Attractor States

 One type of accelerant is what is called a demonstration effect--the impact of in-your-face evidence on buyer perceptions and behavior.

Two complements to attractor-state analysis are the identification of accelerants and impediments to movements toward an attractor state.  One type of accelerant is what is called a demonstration effect--the impact of in-your-face evidence on buyer perceptions and behavior.  For example, the idea that songs and videos were simply data was, for most people, an intellectual fine point until Napster.  Then suddenly, millions became quickly aware that a three-minute song was a 2.5 megabyte file that could be copied, moved, and even e-mailed at will.

As an example of an impediment, consider the problems of the electric power industry.  Given the limited carrying capacity of the atmosphere for burned carbon compounds, the obvious attractor state for the power industry is nuclear power.  The simplest path would be to replace coal and oil fired boilers with modern third or fourth generation nuclear boilers.  The major impediment to the U.S. power industry moving in this direction is the convoluted and highly uncertain licensing process--at each stage, local, state, and federal authorities are involved as well as the courts.  Whereas it takes France five years to license and build an entire nuclear plant, it would probably take ten years or more for a U.S. utility to just carry out a boiler changeover.

ACTION POINT: Are there accelerants or impediments present in your industry?