“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 are trying to be balanced and well-rounded. Synonyms for balanced include: sane, normal, and stable. Those sound like worthy goals. Be the perfect amount of everything. Appeal to everyone.

Lopsiding is the opposite. It is about being unbalanced, imperfect, unstable, and odd. Antonyms for unbalanced include: crazy, insane, and unsound. Those don’t sound like promising descriptions of brand strategy. Lopsiding involves amplifying, not reducing, your brand’s flaws. We want you to expand them, magnify them, exaggerate them, and then supersize them.

CASE IN POINT: Menu size. Shouldn’t you keep it simple. Don’t paralyze customers with choice. Less is more right? Maybe not. Boasting 250 menu items, (including 85 different ways to order chicken and 50 different types of cheesecake) The Cheesecake Factory menu is nearly 6,000 words. Wonderful example of lopsiding.

What are you tripling down on to be more lopsided?

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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 keynotes and workshops at StanPhelps.com.