differentiation

The extensive Cheesecake Factory menu is a great example of lopsiding

“True DIFFERENTIATION is rarely a function of well-roundedness; it is typically a function of LOPSIDEDNESS.” This quote is by Harvard Business School Professor Youngme Moon in her book, “Different – Escaping the Competitive Herd.” This approach speaks to the “L” in the FLAWSOM framework of lopsiding. Do most brands leverage this approach? NO. Most brands […]

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Rethinking Golf: Bryson DeChambeau is lopsiding golf

1 Comment / Pink Goldfish / Stan Phelps

Bryson DeChambeau burst into the mainstream in 2020. His approach to lopsiding the game has been described as “Breaking Golf.” And he’s doing it more and less by the numbers. – MORE: Bryson bulked up adding forty pounds of weight over the last year. The result is a faster swing and 22 more yards off

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Rethinking Marketing

Purple Goldfish / Stan Phelps

Are you ready to rethink marketing? Here are 11 takeaways from the book Purple Goldfish 2.0: 1. Your brand is no longer just what you tell people it is. It’s what your customer experiences, how they feel, and most importantly, what they tell others about their experience. 2. There is no such thing as just

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A woman thinks while looking at a pink fish swimming against a group of gray fish. Text reads, "If you were odd in the 15th or 16th century, you were 'outstanding, illustrious.'.

If you were odd in the 15th or 16th century, you were “outstanding, illustrious.”

55 Comments / Pink Goldfish / Stan Phelps

Being “odd” back in the 15th and 16th century was a huge compliment. It meant you were outstanding and illustrious. Here’s some background on the word courtesy of Merriam-Webster Inc. ODD – Odd comes from the Old Norse word oddi, meaning “point of land.” Points of land so designated in Old Norse being roughly triangular,

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A motivational poster with the word "Despair," showing a landscape at dusk and the caption "It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black.

Despair: It is always darkest just before it goes pitch black

Pink Goldfish / Stan Phelps

“It is always darkest just before it goes pitch black.” Are you too cynical? Hey, that’s a weakness. Maybe you should start looking at the brighter side of life. But what if you doubled-down on that inherent weakness? What if you got even more pessimistic? The defeatists at Despair, Inc. have turned negativity into a

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Building Excellence: IKEA Underperforms AND Over-Delivers

Pink Goldfish / Stan Phelps

“Excellence requires underperforming on the things your customers value least, so you can over-deliver on the dimensions they value most.” This quote by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss comes from one of my favorite books, “Uncommon Service.” Take IKEA for example. They underperform AND over-deliver. Most furniture stores have salespeople who help you choose high

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A Burger King UK message encourages ordering from various fast-food chains, including competitors, to support the industry during challenging times.

Question: Smart move or dumb PR stunt?

Pink Goldfish / Stan Phelps

“We know, we never thought we’d be saying this either.” That was the message on Facebook from BURGER KING® UK. Here is the full message: ORDER FROM McDONALD’S. We never thought we’d be asking you to do this. Just like we never thought we’d be encouraging you to order from KFC, Subway, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza

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Kazakhstan. Very nice!

Pink Goldfish / Stan Phelps

“Very Nice” If you are not familiar with the phrase, it’s commonly used by Borat. And it now being used by Kazakhstan in a new tourism campaign. The ads feature tourists hiking, drinking alcoholic horse milk, meeting locals, and marveling at Kazakh architecture. This is a great example of the Pink Goldfish of flaunting. They

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