to unleash an ideavirus.

An idea that just sits there is worthless. But an idea that moves, grows, and infects everyone it touches ... that's an ideavirus.

Exactly how does an ideavirus manifest itself? Where does it live? What does it look like? It starts with an idea manifesto, a powerful, logical "essay" that assembles a bunch of existing ideas and transforms them into a new, larger idea that's unified and compelling. Sometimes a manifesto is a written essay. Just as often it's an image, a song, a cool product, or a slick process. The medium doesn't matter; the message does. As long as you can use your manifesto to change the way that people think, talk, and act, you create value.

WARNING: Not only is this an article about ideas and ideaviruses, it is also a manifesto striving to become an ideavirus! If this manifesto changes your mind about marketing and ideas, maybe you'll share it with a friend. Or with two. Or with your entire company. If that happens, this essay will become an ideavirus.

In the new economy, consumers have built up antibodies that resist traditional marketing. That's why we need to stop marketing at people, and start creating an environment where consumers can market to one another.

So, is an ideavirus a form of marketing? Absolutely! But today, what else is there? You don't win with better shipping, or better manufacturing, or better accounts payable. You win with better marketing, because marketing is about spreading ideas -- and ideas are now the very basis of competition.

The future belongs to the people who unleash ideaviruses.