Fourth, the Early Majority often look to the establishment of a profession if they specifically are considering the acceptance of a new type of human service initiative. Many years ago, Bledstein (1976) proposed that the American society is deeply enmeshed in a culture of professionalism. By extension, other Western societies are also moving toward a culture in which professional credentials are replacing social-economic class structures as the defining criterion for social stratification.  Organizations such as ICF, the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching and the Association of Coaching Training Organizations are all helping to build a coaching profession.

Late Majority/Burghers

Kuhlenschmidt doesn’t offer a term for this fourth diffusion category, perhaps because we don’t have a readily accessible name for the people who move into a town or city after it is formally established. In Europe the term “burgher” was used to identify a person who resided in a formally chartered town. I will use this European term because I think it conveys the essence of Rogers’ Late Majority. These people only embrace an innovative idea after it has been fully certified and accepted as a legitimate idea or operation. In Western America, these are the folks who only move in when the town is “well-established”—with the requisite schools, paved roads, general store and church. Gladwell uses the term “tipping point” when describing this broad-based acceptance of an idea that has been legitimized. The term “band-wagon” is also appropriate in that the acceptance of a product or service by the Late Majority often means a substantial increase in the number of people using this product or service.

While the “band-wagon” phenomenon can initially be very gratifying to someone who has been laboring for many years to get a new product or service accepted, it can also create major problems—because this new product or service is typically not fully understood by the late majority and is often misused. This can lead to “casualties.” For instance, jogging may become an “in-thing”; however, Late Majority joggers are likely to injure themselves because they do not properly prepare for this new form of exercise. The band wagon can also lead to failure and anger: “why doesn’t this darn thing work”. Alternatively, uncritical Late Majority acceptance of a new product or service can lead to neglect or inefficiency. The newly-purchased desk-top computer, for instance, may either sit on the desk unused or be used only as a glorified typewriter or expensive play station.