It's Patriot's Day here in Charlestown, Massachusetts. While most viewer attention is drawn by the publicity-burdened event across the Charles (The Boston Marathon), those of us in this blessed little Village in the City have turned out to see a modern-day Paul Revere mount his horse and take the reverse commute into the suburbs.
The case of Paul Revere, and his southbound colleague William Dawes offers us an early example of the power of relationship-based marketing. As Malcolm Gladwell noted in his book The Tipping Point, "Paul Revere was a connector, a maven, and a salesman," which means that he was a lifelong collector of friendships, an expert who knew how to spread the word and a man who possessed an enthusiasm that he passed on to others. Dawes was a very nice man with a job to do, but held far less "social capital" than Revere.
Long before those of us in marketing began to speak about a "Call to Action," Paul Revere was generating conversions of the most fundamental type (get out of bed, grab musket, join outnumbered friends to take potshots at guys in red jackets and furry hats, etc.). And before he was detained (later released) by the British (early attempts to stop horseback spam), he helped to change our world.
History, as we can see, rewards those with social capital! Consider how well you are employing the lessons of the past to build a brighter future for your company.