Seth's Blog : The cure or the story?

 

The cure or the story?

The plumber, the roofer and the electrician sell us a cure. They come to our house, fix the problem, and leave.

The consultant, the doctor (often) and the politician sell us the narrative. They don't always change things, but they give us a story, a way to think about what's happening. Often, that story helps us fix our problems on our own.

The best parents, of course, are in the story business. Teachers and bosses, too.

       

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More Recent Articles

• Who's responsible?
• Looking for the sure thing
• Thinking about placebos (a new ebooklet)
• No more kids?
• Your story about money

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Seth's Blog : Who's responsible?

 

Who's responsible?

Who gets to determine how we react (or respond) to the things that happen to us?

Who chooses which media we consume?

Who gets to decide what we start, and what we quit?

Who decides what sort of learning to invest in (or not)?

Who gets to look for someone to blame?

Too much is out of our control, done to us, dealt to us, allocated unfairly. But in a culture in which more and more choice is taken away from those that identify as consumers or cogs, adults still own some of the most important responsibilities of all.

       

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More Recent Articles

• Looking for the sure thing
• Thinking about placebos (a new ebooklet)
• No more kids?
• Your story about money
• The debilitating myth of musical chairs

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Seth's Blog : Looking for the sure thing

 

Looking for the sure thing

It's been done before, sorry.

It's never been done before, too risky.

It's too obvious.

It's too obscure.

It's too easy, everyone can do it.

It's too hard to launch, it'll never work.

Too indy, why can't you get backers?

Too mainstream, the man has polluted you, you sold out.

It's never been practiced, you'll do it wrong.

You've practiced it too much, it can't possibly be fresh.

Not here, this city/market/audience is too jaded.

Not here, this city/market/audience is untested.

The market has peaked, nothing goes up forever.

The market is dead, it'll never catch on...

Most bestsellers are surprise bestsellers, because there's no sure thing, at least not where we want to look for it.

       

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More Recent Articles

• Thinking about placebos (a new ebooklet)
• No more kids?
• Your story about money
• The debilitating myth of musical chairs
• Not even one note

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Seth's Blog : Thinking about placebos (a new ebooklet)

 

Thinking about placebos (a new ebooklet)

After months of working on this project, I confess to being amazed at how little we talk about, think about or use placebos.

Here's a 25-page ebook to get the conversation started. I think you'll find some pretty surprising research and analysis inside...

Feel free to share, or repost, or print it out:

Download the Placebo booklet

I wrote it as part of the curriculum of the Skillshare marketing course I'm teaching right now.

Based on what I'm learning about the power of commitment, we decided to double the price of that course at the end of April. The other course, on new business invention, also doubles.

Thanks for reading, share if it makes you think...

       

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More Recent Articles

• No more kids?
• Your story about money
• The debilitating myth of musical chairs
• Not even one note
• Compromise, design and the literal edges

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Seth's Blog : No more kids

 

No more kids

What if, in some sort of sci-fi solar flare cataclysm, it was impossible for humans to have more kids? No more babies.

How would we treat the last generation? Would we say to the youngest student on Earth, "sorry the school is really run-down and crowded and poorly staffed, but we don't want to invest in you?" Would we let the last generation grow up in poverty, or would we do everything we could to ensure that this one last time, we did it right?

To make the example a bit more banal, what if your organization discovered that it would never have another new customer? That the customers you've got now are the last ones you will ever have... Would you treat them differently? 

Sometimes, when it seems like there's an endless parade of prospects walking by, it's easy to discount this particular person.

No new prospects, no more new web visitors, no more untouched email lists... And far more dramatically, no more new students, no more chances to open doors, inspire genius or create connection.

I wonder what happens when we treat children and customers like maybe, just maybe, they're the last chance we get to do it right.

       

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More Recent Articles

• Your story about money
• The debilitating myth of musical chairs
• Not even one note
• Compromise, design and the literal edges
• Bulldozers and bullwhips

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