Your Best Day
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.
In my company’s podcast, Difference Talks, we conclude each episode by asking our guest: “Describe your best day—a day when you are energized and fulfilled.”
I admit, I expected to hear stories of extraordinary triumph in boardrooms or the stock market, but that has never been the case.
The leaders we have interviewed include CEOs, bestselling authors, and Grammy Award winners. Their best days all revolve around one singular focus: people.
Ranaan Meyer, founder of the Grammy Award-winning band Time for Three, expressed his inspiration to pay it forward to aspiring musicians. His mentor, Hal Robinson, former principal bassist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, selflessly guided Ranaan to pursue his love of music. Today, Ranaan is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Honeywell Arts Academy, which is responsible for supporting and nurturing the careers of budding musicians worldwide. He mentioned that his best day, for example, was seeing one of his students, who is pre-med, using her musical talents to help heal patients in a hospital setting.
Chuck Surack, founder of Sweetwater, the world’s largest online music retailer, finds inspiration in reviving his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, by investing in beautiful apartment complexes, performance halls, grocery stores, and other worthwhile projects.
Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller Companies, a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar manufacturer, finds inspiration in seeing his team grow professionally and personally. Bob authored Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family and established the Chapman & Company Leadership Institute to do just that. His best days are when he hears firsthand how his philosophy is touching the lives of his people by improving their personal lives.
Difference-maker #1: Best days are about people, not things.
In the age of AI, one of the few differentiators we have is actually our humanity—being caring people. Leaders committed to their employees’ well-being will be paid back with higher retention, increased quality of work, and soaring morale. Don Hunter, CEO of Haig Point Club, an exclusive private island community in South Carolina, told me he’s most inspired when he helps his staff realize they can achieve their goals. Don started out with very little and now is a leading national club manager whose clientele is among the wealthiest and most successful. It would be easy for his staff to view their positions as comparatively low, but Don’s best days are when employees can purchase their first car or home, which illustrates his hope for their success.
Difference-maker #2: The goal is to have more best days.
When we ask clients how often they have a “best day,” we usually hear they are few and far between. If we can increase our best days from once a month to once a week, wouldn’t that create an amazing impact? Our actions to improve our teams’ lives are as important as reviewing spreadsheets or developing a new product.
No matter the importance of the position or size of the enterprise, our greatest asset, and most meaningful concern, is our people—those who build, serve, design, sell, and represent our brand. Their happiness, success, and fulfillment directly affect ours as leaders. Our focus must be on having as many best days as possible.
I invite you to listen to the latest episode of the Difference Talks podcast, featuring Ranaan Meyer, a Grammy and Emmy award-winning musician, member of the band Time for Three, and Founder and Artistic Director of the Honeywell Arts Academy. He shares his journey in music and realization that mistakes can be beautiful opportunities to create something entirely unique. I know it will leave you feeling inspired and uplifted. Listen here.