Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
Don’t just skim the reading, read it in full.
Don’t just summarize the speech, practice it in full.
Don’t just memorize the moves, perform them in full.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
Stay Positive & Anything Less Is…. Less
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The people looking around the brewery aren’t really evaluating the dirty glassware sitting on the table or the lack of garbage cans nearby. They’re in search of feelings.
The feeling the beertenders give off as they’re working, as they’re taking the garbage out, as they’re grabbing the dirty glassware.
Consciously and subconsciously, the guests are feeding off the energy of those who are working there, whether they’re in the midst of serving and interacting with a guest or not.
This, of course, is true for every kind of business. Guests, customers, readers, subscribers are searching for feelings to feed from at all times.
Which begs the question of whether or not your team is aware and trained to live, breathe and exude the feelings of your brand at all times – not just when they are face to face with a customer.
Stay Positive & Make Sure Your Team Is Always On
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There’s no shortage of commodity businesses. The ones that find a way to sell what you sell for less. There always will be. It’s a race to the bottom and there are twelve waves in the race. More waves get added each year. New racers.
The community businesses, the connection businesses, the remarkable businesses are the ones that say “We’re not the cheapest. X on the corner of town is cheaper.” And if cheap is what a customer wants, then they’re okay with it. This business, your product isn’t for them. These business readily sacrifice those who are actually after a commodity business.
These businesses (yours?) tell stories, add value, surprise and delight, cultivate empathy and connectivity to others in the tribe. These businesses don’t do sales and discounts, they do events and parties. These businesses aren’t just the modern ones, they’re the ones that will last long after the third, sixth, twelfth wave of commodity businesses.
Stay Positive & Keep On Keeping On
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To streamline innovation, add in a feature that you think is only for the few.
The few people who care about it. The few people who have asked for it. The few people others say aren’t worth investing in the feature for.
Invest anyway. Innovate anyway.
Everything made for the many was first made and adopted by the few.
The few is where you begin.
Stay Positive & Phew
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Art long ago was actually art. Physical. Tangible. It was what it was. A painting was a painting.
Art awhile ago became more abstract. A painting became more of a painting. A symbol. A message. A movement.
Art yesterday became more of an identity. A painting is a reflection of the person and their opinions. It became as much about the artist as the art.
Art today is not about the actual art any more or specifically about the person. It’s about all the vulnerability that went into it, the leap made by the artist, the ripple effect of the change the artist hopes to make, the forward emotions that ignite in those who interact with the art. It’s power and fear and care and relief.
And the best part about art today? Anyone can be an artist. No need to be chosen. No need to wait for a revolutionary message to ride. No need to make it about ourselves. All we need to do is leap.
Stay Positive & Go Make Some Art
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Relief is the greatest emotion one can feel.
Any other emotion that might seem to be greater can even be chalked up to relief (go ahead, try me).
The interesting part about recognizing that relief is the emotional impact you want someone to feel with your good or service is that it changes nearly everything that you’re currently doing/designing/marketing/selling.
It repositions that story your brand tells. It layers more empathy into the way you talk to another (there’s nothing we relate to more strongly than the wish for relief). It makes it easy to discard ideas because there’s no point in pursuing ones that don’t tie back to ensuring your guest, customer, subscriber feel relief.
You might relieve them of fear or worry. You might relieve them of risking their status. You might relieve them of not being seen by their significant other.
Go ahead and rewrite your positioning statement.
Instead of “We at [company] help our customers [insert what you want them to do].”
Try out “We at [company] relieve our customers of [insert the pain point].”
Good vibes make good stories, but it’s what they want relieved that connects them to your brand, drives loyalty and advocacy.
Stay Positive & What A Relief You Know This Now
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When you have an idea, the oft-pursued path to spread it is to evangelize those who don’t share that idea.
Find new people. Get them to buy in. Repeat.
But that’s not how change happens; not how great ideas spread.
Change happens from connections that already exist. That’s why they say ideas are contagious. You don’t simply spread them across the country, you spread them one person who knows one person who knows you. The connection needs to be metaphorically close enough to sneeze on for it to spread.
Find connections. Tell them a story that resonates. Repeat.
Stay Positive & Go Make Change
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