Entrepreneurial Secrets: Can the Pygmalion Effect help you?

By Jerry Bellune

Can the Pygmalion Effect help you?
You may recognize this as the “My Fair Lady” story.
The play (and later movie) was based on a myth.
Greek sculptor Pygmalion carved his ideal woman.
His statue was so beautiful he fell in love with it.
He prayed to Aphrodite to make her a real woman.
When he kissed the statue, she came to life.
Pygmalion then married the woman of his dreams.

This is a simple retelling of a more complex story.
George Bernard Shaw updated the Pygmalion story.
His play told of a British professor with a lofty goal:
Start with an illiterate Cockney flower girl.
Turn her into a beautiful, fashionable woman.
Teach her to speak, dress and act properly.
He succeeds, but begins to fall for the lady himself.
Hollywood turned it into a movie, “My Fair Lady.”
The relationships in play and movie are not resolved.
The audience is left to guess what happens next.
Does the professor woo the woman he created?
And will she accept him now as her equal and lover?
Shaw was lampooning British caste and class.
He was also boosting the cause of women’s rights.

The myth is about the power of expectation.
Pygmalion created a blueprint of what he wanted.
Then it miraculously came to life.
Great expectations are met with greatness.
Psychologists say this is no myth.
They call it the Pygmalion effect.
Voters told they are “politically active” tend to vote.
Their turnout rate at the polls goes up 15%.
Tell donors they are above-average givers.
They in turn donate more to meet your expectation.
The same is true of your customers and employees.
Expect more of them and they are going to respond.
Expect more of yourself and what happens?
You perform better.

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Copyright 2017 The Bellune Co. Inc.