On September 24th, the World Bank Governance Global Practice Book Talks welcomed John A. List to present his book, The Voltage Effect. How to make good ideas great and great ideas scale. The book argues that for an idea to have a widespread impact, it must achieve 'high voltage'—the ability to be replicated at scale. The book describes how scale isn't just about accumulating more users or capturing more market share. It's about whether an idea that takes hold in a small group can do the same in a much larger one.
About the Book
Be it a medical breakthrough, a policy initiative, a product innovation or a social movement, translating an idea into widespread impact depends on one thing only: whether it can be replicated at scale. "Scale" has become a favored buzzword in the startup world. But scale isn't just about accumulating more users or capturing more market share. It's about whether an idea that takes hold in a small group can do the same in a much larger one. Scalability is critical to everything from expanding a small business, to narrowing the national achievement gap, to delivering billions of doses of a vaccine, to making a new technology widely affordable—and much more.
