Why you should cultivate your point of view, not your product
If the product is what matters, we’re all in serious trouble.
Here’s a horrible thought: imagine life was actually fair.
Imagine if the best products got the most sales, the best consultants got the most clients, and the best writers sold the most books.
It’s unthinkable.
Most of us wouldn’t stand a chance.
Lucky for us, life is not fair. And success has nothing to do with making the best widget or writing the best article.
Phew!
In fact, if you take a look at what the top brands and top writers are focused on, it’s not their product. What they focus on most is cultivating their point of view.
What is the best anyway?
I was thinking about this the other day as I was scanning for something new and interesting to read here on Medium.
I had about 20 minutes to spend and I was after something juicy to read.
There was an article with over 14,000 claps, one with about 1,000 and another with a plucky total of fourteen claps. Was the first one fourteen times better than the second? Was it 1000 times better than the last?
Of course not.
And although it seems the author of the 14,000+ article is an experienced writer, their words are not that good.
Even the article with just fourteen claps was quality.
There are plenty of great writers on Medium with decades of experience and wisdom to share but barely any views. There are also plenty of half-baked articles that absolutely crush it.
Who knows what best is?
It’s not fair. And this is great news.
I’m not suggesting you can get away with writing junk and leave it to some magic viral formula to make it successful.
But merely better writing is not the answer either.
Your point of view matters more than your product
Seth Godin is not the best writer.
An outstanding thought leader and one of my all time favourites.
I’ve devoured his books, podcasts, and courses, and I read his blog regularly.
But not because he’s the best writer. (I don't think he would claim to be either.)
Not that his writing is bad—after writing every day for so long of course he’s good. But that’s not why I follow him. It’s not why I buy his books.
What I’m drawn to is his particular point of view.
They were all bored to tears waiting to hear something they knew
Whether he’s talking about marketing, education or the TV-industrial complex, I love to hear his opinion. I love how he always manages to find a unique angle on any subject. It makes me feel clever just nodding along to his counterintuitive insights, and helps me believe that I can make change happen too.
The best marketing starts by crafting a point of view
It’s not just writers like Seth that do it. Some of the top brands do exactly the same.
Nike doesn't necessarily make the best sneakers. That little bubble of air in the sole doesn’t improve your running any more than the gel in the next shoe. But it doesn’t have to.
Photo by Kristian Egelund on Unsplash
“Just do it” is not a sales message, it’s a point of view: no excuses, no delays, just do the work. That’s what earns you a gold medal or a championship ring. And that idea is what people are buying into.
Similarly, Starbucks does not make the best coffee. What they offer is a point of view: that coffee is more than a hot beverage.
Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash
They changed the purpose of the coffee shop from a place to grab a quick snack to a gathering place for work, study and friends.
And when it comes to electric cars, would you choose Tesla or Prius? What's the difference?
One says if you believe in taking responsibility for your actions, we’ll help you reduce your carbon footprint. The other says, if you believe in technology, get in and buckle up because we’re about to melt your face off.
All good products. All remarkable points of view.
Point of view is actually a good place to start
It can be powerful stuff. So why not start there?
Let’s try an example.
Say you're passionate about dogs and you believe that feeding them organic food is the key to happiness for both them and us. You could jump into the kitchen and start chopping up meat…
Or you could start cultivating your point of view—by sharing your ideas with the others.
If you can get other passionate dog lovers to come and see the world from this point of view—if they see what you see, if they feel what you feel—then you have created belief in them.
Over time, as you share your new point of view with passion and integrity, more people might adopt this perspective. This leaves them with a problem: where do they find a product that fits this point of view?
And there’s an even bigger problem for you.
What do you do with a large group of people who share a clearly defined worldview? Can you serve them in a way that helps them and also generates income for you? Easy.
Pick any business that supports healthy dogs: make the food, make a dog walking app or make a vet clinic. Whatever you choose, it’s an interesting and possibly lucrative problem to have.
At that point, you’d be well beyond the question of “who’s the best?” You’ve already gathered the customers. Now, you only need to tell them where to put their credit card.
Just imagine if life was fair and your only chance for success was to become the best somehow.
It’s a scary thought.
Lucky for us, being the best is not as important as it seems.
Crafting a unique and compelling point of view is a much more certain path.
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Photo by Grooveland Designs on Unsplash
