How Hits Happen

"Popular products experience an exponential takeoff rate of sales, one that evolves from the self-organizing properties of word of mouth as demand accelerates."

"Over time our experience of modeling fads and fashions in the would-be worlds of synthetic consumers, along with testing these insights with clients, has revealed three key principles."

"The power of the media, and its cult of personality, serve as the most effective launch pad for hit products."

"Groups of consumers in markets that are sparked by a hit product's energy will act like charged particles that are lifted to a new energy barrier."

"Managers and leaders who learn to guide explosions of demand with marketing shocks can dislodge competitive incumbents and gain lasting market share."

"Smart managers exploit the natural or synthetic connections among people who use their products, asking the question: What is the visible or invisible tissue that connects consumers to the product, and to each other?"

"How do you learn about complexity in our natural world? By building an agent-populated artificial one."

"Managers can shape their showrooms, stores, and retail outlets into environments where they can create and sustain lock-in for as long as it produces profitable actions."

"By identifying and then pushing or pulling the right strategic levers, managers can achieve a lock-in of consumers that tilts the emerging rules of competition toward their favor as the hit unfolds."

"Injecting your own spirit, or passion, into the system helps you form your own grooved pathway."