Why to Wow
Welcome to the Why to Wow newsletter which is all about inspiring the hearts and minds of people worldwide with the Power of Differentiation. In the Why to Wow newsletter, I share my experiences over the last 40+ years helping leaders differentiate their brands and products. I hope it will inspire you to discover and share your own brand’s uniqueness with the world.
It’s a skeptical world. We read, see, and hear enough to make us doubt the good or sincerity of anyone or any company. A great leader needs to avoid playing into that. We need to rise above and help our team feel that they work for a company that is decent, maybe even good, or exceptional.
At the heart of most companies, there are good efforts, ideas, and people. The problem is that often their leaders are too embroiled in the day-to-day minutiae and problems to see the good—they become numb and blind to the magic around them.
Go with the Grain
A food manufacturer was in search of its differentiators. My team conducted a Technical Immersion in their facility to discover what made them unique. The VP of manufacturing stated, “We do nothing out of the ordinary, period.” The procurement VP spoke up. “I agree, we do nothing and offer nothing special.” Wow, I could feel the excitement in the room! But then a different question was posed: “Is there any ingredient you pay more for than your competition does?”
Silence filled the room until the procurement VP spoke up. “We pay significantly more for a special grain that we feel makes our product taste better. No other competitor has it.” Suddenly, the team’s energy ramped up as they shared their insights on where the grain comes from, why it is superior, and how they wished their customers understood how special it was. This discovery led to promoting that ingredient and sharing its uniqueness with their employees and customer base.
Difference-maker: A fertile place to start your search for distinctiveness is any area where you go to great lengths or pay more than the minimum to produce your product.
The Ugly, Top-Selling Car
The president of a major auto manufacturer was stressed over a make-or-break new car launch. The stakes were high, and it was already going poorly. He called me, pleading, “I need help—we have a lousy, ugly car that no one is buying. We’re replacing it with a new model. Morale is low internally; this launch must succeed. Come to my office as soon as possible, this is an emergency.”
As I began the assignment, my team conducted research on that product that shocked me. Armed with this bombshell, I called the president with a question he was not prepared for and asked, “Can you guess which car was the number one seller in your segment over the last decade?” The president replied, “I don’t have the foggiest idea.” I then informed him that his brand’s current “lousy, ugly car that no one was buying” had been the top-selling model, adding that it was still experiencing strong sales. Stunned, he replied, “This certainly explains why morale is in the tank. We’ve denigrated this car, yet it’s been a success.”
He was right. Their employees and dealers had feasted on a diet of negativity about the product instead of showing it the respect it deserved. And, this was not just about a car, it was about the people at the company as well. The constant belittling affected them as it eroded their pride. Together, we began an inspiring journey to turn that around, and it all began with an internal celebration.
There, the president addressed hundreds of employees, confessing that while this car had achieved greatness, it was underappreciated, and from that day on, they were going to honor it as they focused on the future. His sincerity was deeply appreciated as the brand moved on to enjoy a highly successful launch.
In both situations the leaders of the companies went from:
“Why”—why are we spending more for that grain or why are we still supporting this unattractive car model to…
“Wow”—we actually are going to great lengths to create a delicious, healthy product or we have the nation’s leading product and we’re going to now take it up a notch.
Difference-maker: If we can take our executives, employees, suppliers, and ultimately our customers from why to wow, we solve many of the problems we have, including market share, retention, profitability, and customer loyalty.