The nature of things
A recruitment writing interlude, pt 2
A clever friend of mine replied to the last edition provoking some rabbit hole thoughts.
It’s funny that my Attention from AIDE and the planned post on Ikigai has been disrupted, thanks mate.
Yet, our conversation relates to a lot of what I write about.
See, he showed me how AIDA can exist in nature, as an example of cognitive thought process:
“See rustling in grass (Attention)
Notice prey animal (Interest)
Examine prey animal and see it looks very tasty indeed and therefore worth the energy expenditure of chasing and killing it (Desire)
Attack prey animal (Action)
…
Smell pheromone (Attention)
Notice member of opposite sex (Interest)
Examine for health and fertility markers to determine if worthy mate (Desire)
Engage in copulation (Action)”
Makes total sense, and possibly explains why I was so rubbish at dating.
My reaction to it was also AIDA: read email, reflect, do a bit of research, reply with my own thoughts leading to this article.
Interesting that while his email wasn't in AIDA format, my response was.
Yet that’s not how Elias St Elmo Lewis developed AIDA as an advertising method. According to the scientific journal (ymmv) Wikipedia, this is a summary of several years iterative work:
1899
to catch the eye of the reader, to inform him, to make a customer of him
The Western Druggist, 21 (February), p. 66
1903
attract a reader, interest him, convince him
The Book-Keeper, 15 (February), p. 124
1908
attract attention, awaken the interest, create the conviction
Financial Advertising, Indianapolis: Levey Bros. & Co.
1909
attract attention, awaken the interest, persuade / convince
The Bankers' Magazine, 78 (April), pp. 710–711
There’s no indication anywhere I can find that he was interested in mammals, outside of customers.
Is it a coincidence that his concept mirrors how mammals take action?
I think this is an example of multiple discoveries, coming to an equivalent conclusion through the iterative observation and analysis of how potential customers reach decisions and take action.
Much like my intent with this newsletter – indeed, aside from recruitment writing, the ‘innovation through iteration’ series is also about recruitment righting.
Multiple discoveries happen all the time.
Aristarchus discovered the solar system in the 3rd century BCE only for it to be rediscovered by Copernicus 1,800 years later.
The crossbow. The blast furnace. The telephone.
Sometimes these are entirely unrelated, and sometimes they happen in competition because a concept is achievable but not yet achieved.
The nuclear bomb. Landing on the moon.
But these inventions are different to AIDA, which is about cognitive process and behaviour.
Are there other examples of this phenomenon as a thought process?
You can look at philosophy.
Stoicism, Buddhism, Ikigai and Stockdale Paradox have many common themes, despite coming from different cultures, times and geography.
I believe this is because they come from the same intrinsic truth of what makes up humans.
Establishing what we can control and can’t. Accepting the truth of nature and our reality. Choosing how we respond to the things that happen to us. Finding joy in the small moments.
These are axioms within us that continue to be rediscovered.
Principles that can be learnt by anyone, timelessly.
It’s also why, while I value Stoicism, I’m no Stoic. I believe it should be rediscovered as a philosophy that stems from modern society, rather than ancient Greece.
An internationalised, technology-led, transactional world on the cusp of AI is quite a different context to bearded toga warriors and their marble columns.
Or how about Maths, the classic science that has nothing to with real life… except that it exists everywhere in nature.
Check out the Golden Ratio / Fibonacci sequence.
Innovation from iteration, as a content series, came about through seeing the problems that are solved in other industries, that have equivalent problems in recruitment. The eight part series is in my archive, and is to be continued.
No need to reinvent the wheel, yet a need to adapt the wheel for the circumstance.
Gemba, 5 Why, Conversion Rate Optimisation and Search Engine Optimisation all relate to how we learn, solve problems, consume and take action.
All can be applied effectively in the same situations in recruitment, with tweaks for context.
And so it is with AIDA.
A multiple discovery of advertising frameworks and cognitive processes, stemming from the same place.
AIDA isn’t just about attracting customers, it’s about understanding the underlying psychology of potential customers and using that to influence behaviour.
When it comes to the different nature of candidates from customers, it reinforces in my mind the importance of adapting AIDA to the psychology of the candidate. A framework that can be used throughout recruitment as a consequence of the right insight.
But not just about increasing the number of candidates, more about attracting the right candidates, for the right reasons, so that they become employees who thrive and deliver in their roles.
Anyway, the next edition really is about Ikigai in recruitment.
Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Greg
p.s. If you’re dismayed that I wrote this on a Bank Holiday morning, fret not, I write this at 8.58pm on Thursday evening.
p.p.s. While you are here, if you like the idea of improving how you recruit, lack capacity or need better candidates, and are curious how I can help, these are my services:
- commercial, operational and technical leadership recruitment (available for no more than three vacancies)
- manage part or all of your recruitment on an individually designed basis for one client
- recruitment coaching and mentoring
- recruitment strategy setting
- outplacement support
Just hit reply to check if my approach is right for you.