I Will See It When I Believe it

We are, of course, used to the reversal common phrase.

But this sentence points out something that we are all subject to every second of our day: we can’t see things that fall outside our mental models. It takes a lot of effort to accept something new without believing in why it matters first.

Try to sell a new kind of bible to non-believers. I wish you good luck.

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Tesla as an example of a company that offers the best product on the market (the Model S) and creates a movement. Over time, the company perfectly balanced a “product-first” strategy with a “movement-first” strategy.

Tesla changed the cultural norms and the mental model of cars. They managed to do this by changing our beliefs about cars and the importance of reducing CO2 emissions. Other manufacturers started before, but Tesla proved that it is possible to mass-produce the best electric cars.

Tesla made us believe first so that we could see the possibility.

If you are trying to sell a new product, it might be worth making sure that people believe first in why it will matter to them now; why they must adopt it today.

Otherwise, if they don’t believe they need it, they won’t see it as valuable.

Need to believe it before you can see it?

Join the next session Strategic Underground Session tomorrow morning

It is free, and it will inspire you to build your strategic narrative.

I am inviting you every Thursday at 9:00 am Pacific to attend a free 30-minute talk+conversation about one of the strategic narrative principles in the book I am writing. I call these meetings Strategic Narrative Underground Sessions.

It is an opportunity to connect, learn and provide input on a piece of work that you might end up using for your own benefit. For me, it’s a chance to test new ideas.

At the end of the call, you will get access to the Google document with the manuscript of my book. Each time you join, you get access to a new pattern. You can join for free as many times as you want.

Register in advance for this meeting here.

Again, it’s free.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about the meeting.