Does an idea have to be disruptive to be remarkable? Said differently, does a new concept have to shake our conventional assumptions sufficiently to the point that we must comment? Is disruption always progress?
Apple released a new and enhanced line of products this week. The reviews I read focus on how disruptive the new features and design are to the consumer’s current experience. This form of disruption is deemed as positive. Consumers were generally satisfied with the current model but now the new versions offers innovation worthy disrupting our habits and considering change.
When I travel and the TSA changes a security screening procedure, disruption can be challenging. I memorize the routine as a frequent flier. I recognize that shoes are placed into a bin on the x-ray belt but suddenly they needed to be placed directly onto belt without a bin. This form of disruption is unsettling. Perhaps it leads to greater efficiency or more effective screening but it also can be frustrating.
Knowing what is and what is not worthy of disruption reinforces or erodes trust and loyalty. Remarkable is not always great. If you build a tribe of followers who share a core belief they will endure disruptions as long as it enhances the organization’s dreams.
Awards are secondary to the stories behind the experience of competing. A ribbon can be worthy of an epic tale of achievement that lasts far longer than any plaque or trophy. Customized or scarce awards make the story even more potent. The finish line and post event party are full of people telling tales. The winner’s accomplishments are often well documented but every competitor has an opportunity to share in the narrative.
Host an event and make it remarkable. The stories that follow will be far more valuable than awards and goody bags.
What if we included Seth Godin’s blog post entitled, ‘The complaining customer doesn’t want a refund‘ as a preamble to all customer service communications. Can we really be compensated for time lost or aggravation experienced? We are worth far more than a credit for a future flight or balance towards a future transaction. What good does a voucher do if the hyperlink to a better experience remains broken? What we really want is to be heard and know that enduring a less than ideal interaction made the next person’s experience better. Change for those who follow us is worthy of conversation. However, we have been taught (and encourage) a transactional relationship. We accept $xxx and say we will forget the interaction ever happened. Except we do not forget. It becomes our story. We continue to tell the story with impunity with no confidentiality agreement signed. The cost to the service provider is actually much higher than the goodwill coupon. The company paid us to win back our loyalty and we got to keep our story. What if an organization really heard us and took measurable and transformational steps to improve based on our feedback? The pot hole did not get an orange traffic cone but was actually repaved. We would tell a completely different story if we were heard and that story would be remarkable.
Strategic actions require dedicated effort and focus before a major change is revealed. If we achieve our goal with a single quick action then we may not have stretched ourselves far enough. The consistency with which we apply our time and energy makes for remarkable results.
What journey is worthy of your time and expertise?
World renown street artist Banksy sold spray-paint artwork on canvass outside of Central Park this weekend. He had a video to capture the activity around his stall. The catch, the works were signed in an space that was not immediately visible and he employed a random New Yorker to handle all sales.
Are the buyers art connoisseurs who have an eye for remarkable talent? Were these viewed as trinkets from a random New York street vendor? If the artwork had been marketed as signed by Banksy would it have been sold in mere minutes for hundreds (or more) of dollars? Would buyers of the authenticated signed artwork been purchasing for the art or the prestige? If the artwork itself does not change but the perceived value changes when we learn the name of the artist, are we investing in the art or the artists? How many artists are showing world class work daily and cannot make a sale because their reputation is unknown? Does the reputation make it safe to transact? It make me wonder if people are investing in me as a person or my work? Does my reputation carry more weight than my performance? And who is investing on the edges in the unknown and the undiscovered?
Have we empowered those who represent the cause to have authentic interactions with other members of the tribe? The following online exchange between a Netflix representative and a customer is indicative of an environment that allows for a creative and memorable exchange.
When you only have the answer it is easy to walk around looking for the right equation to make your answer compute. If you run a school that believes your budget only balances when you have 450 students enrolled it is easy to deduce that you need 50 students per grade. However, we rarely ask the question, “how small could we be?” What if we only enrolled 300 students? What would that do to the learning environment, the effectiveness of the teachers, program selection, resources, partnerships? It is a question worthy of exploring for many enterprises.
Kai Ryssdal from Marketplace radio interviewed Malcom Gladwell about his new book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Batteling Giants. One of Gladwell’s more provocative questions is, ‘how small can we be?’ He suggested his fellow Canadians ask this question of their country. Does Canada as a series of micro-states make more sense than the current and vast version. It leads to an intriguing conversation that does not always have easy answers.
A powerful exercise from the the Heath Brother’s book, Decisive is to run the vanishing options test. Start stripping away the peripheral features of a program or organization to see when it becomes uncoupled from its purpose. A summer camp may realize that it could continue to deliever its core belief without archery, arts and crafts, swimming, skit night, and an overnight backpack. But if they removed the nightly campfire the experience would fundamentally change. The campfire offers the platform on which community is created, stories that highlight the camp’s values are exchanged, and the bond of friendship are solidified. As they begin to rebuild the camp from its core there is a greater appreciation for the programs layer on top of the fundamental portion.
Try it today. Ask how how small your cause can be? Try running the vanishing options test. Move forward with more certainty about what is nonnegotiable and what adds color to your efforts.
What-if-concepts 