The Glacier Effect motivated me more than The Iceberg Model

Mental Model #1: Focus on what you stand to lose instead of what you stand to gain to motivate yourself.

Concepts: Iceberg Model, The Glacier Effect, Loss Aversion Vs. Gain Maximization.

This is one of my favorite mental models, because it is so simple to understand, and it can be applied to all situations.

This model reminds us to not go by appearances alone, whether in people, brands or business.

Image By Author. The Iceberg Mental Model

Only 10% of an iceberg is visible to us, and 90% is below the water level hence, invisible. Just because we can’t see the 90%, does not mean it doesn’t exist.

In the same way, we cannot rely only on what we can see, hear and observe to judge a situation, person, or business. We have to look below the surface. In short:

1. there is more than meets the eye: don’t go only by what is seen, because that is only 10% of what’s going on.
2. look below the surface: that’s where the unseen lies.

I knew this, but I did not always follow the model. Because looking below the surface is a lot of hard work and is a slow and painful process.

Until I tricked my brain by turning the Iceberg model on its head, and invented the Glacier Effect.

The Glacier Effect

Source: Giphy I remind myself of the glacier effect to highlight the risk of not following the Iceberg Effect

The Glacier effect happens when we ignore the 90%, below the waterline, and head for a crisis of Titanic proportions!

Loss Aversion vs gain maximizing

Why was the Glacier Effect more effective in moving me into action? This is because of our tendency to avoid loss, more than maximizing gains. I have written more about it here.

The Glacier Effect activated my loss aversion muscle by calling out what I stood to lose, whereas the Iceberg Model focused on what I could gain by diving deeper.

Lessons for marketers

1. when you want to motivate yourself into action, frame the situation as a loss or risk.
2. when you want your consumers to stop a behavior, tell them what they stand to lose if they don’t.
3. when you want your consumers to start buying a product, tell them what they stand to lose if they don’t buy it.
4. never go by just the 10% that is visible to you. Look for the 90% that is invisible in people and business.

Originally published at https://performonks.com on January 5, 2022.

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