Backable

Mar 25

Written By Socrates - Head of School Team

Think you might want to read this book?

How good are you at convincing others that you have a good idea? If there’s room for improvement, then Backable is the book for you. You’ll learn why steering into objections, focusing on a single character, and building a backable circle are all critical to convincing others that your ideas have merit. You’ll be flooded with contemporary examples of people who became more backable through practice and training in specific techniques and probably change your perspective on what it takes to get others to support … or even love your ideas.

What Would Socrates Ask?

Would student learning improve if all educators were trained in persuasion?
What if administrators were trained to build Backable Circles?
Is the power of story used enough to compel students? Faculty? Donors?
What if all stakeholders could tell the origin story, history, and future projection of your school?

Concepts

Storyboarding: While the Away pitch was different enough to stand out, it followed a clear pattern among highly backable people. They don’t just give a quick description of their customer, they visually walk you through the customer’s experience.
Loss Aversion: Psychologically, the pain of losing is twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining.
“The IKEA effect”: we place nearly five times more value on a product we helped build than on a product we simply buy.

Quotes from the author

“We are all within striking range of becoming backable. We just need to make some adjustments to our style, without losing our edge-without sacrificing what makes us who we are.”
“What moves people isn’t charisma, but conviction.”
“And that’s the thing about storyboards-they serve as an “empathy bridge” between your backer and your customer.”
“But it turned out most successful pitch decks weren’t leading with the numbers or the financials. In fact, most pitch decks didn’t even include financials. Instead they used a story to hook an investor’s interest enough to set up a meeting, where they could then likely share more of the numbers.”
“...I interviewed backable people from all walks of life-inside big companies and small- I realized how every one of them took on the role of an “armchair anthropologist” and first showed investors where the world was headed.”
“...share what it could be, but not exactly how it has to be.”
“I’ve discovered that founders often tell the “story of me,” occasionally tell the “story of you,” and almost never tell the “story of us.” They tend to miss the opportunity to tell a backer why she is a specific fit for the idea, more than any other backer. When we miss this part of the story, we lose the chance to turn an outsider into an insider.”
“One of the more important lessons I’ve had to learn as a founder is that most people aren’t going to like my idea, and that’s okay, because what I really need are a few people to love it.”

Quotes from others

“Give me something that isn’t google-able. I want an idea that is based on a surprise insight. Not something I could find through a Google search. -Brian Grazer
“You need to make everyone you enlist a hero, not just in your story, but in their own.” - June Cohen
“When you’re practicing, don’t share an overview of what you’re going to share. Share exactly what you’re going to share.” - Oren Jacob
“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, then you’ve launched too late.” - Reid Hoffman
“The most exceptional people aren’t just brilliant...they’re backable.” - Dan Pink
“You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.” - Charlie Parker
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” - Mahatma Gandhi