I typically try to avoid repurposing a post from someone else’s blog, but this morning the lesson is just too good to ignore.
From Seth Godin’s blog:
Fitting in vs. standing out
You won’t have any trouble at all finding someone who can tell you how to fit in.
They can tell you what to wear to that restaurant or this conference or that funeral. It’s not that difficult to figure out how to fit in. If fitting in is your goal, you should be sure to get great advice on how to do that.
Standing out, of course, is trickier. Stand out too much and you’re a jerk or a fool.
Clothing is not the point. You have this choice to make in everything you do, from your career to the words you use in a sales letter.
The point: choose.
Are you doing this to fit in or stand out?
After reading Seth’s blog, I opened my email. There was yet another reminder to stand out. To be amazing. (Mindpower was included on the inaugural Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies, so we receive Inc’s Partner Newsletter profiling other stand-out (excuse the pun) companies.)
No Advertising. No Discounts. Just Amazing Beer.
It’s safe to say that few entrepreneurs pitch their product like this: “You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory…”
But those words appear on every bottle of Stone Brewing Co.’s Arrogant Bastard Ale. “Most companies approach their business by asking ‘What do customers want want?’, and then trying to do that,” says Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch. “We don’t. We ask ‘What do we think qualifies as amazing?’ Then it all boils down to our ability to execute—and to being right.”
Koch and crew do seem to be getting it right. Since it was launched in 1996, Stone Brewing’s revenue has increased an average of 47% a year, hitting $26.1 million in 2007—enough growth to land the Escondido, California company at number 2,635 on last year’s Inc. 500|5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.
My question to you: Does your organization stand-out or fit-in?
Come on folks. Stop being emulative. You can stand-out and not look like a jerk. I promise.
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Posted by Donna Bowling on March 20, 2009 at 8:05 am
Filed under: Brain Candy for Health, Brain Candy for Wealth, Brain Candy for Wisdom, Mindpower's Fun Friday Poll, One-minute Mindpower
Tags: "Fun Friday Poll", dIfferentiation, Fun Friday, Inc 5000, Seth Godin, Stone Brewing
John Bell, of the Digital Influence Mapping Project, read my mind. I had been thinking about compiling a list of ways to participate in the inauguration via the web, and, voila, there is the list neatly compiled in my inbox this morning. Thanks, John!
John’s most recent update to his Digital Influence Mapping Project is called “A Social Media Inauguration”. So, in the spirit of information sharing, here are some of his recommendations for keeping up with all of the happenings:
- Check out CNN via their Facebook Partnership. Under “events” click on “Obama Inauguration on CNN.com Live with Facebook”. From here, you’ll be able to watch live video beginning 8am EST on Inauguration Day.
- Visit NPR.org for their Inauguration Report: Dispatches From Listeners. This one is pretty darn cool. NPR offers multiple options for their listeners to participate in the Inauguration Day excitement, including Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and via Text. All of these messages will be displayed on the the NPR website through an ongoing feed.
- Finally, you can follow the tweets from The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS).
For John’s complete list, go here.
Happy Inauguration Day!
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Posted by Jenny Brower on January 19, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Filed under: One-minute Mindpower, Ramblings
Tags: CNN, Inauguration Day, NPR, social media
Want to target an audience who can afford just about anything you’re offering – be it healthcare (health) financial services (wealth) or an expensive education (wisdom)?
The most affluent zip code in the U.S. with an average salary (according to filed tax returns) of $922,834 is New York’s 10111 zip code. But if you want to target the big bucks, you’ve got to take a look at 10104 with an average annual gross income of $2,976,929.
Have some fun and check out the 100 wealthiest zip codes in the United States.
Get a quick lifestyle-check. Claritas’ PRIZM NE defines every neighborhood in the U.S. in terms of 66 distinct lifestyle types using ground-breaking segmentation techniques. Take look at your neighborhood.
Want to know the lowdown on your zip? Check out ZipSkinny .
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Posted by Donna Bowling on July 4, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Filed under: One-minute Mindpower
Tags: health, wealth, wisdom, zipcode
