True differentiation in business is rare. We live in an age of equivalency. Businesses need to find ways to stand out. This SlideShare shows the seven ways to leverage what makes you unique and wonder-full in business.
Stan Phelps
Keynotes & Workshops That Drive Loyalty and Sales
http://stanphelpsspeaks.com
12. It turns out their Growth is
Affected by Five Factors
…and those same five things
apply to the growth of your
business
5
13. THE SIZE OF THE BOWL1
The bigger the bowl,
the more the goldfish
can grow
14. = MARKETTHE SIZE OF THE BOWL1
In business that’s the market.
The bigger the market, the
more the business can grow
15. # OF OTHER GOLDFISH2 The more goldfish, the
harder it is to grow
16. # OF OTHER GOLDFISH2 = COMPETITION
In business, the other goldfish
are your competition. The
more competitors, the harder
it is to grow
17. QUALITY OF THE WATER3
The more nutrients and/or less cloudiness
in the water, the easier it is to grow
18. QUALITY OF THE WATER3 = ECONOMY
In business it’s the economy. The easier it is to get capital and/
or better consumer confidence, the easier it is to grow
19. FIRST 120 DAYS4
The better the growth
of a goldfish in its first
four months of life, the
more it will grow
20. FIRST 120 DAYS4 = START-UP
The better the growth
of a business in its
first four months of
life, the better chance
it will grow
21. GENETIC MAKEUP5
The better the genes of a goldfish and how it is
separated from the rest, the more it will grow
22. GENETIC MAKEUP5 = DIFFERENTIATION
The more differentiated the business is and how it
stands out in a sea of sameness, the more it can grow
23. 1. MARKET
2. COMPETITION
3. ECONOMY
4. START-UP
5. DIFFERENTIATION
In business, what do you
have control over?
24. 1. MARKET
2. COMPETITION
3. ECONOMY
4. START-UP
5. DIFFERENTIATION
1. MARKET
2. COMPETITION
3. ECONOMY
4. START-UP
5. DIFFERENTIATION
Assuming you’ve been in business for more
than four months, the only thing you have
control over is how you differentiate yourself
25. DIFFERENTIATION IS KEY
“The number of companies who are
truly able to achieve competitive
separation is depressingly small.”
-Youngme Moon, Different
32. And what makes us weird…
is also what makes us wonderful
33. YOU NEED TO STAND OUT
"To succeed in a spectacular fashion you
have to be spectacularly unusual.”
-Mike Burry
34. STAND OUT
“Fitting in is a short term strategy. Standing out
pays off in the long run.”
-Seth Godin
35. TYPES OF PINK GOLDFISH
F LAUNTING
L OPSIDING
A VOIDING
W EAKENING
S EPARATING
O PPOSITIONING
M ICRO-WEIRDING
SEVEN WAYS TO
EMBRACE WEIRDNESS
AND AMPLIFY WEAKNESS
36. FLAUNTING1
“Don’t try to put in what
was left out, try to draw
out what was left in.”
- Marcus Buckingham
F.L.A.W.S.O.M
38. CASE STUDY: RETAILFLAUNTING
Julian Cromer founded Cromer’s in 1935 at the State Farmers Market. When part of the market was put
under sheds, Cromer decided he would switch to selling only peanuts, to the dismay of his wife
39. CASE STUDY: CROMER’S PEANUTS
A nearby vendor also sold peanuts and at one point attempted to stunt Cromer’s business with some negative
advertising. He would call out all day long, “Don’t buy Cromer’s peanuts; they’re no good. Mine are the best”
40. CASE STUDY: CROMER’S PEANUTS
Cromer ended up embracing the competitor’s pitch as a slogan. He took a piece of cardboard, wrote “worst in town”
and put it in the bin of peanuts. The phrase stuck and Cromer’s eventually grew to become a thriving business.
41. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
UNDERSTANDING
THE
FLAUNTING
MATRIX
42. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
UNDERSTANDING
THE
FLAUNTING
MATRIX
THE Y AXIS MEASURES THE AMOUNT
OF WEIRDNESS AND WEAKNESS
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
43. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
UNDERSTANDING
THE
FLAUNTING
MATRIX
THE X AXIS MEASURES YOUR
FLAUNTING. YOU CAN FLAUNT
THAT YOU DO “LESS” OR YOU CAN
FLAUNT THAT YOU DO “MORE”
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
44. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
UNDERSTANDING
THE
FLAUNTING
MATRIX
THE GOAL IS TO BE IN THE PINK
ZONE. FLAUNT THAT YOU DO “LESS”
OF WHAT’S NORMAL OR FLAUNTING
THAT YOU DO “MORE” OF WHAT
MAKES YOU WEIRD OR WEAK
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
FLAUNTING
45. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
UNDERSTANDING
THE FOUR
QUADRANTS
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
1 2
4 3
46. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
CONFORM
UNDERSTANDING
THE QUADRANTS
EVERY COW IS UNIQUE, THEIR SPOTS
ARE LIKE FINGERPRINTS. THEY ARE
BLISSFULLY UNAWARE AND WALK
THE ESTABLISHED COW PATH
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
47. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
STRUTCONFORM
PEACOCKS AND THEIR FEATHERS ARE
ALSO UNIQUE. UNLIKE COWS THEY
OWN IT. PEACOCKS PURPOSEFULLY
STRUT, FLAUNT, AND SWELL TO STAND
OUT AMONGST THE FLOCK
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
UNDERSTANDING
THE QUADRANTS
48. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG MATCH
STRUTCONFORM
ZEBRAS ARE BLACK WITH WHITE STRIPES.
THEIR STRIPING IS DETERMINED BY GENETICS.
EVEN THOUGH ZEBRAS ARE UNIQUE, THE
STRIPES BLEND IN AND THEY ARE HARD TO
TELL APART AMONGST THE HERD
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
UNDERSTANDING
THE QUADRANTS
49. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONGSUBTRACT
MATCH
STRUTCONFORM
POLAR BEARS AREN’T WHITE.
THEIR FUR IS TRANSLUCENT. THE
HOLLOW HAIRS ABSORB AND TAKE
AWAY ALL THE COLORS IN THE
SPECTRUM SO THEY APPEAR WHITE
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
UNDERSTANDING
THE QUADRANTS
50. LOPSIDING2
“True differentiation is rarely
a function of well-roundedness;
it is typically a function of
lopsidedness.”
- Youngme Moon, Different
F.L.A.W.S.O.M
51. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
LOPSIDINGEMBRACING YOUR
WEIRDNESS/WEAKNESS AND
ACCENTUATING THEM
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
52. CASE STUDY: COUGH SYRUPLOPSIDING
Cough syrup tastes like medicine. Most companies try to mask it with a variety of flavors
54. CASE STUDY: BUCKLEY’S
Buckley’s made the bad taste the focus of their advertising campaign
by comparing it to trash bag leakage and sweaty gym socks
55. CASE STUDY: BUCKLEY’S
It takes courage to call attention to existing weaknesses, but takes even more
courage to make those weaknesses worse, to exaggerate them.
56. “Every limit is a beginning as
well as an ending.”
- George Eliot
AVOIDING3
F.L.A.W.S.O.M
57. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
LOPSIDING
AVOIDINGTAKING AWAY WHAT IS
EXPECTED OR ELIMINATING
CHOICES ALL TOGETHER
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
59. CASE STUDY: PHIL HANSEN
When Phil Hansen was in art school, he developed a shake and this was the straightest line he could draw
60. CASE STUDY: PHIL HANSEN
WE NEED TO FIRST
BE LIMITED IN
ORDER TO BECOME
LIMITLESS
He decided to embrace the shake. It was the first time he encountered the
idea that embracing a limitation could actually drive creativity
67. CASE STUDY: DICK’S LAST RESORT
Dick’s could have tried to fix this industry-wide weakness. Instead they turned the weakness into
their greatest strength. They are known to have the most obnoxious waitstaff in the world
68. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
LOPSIDING
WEAKENING
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
AVOIDING
WEAKENINGDOING LESS THAN WHAT’S
CONSIDERED NORMAL
69. CASE STUDY: FITNESS CLUBWEAKENING
Fitness clubs are in the business of selling memberships to all prospects
70. CASE STUDY: PLANET FITNESS
Planet Fitness is not for everyone. They want a judgement free zone
71. CASE STUDY: PLANET FITNESS
It’s not a place for meathead bodybuilders who “lift things up and put them down”
72. SEPARATING5
”Deviance will always generate
external pressures to conform… If
you perform beyond the norms, the
systems will adjust and try to make
you normal.”
-Robert Quinn, Deep Change
F.L.A.W.S.O.M
80. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
WEAKENING
SEPARATING
AVOIDING
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN
TO DO THE OPPOSITE
LOPSIDING
SEPARATING
OPPOSITIONING
WEAKENING
81. CASE STUDY: QSROPPOSITIONING
One of the weaknesses of fast food is that its unhealthy. A decade ago, nearly every QSR
was busy trying to moderate the weakness by offering water, salads, and fruit.
82. CASE STUDY: HARDEE’S
Hardee’s moved in the opposite direction. It took courage to make those weaknesses worse
and then to exaggerate them. That is what Hardee’s did and it saved their company
83. CASE STUDY: HARDEE’S
They said, “our food is fat and nasty and will make you fat and nasty.” And it worked
84. CASE STUDY: HARDEE’S
They took fatty foods and made them fattier. They took nasty food and made it nastier
86. CASE STUDY: DIRTY ROTTEN FLOWERS
Bad breakup? Good sense of humor? Have enemies but you're not quite ready to hire a hitman?
87. CASE STUDY: DIRTY ROTTEN FLOWERS
BOUQUET:
I LOVE YOU, NOT
$30
Dirty Rotten Flowers sends bouquets of dead, rotting flowers to your not-loved ones
88. MICRO-WEIRDING7
F.L.A.W.S.O.M
“It's part of your job as a
marketer to find the truths in a
company, and you let them
shine through in whatever
weird way it might be.”
- Alex Bogusky
89. WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
OPPOSITIONING
LOPSIDING
WEAKENING
AVOIDING
SEPARATING
SEPARATING
W
W
MICRO
WEIRDING
“MORE” FLAUNTINGFLAUNT “LESS”
LITTLE THINGS TO ENHANCE
YOUR UNIQUENESS IN
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
WEAKENING
90. CASE STUDY: MAGIC CASTLE HOTELMICRO-WEIRDING
“Amazing! Excellent service from the moment you walk through the doors. Perfect location if you are staying in hollywood. I was there visiting from
Chicago to run the Hollywood 1/2 Marathon. The location was less than 5 minutes walking distance!! Very family friendly! There are free snacks and a
cool red phone next to the pool that when picked up, calls the service desk to bring you a popcicle. I will definitely be back.” - Trip Advisor Review
91. CASE STUDY: BEN & JERRY’SMICRO-WEIRDING
"We opened in May of 1978, and things went well during the spring and summer. Then the winter came around. At minus 20 degrees, not many
people wanted to lick ice cream cones. We decided to come up with this promotion called P.O.P.C.D.B.Z.W.E. (Penny Off Per
Celsius Degree Below Zero Winter Extravaganza)—“The colder it gets, the more you save!” - Ben Cohen, Founder
97. F LAUNTING
L OPSIDING
A VOIDING
W EAKENING
S EPARATING
O PPOSITIONING
M ICRO-WEIRDING
WEIRD | WEAK
NORMAL | STRONG
SEPARATING
“MORE” FLAUNTING“LESS” FLAUNTING
LOPSIDING
WEAKENING
AVOIDING
OPPOSITIONING
WORSENING
SUBTRACT MATCH
CONFORM STRUT
SEPARATING
W
W
READY TO BE
F.L.A.W.S.O.M?
99. FINAL THOUGHT
“Don’t try to stand out from the crowd.
Avoid crowds altogether.”
- Hugh MacLeod, Gaping Void
100.
101. Purple Goldfish is about
little things that improve
customer experience and
drive word of mouth
2012
2014
2013
2016
Green Goldfish is about
little things that improve
employee engagement
and reinforce culture
Golden Goldfish is about
your “vital few”… little
things for your top 20% of
customers and employees
Blue Goldfish is about
technology, data, and
analytics… little things to
drive profits and prophets
Red Goldfish is about
leveraging passion +
purpose in business to
drive loyalty and sales
2017
Pink Goldfish is the sixth color
in the Goldfish Series of Books