Meaningful: The Story of Ideas That Fly

The two most important things we can do are to allow ourselves to be seen AND to really see others. The greatest gift you can give a person is to see who she is and to reflect that back to her. When we help people to be who they want to be, to take back some of the permission they deny themselves, we are doing our best, most meaningful work.

we forget to think about the story we will ask the customer to believe when the product launches, and so we miss an opportunity to make the product or service better.

Because car ownership is not common in China, IKEA stores are built in city centres. ‘And in a region where “do-it-yourself” furniture concepts were practically unheard of prior to IKEA, the company offers far more delivery and assembly options than it does anywhere else in the world.’

But IKEA’s extensive research can influence product development only so much. Because IKEA’s business model depends on volume, they can’t change their products for different markets. It’s essential, therefore, that the in-store room displays fit each country’s culture. A bedroom in Japan might feature tatami mats and the earthquake beams that go th

When everything you do is framed by the question ‘Is this product or service worthy of my customer and why?’ it changes everything.

Increasingly we buy from companies that reflect the stories we believe about who we are, brands that support the narrative of our lives and values.

size or legacy, faces four massive challenges. They are: Clutter Competition Commoditisation Consumer consciousness Faced with unlimited choices, savvy customers are becoming more discerning, and more companies are lining up to respond to their wants and needs.

Early on in the process, we are so focused on ideation and creation that we forget to think about the story we will ask the customer to believe when the product launches, and so we miss an opportunity to make the product or service better.

When we encourage people to believe that something matters, we attract the kind of people who care about that something. Soon buying from us becomes part of their identity—their story. The experience—our posture and products, and the story the business owner is inviting the customer to buy into—is what creates the customer.