Open up your mind and say, ahh...

First, two signs, each telling a very different story:

This sign says, “we’re in power, we’re going to use newspeak and double-talk and pretend we’ve done something to benefit you, which of course, we haven’t.” It also uses “conveniently” as an adverb, which is just annoying. Why not tell the truth, straight up?

On the other hand, this sign screams transparency and honesty. The farmer explained that on days when the corn was picked that day, he erases the scribbles on the bottom of the sign, but if the corn was picked just one day earlier, it’s just not right to say ‘fresh’. It’s worth noting that instead of having two signs, one for each condition, he uses his own hand to tell the truth, quite vigorously. Guess who has the most popular corn stand in New York, even on days when it is not, apparently, fresh?

…and here’s a fascinating, generous and over-the-top-in-a-good-way article on infographics by Ed Fry. Sometimes, earning attention is about being all three, not about gaming the system or getting lucky.

… a cautionary tale. It’s always easier to make a promise than it is to keep one, and if you’re not careful, it compounds.

I got my new Macbook Pro the other day. It comes with Migration Assistant, a flawed piece of software that promises to easily transfer years of old data from one machine to another.

The software failed. (Promise broken). Having paid $99 for the One to One service (which promises individual hour long sessions), I make an appointment and head over to the store. Nate, the promised guide, doesn’t know how to fix it, because, despite the promise, he’s not trained to do so. He hands me over to a genius, Michael, who hears my story and promises to personally handle it (it takes ten hours to do the transfer, he’ll watch over it and make sure it goes well.) He actually looks me in the eye and says, “I promise to personally handle this.”

The next day, the phone rings. It’s Aideen, who has the case, doesn’t know who Michael is and doesn’t know what to do. She leaves a message. I call back, talk to someone at the store who insists that Aideen isn’t available but that someone will call me back within thirty minutes. He says, “I promise that someone will call you within thirty minutes.” An hour later, no one has called back.

It goes on and on. Every employee means well. Every employee is overwhelmed by incoming traffic, most from people who have already had their promises broken. Every employee has discovered that it’s easier to make a promise and pass it along than it is to either tell the truth or keep the promise.

The cascade starts with the product. When your brand makes promises it can’t keep, your overworked staff bears the brunt.

Apologize

Defer to others

Avoid shortcuts

Tell the truth

Offer kindness

Seek alliances

Volunteer to take the short straw

Choose the long-term, sacrificing the short

Demonstrate respect to all, not just the obviously strong

Share credit and be public in your gratitude

Risking the appearance of weakness takes strength. And the market knows it.