boost the boosts.

"Market leaders today are those that define what performance means in their respective categories:

Volvo sets the bar on safety, shaping customers' expectations for features from seat belts to airbags to side-impact protection systems and active pedestrian protection; Febreeze redefined the way customers perceive a clean house; Nike made customers believe in themselves." -HBR

When you look at brands you truly care about and why those companies stand out, chances are it's not because of how sexy their products look or even a great experience you had with their organizations. Brands who communicate real, transferable values do more than just create profits, they ensure that returns will continue.

Before you dive forward with something that has the potential to grow you or your business fast, make sure that it happens on your terms. It's your values that are communicated. Everything that comes out of or is associated with you and your company should point at the same message every time.

The hook, the virality of the surprisingly effective marketing ploy you're endlessly seeking will undoubtedly produce profit if you gain that delicious spike in sales. But do you have the structure and the commitment to a singular message behind that power boost to ensure the returns will continue until long after the buzz has died? 

why?

The major shareholder in an investment firm with an annual funding of over $20 million, Permjot defined with unmistaken clarity a pivotal moment in their company's future. He said he'd been at a conference in Canada and sharing their vision for growth there, and afterwards a man he'd read about, seen speak, and respected greatly approached him. He greeted Permjot, then looked at him and calmly asked "why Canada?" 

Then he allowed the ensuing silence to run it's course as Permjot struggled through the limitless volumes of answers he could give but he knew wouldn't be enough.

The firm went on to invest in 33 companies a around the world in 4 continents.

My wife read to me from a case study in her grad program tonight. "When you answer a question you ask your students, you cheat them out of the discussion that follows unanswered questions."

Jerold Panas wrote in his book about how to successfully raise money that it is of the highest importance after the question is posed to the constituent if they would like to give, to not fill the silence that follows. The potential donor MUST be the first one to speak afterwards. This allows them a chance to ponder the decision as long as they need and be fully responsible for their answer, not simply made to feel comfortable and become blanketed by voiced assumptions about their feelings. 

In a world increasingly filled with ambient white noise and distractions, silence has become even that much more paramount to our decision-making processes. Allow yourself to do more than just react all the time. Maybe you'll find something in those pauses you hadn't seen yet, or may have missed otherwise.