Post by Boris on May 3, 2008 8:55:23 GMT -5
"Most people, apparently, believe that if they just get their needle sharp enough, it’ll magnetically leap out of the haystack and land wherever it belongs. If they don’t get a great job or make a great sale or land a terrific date, it might just be because they don’t deserve it. So we spend a lot of time sharpening our needles.
Having met some successful people, I can assure you that they didn’t get that way by deserving it.
What chance is there that your totally average resume, describing a totally average academic and work career is going to get you most jobs? “Hey Bill! Check out this average guy with an average academic background and really exceptional average work experience! Maybe he’s cheap!”
Do you hire people that way? Do you choose products that way? If you’re driving a Chevy Cavalier and working for the Social Security Administration, perhaps, but those days are long gone.
People ultimately judge only one thing about you: the way the engagement (hiring you, working with you, dating you, using your product or service, learning from you) makes them feel.
So how do you make people feel?
Could you make them feel better? More? Could you create the emotions that they’re seeking?
As long as we focus on the commodity, on the sharper needle, we’re lost. Why? Because most customers don’t carry a magnet. Because the sharpest needle is rarely the one that gets out of the haystack. Instead, buyers are looking for the Free Prize, for that exceptional attribute that’s worth talking about…
What’s your Free Prize?"
--Seth Godin ("Small Is The New Big", pp. 211-212)
Having met some successful people, I can assure you that they didn’t get that way by deserving it.
What chance is there that your totally average resume, describing a totally average academic and work career is going to get you most jobs? “Hey Bill! Check out this average guy with an average academic background and really exceptional average work experience! Maybe he’s cheap!”
Do you hire people that way? Do you choose products that way? If you’re driving a Chevy Cavalier and working for the Social Security Administration, perhaps, but those days are long gone.
People ultimately judge only one thing about you: the way the engagement (hiring you, working with you, dating you, using your product or service, learning from you) makes them feel.
So how do you make people feel?
Could you make them feel better? More? Could you create the emotions that they’re seeking?
As long as we focus on the commodity, on the sharper needle, we’re lost. Why? Because most customers don’t carry a magnet. Because the sharpest needle is rarely the one that gets out of the haystack. Instead, buyers are looking for the Free Prize, for that exceptional attribute that’s worth talking about…
What’s your Free Prize?"
--Seth Godin ("Small Is The New Big", pp. 211-212)