I MIss the Mob

In Anything You Want, entrepreneur and blogger Derek Sivers recounts a trip he made to Las Vegas for a trade show.

On the ride from the airport to his hotel, Sivers asked the taxi driver how long he'd lived there.

"Twenty-seven years," the driver replied. "I miss the mob.”

The cabbie then explained what he meant. Doing business in Las Vegas was simple when the mafia ran the casinos. When the mob made money, you made money. But corporate takeover of the casinos brought hordes of penny-pinching MBAs to town. They cheapened everyone's experience.

“When the mafia ran this town, it was fun."

The lesson Sivers took home from his driver: keep your business simple, and keep its goal enjoyment.

"Never forget why you’re really doing what you’re doing," Sivers writes. 

"Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn’t that enough?"

Lord, Thank You for Donald Trump

Lord, nobody knows better'n you, I ain't a prayin' man. 

But I thank you every mornin', noon and night for my 45th president.

Call me un-citified, but I once thought all them so-called "marginalized" folks (you know, African Americans, gays, Muslims, Jews, women and all) was a little bit thin-skinned, complaining like they do day in and out about prejudice.

I thought they was imaginin' the glass half empty. Don't they know America's a great country?

But you brung me my 45th president, Lord, to pick up the rock that's America and show me all the insect-life teemin' beneath. 

All them vile creatures thinking ugly thoughts, dreaming ugly dreams, harboring ugly desires... you know, all them racists and sexists and bigots living' below ground.

I no longer think about all those marginalized folks the same way, Lord, and I thank you for that. They ain't imaginin' things after all.

Now I ask you, Lord, please put the rock back, before more of them creatures get loose.

And, if you can't, please find me a nice apartment in Toronto.

Amen.

More or Less

Seth Godin defines the "race to the bottom" as the drive to deliver more for less.

Above all qualities, winning the race demands inveterate stinginess and a knack for constant streamlining.

"The problem with the race to the bottom is that you might win," he warns.

Today's winner, inevitably, becomes tomorrow's loser.

The "race to the top," on the other hand, is the drive to deliver more for more.

Some customers—not all—value more ("more meaning, more insight, more joy") enough to pay more for it.

The race to the top is the one you want to join, Godin says.

"The race to the top is focused on design and respect and dignity and guts and innovation and sustainability and, yes, generosity."

Sound a bit fanciful?

Then consider the difference between a small hotel and a boutique one.

My wife and I routinely lodge in Wildwood, New Jersey, so we can visit relatives who live nearby.

Our most recent stay was in a small hotel. It filled our needs, but barely. And even though—with its faux mid-century fixtures and decor—it strove to be memorable, the hotel was frighteningly forgettable. A good portion of each day, it wasn't even staffed; guests were on their own. The linens were commercial-grade. The common areas were stark. The self-serve breakfast was foodservice quality. And the coffee was bland.

Our prior stays, in contrast, were at Candlelight Inn, a B&B. The owners deliver on their website's promise to "make memories every day:"

• The building and its furnishings are period—not faux—Victorian
• Each room for let is markedly unique
• The ambiance begs you to relax, feel good, and feel pampered
• The owners are keen to learn your tastes and preferences, and let you know they value your business
• The owners strive to deliver more, including a culinary surprise or two every day

During future visits, we know where we'll stay.

So what's your business model?

More for more?

Or more for less?

Heroes Wanted

Authenticity has nothing to do with how much you share. 

It is about what you share.

— Neil Patel

Authenticity has roots much older than Instagram.

The concept was popularized by the Existentialists, most notably Heidegger and Sartre.

It's summed up in an 1835 statement by Kierkegaard: “The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live or die."

Where heroes live and die for others' ideas, authentic people would be anti-heroes. 

It's only anti-heroes who follow their own paths; and who disrupt and innovate.

For brand marketers, authenticity's opposite isn't inauthenticity, but Disneyfication, , storytelling that renders every story "safe" for audiences who can't handle the truth.

So how can your brand be authentic?

The short answer: it shouldn't.

Your brand doesn't need to be authentic. It merely needs to be honest.

In a survey, Foresight Factory asked customers to choose "good moral values" from a list.

While 84% chose "being honest," only 16% chose "presenting an image true to self."

Customers don't care if your brand is authentic. 

They don't expect it to be.

Basics

A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.

― Michael LeBoeuf

McDonald's CEO told investors last week his company will go back to basics.

The flip comes after research revealed customers had fled the chain not to fancy, fast-casual restaurants like Panera and Chipotle, but to other fast-food joints like Burger King and Five Guys.

To escape the pickle, McDonald's plans to beef up its burger recipes; roll out mobile ordering and home delivery; and fork over $1.1 billion for store renovations.

The company will no longer dish out wraps, salads, oatmeal, and other high-end food.

The move comes two years after McDonald's canned the CEO's predecessor and Consumer Reports ranked the chain's burgers as the nation's worst.

The lessons here are basic:

• No business can survive if its offerings are flawed

• Sound strategy often lies in what a business chooses not to do

In his autobiography Grinding It Out, McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, got to the meat of it:

"Perfection is very difficult to achieve, and perfection was what I wanted in McDonald's. Everything else was secondary for me."