Polarising People: How Far Is Too Far?

Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of Innovation” contains a principle I’ve adhered to for years: Polarise People. You want people to love you or hate you, but never to feel ambivalent about you.

Jim Collins talks about this too in From Good To Great: “good is the enemy of great.” Having something that is just “good” is your enemy. You have to make it great.

My concern, though, is that not all successful content polarises people. Look at the blogs that top the AdAge Power150 – few of them polarise people at all. These are very popular blogs with big audiences. But I don’t see the polarising principle at play so much.

So is polarisation necessary for success? Or does it cap your potential audience?

I’m a polariser – any regular here knows I’ve got critics, have had criticism in the comments many times, and I welcome it because I often write in a way that pushes people to love me or hate me. And I’m fine with that.

But do I have to face the reality that this kind of behaviour means I will never top those lists and have those audiences? I’m not changing. But I am keen to test this truth against your experiences and really see if it stands.