For those of you who have heard me speak or read some of my blog posts and other reflections, this will be an emphasis for you and a deeper dive into what I believe to be perhaps the most important thing that can change your life and/or your business. In the new year. I don’t say this lightly… but I know it can happen to you… if you really want to change your life and your business forever.
For those of you who are new to my blog (and other writing) and my passion to help you grow personally or your company, welcome to the JOURNEY! I refer to this as a journey because it never has an end… it just gets better and better the longer you’re on the Journey. Being able to “OBSERVE” is what this trip is all about… and it will get better every day. And here is the great advantage…
You don’t want your journey of becoming a “COMMENTARY” to ever end…because it gets more fun and rewarding the longer you’re on the journey.
And he never wants this journey to end because it would mean that he stops his desire to become more capable every day in the future. Honestly, it’s a drug. Once you start this journey, you literally don’t want to go back…it’s addictive because it’s so rewarding…personally and professionally.
For some of you, this concept may be new or needs a bit of updating for you to fully understand what it means to be able to “OBSERVE”. Let me briefly share with you what it really means to be able to “OBSERVE.”
I’m sure you already noticed how I emphasize the word “OBSERVATION” as part of the word “remarkable”. I think this is the most important part of the umbrella word because it so accurately describes the essence of what I believe will change your life and your business. The word “remarkable” can mean “amazing and stupendous” or other exciting words. And while this sounds great, it’s not the main focus I want you to think of when you hear the word. I want you to focus on a very key component of the word, “OBSERVATION”. Essentially, it says that you’re “saying something to someone…you’re making a ‘comment’ to them.” This aspect of the word is what I want you to focus on when you think of becoming a “remarkable” person or company…someone others will comment or say something about. This gives you something that everyone has envied and coveted since the beginning of time… being talked about positively by another person… someone who can be trusted and believable.
If this sounds a lot like word of mouth, you’re on the right track. But becoming able to “COMMENT” is taking word of mouth to a whole new level… it’s putting word of mouth on steroids! It’s about creating “Enthusiastic and Passionate Advocates” who “proactively tell others about you.” They literally go out of their way to tell others about you because you are someone they trust completely, they go out of their way to help you, and they do it in a way that gives you an amazing experience. These are the components that make them Advocates where you are the most important.
At the heart of becoming able to “OBSERVE” is being customer obsessed. The path to becoming able to “FEEDBACK” day after day throughout your life or the life of your business begins with the desire to be customer obsessed. When all your focus is on your customers (as it should be), you can do things for them that your competition isn’t even thinking about or only dreams they could… but they can’t and you can. It’s being so “in” with your customer that you know what’s going to delight them and “make their day” with every interaction. It’s like being in sync with your customer and knowing what they need and want even before they know it. It’s making different decisions that are “customer-centric” and focused on putting the interests of your customers above everything else. It’s simply being “all in” with the only group that gives you money, your customers.
For me, this all started more than two decades ago… even before I wrote my first book, “Creating and Delivering Totally Amazing Customer Experiences.” In fact, it started in my early childhood when I was working in my father’s business in Utah (you can read more of my story on my website). In essence, it did everything I say in The REMARKable Triangle (you can learn more about it on my website) without even knowing it (since I created it early in the last decade). And by all accounts, he was able to “WATCH” and his business was able to “WATCH”.
Becoming able to “COMMENT” is a simple concept… it is simply “getting others to ‘comment’ (talk) about you to others”. Simple, right? You are becoming someone (or a business) that others go out of their way to tell others about you or your business. It’s becoming someone (or a business) that others can’t wait to tell others about because you’re unbelievably awesome, unbelievable, spectacular, amazing, or a host of other powerful adjectives to describe yourself and/or your business. And they do it “proactively” without being asked or bribed. Let me emphasize this last piece again… without being asked (for a referral or recommendation) or bribed (offering me incentives to say nice things about you). They do it all by themselves because they love to interact with you and/or your business. That is what it means to become able to “OBSERVE”!
Ask yourself a simple question: “Do most people I know go out of their way to tell others that they need to meet with me, without me asking them to do so (by asking for a referral)?” Or if you’re a business, “Do most of your clients come from others who tell you they need to work with us without us asking (asking for a referral)?” If the answer to these questions is a resounding and unequivocal YES, you may very well be customer obsessed and well on your way to becoming able to “LOOK.” If the answer is NO or I DON’T KNOW, chances are you aren’t obsessed with the customer and haven’t become able to “OBSERVE”…yet.
Do you want to be on this journey?
If you answered NO, then I apologize for making you read this far… you can stop now and ignore everything I just shared. I’m sorry for wasting your time.
If you answered YES or I WANT TO KNOW MORE, you have just started your journey. This article is the beginning of your journey, whether you knew it or not. Starting today, you’ll want to follow along and read my blog, articles, and the new book coming out in Q1 2020. You’ll also want to listen to my podcasts (from now on) and watch the videos (from now on) where I talk. about why you want to be obsessed with the customer and be able to “OBSERVE”. I’ll also share many examples and stories of companies that are (and why they are) and those that aren’t (and why they aren’t) along with helpful tips on what you can do to help you better understand this differentiation. strategy of how you become able to “OBSERVE”. I’ll share more stories with you about what it’s like and what it takes to be able to “LOOK.” I’ll also share what others are saying about the different components you’ll need along your journey to be able to “OBSERVE.”
The more we can all learn together, the faster and deeper our journey (and results) will be, as we will all be more able to “COMMENT” than we were yesterday. And the beauty of this whole journey is that NO ONE WILL EVER COMPLAIN that you are more than capable of “COMMENT”… they only complain when you are not.
Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll join me on this journey… it’s going to be amazing. Welcome aboard… your journey has just begun! Stay tuned for more information on this amazing approach to changing your business and yourself to be someone others “WATCH” about. And if you boil all this down to ONE THING at the end of the day, you are completely and uniquely DIFFERENT in the eyes of your customer (and others). It will no longer look like anyone (or any other business) in the future. You will stand out… you will lead your industry or your peers. You will be talked about as unique and different in the eyes of your customers, your audience and your peers. I think that’s enough to help you achieve much more success tomorrow than you already have today!
Obsess with the customer…become able to “OBSERVE”!