What in the blazes does Jason Northington do?

I am an Architect of "Wow!" and I created this little equation to explain what the blazes that means. A quick caveat: this isn't a real math equation so I'm not going to solve what's in the parentheses first. If this bothers you get over it.

But I digress...I was about to explain something of supreme significance.

The equation reads like this:

Why multiplied by What plus How multiplied by Who equals "Wow!"

Before I explain the equation let me begin by saying that I am an Architect of "Wow!" and what I do is business consulting.

You with me?

How I do business consulting is by first starting to understand the Why of each of my business owner clients. The Why is their reason for being in business. It's their vision, their values, the fire in their belly and their story. The Why is incredibly important because without it the whole enterprise doesn't work like it should. It lacks energy, direction, and oomph! On a side note, I've found that oomph is very important to business success...

Once we understand and can clearly communicate their Why, we move on to the What and the How. The What is the business itself and the How is the marketing, or the method of communicating the Why to each and every client. The interesting thing is seeing the the momentous increase of focus and clarity on the What and How once the Why is discovered. It's like turning on a light bulb in a dark room. Instead of fumbling around everything starts to make sense.

Then once those two things are in place (the Why and the What and How) we move on to the Who. The Who represents the ideal client. Who, of the 7 billion people on the planet, most want and need what you're selling? And where are they? We go find them!

(Notice I didn't say customers. I said clients. I'm not going to go into right now but I never use the word customers, always clients...)

So. Now we know the Why; we got the What and How figured out; and we got clarity on Who wants us and Who we want to serve.

Get all three of those things humming along and the result will always be "Wow!"

But wait, what does "Wow!" mean? "Wow!" is the exclamation that your client says when you have served them better than anyone else. "Wow!" means they understand you and believe and trust you. "Wow!" is the forerunner of true client loyalty and reason they shout your name from the rooftops!

And THAT my friends, is what Jason Northington does. And boy, is it fun!

Lemonade, Advertising and Bad Manners

Advertising has become like the ugly kid brother to marketing. You generally see advertising showing up and doing one of two things.

The first thing advertising does is like that obnoxious know-it-all kid. He's the one always saying, "HEY! Lookit me, look at what I can do! Watch me climb this tree, aren't I awesome?!"

No, you aren't. We call this kind of advertising "brand-building" or "brand awareness". What is it good for? Not much. It just lets you know that XYZ Company has truckloads of money and they'll spend it without discretion.

Cooool.

The other thing advertising does is much like the other kid running the lemonade stand. You know this kid. You may not be thirsty, the lemonade may taste like something the astronauts drank back in the 70's but you can guarantee you're not getting away without a cup of it. This is advertising whose sole intent is to sell you something. This describes most advertising.

But what about the third one?

"What third one?" you ask so intelligently... You ask because you don't see it very much. Kinda like you don't often see unicorns...

This type of advertising centers around communicating values. Beliefs. Reasons why.

Imagine seeing this:

Dear potential client,

We know this isn't slick, it isn't glossy and there are no talking animals to amuse you. We also realize that most of you will not appreciate this, understand this, or even read this - and that's okay. But there will be some of you that do. There will be some of you that resonate with what we're about to say and you'll actually do something. Not because we asked you to, not because you were induced by some shrieking pitchman, but because you believed what we said.

So here it goes. We care about you. So much so that we will tell if what you want to buy from us is right for you. And if it's not we'll kindly tell where you can find better value somewhere else. We plan on educating you and serving you prior to you buying anything from us because we believe in what we do and how we do it. We didn't get out of bed this morning to make money, we got out of bed thinking about you. We hope you're having a great day, by the way...

See the difference? Feel the difference?

Grading in real life

It's been a long time since I've been graded on anything. At least with a letter or number grade.

I remember back in college being excited about getting a test or a paper back with a letter or number that told me how well I had performed. Seeing that grade at the top of the page was satisfying. It was a mark of approval (if it was good that is...) letting me know how I did in relation to everyone else. It let me know how close to the standard I was. It let me know where I needed to improve.

But that was then and this is now. I don't get those kinds of grades anymore. The grading criteria has become more complex, more subtle, and more confusing. Are we still on a hundred-point scale?

The answer is no. The hundred-point scale went bye-bye along with the neatly typed syllabus and the dry-erase white board. Snack time and recess? Also bye-bye.

Now every person is your teacher and they all have a different grading system. I'm your teacher and I may demand a lot from you. Your neighbor also is your teacher and he may expect very little.

Confused? Oh, you should be.

Your wife, your husband, your children, your clients, and your boss are all your teachers now. And you theirs.

Go easy on your red pen and they may go easy on theirs. Go hard, and well, this semester may stretch longer than it should.

Passing grades these days are measured in happiness, loyal clients, faithful friends, strong businesses, getting out bed with purpose, pig-headed determination, and knowing our "why's".

Are you passing or failing?

Soul suck: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the fear

This is a movie poster for a movie I recently watched. Strange movie and the best part is the poster.

It did, however, remind me of a term I use sometimes - "soul suck". I use this term to describe whatever I do or anyone else does that don't give us a sense of life or purpose. Watching American Idol is soul suck, at least for me that is. I dare not speak on your behalf. Or dare I?

Soul suck is getting up every morning and going to a job you hate...
Soul suck is doing something because you have to...
Soul suck is settling...
Soul suck is generally preceded by a "Ugghhh..."
Soul suck is the absence of life while your heart is still beating.

Stop it. Dare to take a chance. Dare to do something great.

I double-dog dare you.

Oh, and by the way, I haven't learned to stop worrying and love the fear. Yet.

Our definition is the problem.

We may not admit it, or even know it, but I think we all want to change the world. In some way we want to make an imprint. An impression. We want to scratch our initials on the bark of humanity somehow.

I think I just figured out how.

Change your definition of success. Allow it to include someone other than yourself.

By broadening your definition you expand beyond just thinking about yourself. All it took for me was having a Chick-fil-A manager hold an umbrella for me. He changed his definition of success that rainy Friday to include me.

Change your definitions, change the world.

Microwave Marketing

 



If you want this you can't have that. Life is a perpetual trade-off. And with the introduction of the microwave we were introduced to yet another one of these trade-offs. Fast versus tasty.

We may prefer tasty but we settle for fast.

A microwave meal may lack the taste of something that has been lovingly prepared for hours in a slow cooker or on the grill. But it's fast.

It may lack the forethought, the creative inspiration, and the complex combinations of herbs and spices that tickle the palate and induce groans of total culinary satisfaction. But it's fast.

It may reduce the time we spend thinking about quality ingredients that provide us nutrients, vitality, energy, and pleasure. But it's fast. 

The microwave has taught us terrible habits. And these habits are killing us and our businesses too. Wait, how does this affect our businesses?

Because we've begun thinking fast. We've begun thinking that marketing is advertising and nothing more. We've begun plotting how to make sales, meet quotas, and serve the shareholders rather than plotting on how to build lifelong relationships with our clients.

We've begun thinking about the quickest path to our success rather than the longer, more laborious path to building trust.

We build businesses like microwaves. We want the fastest way to a bad meal without making us actually do any work. This is why you call any large company and you get recorded robot voices telling you how much they care about you.

Liars. Stop advertising to me. Start serving me.

Oh, and to all you shareholders out there holding your little pieces of the pie - stop talking out of both sides of your mouth. You willingly push for short-term gain and ignore the long-term inevitability of hitting the iceberg and sinking. P/E ratios are less important than the philosophy of the company.

Deep down you know this. Start buying Crock Pots and get some time perspective.

Stop acting like a selfish 5 year-old - it's not all about you. 

I'll be honest...

I frequently flip-flop between these two extremes:

1. Total and complete resolve to carry out my vision, and
2. Publicly renouncing my adulthood and all associated responsibilities, then digging a tunnel underneath my house just big enough to accommodate me in a fetal position where I will stay until I get hungry enough to come out- so probably a solid 30 minutes or so...

I'm 33 years old at the time of writing this. And honestly I feel like I'm clear enough on the simple fact that I don't want a mediocre life. I want to play a bigger game. I want to create an identity and brand and all the requisite skills sets to help business owners, entrepreneurs, and the rest of humanity (hopefully) be more, do more and have more.

I want to inject "Wow!" into my surroundings. I want to create new economies, new wealth, and new ways of doing business by teaching an amazing philosophy that promotes focusing on the client more than the dollar.

I want to change how people think. I want to impact the philosophies of people that hold them back from jumping off the high dive of life. For instance, I know you wanna jump off. You're just scared. You know it's really no fun hanging out in the shallow end with your silly water wings strapped to your skinny little arms but that's where everyone else is. It's safe there.

You just can't seem to march yourself up and out, climb that 10-foot ladder and take a flying leap into the crystal clear water of the deep end.

What if you fail?!
What if you drown?!
What if you have to get fished out by the lifeguard?! Oh the horror.

I'm taking that leap on a daily basis and sometimes I belly-flop. A lot.

Coincidentally those seem to be the days where my adulthood gets renounced and the fetal position commences.

But other days, ahhhh, other days. On those days I slice through the water cleanly and neatly. It just works.

Those are the days that I'm thrilled that I took the first step up that ladder that seemed to stretch into the wild blue yonder. I'm trying to have more of those days.

Oh, and sidenote, someone just peed in the shallow end so I'd hurry up and get in the deep end if I were you.

Meet Joshua, and his Joe Boxers...

Joshua is my nephew and he is clearly rocking the heck out of those Joe Boxers! Now this photo happens to be taken in my parents house, but no matter.

Joshua could be standing in the middle of Times Square and he'd probably be just as comfortable in his boxers.

Why?

Because he doesn't know better. He hasn't grown up yet. He's not mature and sophisticated like we are...He doesn't yet know that underwear is best suited to stay underneath your clothes rather than an alternative TO clothes.

If you ask me I think we could all be a little more like Joshua.

Now of course I'm not suggesting that we all parade around in public in our underwear- although for some of us that might be a good exercise in doing something a little crazy and unexpected. (caveat: if you decide to do this I did NOT tell you to and I will NOT bail you out of jail.)

What I am suggesting, however, is that we should learn to be a little more comfortable in our own skin.

What if the purpose of your business was to have fun? What if you were surrounded with people that were 100% okay with just being themselves? What if we expected to laugh until our face hurt every time we went to see the doctor. Or our auto mechanic. Or our attorney.

What if people didn't take themselves so seriously? What if we stopped trying to look professional and instead decided to just be real.

And how would it affect our day if we stood in front of the mirror every morning sporting a pair of really cool boxers and said to ourselves, "Dang I look cool!"

We get one shot at this thing called Life. One shot. 

We're Professional. We mean business.

You've seen these people before.
They are the nameless ghosts that inhabit websites and crappy brochures across the globe. Don't they just reek of professionalism?

"We're dressed up, but not wearing ties because that's too old-fashioned, but we are very serious about [insert your business here]."

Great, so now we're stuck with bad clip art and lame attempts at "professionalism".

In years past this was different. We expected professionalism and a certain look that went along with that. But now it's gotten cheap and way too easy. Any chump can buy a domain name, buy some stock images of "professional people" and WHAMMO! Instant credibility.

I think professional has seen its day come and go.

People no longer want professional, they want something different.

They want personal attention.
They want you to be able to relate to them.
They want you to speak to them on their level.
They want you to make them feel important.
They want you to care about them.
They want you to listen to them rather than spouting off constantly.

You went to a great school and got a degree? Who cares?

You've been in business for 19,000 years? What's that got to do with me?

You got your insurance license and financial license? Great, you can pass a test? I had those licenses too and I didn't know diddly-squat!

You wear a suit and tie? Great, what is one reason why you're better than the next guy?

You know buzzwords like synergy, quality customer service, and win-win? Terrific, prove it. 

Stop trying to be professional and work on being human. We'll like you better that way - and you'll probably make more money to boot.