RETAILOBSERVER.COM AUGUST 2019
4
Eliana Barriga
eliana@retailobserver.com
Here's to staying focused for success,
AUGUST 2019, VOLUME 30, ISSUE 8
CELEBRATING OUR 30
TH
YEAR
AS THE RETAIL OBSERVER
PUBLISHER/MANAGING EDITOR
E LIANA BARRIGA
DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING
MOE LASTFOGEL
ART DIRECTOR
TERRY PRICE
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
MIKE ALLEN
RENEE GALIOTO
CHRIS GOULART
MARIO JUAREZ
AL LEVENE
PATRICK MALONEY
STEVEN MORRIS
MARCO PALAZZANI
DON PIERSON
JOHN TSCHOHL
LIBBY WAGNER
DEADLINE FOR OCT 2019 ISSUE:
SEPT 1, 2019
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THE RETAIL
I
n an Entrepreneur article, "Want to Be Successful? Focus on One Business,"
CEO Tim Cook revealed a guiding principle that Steve Jobs instilled at
Apple: the need to stay focused on doing only what you do best.
"It's easy to add … it's hard to stay focused," Jobs said during a Charlie
Rose interview. "And so the hardest decisions we make are all the things not
to work on."
Jobs told a Fortune reporter, "People think focus means saying 'yes' to the
thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying
'no' to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully."
In the graphic arts, there's a fundamental principle for laying out photos –
always pick the photo with the greatest impact and magnetism, and make it
bigger than the rest, to show the readers where you want them to look first. It's
a surprisingly useful rule – in life and in everything we do.
Same for running a business. When you're focused on your strengths you'll
automatically be building a magnetic brand. There's just one important caveat:
your strengths absolutely must have a strong appeal for your customers.
The "big photo" of your company – the Big Story – should have a powerful
emotional impact. And as our RO columnists are forever reminding us, the
greatest impact occurs when we put our customers first.
There's a reason why wise teachers have always emphasized the need for
kindness and compassion – it's not just because it's a hard-wired rule, but
because it leads to the greatest happiness and success for everyone,
including us.
If you can tell stories about the wonderful ways you've connected with your
customers, and how you've put yourself in their shoes with kindness and
compassion, you'll be amazed by how your Web visitors will be moved, and
how they'll spread the word and send new customers your way.
Let's learn to say "yes" to our customers and "no" to anything that gets in
the way. Let's build high-impact customer-service magnetism – and tell the
Big Story first.
JUST
ONE THING
Elle's View As I See It
