Years ago, scientists set about to discover the power of social influence.  They wanted to know how much social or peer influence was necessary to entirely change the behavior of people.

Not wanting to be unduly cruel to their fellow man, the scientists put ten chimpanzees in a cage.  In the middle of the cage was a step ladder.  Hanging from the ceiling of the cage, just above the step ladder, was a bunch of bananas.

The experiment proceeded thusly:

Whenever a chimpanzee proceeded up the ladder to snatch the bananas, the scientists would turn a fire hose on the entire cage of chimpanzees.  After a few repetitions of this scenario, the chimpanzees got the message, “Don’t go up or even near the ladder, we’ll all get hosed.”

The scientists, not satisfied on simply changing the behavior of ten chimpanzees, decide to take the experiment one further step:

Replace each chimpanzee with a “new,” “non-conditioned” chimpanzee.

The first new, non-conditioned chimpanzee, upon seeing the bounty of bananas at the top of the ladder, can’t believe his good fortune, and proceeds to ascend the ladder.  After placing one foot on the first rung of the ladder, the other nine, conditioned, chimpanzees beat seven kinds of stuffing out of the non-conditioned chimp, of course fearing the hose.

Some while later, still licking his wounds, the non-conditioned chimp sees the bananas again and decides to take another run at the delectable fruit.  Again, seven kinds of stuffing get beat out of him.

Battered and bruised, the chimp gives up ever thinking about attaining the bananas.

The scientists, bloody fools that they can be, decide to keep pushing the experiment.  They proceed to replace one more conditioned chimp with another non-conditioned chimp.

Second unconditioned chimp: “Hey, look at those bananas!”

Eight conditioned and one originally non-conditioned chimp proceed to beat seven kinds of stuffing out of the second unconditioned chimp.

The story continues, and each time a conditioned chimpanzee is replaced with a non-conditioned chimpanzee.

At the end of the experiment, the ten remaining chimpanzees – NONE OF WHICH were conditioned by the fire hose, ALL OF WHICH were conditioned by social influence (seven kinds of stuffing beat out of them) – are beating any chimp that goes near the ladder because:

We’ve Always Done it This Way!

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I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts that you, dear reader, have heard this mentality expressed in a variety of ways.  And not all of them related to real estate!

Admittedly, change scares us.  Change unsettles us.  Things that are “different” than what we are used to frightens us sometimes.

Outside the box thinking, in real estate, an industry undergoing TREMENDOUS and RAPID change, can sometimes seem to be the most unsafe thing you can do.

Yet, looking around, and seeing agents do what they’ve always done, brings to mind of a definition of insanity:

Insanity: Doing the same thing over & over and expecting different results.

What are YOU doing because agents have always “done it this way?”

What is your “Unique Sales Proposition” that sets you apart from everyone else?  Or are you simply putting new lipstick on the same old pig?

If you believe that your business will look the same in 5, let alone 3 years from now, I have one final thought for you: