In the future universe I am elected to preside over, no one will write books on marketing or business. Instead, we will publish continuums and Venn diagrams.
Everyone will carry colored pencils and butcher paper scrolls in over-sized backpacks. Venn diagrams will replace hors d’oeuvres at parties. Cafe walls will feature IdeaPaint, upon which it will become perfectly acceptable to draw continuums before breaking out into spontaneous, three-minute talks.
Do you know how much more we could learn without time-consuming WORDS getting in the way of pure data, pure ideas?
Who needs MORE WORDS when people can just diagram their key points, leaving us with more time to read poetry and fiction?
In this universe, continuums will become the social glitter that makes strangers fall in love.
I propose the following for your consideration:
That business books of the future present a series of Venn diagrams in the preface to illustrate the key business points, and give the remaining 300 pages over to great works of fiction.
Never mind the ebooks-versus-print debate. The time has come for a Venn-diagram-fiction mash-up. We’ve already embraced Jane Austen versus Zombies.
Certainly there’s a market for business advice combined with novels. (Table for one, please!)
As long as they’re kept apart. No business advice mash-up novels, please. It wouldn’t be right for George Eliot to start channeling Seth Godin.
Fiction is where the deepest and more important insights happen, anyway.
I remember how my favorite novels made me feel. I can’t remember how a single business book made me feel. Even my favorites were just useful, informative words on a page.
Following sound advice with a great novel would capture the spirit of the idea, the quality, the feeling we want people to have. Which makes them more likely to follow our advice.
And that’s just one of the changes I’ll make when you vote for me as President of the Universe.
Here are four continuums I’ve been thinking about lately—and the novels that will accompany them:
1. Business Growth & A Prayer for Owen Meany
Compelling offer………………………Intriguing personality………………………Specific target audience
=Likelihood of business growth when at least two factors abundantly present
2. Website Conversion & Cloud Atlas
Interesting………………………Likable………………………Phenomenal web design………………………Quality of sales page copy
=How well your website converts when at least two factors abundantly present
3. Sales Page Conversion & Middlemarch
Sales page copy and design………………………How much your favorite clients look forward to reading your blog posts
=How well your sales page converts
4. Your Dog & The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Snuggly………………………Smart………………………Super Fuzzy
=Likelihood your dog is truly the best dog in the world when all three factors are abundantly present
Have a favorite business continuum + novel combination you’d like to share? All submissions gleefully accepted.
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11 Comments
The possibilities are endless! Or… the continuum of possibilities is really, really, long.
Only problem is I might not be able to read fiction anymore without thinking about its corresponding business continuum.
How about:
Productivity + Ahab’s Wife
How soon I take action on something I’m excited about……Awesomeness of the people I tell = Likelihood that my idea won’t die a slow, boring death.
Also, everyone knows only dogs with really velvety ears and super sad eyes have a shot at Best Dog title.
Briana´s last blog ..Figure-out-able
I love it! That continuum is so true.
My dog has super sad eyes, but his breath stinks, so I think they cancel each other out.
I feel like I have a good continuum for Atlas Shrugged, but I cannot figure out how to articulate it. I’ll pop back in if it comes to me.
Elizabeth´s last blog ..why i think of my business as a yoga & music festival
Marketing Consumable Goods + Crime & Punishment
business goal……engaging justification…..sales jump
Do you have a view into my living room? Are you cameras trained on me? Because not only is Milan Kundera one of my favorite authors, but my dog that’s sitting next to me totally matches that description.
Hey, Kelly, I’m waving at you. Is that the camera over there? That thing that’s blinking at me?
Bridget´s last blog ..Protected- private
You are on a roll, sister, I’m not kidding. These posts are really hitting the mark!
Thinking of my business in terms of fiction just made thinking of my business SO MUCH EASIER.
Scott McDowell´s last blog ..The Things Joe Strummer Says to Me
This makes business stuff so much more accessible, Kelly. You definitely have something here!
Here’s one:
How about GLOBALISATION (or NICHE MARKETING!) and FRANKENSTEIN, the Modern Prometheus?
Creativity…Hybridizing…Finding Your Right People = Connecting with the people who need your products and services while avoiding angry villagers with torches.
Rupa´s last blog ..My Father’s Make-up Kit
Oh, I laughed.
I think Jane Austen would go well with Seth Godin. (now imagining his posts written in her style)
Identifying niche market + Calvin and Hobbes
Niche market…cuddly quips…making your own rules…CALVINBALL…
Kristen´s last blog ..ON VISION AND BUSINESS
You’re all geniuses. Love love love. I really want to read these now. Maybe we can create little pamphlets and leave them at bus stops and telephone booths and in doctor’s office lobbies.
Have you read Jennifer Egan’s latest book, A Visit from the Goon Squad? One whole chapter is Venn diagrams. It’s also a really good book.
Lbelgray´s last blog ..Chopsticks suck Or- why Don Draper and I should hang out