Life Lesson

Product marketing isn’t just a job; it’s a wild, technicolor dance on the edge of a knife. Picture it: you’re straddling the boundary between the crisp, corporate world of revenue metrics and the raw, unfiltered humanity of storytelling. It’s a paradoxical tango—a perpetual balancing act between the pragmatic and the poetic. And oh, what a beautiful waltz it is.

In the words of the universe, marketing isn’t about pushing products—it’s about pulling heartstrings. It’s knowing that the best products don’t sell because they’re the cheapest or the shiniest. They sell because they connect. Deeply. Intimately. In ways that make you feel like your soul is a well-tuned jazz band, hitting all the right notes in perfect, syncopated rhythm.

The secret sauce? Curiosity. A product marketer should be as curious as a housecat in a garden of wind chimes. Ask the bizarre questions: What makes this product a hero in someone’s story? What emotions does it unlock? What pain does it soothe, and what dreams does it spark to life? These aren’t just fluff questions; they’re the breadcrumbs that lead you to your audience’s heart.

And let’s not forget: Connection is a two-way street. You’re not just speaking to your customers; you’re listening, too. Act like an anthropologist, not a megaphone. Study their needs, fears, and joys as if they were the Rosetta Stone to a better world. Then, and only then, can you craft messages that hit like poetry and linger like perfume.

The real magic of marketing lies in its humanity. It’s not about shouting into the void, but about whispering secrets that resonate across the chasms of doubt, distrust, and decision fatigue. It’s about taking something as mundane as a software feature or a bottle of whiskey and wrapping it in a story so compelling it feels like the product chose the customer—not the other way around.

As Tom Robbins might say, “When we connect the dots of curiosity and connection, we create constellations of meaning that light the way for everyone who dares to dream.”

Stay Positive & Grab Your Marketing Paintbrush

What about tonight. Isn’t that new, too?

Or simply later?

An hour from now?

One moment from now?

What if we saw opportunities rather than fears?

What if we chose not to wait for a new day because a new moment is already in front of us?

Stay Positive & The Choice Is Ours, New Is Always There

Surprises. Easter eggs. Hidden items. Shiny objects. Luck.

It all exists.

Chasing them is a strategy in and of itself.

But the empresario of a leader knows what they’re searching for… and it’s none of those items.

Those items are either 1. happened upon on the journey to the main goal or 2. chased after the goal is attained.

If you want to inspire others, it helps to focus on an iconic goal… one that is present, tangible, and not as flaky.

Stay Positive & Get The Cake First, Then Add Sprinkles

The concept of writing down the calorie count of the food you consume as you have it throughout the day surely helps you keep track. But, more importantly, it stops your brain from craving more when you’ve hit your daily intake. Your brain can’t argue with you about being hungry – you’ve got the numbers to prove you don’t need it.

The idea of noting three things you’re grateful for every day is a brilliant practice. It makes you feel good, sure, but it stops the brain from focusing on the bad or complaining about the rough parts of the day; it can’t, you’ve just forced it to acknowledge the good things.

The more brain stops you can put in place, the more fulfilled you can feel at the end of every day.

Stay Positive & Send Your Tricks My Way

One of the earlier instances of understanding ebb and flow came from building out the forecast for the bar during planning stages. I applied a percentage to each month that tied to the percentage of the target revenue goal we would hit. The percentage actually drops two times during the year – winter months and the first true summer month (it’s based in Madison, WI) – other months we exceed the target. In the end, it manages to be a profitable business and there are no tears when it drops – it’s expected; planned for.

I met a friend for coffee yesterday and we got to talking about the attendance of events at venues in town. Post pandemic there was an uptick. Now it’s down again. We both believe it’ll go back up in the next couple of years, but then go down again a couple after that. Ebb and flow.

Victorinox understood that when you are playing the long-game (Simon Sinek, calls it the The Infinite Game), the smartest business decisions you can make are not the ones that help you flow faster, but that help you manage and thrive through the ebb and flow. They prepared for the ebb during the flow while competitors tried to get the most they could out of the flow.

The skill here (and it is very much a skill; something you can acquire and build upon) is foresight.

Might as well assume there will be an ebb and flow. In what ways can it happen? What will you do about it?

Answering the questions is what will give you the competitive advantage when the ebb or flow hits.

Stay Positive & Done Right And Even The Ebb Can Be A Flow

In most scenarios, people love lists. Listing all the reasons you’re going to do something they don’t like, though? No one wants to sit through that list.

You’ve got two options. You can categorize and simplify the gains they’ll get. You’re covering all the reasons, but more quickly.

Or you can share what they’ll avoid by making the choice.

Turns out people are more persuaded by what they can avoid more than what they can gain.

Stay Positive & It’s Good To Have A List Of Reasons, But It’s How You Package Them That Makes The Difference

A smile from one person lends itself easily to another.

A guest from a business brought in cupcakes for the team members of the business because she was thankful for how great the staff is. Then a team member brought in coffee for the other team members. These two experiences are sure to add to the encouragement of others to express their appreciation to the team, too.

More often than not, if you don’t see things going the way you want them, it’s because you’ve lost the momentum of generosity.

PurpleSpace works because nearly every person that is part of the community comments on someone else’s work 3x more than they post about their own work.

Toast had an intriguing IPO because it leaned into generous marketing during the pandemic while competitors turned selfish.

Insert your favorite author here and I’d be they give more of their time, attention, and empathy throughout the week than they actually make back in book sales.

The in interest aspect of momentum we forget is that we always feel a bit detached from it; out of control of it. It’s an uncomfortable spot to be in, but a meaningful one when it comes to the momentum of generosity.

Stay Positive & Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop