Comments

Why is flying such a ho-hum experience? Because you guys fly all the time! It makes little difference how great it is if you fly as much as other people drive to work. Burger King ho-hum?
The only way to change that is for Whoppers to taste the same as they do now, except they are as good for you as to-fu.
I am still amazed each time I fly that I can travel 2000 miles in
a few hours for a few hundred bucks - and it is safer than when flying was something only the elite could do.
What was extraordinary? The returns people were getting in real estate a few years ago. Did us a lot of good.

Posted by zorro at March 11, 2010 8:31 PM

Barry Gibbons is generally known as having turned Burger King around. I can remember when it was considered another McDonald's--more of the same. It wasn't easy for BK to differentiate themselves, but they managed to do so. After a while, it became common for people to say that they preferred Burger King. (I'm not saying when this was, I remember it from when I was in my 20s.) That's extraordinary, too.

Posted by cathy mosca at March 12, 2010 11:14 AM

I agree that ho-hum is actually worse than awful. Being awful and being extraordinary cause an emotional response in people. Ho-hum is emotional limbo.

In today's decentralized world where a one-man business can position their business in extraordinary ways using web systems, other low cost technologies and tapping into a largely free and colossal knowledge base that is the web being extraordinary is easy that it might seem.

Let's take an accounting firm, one of the business types mentioned in Tom's video. Mostly they all do the same ho-hum things, even down to buying web resources off the same company and they all publish the same boring tax rule changes with a different logo.

Instead, they could a deal to purchase and redistribute on their website marketing strategy information for their clients. They could run free marketing seminars for their clients. The seminars could include easy but easy put into practice topics such as SEO, running a Google AdWords campaign, using Google to research your competitors.

Other ideas include:
Having a back-end web system with client log in where clients can for free upload weekly back-ups of their in-house accounting system and upload and tag their final end of year files ready for the accountant to do their stuff.

Using Twitter to communicate motivational and business tips to their clients.

Using Facebook and MySpace to commence building communication channels with new generations.

Sending out phone text reminders to certain generations of thei clients to "bring their info in so we can lodge your return"

Buying wholesale media space and on-selling it at cost to their clients to enable them to participate in otherwise un-affordable media plays

Setting up other whole of client base buying groups to help their clients reduce the costs of boring things like gas, paper, ink etc.

This is just a few minutes thought so imagine what an accounting firm brainstorm session could come up with. They would be extraordinary within a couple of weeks.

I believe the biggest hurdle to becoming extraordinary is wanting to become extraordinary, as there is perceived safety in ho-hum, because ho-hum is emotional limbo. Nobody is dazzled, nobody is upset.

Get some gumption and try extraordinary. The worst that can happen is you will upset someone, but so what.

Posted by Jason Bresnehan at March 12, 2010 4:06 PM

Ho-hum is not worse than awful. But people who say it can sound clever, because it's counterintuitive. Being counterintuitive is part of Tom's brand - it what people expect Tom to be. In other words, being counterintuitive is Ho-Hum. Its what you expect from Tom.

Burger King and McDonald's are Ho-Hum, but that is part of their success. You know what you are getting when you go to them. Variation is low, but that is what sells - that is what they sell.

Posted by zorro at March 12, 2010 8:25 PM

Zorro,

That's a fine point as far as it goes, but low variation and ho-hum are not necessarily equal. I enjoy using my Mac every day and consider it an exceptional experience even though I do pretty much the same things on it and, in a real sense, get little variation. Think also of a non-chain restaurant - no, scratch that, let's use a chain: sometimes we meet friends at Chick-Fil-A for a low-key dinner. The kids love the food, then run off and play until dragged away on the indoor jungle gym. Meanwhile, the employees offer to bring food to the table when they see you lugging diaper bags and toddlers, come by to ask about drink refills and, generally, show a lot more investment the experience than, well, Burger King or McDonald's.

Variation can be low and still be "wow."

Posted by Phil at March 15, 2010 9:03 AM

I suggest myself the following:

FIRST! ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO NURTURE
IS THAT ONE THAT REVOLTS WITHIN THE INNERMOST OF /BY YOU,
YOU CAN DO YOUR ETHICS.

SECOND! ONCE YOU DO YOUR ETHICS,
YOU CAN DO YOUR ACTIONABLE KNOWLEDGE.

THIRD! ONCE YOUR ACTIONABLE KNOWLEDGE IS DONE BY YOU,
YOU CAN DO YOUR CORPORATE PLANNING AND RESPECTIVE MARSHALED STRATEGY.

FOURTH! ONCE YOUR CORPORATE PLANNING AND RESPECTIVE MARSHALED STRATEGY
IS DONE BY YOU, YOU CAN DO YOUR SYSTEMS HAZARD MANAGEMENT.

FIFTH! ONCE YOUR SYSTEMS HAZARD MANAGEMENT IS DONE BY YOU,
YOU CAN DO YOUR SYSTEMS QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGEMENT.

SIXTH! ONCE YOUR CROSS-FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGEMENT IS DONE BY YOU, YOU CAN DO YOUR SYSTEMS RELIABILITY ENGINEERING.

SEVENTH! ONCE YOUR SYSTEMS RELIABILITY ENGINEERING IS DONE BY YOU,
YOU CAN DO YOUR SYSTEMS RISK MANAGEMENT.

EIGHTH! ONCE YOUR SYSTEMS RISK MANAGEMENT IS DONE BY YOU,
YOU CAN DO YOUR FUTURE.

NINTH! WHEN YOUR FUTURE IS DONE BY YOU,
YOU CAN DO YOUR BENEFITS (UPSIDES AND DOWNSIDES).

TENTH! WHEN BENEFITS ARE DONE BY YOU AND
YOU BECOME HYPER-ENGAGE INTO PERVASIVELY TRANSFORMATIONAL
SELF-RENEWAL AND SELF-CHALLENGING (IN EXCELSIS) OF YOUR OWN INTELLECT,
YOU CAN DO YOUR SUSTAINABILITY PERPETUALLY.

ELEVENTH! NOW YOU CAN CONCEIVE AND DESIGN YOUR OWN PROFESSION AND TENURE WHILE CONCENTRATING IN CAPTURING WOMB-TO-TOMB (SO-CALLED) “SUCCESS.”

TWELFTH! NEITHER “THE SECRET,” NOR THE “HIDDEN SECRET,” MAGNIFICENT MARKETING STUNTS, WILL WARRANT THE OXYGEN THAT YOUR MIND, BODY, AND SOULS REQUIRE (SIC).

www.linkedin.com/in/AndresAgostini

Posted by Andres Agostini at March 17, 2010 12:18 AM