Today, we’re going to speak a couple of new recreation design method. I name it the Thornbush Weakness, which is Game Design Technique #125. It’s a considerably advanced idea.

The definition of a Thornbush Weakness is:

“Positioning a weakness that can become a strength.”

First, let me inform you slightly allegory I heard after I was a younger boy after which construct this put up into how one can use this Game Design Technique.

Origin of GT #125: Story of the Rabbit and the Wolf

Once upon a time, there lived a crafty rabbit, endlessly chased by his rival, a formidable wolf whose biggest want was to devour him. Despite the wolf’s efforts, the rabbit’s cleverness and pace all the time saved him, a lot to the wolf’s chagrin.

One fateful day the rabbit slipped, and the wolf, seizing his likelihood, captured him. “Ah, I finally got you, Mr. Rabbit. Now, you’re mine to eat,” the wolf gloated, satisfaction swelling in his chest.

Unperturbed, the rabbit retorted, “Oh, absolutely, Mr. Wolf. Go ahead, eat me. But whatever you do, just don’t throw me into that dreadful thornbush in the valley. I’d suffer anything but that!” His voice dripped with a feigned dread that puzzled the wolf.

“Why is he so willing to be eaten?” the wolf puzzled aloud. Determined to frighten the rabbit, he declared, “Then I shall crush your bones and scatter you to the winds!”

“Fantastic!” the rabbit exclaimed, enjoying alongside. “A fine end, indeed! But please, spare me from the thornbush. Anything but that!”

The wolf, rising extra bewildered by the second, threatened once more, “Perhaps burning you alive will break your spirit!”

To which the rabbit cheerfully replied, “What a splendid way to go! Yes, let’s do that. Just avoid the thornbush, and I’ll be content.”

The wolf, pissed off and satisfied of the thornbush’s terror, lastly introduced, “Enough! It’s the thornbush for you then!” Suddenly, the rabbit modified his earlier bravado to an expression of concern: “No no no! I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t do that? Please, please! Don’t throw me into the thornbush! It’s the one thing I beg you!”

“Ha! Too late for that Mr. Rabbit. Now you will see the cost of causing me so much trouble for all these years!” With a sinister snigger, the wolf dragged the rabbit in the direction of the thornbush, relishing in his obvious victory and the rabbit’s panic.

But upon throwing the rabbit into the bush, the wolf’s triumph turned to astonishment.

“Ha, ha, you’ve been tricked, Mr. Wolf!” the rabbit’s laughter echoed from throughout the thornbush, his voice brimming with mirth. “This is my home, my sanctuary, where I’ve eluded you for years!”

As the rabbit bounded away, the wolf, blinded by anger and deception, leaped into the bush solely to be ensnared by its painful embrace. The rabbit’s laughter was the very last thing he heard as he retreated, defeated and in agony.

And so, the rabbit’s wit triumphed over brute power, educating us the ability of crafty over drive, and the way what looks like a weak spot might really be our biggest power in disguise.

Story of Donald Trump’s Thornbush Weakness

Here’s one other instance, this time from (former) President Donald Trump. For Trump’s first time period, individuals who disliked Trump imagine that Donald Trump had Russian collusion, which signifies that he labored with the Russian authorities to win his election. And it was, after all, unlawful to have a overseas, unfriendly nation put you up as president.

There’s a particular counsel who was revered by each events who was doing this large investigation; it value $35 million all through these two years as part of the contract.

“Yeah, when the report comes out, Donald Trump will go to jail!” “He’ll be kicked out of office, right?” The individuals who disliked him have been utterly centered on this. And a lot of the dialog is specializing in the Russian collusion investigation, as a substitute of different issues, such because the insurance policies that Donald Trump was implementing into the nation. Even a whole lot of mainstream newspapers centered on sensational information gadgets, corresponding to, “Oh, imagine if Donald Trump was a Russian asset,” as a substitute of “implications of his new tax law.”

So all Trump’s political oppositions began going into this film drama factor, hoping that he’s a Russian pawn within the recreation, and he’s a puppet for different evil issues. Most of the social media consideration was additionally on, “Oh, look, he’s saying mean things on Twitter!” “He should be banned from Twitter, being such an asshole!”

Because of that, the entire media and all of his opponents spent all their vitality and time attacking these “Thornbush Weaknesses” that Trump put out, once they is also attacking the precise adjustments he was making, which additionally had a number of flaws and issues in them.

The individuals within the middle could be extra satisfied if the opposing media shared about Donald Trump’s insurance policies that may have an effect on their each day lives, however once they simply hear everybody speaking about how dangerous of a human being Trump is, they begin to tune out as they weren’t all for movie star information and drama. In impact, this witch-hunt blinded most of the people from seeing some other errors that Trump may need made throughout his presidency.

And then, on the finish of the day, the $35 Million investigation from the person trusted by either side concluded: “We found no evidence of Russian collusion.”

And so Trump simply positioned a weak spot, perhaps not on goal, for everybody to assault, whereas realizing it was really a power he had. But that Thornbush Weakness prevented his enemies from attacking his true weaknesses anyplace else, which turned out to be efficient.

Trump them utilized the same tactic along with his taxes. He acknowledged, “I’m not going to release my tax statements. Or maybe I will. Maybe I will do it later. I’ve been audited, blah, blah, blah,” making every little thing sound very generic and imprecise. And everyone seems to be like, “Oh, he needs to do it, it’s his duty. He’s not releasing his tax statements because he is hiding something shady, right?” And once more, a whole lot of his opponents soar on that rigorously crafted bandwagon, specializing in this one subject of releasing tax statements as a substitute of the insurance policies Trump has been implementing.

Some individuals who have been nonetheless harking back to the earlier witch hunt thought, “If he released his taxes, it’ll prove that he had Russian Collusion.”

I’ve personally accomplished enterprise taxes and private taxes for years. And it doesn’t inform you the supply of all of your income, except it’s from one employer. It often simply reveals the whole whole quantity of earnings for an entire class.

But individuals are so drawn to this weak spot of him that it turns into the one factor they go after him on.

Strategically, I believe he’s simply not releasing it on goal, making an attempt to make individuals deal with a weak spot that isn’t a weak spot in any respect. And then afterward, he might simply launch the tax statements and say, “Look, it’s clean, nothing wrong. And you guys just wasted six years chasing after a ghost.”

Of course, a few years later, his opposing get together did drive launch his tax statements. People argued about whether or not he paid too little taxes or not, however not one of the Russian Collusion matters that individuals have been so positive of cropped up. This large ordeal of vitality might have been higher spent on revealing whether or not Trump was doing or dangerous job within the White House as a substitute.

Story of Obama’s Thornbush Weakness

Of course, this put up isn’t meant to be political however how politicians use these techniques to achieve a bonus. So earlier than you name me a Trump-lover, let’s transfer on to Barack Obama. Interestingly, Barack Obama possible employed the Thornbush Weakness tactic on goal with the controversy about his beginning certificates.

Many years previous to Trump’s election, a number of individuals got here out saying, “Hey, Obama is probably not born in the U.S. He’s probably born in Kenya and quickly moved to Hawaii and grew up in Hawaii. And because he wasn’t born in the United States, he’s actually not qualified to be The President.”

Donald Trump was fairly well-known for pushing on that precise level. But it gave the impression to be Hillary Clinton’s marketing campaign that originated principle.

The key level to notice is that, Obama didn’t simply reply, “Here, look, this is my birth certificate. I prove that I am an American citizen born in the United States.”

He simply type of mocked the concept, “Oh, these people say I’m not an American citizen. That’s ridiculous. Ha-ha.” Which induced extra of his political opponents to say, “Oh, look, he has something to hide. Why doesn’t he just show the birth certificate? Why?”

Obama insists,”We’re not going to entertain these foolish individuals.” which causes extra individuals to leap onto that bandwagon: “Oh, he must be hiding it. I bet he is not an American citizen.” Obama created a weak spot that everybody was attacking.

Years later, in spite of everything this fuss and aggression diversion, Obama lastly mentioned, “Hey, look, here’s my birth certificate. Now your lives can move on.” He even publicly embarrassed Donald Trump in entrance of a reside viewers concerning the subject, which some mentioned was the important thing set off level for Trump to run for President.

This strategy of positioning a power as a perceived weak spot, and strategic distraction, illustrates a nuanced tactic that may be utilized in varied contexts past politics, together with enterprise methods and private interactions. It demonstrates the ability of controlling the narrative and managing perceptions, turning potential vulnerabilities into alternatives or diversions.

How Lawyers Use Thornbush Weakness

Now, let’s step away from political figures and go into the non-public sector. There are quite a few psychological research that implies that when a lawyer proactively addresses a weak spot or a unfavorable side of their case, the jury tends to belief them extra.

Essentially, when your shopper has a number of unfavorable facets and also you want to preemptively deal with these points earlier than the opposition does, by acknowledging shortcomings upfront — as an illustration, conceding that the shopper has evaded taxes — it paradoxically strengthens the lawyer’s place. By admitting these faults, the lawyer can then argue that, regardless of these flaws, their shopper isn’t responsible of the crime in query, thereby not solely gaining the jury’s belief but additionally rendering the opposing counsel’s criticisms much less potent.

For instance, in a hypothetical courtroom state of affairs, a protection lawyer would possibly begin by acknowledging the defendant’s unlikability and varied misdemeanors however then emphasize that the trial issues a homicide cost, not a personality evaluation. The lawyer’s technique entails shifting the jury’s focus from private dislike to the essential truth of the defendant’s alibi through the crime. This strategy underlines that disliking the defendant isn’t adequate grounds for a homicide conviction. In essence, the lawyer first offered a Thornbush Weakness for the jury to evaluate on, however then revealed that this isn’t really a weak spot within the context of this trial.

Statistics present that legal professionals who make use of this tactic of presenting weaknesses first win 65% of the time, illustrating that revealing vulnerabilities can paradoxically empower one’s place.

How Volkswagen Used Thornbush Weakness

Shifting to a enterprise context, this idea interprets into methods for turning services or products weaknesses into strengths, akin to the “Thornbush Weakness.” A basic instance entails the promoting marketing campaign by Doyle, Dane, and Bernbach for the Volkswagen Beetle. At a time when client preferences leaned in the direction of bigger autos, the Beetle’s small measurement and unconventional look have been perceived as drawbacks. However, the promoting embraced these facets, utilizing slogans that highlighted the automotive’s distinctiveness and sturdiness, successfully turning its “ugliness” right into a promoting level.

This strategy leveraged Octalysis Core Drive 7: Unpredictable Curiosity, drawing consideration via the novelty of acknowledging the product’s flaws. The marketing campaign fostered belief by affirming the automotive’s reliability regardless of its aesthetics, thus aligning with shoppers’ values and making Beetle’s sensible advantages extra persuasive.

How the #2 Car Rental Company Used Thornbush Weakness

Another instance is Avis’s “We Try Harder” marketing campaign. As the second-largest automotive rental firm, Avis turned its runner-up standing right into a power by emphasizing its dedication to customer support, thus differentiating itself from the market chief.

In essence, it’s weak spot of not being the most important forces it to work tougher and supply higher service. The weak spot turned a power that customers cared about extra.

This technique made Avis’s declare of working tougher to earn buyer loyalty extra credible, illustrating how acknowledging a weak spot can improve a model’s enchantment.

How the Peace Corp Uses Thornbush Weakness

Similarly, the Peace Corps promotes the difficult nature of its assignments as a novel promoting level, with the tagline “The toughest job you’ll ever love.” This acknowledges the hardships volunteers could face, but frames them as a part of a significant and fulfilling expertise, once more demonstrating the effectiveness of embracing and reframing perceived negatives.

“Look! This is a Thornbush Weakness! It’s a tough job. Most people don’t like tough jobs. But most people hate their jobs and don’t like what they do. They’re miserable. They’re suffering. We’re tough for sure. But you’ll love it out here. You got tough jobs that you hate, and you got easy jobs that you hate. We’re the tough job you will love for a change.”

By admitting it’s robust, there may be extra believability that it’s lovable.

How the Listerine Uses Thornbush Weakness

We even have Listerine, the mouthwash firm, utilizing a thornbush weak spot: “the taste you hate three times a day.”

They have a weak spot, which is that the product tastes actually dangerous so individuals don’t like to make use of mouthwash. But they use it in as a Thornbush Weakness: it’s nonetheless one thing you do thrice a day. Guess why? Because it’s so necessary. So although it’s a style you hate, you’ll nonetheless do it thrice a day.

So once more, it stands out once you criticize your personal product or model, however then it makes the power you market extra plausible.

How Restaurants Use Thornbush Weakness

Now, shifting into an instance of small eating places that makes use of the identical technique, they made a examine that attempted three totally different experiments with a small restaurant.

So the primary experiment is {that a} small restaurant will say, “Hey, we’re a very small restaurant” That’s the weak spot. And then it says one other weak spot, “We don’t offer a lot of parking spaces. So it’s hard to find parking.”

And then the second experiment says, “We’re a small restaurant. But our food tastes great.” So it’s a weak spot however an unrelated power. As we talked about above, that also has advantage to it, since you’ve constructed slightly extra credibility by admitting to a weak spot. If you say you’re small, then saying one thing about your self feels extra credible. But the third experiment states, “We’re a small restaurant, but we’re a lot cozier. We bring people closer together.” That message turned probably the most profitable, and the reason being that the weak spot was the flipside of the identical coin relating to its power.

If you’re small, you’re most likely cozier. It’s like, “this person is not great at debating, but he’s one of the most genuine people I know.” Even although not debating nicely is a weak spot, in case you’re not going to debate somebody then it’s simply preferable to only have a real good friend that accompanies you. So oftentimes once you design to your Thornbush Weakness, you need to join that to a power that’s associated to the identical weak spot.

Either the weak spot itself is really not a weak spot like we noticed within the political instances, or it’s the direct cause of the power.

Story of Ronald Reagan’s Thornbush Weakness

Okay. Let’s take into account the ultimate instance, which brings us again to politics. Specifically, it’s about former US President Ronald Reagan throughout his 1984 reelection marketing campaign. At that point, public consensus instructed that he is likely to be too outdated for the presidency. Many individuals felt he was maybe too superior in age to serve one other 4 years, along with his age being perceived as a weak spot. However, throughout a public interplay, he managed to show this right into a power. He made the next assertion:

“Mr. Trudeau, I want you to know that I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

He confidently asserts, “Consider this: my opponent is young and inexperienced. Do you want someone with such inexperience leading the country? Or would you prefer someone older, seasoned, and experienced like myself?”

This strategy successfully reworked a perceived weak spot right into a power. This argument resonated with many, main them to rethink, “Perhaps being older isn’t a weakness; maybe it’s actually a desirable trait in a president.” This serves as a basic instance of how Reagan reframed a perceived weak spot into one thing doubtlessly advantageous. Had he not utilized this argument, and easily allowed the general public to dwell on his age for months, the end result may need been totally different. But in turning the tables, he satisfied many who his age was, in reality, a power, successfully nullifying all criticism focused at him

Historically, this will not have been the only real cause, however Reagan gained that election in one of the vital landslides in U.S. historical past.”

Conclusion

The idea of “Thornbush Weakness,” illustrated via varied anecdotes and real-world examples, highlights a counterintuitive however highly effective technique utilized in recreation design, politics, regulation, advertising and marketing, and different fields. This strategy, which skillfully turns obvious vulnerabilities into strengths or strategic distractions, underscores the delicate artwork of controlling narratives and managing perceptions.

From the intelligent escape of the rabbit in my childhood story to high-stakes political techniques and progressive advertising and marketing campaigns, the precept is identical: acknowledging vulnerabilities and repurposing them cleverly can paradoxically enhance credibility, belief, and in the end, success.

This method not solely underscores the significance of strategic pondering in addressing weaknesses but additionally fosters a deeper appreciation for a way perceived disadvantages might be reconceptualized as strengths.

Viewed via this prism, “Thornbush Weakness” isn’t merely a “Game Technique”; it represents a profound perception into resilience, creativity, and the transformative energy of perspective. It challenges us to rethink our obstacles and remodel them into our most vital property.

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