Different, Not Better, Will Connect the Widening 60%

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At the heart of everything I'm thinking is an all-the-time awareness of the widening 60% that is unreachable by the attractional model. It pops into my head constantly...and although I'm not yet sure what the full answer is, I am beginning to know a few things. And one thing I'm sure of is that different, not better, will connect the widening 60%.

Follow my thinking on this.

Doesn't it stand to reason that if better would connect them, wouldn't the gap be narrowing...not widening?

Think about it. How many of us are consciously tweaking the way we're doing what we're doing so that it's better every time. We refine the way we promote what we're doing. We make subtle changes to the way we put on a connection. We choose the topic for a church-wide campaign with more care every time. Right? You're doing this, aren't you?

Doesn't it make sense that if you want to connect people no one else is connecting (i.e., the widening 60%) you've got to do things that no one else is doing?

Doesn't it make sense that if you want to connect people no one else is connecting (i.e., the widening 60%) you've got to do things that no one else is doing? Share on X

I don't know about you, but it occurs to me that I need to be on the lookout for solutions that aren't based on best practices. After all, if the best practices aren't already connecting everyone...then there must be another way.

If you think about what Apple, IKEA, Swatch, and a few others have discovered, you'll see right away that they're not capturing market leadership by doing what everyone else is doing. They're not imitating best practices. Instead...they're on an entirely new trajectory. Aren't they? They're different.

I find myself coming back again and again to books like Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd and wondering if the answer, the most likely solution, has to do with something completely different than what we've tried up until now.  In fact, this line has captured my attention:

"When sceneries change and deeply ingrained truths start coming apart at the seams, the first to let go of the myth has the advantage (Different, Pg. 13)."

When sceneries change and deeply ingrained truths start coming apart at the seams, the first to let go of the myth has the advantage. —Youngme Moon Share on X

If you're wondering these things...I'm right there with you. I am not a theorist. I am a practitioner. And I aspire to be the mayor of Crowd's Edge.

For more ideas, take a look at How to Connect People No One Else Is ConnectingDifferent Leads to a Church OF Groups and The Perils of the Well-Worn Path.

Want do you think?  Have a question? Want to argue? You can click here to jump into the conversation.

Image by Roberta Shonborg