Perspective…
October 7, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
…is one of the most important elements of success. Yet it is rarely talked about.
Consider the following fable:
There was once a farmer who had a strong, hard-working horse. This horse could plough fields all day and carry heavy loads. The farmer’s neighbors, who did not have such a prized animal, often said to him, “You’re so lucky to have that horse.”
The farmer, going about his work, simply replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”
One day, his horse ran away. The farmer’s neighbors said to him, “This is such bad news. You’re so unlucky that your horse ran away.” The man just said, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Not long afterwards, the farmer’s horse came back with ten mares, all strong, fit and healthy. The farmer’s neighbors gasped and said, “You’re so lucky to now have 11 strong horses to work on your farm!”
The farmer simply replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Unexpectedly, one of the horses kicked the man’s only son, breaking both his legs.
When the farmer’s neighbors heard this, they said, “This is such bad news! You are so unlucky.” The farmer just said, “Maybe, maybe not.”
The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer’s son was spared, since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted.
The farmer’s neighbors, whose sons had all been drafted into the terrible war, cried out to the farmer, “Oh, you are so lucky that your son did not have to go to war!”
The farmer, while hugging his son, simply replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Why do so many people tend to think that when a particular event occurs, there should a universal reaction to that event?
Change in life and business is constant. Some people get this; many do not. From my perspective, the path to winning starts with how you frame the problems thrown your way.
Persuasion & Surprise
October 6, 2009 by Ed McLaughlin
Sooner or later, you’ll need to persuade someone to take action they may not have taken before. To hire someone with an unusual background, buy a product they’ve never used, or embrace a new idea.
One approach is to play it safe. Outline features and benefits. Put together a PowerPoint with fancy charts and bullet points. Maybe even use a scare tactic or two.
The safe approach assumes that people make decisions logically. Here’s the problem – decisions are made emotionally and justified logically. So if you want someone to do something they haven’t done before, you need to persuade them in a way that hasn’t been done before either.
The video below was the sales pitch used to sell The Muppet Show. Note: this was done in the early 1970′s, long before the existence of the easy-to-use editing programs we have today. Which means that this 2 1/2 minute video took a lot of time and creativity to make. I doubt that it felt like the safe way to persuade CBS to pick up the show.
But I’ll bet you it surprised them. And surprise is a great lubricant to “yes.”
[Update: the video was recently removed from You Tube. Regardless, hopefully the point is clear - sometimes the safe approach is riskiest one to take.]
Tagged: business, creativity, influence, marketing, persuasion, risk, sales, sales pitch, the muppet show, unconventional tactics
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