The Dragonfly Effect: A book review by Bob Morris

The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change
Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith with Carlye Adler
Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint (2010)

In this book written with Carlye Adler, Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith explain how to “leverage the power of the new social media to do something that really matters.” They invoke the dragonfly both as a symbol and as catalyst: “The dragonfly is the only insect able to propel itself in any direction – with tremendous speed and force – when its four wings are working in concert. This ancient, exotic, and benign creature illuminates the importance of integrated effort. It also demonstrates that small actions can create big movements. To us, what we call the Dragonfly Effect is the elegance and efficacy of people who, through the passionate pursuit of their goals, discover that they can make a positive impact disproportionate to their resources.”

Others have their own reasons for praising this book. Here are two of mine. First, Aaker and Smith make skillful use of reader-friendly devices inserted throughout their narrative that focus on key points while offering rock-solid practical advice. For example, in the first three chapters:

• Harnessing the Power of Blogging (Page 11)
• Embrace: How Design Thinking Works (22-23)
• Cultivating a Human-Centered Approach (25)
• Go Where People Are (39)
• Three Tips for Facebook Presence (43)
• Grabbing Attention Immediately (59)

In certain respects, the dragonfly symbolizes the “what” of leveraging the new social media to do “something that really matters” but the dragonfly also serves as a catalyst for the framework within which Aaker and Smith explain the “how” and, when appropriate, the “why” of achieving that worthy objective.

I also appreciate how skillfully they use acronyms to organize their examination of the four “wings” that provide speed and power to the transformation process. The Dragonfly Model is Focus + GET and these are the acronyms for each of the four wings.

HATCH: Humanistic, Actionable, Testable, Clarity, and Happiness  (Focus, Page 32)
PUVV: Personal, Unexpected, Visual, and Visceral (Grab Attention, Page 66)
TEAM: Tell a Story, Empathize, be Authentic, and Match the media (Engage, Page 101)
EFTO: Easy, Fun, Tailored, and Open (Take Action, Page 139)

Aaker and Smith have an insatiable curiosity to understand what works, what doesn’t, and why. Clearly, they are determined to something “that really matters”: to share what they have learned with as many people as possible. That is why they wrote this book, with Carlye Adler, and why they urge their readers to check out all the resources at http://www.dragonflyeffect.com/blog/. I agree with Michael O’Malley that there is much of value to be learned from bees. As Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith brilliantly explain in this book, the same is true of dragonflies.

The McKinsey Quarterly: Most popular articles (First Quarter, 2011)

In case you missed them, these articles have been most popular with the McKinsey Quarterly‘s readers in the first quarter of this year.

1. STRATEGY

Have you tested your strategy lately?

Ten timeless tests can help you kick the tires on your strategy, and kick up the level of strategic dialogue throughout your company.

Click here.

2. STRATEGY

Seven steps to better brainstorming

Most attempts at brainstorming are doomed. To generate better ideas—and boost the odds that your organization will act on them—start by asking better questions.

Click here.

3. ORGANIZATION

Recovering from information overload

Always-on, multitasking work environments are killing productivity, dampening creativity, and making us unhappy.

Click here.

[To access the remaining seven, please click here.]

4. GOVERNANCE

Three steps to building a better top team

When a top team fails to function, it can paralyze a whole company. Here’s what CEOs need to watch out for.

5. BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday

McKinsey’s new survey research finds that companies using the Web intensively gain greater market share and higher margins.

6. MARKETING

The power of storytelling: What nonprofits can teach the private sector about social media

Learn how to harness the power of social media in this case study excerpted from The Dragonfly Effect, by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith. Then hear more from the authors in a conversation with McKinsey’s Dan Singer.

7. STRATEGY

Dan Ariely on irrationality in the workplace

In this interactive video, the behavioral economist explains why executives need to recognize—and embrace—the irrational forces that affect themselves and their employees.

8. OPERATIONS

Building the supply chain of the future

Getting there means ditching today’s monolithic model in favor of splintered supply chains that dismantle complexity, and using manufacturing networks to hedge uncertainty.

9. CORPORATE FINANCE

How CFOs can keep strategic decisions on track

The finance chief is often well placed to guard against common decision-making biases.

10. ECONOMIC STUDIES

What might happen in China this year?

Despite inflation, bankruptcies, and other problems, industrial enterprises should remain highly profitable.

*     *     *

To register to gain access to free resources at the McKinssey Quarterly website, please click here.