George Stranahan and his brilliant example of Pink Goldfish

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George Stranahan

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“The flying dog stands for doing what you should have known better, taking a risk that was maybe further out there than you expected, but pulling it off.” This is a quote by the late George Stranahan. Stranahan passed away last week at the age of 89.

If you have a few minutes, I’d highly recommend you read this profile by Alex Traub of The New York Times: https://lnkd.in/dxTXt6a

I guarantee you’ll read it and wish you’d have met Stranahan. This self-described “pilgrimosopher” would laugh at Dos Equis’ “World’s Most Interesting Man” commercials.

Stranahan was a physicist, think-tanker, professor, rancher, taverner, distiller, and brewer. He might be best known for the latter. Stranahan created the Flying Dog Brewery, now the 35th largest microbrewery.

Flying Dog is a brilliant example of a Pink Goldfish. The brewery creates labels that defy normal. Not afraid of antagonizing, they named their beers with references to sexual positions “Doggie Style” and female dogs “Raging Bitch.”

GOOD BEER, NO SHIT

According to Flying Dog, designer Ralph Steadman scrawled these four simple words across his canvas and the mantra for the brewery was born. “We embrace the weirrrd and view craft beer as an art form unlike any other.”

MY TAKEAWAY – A life worth living involves taking leaps. How can we all embrace who we are…. realizing that it is our flaws that make us truly awesome? I raise my glass to you George Stranahan and more flying dogs in my life.

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Stan Phelps walks the walk. He stands out in the sea of sameness by modeling his own Differentiated Experience (DX) message: Differentiation isn’t just about what you say, it’s about what you do and, more importantly, how and why you do it. Stan leverages his unique collection of 5,000+ case studies on customer, employee, and brand experience to engage audiences with informative learning-based experiences. He believes purposeful DX wins the hearts of employees and customers, and differentiation ultimately boosts loyalty, retention, referrals, and results.

Find Stan’s in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops, and Goldfish tank programs at StanPhelps.com.

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