fanaticism - presentation for habour times 2014.4.9

THE FANATICSThe politics of irrational obsession

Disclaimer: I don’t sell opinion polls. They are “lies, damned lies and statistics”.

Opinion

How far would you go for motherly love?

Fanaticism is religious obsession.

Queen’s Pier, 2007

Times Square, 2008

Manila, 23 August 2010

Tsim Sha Tsui, 2012

The Existential Crisis

–Eric Hoffer

“Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil.”

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The Riot

TVB

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Sino-British negotiation

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Tiananmen

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Handover Asian Financial Crisis

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SARS

Manila Hostage Crisis

TiananmenHandover

& Financial CrisisSino-British Talk

Riot

Post-80

Baby-boomers

Gen SAR

14 - 17

23 - 34

37+

“Hong Kong is the promised land.”

Prophecies of the fall … and the “savior” The

Judgement Day

“The key to all fanatical beliefs is that they are self-confirming.”

THE ORIGINAL SINWho is going to be the Savior of Hong Kong?

BeliefRight vs Wrong True vs False Our Identity Hard to Change

Values

Dislike - Apathetic - Like Shape by our beliefs Can be changed

Subjective domain of Mind Objective domain of Matter

Phenomena !

Perception of Reality

Incoherence

Unknowns

Confirmations

Cognitive Dissonance

Rationalizing

Present the facts

How Not to Win the Debate

Alinsky’s Rules on Power

• Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.

• The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.

• The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

• If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counter side.

• Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Alinsky’s Rules on People

• A good tactics is one that your people enjoy.

• Never go outside the experience of your people.

• Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy.

• Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.

• Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.

The Elusive Public

Enter your company’s name

Employees

Customers

Investors

Traditional Approach

Enter your company’s name

EmployeesCustomers

InvestorsPotential customers,

employees, investors

Purposeful Communication

Embrace your goodness

Communication is Association

• Beliefs and identities

• Seize the moral high ground

• Form new habits

The Battle Fronts

1. Members of your company vs. members of unions

2. Individual consumers vs. consumers with collective identity

3. Genuine investors vs. activist investors

4. Politicians and the Government

5. The media and the elusive public

simon.lee@advb.com.hk

Thank you