Harnessing Serendipity / Global Innovation Evangelist Combines Digital And Real-World Experiences To Reach More People
There are two kinds of experiences: the ones that suck and the ones that are amazing.
Solis's frame on what gets remembered is binary. There are only two kinds of experiences people remember: the ones that suck and the ones that are amazing. Everything in between is just transactional. The reframe matters operationally because it raises the stakes on design. Aiming for adequate produces forgotten experiences. Aiming for amazing produces remembered ones, even when execution falls short. The implication for designers is that the middle ground is the worst place to spend resources. Either commit to the design that has a chance of being remembered, or accept that the work will be transactional and budget accordingly.
For event producers, brand experience leads, and creative directors thinking about how aggressively to pursue distinctive work. The observation is most useful as a frame against the temptation to design safely.
Collaboration is exercise; you get better at it by doing it.
Solis cites Muhammad Ali. I don't like working out, but I visualize what being a champion looks and feels like. Solis applies the same to collaboration. It is a form of exercise, done in a way that visualizes the shared desired outcome. The reframe matters because most professionals treat collaboration as a personality trait. Solis treats it as a practice. People who do not enjoy collaboration get better at it by visualizing what successful collaboration produces, not by waiting until they feel like collaborating. The discipline applies to introverts, to leaders who default to solo work, and to teams that have been operating in parallel rather than together. Practice produces capability that natural inclination cannot.
For team leaders, executive coaches, and HR leaders thinking about how to build collaboration capability. The principle is most useful as a frame against the assumption that collaboration ability is fixed.