Theory of Incremental Advantage

Gestures Shape World Events

Great historical events can spring from small slights and gesturing can avert mutinies and define military success. Kaiser Wilhelm never forgave the French for not treating him to a parade in Paris. “The monarchs of Europe have paid no attention to what I have to say,” the German emperor whined before setting the Continent aflame in 1914.

PUTTING ON GLASSES AVERTED A COUP D’ETAT

The American army was starving and barely clothed in 1783. Congress took a long time to decide whether to send supplies to the dying forces. Pamphlets circulated in the Army camps urging the army to march on Congress to enforce its legitimate demands at the point of a bayonet. When George Washington put on his glasses and said “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.” The battle-hardened veterans were clearly moved and a military coup d’etat was averted.

GESTURING CAN DEFINE MILITARY SUCCESS

Of the approximately 360,000 Iraqi soldiers on the battlefield during the Gulf War, 28% of them (nearly 100,000) were killed in action, and as many as 200,000 sustained serious injuries. In addition, coalition forces captured 60,000 prisoners, and by some estimates there may have been as many as 150,000 deserters. As for casualties on the other side, 390 American soldiers, sailors, airmen died in combat, while 458 were wounded in action. Among coalition forces, there were a total of 510 casualties.

However, Iraqi General Sultan Hashim attended the armistice ceremonies with General Schwartzkopf with his pistol on his belt. Also, General Sultan shook Schwartzkopf’s hand when Schwartzkopf planned not to shake hands as a sign of disrespect. To the Iraqi’s, these were signs that the Iraqi’s won the war.

Professor Dan Gilbert of Harvard University believes that the reason that people take more umbrage at slights than character assignations is that when one is attacked personally, his psychological immune system protects him from injury. However, when one suffers a slight, his psychological immune system is not triggered and therefore his feelings are more exposed.

Thinking Creatively

You can mold impressions by thinking creatively. In 1957, Sony introduced its TR-63 "pocketable" radio. This was a phenomenal feat in miniaturization and Sony was excited that the ability to put its radio in a pocket would provide wonderful marketing leverage. However, just as the radio was about to hit the market, Sony discovered that its radio was still slightly larger than a businessman's shirt pocket. Akio Morita, Sony's CEO, solved this marketing problem by ordering special shirts for his salesmen that had pockets slightly larger than normal.

What is the Secret of Einstein's Fame?

Albert Einstein achieved rock star fame during his lifetime. Even today, Einstein is by far the most well-known physicist. The Baby Einstein Company was acquired for $150 million by Disney. Hebrew University in Jerusalem earns tremendous royalties just by licensing his name.

There is no question that Albert Einstein was a genius. He was also active in politics. He was offered the presidency of Israel but declined the nomination, he spoke so ardently against the Nazi's that they placed a $5,000 bounty on his head, and he campaigned against the development of the atomic bomb. His wit also won the hearts of the media.

However, there were and are today many brilliant physicists. If one were to peer into many of their lives, one would find that many of them devoted considerable time and energy advancing philanthropic and honorable causes. Some of them were and are telegenic, attractive and accomplished wordsmiths.

So why was and is Einstein so revered? Is it more due to Einstein's intelligence or his hair? This is a deadly serious question. Was the incremental advantage that thrust Einstein into super stardom his superior intellect over the other Nobel-laureate physicists or his electrified-looking halo of hair?

It might very well be because of his hair. There may only be 1,000 people on the face of the earth who are intelligent enough to debate whether Einstein's contributions to physics exceeded those of Max Plank, Sir Isaac Newton or James Clerk Maxwell or any of the other scores of Nobel Laureates for Physics.

As many as 9,000 people attended Einstein's lectures which often dragged on for three or four hours. Most of us would be lost after listening to a few sentences. Even if we had understood an entire three hour lecture, Einstein himself said repeatedly it would take him three days to explain the Theory of Relativity. Moreover, Einstein delivered many of his presentations to English speaking audiences in his native German and quite often there was no translation. The fact that the vast majority of the people who attended Einstein's lectures had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, in no way dampened his appeal.

Einstein's hair and crumpled suits made him look like a genius. The image that he projected may have propelled him into eternal fame.

Brief Impressions Matter

Two Harvard psychologists – Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal – conducted a particularly devastating experiment. They wanted to determine how effectively strangers watching just two seconds of a video clip without sound could judge lecturers’ effectiveness in engaging students. The ratings awarded by complete strangers viewing the video clip was nearly identical to those students who had sat through a semester of class awarded the lecturers.

Posture is Important

One reason that physical exercise is important is that it helps one retain a positive posture. A better posture will allow you to stand up straighter and appear taller. Tall people definitely make a good impression on the public.

Of the 43 American presidents, only five have been below average height, an it has been more than a hundred years since voters elected someone who was shorter than average. In the 1988 presidential debate, George Bush Senior greeted Michael Dukakis with an exaggeratedly long handshake – a move apparently orchestrated by Bush’s campaign manager to have them stand together as long as possible and thus make the most of the fact that Bush was taller.

Bill Clinton's Picture with President Kennedy

On July 24, 1963, 16 year-old Bill Clinton visited the White House during a leadership conference. During this conference, the students were to meet President John Kennedy. The students were to form a reception line according to the alphabetical sequence of the states they represented. Since Arkansas is the fourth state in terms of alphabetical order (Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona precede it), Bill Clinton should have taken the 4th place in this line. However, Bill Clinton calculated that President Kennedy would shake the hand of every third delegate. Thus, he elbowed himself to take the third place in the reception line. Bill Clinton calculated correctly and got a picture and movie footage of himself shaking hands with John Kennedy in the Rose Garden. Bill Clinton used this picture throughout his career to drape himself with President Kennedy’s halo. For instance, the footage was showcased at the Democratic National Convention in 1992 and people called Bill Clinton the next JFK. This quick thinking definitely helped Bill Clinton throughout this political career.

Imagery of War is Sometimes Decisive

History is replete with examples of battles in which the fear of being attacked has had a bigger impact than the foreboding attack itself. For example, in World War II, Field Marshal Hermann Goering - the head of the Luftwaffe - had equipped his Stukas with sirens on his airplanes' wings designed solely to induce terror into their hapless victims. (Interestingly, London's anti-aircraft guns were more useful in lifting the spirits of Londoners than in shooting down German planes.) Elsewhere in history, the British used recordings of battle to scare the Argentinian forces during the Falklands campaign and used the same tactics against Iraqi forces in Basra more recently.