Three lessons I learned at my first SXSW
On my inaugural trip to South by Southwest I turned up not knowing what to expect and found an event that's best described as some sort of bohemian cross between a business conference, a festival and a stag do. With monumental amounts of content, huge numbers of people dressed in a puzzling variety of ways and parties everywhere (drinking is called ‘networking’) there is always something going on and yet you're always missing something else.
Lab director Tom Head.
When reflecting on everything I saw at this year’s SXSW (or just ‘South By’ if you're cool) I came away with three clear trends from my six days in Austin.
Trend 1 - Loss aversion is a powerful thing
Loss aversion or FOMO (fear of missing out) is real. People tend to prefer avoiding losses rather than acquiring gains. Some studies have even shown that losses are twice as psychologically powerful as gains. This is something you experience first-hand during SXSW due to the volume of programming going on - you just can't get to it all. This insight, that loss aversion is powerful, is particularly valuable when we're thinking about what is going to resonate with users and ultimately drive action on a marketing campaign. If you're having trouble with people really connecting with the benefits, perhaps try switching to what they stand to lose instead and see what happens.
Trend 2 - Curiosity is central to creativity
We exist in a world where whoever you are, whatever you do, you have to offer value...and increasing amounts of it. To do this, creativity is key and curiosity is at the core. Walking round SXSW you're surrounded by people that seem to exude a hunger for new experiences. This approach is what's separating the people and companies that rise to the top from the ones that don't. We know that IQ was the original measure of success before EQ came along to trump that, but now we have CQ. And it might just be the most important ‘Q’ of all in order to thrive with the current pace of change.
Trend 3 - Failure and the feedback loop
Embracing failure and constantly listening to the feedback loop - whether that's on the back of things going right or wrong - was a consistent message in many of the talks I saw. The two most eloquent on this topic were Jonah Peretti, the CEO of BuzzFeed and Astro Teller, the Captain of Moonshots of Google X (who, incidentally, obviously holds the belt for best job title, ever). It was inspiring to hear how they put these two tenants things at the core of what they do.
As Teller said: "If you want to make a tonne of progress, you have to make a tonne of mistakes." And he should know, having been involved in many of the innovative projects from Google in recent years including Glass, self-driving cars and Project Loon (a balloon-powered way of delivering internet connectivity). At the heart of this approach is having the self-awareness to change. This self-awareness is critical for anyone working in our industry. Increasingly, I want to surround myself with people who are relentless in their pursuit of truth and who possess the flexibility to change and learn.
At SXSW – conference, madness, stag-do, whatever it was - I found myself listening to a sea of people who welcome challenge, embrace failure and take feedback on board to deliver a better result or product or service. These attributes are at the core of super-fast progress.
I’m already looking forward to next year.
Tom Head is director of Lab.
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