Here's a little game to get you thinking. I like to tell owners to think of their brand as a person or a personality. It's a creative way to brainstorm and help you "put a face" on what you are trying to convey. Close your eyes and consider…
What does this person act like, dress like, sound like? What makes them stand out? Are they fun, serious, silly, funny, educated? Are they sophisticated, youthful, mature? Who will like them? Why are they likeable? What do they stand for and believe in? How do they conduct themselves? What are they skilled at? What do they represent? What color would better suit this person? What symbols or letters would best represent them? What name would a person like this have? What words would you use to describe this person? What catchphrase or sentence would tell another person how to describe them? What would tell people all they need to know about this person?
- Tabatha Coffey, Own It!
When you shift focus from one task to another, that transition is neither fast nor smooth. Instead, there is a lag time during which your brain must yank itself from the initial task and then glom onto the new task. This shift, though it feels instantaneous, takes time. In fact, up to 40 percent more time than single tasking - especially for complex tasks.
Sensory inputs (something “real”) lead the brain to new connections—but so do thoughts (something “unreal”)! Mentally practicing a task produces the same physical changes in the brain as physically practicing it.
We learned pretty fast that hugging a customer doesn’t always result in great customer satisfaction. It really comes down to aligning your service with the specific expectations and aspirations of the people you serve.
Many times during training and competition, an athlete will experience what I call "don't" thinking. In "don't" thinking, people tell themselves what not to do. For example, a hockey player with whom I work used to tell himself, "Don't screw this up, don't swing too hard, and don't hit the ice before the puck." This type of thinking is not helpful, because by directing the mind to what is not supposed to be done, it increases the likelihood that the athlete will feel stress and anxiety. This state, in turn, makes it harder to pay attention to the task at hand, and thus people are more prone to do exactly what they were hoping to prevent.