GarthBox

You can write out or sketch what you think the final product will be.

You can design a well-thought out mockup of the end result.

You can fill out the template to see what the real deal will look like.

You can publish a demo to interact with the a finished version.

Every action makes it seem like you’re taking the step to verify the work meets spec and has the intended impact, but each action has a different layer of proximity to the real thing.

Sometimes you can skip the first three steps to go straight to a demo version, but rarely will it work in your favor to forgo the fourth step and launch from step one, two or three.

Better to put in the time, effort, and attention to ensure your project launches as you hope.

Stay Positive & It’s More Than A Protype, It’s Best Practice

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A bad idea is a matter of perspective. Certainly a bad idea is a good idea compared to no ideas at all. And, creating a lot of bad ideas is almost certain to guarantee a great idea. It’s a numbers game.

The reason it’s a numbers game, though, is that the fewer ideas you share, the less likely you’ll produce a great idea. The bad ideas add up and block the door unless you let them out.

You have to go down the path of sharing bad ideas if you ever want to let the good ones to show.

Stay Positive & More Bad Ideas, Please

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Great harm is done when we alienate a story people want to tell themselves.

If we removed tipping in America, we remove the stories people tell themselves about status, about gifting, about intrinsically feeling good. (We tip 20% because it’s worth 25% to us.)

When we support bars that have automatic dispensers with a pay-as-you-go system and only one staff member to check IDs at the door, we eliminate the stories people tell themselves about connection, about having a place to vent to someone willing to listen, about being part of a community.

We have to be careful what we remove in the effort to become remarkable. Doing so can alienate a lot of stories and, by extension, a lot of customers.

Better to err on the side of allowing people to have more stories to tell. To curate an experience that can benefit the status seekers, community seekers, and the philanthropic seekers.

Any change in the number of stories you help people tell, whether + or -, can make the news, but no one likes to only tell themselves one story.

One story is quickly forgotten. More stories, carefully designed, is better.

Stay Positive & What Stories Are Your Customers Telling Themselves?

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The waitress was patient. She explained the process and let us know that it was flexible. Whatever we wanted, she’ll make it work and, to our amazement, she still found a way to surprise and delight us.

The agent was prepared. He was comfortable with the set of tools available, but knew how to work around them to satisfy any unique request. He put himself in our shoes instead of asking us to get into his.

The shop owner was present. She hung around and found ways to make the experience a remarkable one for everyone who entered her door. She listened to what people said to one another while she worked from her computer rather than hunkering down and zoning out in the small office space in the back.

Sweat equity doesn’t always involve actual sweat. It’s not always about the physical labor. More often than not, it’s about the emotional labor.

The emotional labor of showing up, listening, being flexible, caring, preparing, surprising and delighting, educating, being patient and curious, putting the person in front of you first … and so much more.

It’s a lot. It’s tough. It’s also very much worth it.

Stay Positive & Keep Contributing

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You can estimate what your return on investment will be.

You can decide early on what you hope to get out of the work you do.

You can tell shareholders what they can expect to get in the end.

The reality is an investment doesn’t guarantee a return, and certainly not one on the timeline you want.

The question, then, is what will you do when the reality hits?

Shut it down or keep giving, caring and investing?

Stay Positive & The Return Is On Its Own Timeline

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Excitement is attractive.

In many relationships and partnerships, it’s vital.

So, it blows my mind whenever I meet with a vendor or contractor or freelancer and they don’t show an inch of excitement for the project.

(Fake excitement would be better than none at all. At least faking it would lead to making it.)

In a world where the race to the bottom is so easy to win, where you can find a dozen other people and organizations that do the same job–showing excitement, care and passion has become the differentiator.

The best part?

People will pay more for it.

Stay Positive & Keep Showing Up

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Those who will make a difference aren’t knocking on every door they walk by.

You have to go to ridiculous lengths to find them.

And even further lengths to keep them.

Simply put, to attract a linchpin you have to recruit like one.

Don’t expect to recruit someone who will make a difference by reaching out the same way everyone else does, by paying what everyone else does, by offering what everyone else does.

Stay Positive & The Result Changes When The Approach Does

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