One of my friends brushes his teeth while he’s showering in the morning to save time. How much time, if any, is he saving? Probably not much. But that’s the wrong question to ask. It doesn’t matter how much time he’s saving. What matters is he feels like he’s saving time, so his morning routine persists.

As people with ideas and products and services to sell, we spend a lot of time trying to change people’s minds by appealing to logic. The people we’re trying to reach are not rational actors, and neither are we. We often choose to do what feels good above what makes sense. The ideas that spread, the products that sell and the services that get used, appeal to the thinking, feeling customer. And so should you.

Image by Carlo Villarica