Posts Tagged ‘truth’
What Are You Here To Do?
When Deborah Thomas, newly minted CEO of Ardent Leisure, was asked if she knew how to operate a roller coaster, she probably gave an inward sigh along with her considered response. “I’m not here to operate the roller coaster; I’m here to make sure that people queue up and want to spend their money to…
Read MoreThe Shortcut To More
It’s probably safe to assume that at some point in the past few months you’ve wondered how to get more traffic, customers, subscribers, Facebook likes, retweets, awareness, sales, exposure and on and on. Because the job of traditional marketing is to convince and convert, we are used to beginning our marketing journey there. What if…
Read MoreShortcuts Are Overrated
A map works even though the cartographer hasn’t described how every step should be taken. We get to where we want to go when we have a good reason for going there. Tactics are useless without a strategy. Shortcuts are overrated. Results take time. Why hurry? Image by Franco Folini.
Read More3 Things Your Product Story Must Do
When we market our products to customers we often use a persuasive tone designed to convince. We describe by leading with features and benefits. We try hard to give customers reasons to choose, forgetting that most purchasing decisions are not rational, but emotional. In short we forget why people buy. Three things your product story…
Read MoreThe Power Of Posture
How is it that we can go into the same cafe two days running, order the same drink, pay the same price and yet leave feeling entirely different about the experience depending on the interaction we have with the person who is serving? Just as it’s possible for one yogi to hold a more graceful…
Read MoreWhat Do You Want Your Audience To Remember?
Many people who’ve read my latest book Meaningful: The story of ideas that fly say that the introduction impacted them the most. It would never have been written without a nudge from a trusted friend, who reminded me after he’d read the manuscript that some people might only read one page. We don’t always have…
Read MoreWhat Can You Build Upon?
You have just 20 minutes. What’s the most valuable thing you can do with them? It probably isn’t checking your LinkedIn updates, responding to housekeeping emails or listening to one more podcast about productivity. Checking and updating may feel like work but they aren’t things you can build upon. If you can’t look back at…
Read MoreThe Noisy Bell And Napkin Worthiness
John Lydgate was right, “you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” And yet a huge part of our job as business leaders, entrepreneurs and product creators is to meet a standard that pleases most of the people we serve, most of the time. Feedback—the information and reactions we receive about our…
Read MoreHow Do You Know?
How do you know which product to launch next? How do you know which packaging works best? How do you know what it feels like for someone to encounter your brand? How do you know what story your customer will tell tomorrow about the experience he had today? What we know (or perhaps don’t yet…
Read MoreThe Thing About That List You’re Making
Take a look at the Top 20 Book Lists of All Time on Amazon. This is what most people bought and reviewed—the books that succeeded wildly, beyond expectations. Could anyone have predicted that these would be the books that the majority embraced? Can anyone explain why? Despite their outstanding success you probably haven’t read or…
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