“It's never a good sign when extremism becomes the norm” Ari Melber
Have we as a society become trained to become more extreme?
Are people more polarised in their views than we were before?
If like me, you believe this to be true, it raises several questions:
How did this happen; and
As Leaders what can we do differently about it.
The journey I invite you to join me on starts with some observations.
What I See
Some data points which reflect some of the things that I see in my world (more of that later on with some open disclosure around what I allow to influence me).
It’s hard not to see the division in US politics between left and right. There seems to be little, if any common ground.
It’s not just the US - pick any country - the UK, France, Germany, Holland. The extremes are rising.
Find any thread on social media where there’s 30 plus comments. Scan down it. The extremes quickly become apparent in the dialogue with ‘keyboard warriors’ quickly escalating the temperature.
Have you noticed this too?
What extremes of conversation do you observe?
If you see something different, I’d be genuinely fascinated to hear about it.
So, if this is a trend, how did it come about?
How did this Happen
I think a lot of this is due to social media.
Big statement I know. Let me explain.
The algorithms behind Linked, Insta, Twitters etc were created by companies.
They need to make money, and the way they do that is by pulling the levers to keep you on their site for as long as possible.
And it would seem that the best way to do that is by fuelling Outrage.
In short, I believe we being trained to become more Outraged.
That is not a good thing. Perhaps obvious, but worth saying.
People tend to follow views that align with their own rather than views that challenge them to think differently.
People become more hardened and certain in their own views, when all they hear is ideas that re-inforce what they already believe.
Warwick Business School published research in March 2024 on this. Link.
The article concludes that ‘influencers’ are rewarded with celebrity status for sharing their extreme views.
This is exactly the problem.
We are being trained to become more extreme.
An example.
Steven Bartlett is a high profile influencer. He is someone who is a master at driving success via social media. This recent post highlights the advice that has brought him success and that he shares with others.
“You have to piss off 80% of people to reach your 20%.. This is how to create content that captures, engages and converts every single time. We use this principle for every single piece of content shared across every channel”
For sure, it’s good “commercial” advice.
In terms of the rise of extremism in our world, I think this thinking is the driving force in an ecosystem that’s been created by the social media platforms.
So what.
I think it’s useful to reflect on the world we live in.
To be more aware of the influences that are acting upon us, our family, our team members, our customers and the world more widely.
The things I’m describing directly shape the culture and the world we live in.
I think as leaders, it’s important to see this.
And to then respond differently.
What can you do Differently
I think that there are some interesting experiments we can all run to explore this.
My fascination in life is with finding the small human shifts that anyone can make that can unlock achieving big bold goals.
All these experiments are with this lens in mind.
Experiment 1 (5 -10 mins) Run an Influence Audit.
Take 5 mins to just reflect on what you allow to influence you. Both, the good and the bad.
Pause and reflect.
Are there influences you can remove that don’t serve you (individuals, influencers and publications).
Is there much diversity in there? Do you feel you get a balanced view on the world and what’s happening?
Make one decision to unfollow something.
Find one fresh new influence to challenge your thinking.
Experiment 2 (30 mins) - The “Plus 1, Minus 1” Influence Conversation
Have a conversation with someone else about your influences.
Share the one that “sound good” and also the ones that you probably wouldn’t admit normally. Be vulnerable and open.
Listen to the other person and what they allow to influence them.
Find a Plus 1 - one new thing to follow.
Find a Minus 1 - one thing to unfollow.
I’ll start the ball rolling with some of my influences:
I’ll start with the ones that sound good…
The Economist Espresso App (daily updates with balanced coverage of world events)
Radio 4 Today Programme
LinkedIn (heavily curated just to follow people who share interesting and challenging content)
Occasionally Twitter (Elon’s always good value)
And once a week, Harvard Business Review, a handful of newsletters (James Clear, Matt McGarry are the ones I scan).
And the ones that I wouldn’t normally share…
Instagram/ YouTube/ Facebook - friends, Taylor Swift (yep, a secret Swiftie), some spear fishing and fishing channels, some health influencers and Dad Jokes.
And I regularly listen to books on Audible - the last three were Breathe by James Nestor, Outlive by Peter Attia and It Didn’t Start with you by Mark Wolynn.
One of my mentors once said to me, show me the last 10 books you read, the 5 people you spend most time with and how you spend your time each day and I’ll make a highly accurate prediction of where you will be in 5 years time.
What’s yours?
Who will you have the conversation with?
Experiment 3 Immersion (3 hours)
Would you like to think more like Elon Musk?
Or indeed anyone you admire?
Using Twitter you can recreate a small window into someone else’s world.
I wrote more about this here and in The Big Bold Mindset.
In short (Using Elon as an example)
Create a new Twitter account.
Follow exactly the same accounts that Elon does (652 accounts as of the time of writing).
Spend some time in there each day to see a version of how he sees the world.
Pulling it all together….
I think society is being shaped by the social media platforms.
We can either be willing bystanders in their construct, or we can deliberately, specifically and consciously challenge ourselves to think differently.
I think it’s one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and those around us.
The steps are self awareness, better conversations and running “influence experiments” to see the world how others see it, not just the world view that we’ve constructed around ourselves.
I dare you to think and act differently.
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