Optimizing the wrong things
◘ We’re talking with an agency to improve our website.They’ve told us we need to improve our SEO, links and so on. With that, our website will be better. FOUR WEEKS LATER… ◘ We’re now optimized and we see our load times are short, our links aren’t broken. ♠ Cool! So what was the goal of optimizing, again? ◘ Making it better. ♠ Ok. And now that it’s better… are you getting more leads? ◘ Oh! No… It’s still the same as usual. Optimizing the wrong things will keep you busy. The thing is, it…
Release the(ir) anchor
A real conversation that just happened: ☼ What do you think you’ll charge for this project? ► Between 80K and 60K [Silence…] ☼ Humm… and why not between 60K and 80K? ► You’re right. Maybe I’m going too little. Should I go 100K…? ☼ No, no, no. 80K is fine. Let’s talk about 80K. In a negotiation about price, you can use several levers to make your case (it also requires you to be ready to let go. Not everything will follow, and that’s OK). One of these levers is price anchoring. You leave…
First steps to leading transformations
Making transformations relies on knowing how to ask the right questions. How to lead the system for everyone to speak up. How to build trust —systemically. Your first questions: What do they want? What will this want achieve? Why do they want this? How did they get to this decision? Making these kind of questions will push your clients to think of what’s the big thing behind what they want. When that happens, your odds to help them succeed will grow. And they’ll have clarity of where they’re…
Seeing innovation as innovation
There are 2 (among many other) ways to approach innovation: → From looking at it as a siloed activity. → From breaking things knowing they’ll affect the whole business. If you’re looking to break things into the innovative side, while looking for a siloed, efficient, safe approach… you might be doing it the wrong way. Look at innovation like The Beastie Boys (check their documentary on AppleTV+). do things. break things. reinvent things. go with your gut and jump against what you find…
What’s a personal brand?
It’s the belief of how one can control the way they want to be seen and perceived by others. Can you really control how to be seen and perceived by others? Unless you’re Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda or Luke Skywalker, it’s very unlikely. You might influence the perception, but can’t control. This false fixation on control will distract you from what’s important to you: serving the people you care for. And when you stop focusing on you, to focus on your customers, you stand out.
Leveraging effort
“People buy/do things because they aspire to become something else.” Most marketing (and advertising) bros Well, that’s not necessarily true. A (desire to) change is a representation of who you are. Inspired by something: low effort, high impact. Aspiring to something: high effort, unclear impact. Which one would you take?
“You need a personal brand”
You’re a brand, you’re the product. Get all the bells and whistles of a brand (visuals, narratives, stories, etc.). Be “consistent” on your projected image. Put yourself out there. Make noise (so people will hear you). Always be pitching. Always be selling. The end goal? To get your clients to trust you. The approach? Showing your “personal brand” “This is me. These are my values. This is my personality” → Me, Me, Me. Here’s the thing Your clients don’t care. They care about themselves and…
A thing
As humans, we want things to look human to us, so that they become familiar. Hence, the use of language, mascots, adding personality traits to businesses/brands, cartoons, etc. It makes them non-threatening. However, it doesn’t go the other way around: making people things. Well, unless you’re a psycho or run an exploitative way of “biz”. That’s why also, the whole HR thinking and leadership has been shifting from Resources and Capital into Talent and Development. Because a thing, becomes a…
Personal rebranding
A personal brand means you are a brand. If you’re a brand, then you can rebrand. You can change your visuals. Your stories. Your narratives. Your beliefs. Your values. To fit into whatever you think the market will agree. And if you fit in, how can you stand out?
Personal branding 101
There’s no such thing as personal brand. Brands are artificial. Artificial can’t be authentic. The choice is yours.