The Power of Instinct

The New Rules of Persuasion in Business and Life

By: Leslie Zane

Narrated by: Kelli Tager

Award-winning Fortune 500 brand consultant and behavioral expert Leslie Zane shatters conventional marketing wisdom, showing readers how to tap into the hidden brain where instinct prevails, creating a powerful network of connections that drive people to buy your product, company, or vision.

People don’t make decisions with their conscious mind, but on instinct. In The Power of Instinct, marketing consultant and behavioral science expert Leslie Zane shows that to grow a brand, business, or even a social movement, traditional persuasion tactics fall short. Instead, you must connect to the instinctive mind. And to do this, you need to understand the science of consumer choice and employ techniques that work with a person’s brain, not against it.

Zane uncovers the hidden network of connections that dictates the snap decisions we make and cracks the code on how to influence it. With a revolutionary set of rules for expanding the network, Zane shows us how to make any brand, business, political candidate, or idea the dominant instinctive choice. With science as your guide, as well as stories from the world’s most successful brands from McDonald's and Lululemon to the Yankees and Taylor Swift, you'll learn:

• What kind of messages create the greatest amount of positive associations;
• Why finding new customers accelerates growth and relying on existing ones is a trap;
• Why emotional stories are not enough to drive trial and long-term brand loyalty.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, Fortune 500 executive, marketing professional, or job seeker, mastering the power of instinct will help supercharge your growth and make whatever you’re selling the first choice for any audience.

Extremely insightful

I love this new approach to marketing. It makes so much sense and yet it seems so revolutionary, based on all of my prior experience with marketing.

A Must Read!!!

As someone who reads dozens of business books each year, "The Power of Instinct" by Leslie Zane rises to the top of my list. It offers a compelling perspective and valuable insights for marketers and business leaders. Zane's notion of “Brand Connectomes” is elegant and useful, illustrating how brands can connect with consumers on a subconscious level, much like neurons forming human memory. Zane challenges the conventional notions of marketing by showing that it's not just about rational persuasion, but about tapping into the deep-seated instincts that drive decision-making.

What I find particularly useful is how Zane's insights build upon the ideas shared by Byron Sharp in "How Brands Grow." Both authors emphasize the importance of creating mental availability and distinctive brand assets, but Zane takes it a step further by explaining the underlying instinctual processes. Most importantly, Leslie Zane not only provides the “what and why” but also pragmatic approaches to building long-term brand preference.

If you are interested in understanding and influencing consumer behavior, "The Power of Instinct" is a must-read. Leslie’s insights are equally relevant to individuals building their personal brand as they are to businesses.