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Today, let’s look at one of the key factors in building a remarkable, profitable business.
Malcolm Gladwell was once asked how to write a best-selling book. His answer was as follows:
“The moment you write a book hoping it will be a best seller, your chances of it becoming a best seller go downhill. […] You write the book you would want to read.”
Gladwell on Steve Jobs
Gladwell then went on to explain that Steve Jobs never brought a product to market, because he thought the marketplace wanted it. Instead, Jobs developed products that he wanted to own.
Think about that for a moment:
- Gladwell writes books that he would want to read. They are unlike any other books in his niche. In fact, the title of one of his books, Tipping Point, has become a widely used phase. And his books are also among the best selling non-fiction books of the last 2 decades.
- Jobs created products because he thought they were beautiful. Jobs’ success with Apple led to his company being the most highly valued in the world.
There’s an amazingly wonderful insight right there. Something we can all learn from.
What’s the lesson?
If we want to create remarkable products, remarkable services and deliver remarkable experiences, we should deliver what we believe is valuable. What we believe is right. What we believe in.
Think about it: The only way we can hope to build a meaningfully different business is to tap into our uniqueness. To give the marketplace what we would value, if we were the customer or client. If we simply look at what our competitors do, then find a way to do it a little faster or a little cheaper, we become unremarkable.
When Roger Banister broke the 4 minute mile barrier, he was remarkable. The next guy, who ran a little faster than Bannister, wasn’t.
In short, it makes commercial sense to offer a meaningfully different product or service. Ship something that you value highly.