Voltage Effect

Why do some ideas make it big while others fail to take off? A renowned behavioral economist argues that it comes down to a single question: Can the idea scale?

All great ideas have one thing in common: They are not guaranteed to succeed.

Be it a life-saving medical breakthrough, a new policy initiative, a cutting-edge product innovation or bold push for social change, translating an idea into widespread impact depends on one thing only: whether it can be replicated at scale.

"Scale" has become a favored buzzword in the startup world. But scale isn't about accumulating more users or capturing more market share. It's about whether an idea-or policy or product-that takes hold in a small group can do the same in a much larger one. Whether it's expanding your small business (or deciding not to), narrowing the national achievement gap, delivering billions of doses of a vaccine, or making a new technology widely affordable, scalability impacts us all.

While all successfully scaled ideas are alike, all unscalable ideas fail in their own way. To succeed, says University of Chicago economist John A. List, our idea must achieve "high voltage": a set of specific characteristics that predict its ability to scale. Drawing on his own original research-as well as fascinating examples from the realms of business, government, education, and public health-List reveals how to avoid voltage drops, and engineer voltage gains. For example:
• Is the early success of your idea a false positive?
• Is your initial audience representative of the larger population?
• Does success hinge on the "chef" (specialized talent), or the "ingredients" (the components of the idea itself)?
• Are you getting the most out of every last dollar you spend?

By employing this science-based playbook, we can drive change in our schools, communities, workplaces, and society at large. Because a better world is built at scale.