Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
It’s easy to hide behind our own beliefs. Easy to hide behind a holiday or a narrative or a status quo or a tradition.
Much more difficult to put ourselves out there (our true selves )and to build on our beliefs, craft a new narrative, overcome status quo and break the mold of tradition that isn’t making our tribe better any more.
Stay Positive & More Difficult, More Worth It
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Note that it’s who we root for, not what we root for.
We’re not just rooting for a flag or a sports team, a business idea or a dream, we’re rooting for a person or group of people.
If you really want to be the biggest fan, find out who you can cheer for.
You can cheer for organizations fighting to cure MS or you can cheer on Bryan Bickell.
Clap for an agency or learn the name of the 30 employees that make up the team.
It’s people who are making the difference. Not flags, symbols, or entities with an emblem.
Stay Positive & Focus On The People
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In the more than 250 bar and brewery owners I’ve interviewed and 200+ entrepreneurs I’ve chatted with or collaborated with, I’ve noticed two types of people.
There’s the type that wants to maximize profits, takes on shareholders (who want the same), and who wants to be #1 – winning the lottery in their industry.
Then there’s the type that wants to profit enough to continue doing what they’re doing – with a little fun money to try new things and experiment. Not for the sake of getting bigger, but for the sake of getting better.
Either type of person can be successful, but I’ve noticed that only one type has more fun, less stress and is enjoying the journey, not waiting to reach their destination.
Stay Positive & Which Are You?
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When a solution has too much science behind it, it’s sure to cause more problems than it solves.
In the world of marketing and sales, science can help with automation and pricing, but it can also hurt loyalty and personality.
Sure, start with science and get it close to optimal – but leave room for art.
Just because science says this is what the price should be doesn’t mean it fits the story people are telling themselves about the price they’ll pay – that requires listening, relationships and showcasing value, or, you know, art.
Stay Positive & Steady Hands
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Build it and they will come is not the smartest strategy.
Better to invite people in before you put so much time and energy into building something.
A brewery takes preorders of their branded hoodie before they order it.
A game developer puts out a beta version of their game to acquire signups for the full launch before they finish developing what the rest of the game will be.
A record store hands out a card with an address for record-fanatics to sign up for their newsletter before they sign a lease for a spot in the area.
Stay Positive & How Can You Get Buy In Before Build Out?
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Alright, something can’t technically be over-optimized. Optimal performance is static, it’s certain and it’s un-improveable.
Optimal is also constraining. It removes humanity and story and connection in some cases.
The smart entrepreneur and marketer optimizes the work that allows them to be more human, tell a greater story and establish more connections.
Not everything needs to – or should – be optimized, though.
Stay Positive & Save Some Art
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There are plenty of pillars that a business can build upon. Trust. Quality. Speed. Cost. Philanthropy. Service. Humor.
However, there’s one pillar that a business can no longer ignore.
You can be successful without being humorous. You can be successful with the highest cost. You can be successful without donating to a charity.
But you can’t be successful with lesser-quality content. Not just what you put into the product, but how you tell its story, what you wrap it in, and how someone feels when they receive it.
Every day people are getting smarter about products they care about. They’re researching, learning and talking to others they trust about them.
Shortcuts in manufacturing or service won’t cut it for much longer.
Stay Positive & It Costs More To Catch Up Later
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