Brains on Fire

• 

  You are so beautiful.

  Posted on October 31st, 2011 by Robbin and currently 3 commenting.

  
  I was inspired to leave an Operation Beautiful Post-it on a mirror. It really is kind of cool to think about someone finding it right when they need it.

  I study things that spark conversation, trigger emotional connections and change lives. It’s fun for me.

  Which works out nice since I make my living doing those same things.

  I also try to lead a positive life.

  One that leaves little room for negative talk about myself — or others. But once and a while, I have an off day. I think if you’re driven and you set high standards for yourself, it just happens. Last Monday was one of those days for me. Just couldn’t find my positive mojo. I was beating myself up for something pretty trivial.

  So I decided at the end of this very long day, to be kind to myself, stop by the store and make a nice meal. I was standing in the deli line, considering my options when this young girl, about twelve years old, turned my way and exclaimed loudly:
  
  “YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!!!”

  Startled, I turned to look at this beautiful smiling girl with Down Syndrome standing beside me. She continued to try and get everyone in line or remotely close by to agree with her, including her smiling mom.
  
  “YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

  YOU ARE!!!

  LOOK EVERYBODY!!!!

  LOOK!!!”

  Funny. For me and others in that line, her wide-open heart seemed to set us all instantly free from our lives and our minds. Personally it woke me up, and I quickly also saw the beautiful life in all of the smiling faces around me.

  Funny how we let busy and worry cloud our vision from seeing this about each other.

  Then the next day, I stumbled on this little grassroot movement that fascinates me on many levels.

  Check it out.

  Operation Beautiful was started by a 26 year old woman named Caitlin from Charlotte, NC. I love the simplicity of the post-it notes as a conversation tool. And then sharing the notes and the found stories online. Brilliant. A perfect combination of offline and online working together to ignite conversation, community and a movement.

  I wish I had known about Operation Beautiful before we wrote the Brains on Fire book. Many great lessons there.

  That sweet young girl in the deli line and Operation Beautiful reminded me to share more freely the good I see in others. We all need to be reminded that we are beautiful. Just as we are. That is a passion conversation we all need to support.

  So let me know what inspires you to see the positive and turn down the negative in your crazy busy wonderful life? Come on, share with me this Monday morning.

  Tags: Grass Roots, Movements, Operation Beautiful
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  A Culture of the Little Things

  Posted on October 26th, 2011 by Eric Dodds and currently 1 commenting.

  At some point in my time at Brains on Fire I was given the responsibility of handling requests from people seeking jobs and internships. I thought it was a great opportunity, and the rules were pretty simple: respond to every single person in an inspiring way, especially when we’re telling them no.

  I didn’t realize those simple rules would create a whole lot of work when students started emailing us in the spring about summer internships.

  The first time I was in the weeds of wading through requests, I lost the heartbeat for why I was repeating something over and over that felt so inconsequential while I was doing it. I asked for a reminder, and the response I got was about the same as the one I received when I was told why we answer the phone so differently than most companies: “We want people to remember when they connect with Brains on Fire. If we ask our clients to do the work it takes to create word of mouth, we have to be willing to do it ourselves.”

  Now, that didn’t magically make 50 emails disappear, but I was amazed at how practicing the discipline over time taught me to sweat the details, and how it eventually showed me what the effect can be. Here’s an example of the type of email I started to get back:

  Good afternoon, Eric,

  First and foremost, I cannot thank you enough for responding.  The most frustrating part of this whole process is not hearing anything at all.  So thank you for your kind words and advice.

  For future reference, where on your website would I search for available positions?

  Thank you again for your response and inspiring words!  I will keep my eye on Brains of Fire

  I realized that the little things matter because they can really make a difference in people’s lives, and that can really make the difference in a company.

  What are the little things in your business? What is the most annoying, but potentially important task that you have to do on a regular basis? What are the little things for your employees? How can you take those small things, infuse them with vision, and remind yourself that doing them is an important part of the mission?

  Tags: Company Culture, email, internship, little things
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  Scared, but doing it anyway.

  Posted on October 25th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 9 commenting.

  Last week I attended a nutrition class. (Did you know that microwaving veggies zaps the nutrients out of them?) And the teacher (who just happens to be my wonderful morning Yoga Teacher) made the most interesting statement.

  “In America, we tend to wake up with this slight sensation that we’re being chased by a bear. “
  
  Hmmmm.

  Then a few days later I stumbled on this great video from Merlin Mann And today I am sharing with all of you. (Merlin is also the guy behind Inbox Zero.)

  Merlin’s speaking style is interesting, but kind of rambling. He lost me a couple of times, but do yourself a HUGE favor this morning, stick with it and listen until the very end.

  Pretty amazing, don’t you think?

  We all have an “it” or three or seventy that scares us and makes us wake up with that sensation that a “bear is chasing us”.

  But you know what? Life has taught me these two things:

  You can always do it anyway. And most likely you will survive.

  Somehow just that knowledge calms me.
  
  A friend taught me this little trick to fight back life’s everyday fears about a year and half ago.

  It’s so cool. Okay, here’s how it works. Remember a time when you survived after facing something that terrified you. Think back to that very moment when you realized that you’d done “it” anyway and you were just fine. Try and remember as many details about that moment as you possible can. What was the weather? How did you feel? Where were you? Recreate that story moment in your mind.

  For me it was climbing up a very steep mountain in the pitch-black darkness (we were a bit lost after a late day hike), and hitting an unexpected LONG stretch of blackberry bushes (or something with prickly needles). I knew the sun would come up at some point but for a moment (or seven) I panicked and just wanted free of the bush and bramble and darkness. I didn’t think I could do it. When I finally made it to the top (and I knew we were on more solid ground). I was bloody and bruised, but I felt great. A sense of calm had settled over me that I simply can’t put into words.

  Not a bear in sight.

  After reliving this moment in great detail to my friend, he then said to pick a shape and color (mine is an orange circle) and associate that shape and color with that feeling. Then when you find yourself facing a fear and you have to do “it” anyway, just remember that color and shape. Strangely enough that triggers that feeling and that “I did it” moment to come back instantly and just that tiny little break gives you courage to move forward. It sounds crazy but it really, really works.

  We’ll I haven’t tried it while jumping off a train at ninety miles an hour.

  I am also strangely comforted by this line from Merllin’s friend “Crazy Bob”.

  “They can’t eat you.”

  And, they can’t. And, they won’t. Okay?

  What scares you and what tools, techniques or mantras do you use to help you do “it” anyway? Come on. Don’t be afraid. Share your thoughts today.

  Tags: Facing your Fears, Inbox Zero, merlin mann, Scared Shitless
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  More than a Feeling: Message Matters

  Posted on October 24th, 2011 by amy and currently 8 commenting.

  Message matters. That’s no big surprise. But “They will never forget how you made them feel” may be truer than anyone realized when it comes to marketing.

  Turns out, purely emotional marketing outperforms purely rational marketing by nearly double.

  Yesterday I was hard at work re-painting my home office. When Pandora decided to play Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” (all you animal-lovers will understand) I had an immediate response. My emotional trigger was pulled. Within three seconds my thoughts went from “This color paint color is gorgeous!” to “Save the puppies! Help the kitties!” As I started reflecting on the types of things I have passed along and shared with friends over the past couple years, I realized nearly all were strongly emotional. (Last Christmas a Dyson vacuum drew tears!)

  So what makes emotional marketing so effective? In this article, Susan Gunelius takes a closer look at 10 common emotional triggers…

  1. Fear: Fear is an emotion that can be used in a wide variety of marketing messages. Insurance companies often appeal to the emotion of fear with messages like “Don’t get caught with too little insurance.”
  2. Guilt: Consumers are easily affected by messages that trigger emotions of guilt. Nonprofit organizations use the guilt trigger effectively in copy such as “Don’t let them suffer anymore.”
  3. Trust: Trust is one of the hottest trends in marketing, and every company seems to be trying to jump on the trust bandwagon in their marketing messages. Financial companies are leading the way with messages like “no hidden fees.”
  4. Value: Value is another hot trend in marketing, and many promotions appeal directly to the emotional trigger of getting a good deal. For example, promotional messages that say “If you find a better price for the same product, we’ll match it” are effective in piquing feelings related to value.
  5. Belonging: Few people truly want to be alone. Human nature dictates that most people want to feel like they belong to a group, and customers often purchase products in an attempt to feel part of a specific group. Many companies effectively appeal to consumers’ desires to belong, using copy like “You’re part of the family.”
  6. Competition: The old adage of keeping up with the Joneses is an adage for a reason. Many consumers are affected by a competitive desire to feel equal to or better than their peers. Copy like “Make them drool” is a great example of a message that elicits feelings of competition.
  7. Instant Gratification: We live in a world where people expect instant gratification in all aspects of their lives. Messages that cater to a sense of urgency are well-received by consumers who already desire instant gratification. Use words like now, today, in one hour or less, within 24 hours, and so on to appeal to the emotional trigger of instant gratification.
  8. Leadership: A lot of consumers want to lead the way in trying new products, and this audience responds strongly to marketing messages that appeal to their feelings related to leadership. Messages that make them feel like they’re first or in control are powerful for this audience. Phrases such as “Be the first on your block” effectively appeal to the emotional trigger of leadership.
  9. Trend-setting: Many consumers want to feel cool or trendy, so appealing to those emotions in copywriting is fairly standard. Variations of “all the cool kids are doing it” are commonplace in copywriting and can be used to market a wide variety of products and services to an even wider audience. The famous Gatorade ad featuring Michael Jordan and the copy “Be like Mike” is a perfect example.
  10. Time: In the 21st century, people are busier than ever. As such, they desire more free time to pursue personal interests, spend time with family and friends, and so on. Marketing messages that appeal to that desire for more free time are extremely effective, such as “Cut the time it takes to vacuum your house in half.”

  And now for the fun part. I have compiled a mini-list of links to handful of commercials, companies, organizations and people doing emotional well. Their message is sticky. Pass-onable. It gets people feeling, which gets people talking – and doing.

  • Pedigree “Shelter Dogs”
  • Google “Dear Sophie”
  • Optimus “The Text Message”
  • Budweiser “Thank You”
  • Love 146: The Story of Love 146
  • The Girl Effect “The Clock is Ticking”

  The heart is the first feature of working minds. | Frank Lloyd Wright

  YOUR TURN TO CHIME IN: Who do you think does emotional well? What (or should I say who) is tugging at your heart strings?

  Tags: Emotion, emotional marketing
• 

  WOM-portunities: Tracking Your Shipments is Boring

  Posted on October 21st, 2011 by Eric Dodds and currently 0 commenting.

  In the last week or so, I’ve purchased a few things online, sent a watch to the manufacturer for repair, and have shipped a few things to clients scattered across different states. Needless to say, I’ve been looking at a whole lot of tracking numbers and ‘in transit’ statuses.

  The last item I followed around the country was the repaired watch. When it arrived, I took it out of the package, set the date and time, and put it on my wrist. And then, after two weeks of digitally watching small cardboard boxes journey around the country, I had a weird thought: “I kind of wish I had another package to track.”

  I thought about how as humans, we love to have something to look forward to: the weekend, the beginning or end of a project, the change of a season, getting a new car, the possibility of a new message in our inbox. Many of us may hate waiting, but there’s something we absolutely love about expectation.

  What’s also interesting was that watching those packages step closer and closer to their destinations was kind of exciting, even though the process overall was incredibly sterile. Think about it – you take a tracking ID or random numbers, plug it into a field on a corporate-looking website, and get brief status updates when the package hits certain checkpoints. Which makes sense. The name of the game in shipping is accuracy and efficiency. Many times people simply want to know that the package they sent arrived safely.

  I can’t help but see an opportunity for word of mouth, though. Imagine the ways that a company could breathe life ad creativity into that process. What if a business used the fact that we love expectation to start giving us an amazing experience before we even received the product we bought from them? (There may be some great examples of this, I know many companies use email, but I struggled to find anything noteworthy specific to shipment tracking. Please share if you’ve got one.)

  What if, instead of seeing that my watch just “Departed the facility in Ogden, UT,” I received a message from the watch itself:

  Just got out of surgery and onto the bus home. It’s dark in here, but my seat is really comfortable. It’s that new bubble stuff they use now. The new parts feel great, but I think the medication is confusing me – my time is set to the year 1999 and I could have sworn it was 2011 when I went in. Oh well. It’s been nice not having you wake me up so early everyday.

  I’m leaving Utah now, and I should be there in a few days. I told the bus driver we should stop and blow some steam off on Bourbon Street in Louisiana after a long drive, but he ignored me. He didn’t look like he’d be fun to go out with anyways – we can celebrate when I get home. See you soon, and I hope you haven’t missed any appointments because I’ve been gone.

  Tags: boring, expectation, FedEx, reframing the conversation, shipping, tired to inspired, ups, usps, Word of Mouth