What Does “Voice & Exit” Mean?

What’s the Origin of the Name Voice & Exit?

Rule number one of marketing: Don’t name your product or service something obscure.

Rule number one of Voice & Exit: If you think it’ll work, creatively break rules.

Somehow we’ve managed to break the rules and build a brand. But what does Voice & Exit mean?

In 1970, a political economist named Albert O. Hirschmann published a book called Exit, Voice and Loyalty. The core thesis of this book is that the algorithm of social change (or not) is governed by three primary forces:

1. Voice – if you don’t like something about the system you’re in, express yourself.

2. Exit – if expression doesn’t work, leave the system and create something new.

But we’re wise to consider that human beings are creatures of habit, social convention, and association. Therefore, we have to remember…

3. Loyalty – Some people will stick to their systems, out of fidelity to those in it, or to the brand.

And there you have it: Exit, Voice and Loyalty.

Loyalty is fine as far as it goes. But at Voice & Exit, we feel like some old loyalties might be holding us back as we move boldly into a more positive future. Blind patriotism or nationalism. A failure to try new things. An unwillingness to change things that aren’t working. These can be impediments to improving the lot of human beings.

So what should we be doing?

Voice & Exit.

We are about expressing ourselves so that new, potentially life-enhancing ideas can get maximum exposure. We are not about politics per se. We are about exiting old systems, which necessarily means establishing and entering new systems.

It’s about being experimental, iterative, and not afraid to look at a future filled with new possibilities.

That future will be created by the dreamers and doers — entrepreneurs, creatives and innovators. Voice & Exit — the event — is an event for those three groups. The people in those three groups are personal optimizers and active participants in creating the future.

If you self-identify, this event was made for you.

Voice & Exit – Criticize by Creating from Voice & Exit on Vimeo.