Nothing perhaps better symbolized the student-led pro-democracy and human rights protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989 than the picture now known as "Tank Man".
The picture below (often called "The vulture and the little girl" - notably, the individual in the photo was later determined to be a young boy, who indeed survived) taken by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Kevin Carter during the Sudanese famine crisis of 1993 quickly led to an outpouring of donations to various humanitarian aid agencies when it was first published in the New York Times.
Perhaps no other photograph better captured the emotions of the Syrian Refugee Crisis than the one below of a 3 year-old Syrian refugee boy, Alan Kurdi, who drowned while his family and other refugees attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea to freedom in 2015.
There are any of a number of photographs that I could have chosen in order to illustrate my point (if you don't believe me, just check out Time magazine's project to assemble a list of the 100 most influential photographs of all time). I selected these three examples, as they were very powerful to me personally and best illustrated some of the most important humanitarian crises of our lifetimes. There are a number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) that responded to provide aid during these crises. These same NGO's will undoubtedly respond to future humanitarian crises. However, in order to fulfill their important missions, these organizations (and even governmental agencies) require assistance (time, talent, and treasure).
As it turns out, perhaps not too surprising, the success of fundraising campaigns can be improved through the use of behavioral economics. NGO's have figured this out -appeal to the heart rather than the head! It's called the "identifiable victim effect" and is summarized succinctly by a quote from Mother Teresa, "If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will." Similarly, Josef Stalin reportedly once said, in reference to the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II, "The death of a single Russian soldier is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic." However, given that this man was personally responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians during his reign of terror, I greatly prefer Mother Teresa's quote!
Dr. Deborah Small, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business investigated the impact of the "identifiable victim effect" on fundraising in a recent study published in the journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Basically, Dr. Small and her team of investigators approached students at the University of Pennsylvania to donate money to a charity called "Save the Children" (not a real charity). Students received one of two letters from the charity. The first letter gave specific statistics on how many children in Africa were starving, while the second letter told about the plight of a 7 year-old girl named Rokia. Both letters also talked about how much help even a small monetary donation could provide. Consistent with the "identifiable victim effect", students who were shown the letter talking about Rokia donated significantly more money than those students who were shown the letter with statistics on how many children in Africa were starving. Rokia, in other words, was an identifiable victim. Her personal story was something that resonated with the students in such a way that they felt connected to her and could empathize with her situation, hence they were more likely to donate to support her.
What is surprising is that when the personal story (Rokia's story) was combined with the statistics ("3 million children are starving in Africa"), students were less likely to donate! Moreover, if students were told about the "identifiable victim effect" beforehand, they were less likely to give (and they did not increase the donations when presented with just statistics). These are obviously some interesting, and likely unexpected, findings. Although, consider the number of individuals who donate money to specific individuals on "GoFundMe" pages or after specific cases are highlighted in the media (the "Baby Jessica" case is mentioned in Dr. Small's paper), perhaps these findings aren't that surprising at all.
What's the lesson for leadership here? Well, for one, if you are running a charitable giving or fundraising campaign, "Appeal to the heart and not to the head" - connect to the cause. Use real-life examples of individuals who are in need of help. Better yet, use pictures such as the ones highlighted above. The bottom line, leadership is about making personal connections and sharing a collective vision, and one of the best ways of achieving both is through the use of storytelling. Great leaders tell stories. Painting the right picture is absolutely key to telling a great story.
Incidentally, the title of today's blog comes from one of the all-time classic rock albums, frequently listed among the greatest albums of all time - it's called Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart and includes some of Stewart's most well-known songs ("Every Picture Tells a Story", "Maggie May", "Mandolin Wind", "That's All Right", "I Know I'm Losing You",and "Reason to Believe"). So, maybe Rod Stewart said it best - "So remember, every picture tells a story don't it."
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