AI is going to speed up EVERYTHING!
What was fast 2 years ago will feel slow this year.
This is the year you need to elevate speed on your list of business priorities, because your customers have already elevated it on THEIR list of priorities.
You need to build a culture of responsiveness inside your organization, starting NOW. In 2024, customers interpret responsiveness as respect, and they reward the companies that show them that respect.
My newest book, The Time to Win, includes a 6-piece framework for using responsiveness as a competitive advantage.
Many of you already have it, and are buying lots of copies for your teams (thanks). Interested in doing that? Just reply to this email.
Today's Burning Question
WOW! So many of you participated in last issue's question about toothpaste flavors, we're going to make this a regular feature of The Baer Facts.
Winner: Laura Mulcahy Mayhew with "Mojito-flavored toothpaste" She wins tequila, and a signed book.
Today's burning question: What's your favorite mobile app that people might not know about?
The Poison of Unset Expectations
If you don't set expectations for your customers, they will rely on their own expectations, and that's likely to cause problems for YOU.
Me + 2 MILLION people at New Year's Eve fireworks in Paris.
I went to Paris for New Year's Eve. My daughter lives there, so my wife, myself, and our son journeyed to France for a holiday visit.
It was lovely.
It was VERY crowded.
We went to the fireworks on New Year's Eve.
The show is at the Arc de Triomphe, and 2 MILLION people collectively lined the twelve streets that radiate outward from the arc like a spider's web.
Armed with champagne, scarves, mittens, and coats we waited for the show to commence. At midnight, the first rockets soared.
Beautiful!
And then, after 10 minutes, a break in the action.
I looked left and right and realized that large clumps of the crowd were now SPRINTING toward metro stations. Confusing.
3 more minutes...still no additional fireworks.
It dawned on me that we were DONE. 10 minutes of fireworks. No finale where they shoot off many at once. Just...over.
The locals knew it was 10 minutes, and dashed for the metro with 15 seconds to spare. Not the Americans. In even the smallest towns, fireworks shows are at least 25 minutes. We were literally caught flat-footed.
This created a transportation challenge that culminated in a 65-minute walk through chilly Paris back to our hotel.
We expected the fireworks show to be much longer than 10 minutes. We weren't told that by anyone French, we just assumed it to be true based on prior, irrelevant experience.
Had I known it was 10 minutes, we would have played this game very differently, and it would have resulted in a much better experience.
And this happens in your business or organization every day, doesn't it?
Customer assumes how long it will take to set an appointment, get delivery, pay their invoice, get customer service on the phone, speak to a salesperson, etc etc etc.
The assumption - the expectation - is flawed. It's just wrong. And thus, the experience is negatively impacted.
The BEST thing you can do is to over-communicate about speed and time. YOU must set expectations for your customers (and explain why).
Because if you don't set expectations, the customers will rely on their own. And left to their own devices, customers always anticipate that you can do everything instantly, and that the fireworks show will last at least half an hour.
This week, think about all the circumstances where your customers are impacted by time. Then, think about whether or not you are guiding them about how long it will actually take.
Unset expectations yield unsavory outcomes.
The Books Report
Amy Schumer calls Misfit "one of my favorite books of all time."
I agree. If you're of a certain age (mid 40s and up) you will ADORE the wit, wisdom, and specificity of comedian Gary Gulman's childhood memoir.
This book deftly weaves together hilarious tales of 80s living, with a poignant and powerful story of mental health struggles and recovery.
It's really something special.
Jay's Faves
I don't drink enough water because water tastes like....water.
Problem solved, by my incredible agent Michelle Joyce.
80% of what we perceive as flavor is actually aroma. The Air Up water bottle uses this science to fool your brain into thinking you're sipping fancy, flavored water. But really, you're just drinking mundane H2O, but with a scent-disk around the straw.
This sounds ridiculous. But it REALLY works. And I'm drinking a LOT more water now.
Way to go Air Up!
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