10 years and 11 different colors, metals, and one gem in the Goldfish Series.

Here is the progression of 10 years and 11 different colors, metals, and one gem in the Goldfish Series.

My first book Purple Goldfish came out in January 2012 and the Goldfish series was born. In the initial trilogy, Purple Goldfish focused on the little things you could do to improve the customer experience, Green Goldfish examined how to drive engagement to improve the employee experience, and the third book, Golden Goldfish, uncovered the importance of your “vital few” in business. Specifically, how do you do the little things to take care of your best customers and employees?

The fourth book, Blue Goldfish, revealed how to leverage technology, data, and analytics to improve the customer experience. Blue was a reference to a tenth-century Danish king. Blue represents the convergence of big data and little data coming together to deliver high-level personalized experiences.

In the fifth color, Red Goldfish explored how being “for purpose” drives happiness and adds a sense of meaning for customers, employees, and society. Red was inspired by the lead singer of the band U2.

In the sixth color, Pink Goldfish returned to the marketing roots of Purple. It examined differentiation and how to create competitive separation in business. The idea that your flaws hold the keys to what makes you awesome. Pink was inspired by my co-author David Rendall.

The seventh color was yellow. Yellow Goldfish looked at how companies can do a little extra to contribute to the happiness of their customers, employees, and society. yellow was inspired by the warmth of the sun and a design created by Harvey Ball.

The eighth color was Gray. Gray Goldfish examined how to navigate the gray areas of leading five different generations in the workforce. It is no longer a “one-size-fits-all” leadership proposition.

The ninth color was literally a gem. The Diamond Goldfish was about sales and client management. It explored how to excel under pressure and operate via the Diamond Rule in business. The use of Diamond was inspired by how the gem is created. To quote Henry Kissinger, “A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” That brings us to silver.

The 10th color, Silver Goldfish, explores the keys to coming across “Loud” and “Clear” when communicating. Specifically, addressing how to rise above distractions when presenting and how to craft content with clarity in a way that makes your message memorable.

The 11th color is Black Goldfish. Black is the culmination of what I’ve learned over the last 10 years about DX. DX is achieved by creating a differentiated experience.

A decade, many colors, metals, and one gem.