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This doesn’t really have anything to do with business, but it makes me lol every time!

Every characteristic of yours is an asset in business, sometimes we need to learn how to use it in sync with everything else, but nonetheless it can be a valuable asset. So what if you’re a little too creative, or perhaps too analytical, who knows even a little clumsy? Incorporate it to your brand, show the world who you are and allow them to engage with you because of it. So you have a “sneaky paw?” Don’t fight it, use it to get a better grip on that yummy bone!

J.K. Rowling speaks at Harvard Commencement about the benefits of failure, prepare to be enlightened:

“So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default”.

J.K. Rowling speaking at Harvard part 1:

Read the entire text, get mp3, or watch the full video at:
http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

You’ve heard quite a few of those stories and I’m sure my sharing one more might get a little “old” but I can’t help it, don’t worry though, this won’t be another one of those “create an experience like Starbucks” stories!

A little while ago Douglas Albertson wrote a great article about Nordstrom and the Importance of Storytelling in Branding, and I’d like you to read it.

Here’s a snippet of what you’ll gain from it…

“Do you have a similar story to tell about your brand? Do you have stories that are as impressive as the one above? Would your employees even go to such lengths to serve your customers?

Nordstrom has never told this story publicly and they do not encourage their employees to do so. They figure if the stories are good enough, word-of-mouth will take them to the marketplace and the stories will carry even more credibility than if Nordstrom is caught tooting their own horn.

Such is the case with the famous Nordstrom “tire chains” story. A man walked into the main Nordstrom store with a set of used tire chains and insisted that he had purchased them there. Nordstrom sells clothing and the like. Without hesitation, the clerk refunded his money, even though the receipt clearly indicated another store. She paid him out of her own pocket. Then, on her lunch hour, she went to the store where the chains had been purchased and got her money back. Brilliant.

If you don’t have stories like this to tell, your brand may be in trouble. If your customers aren’t telling positive stories about you, they may be telling negative stories about you. In short, if there’s no word-of-mouth buzz about your brand, your customer service probably stinks. “Adequate” ain’t good enough anymore. A brand isn’t something that’s “nice to have if you can afford it” as some people have said. It’s an essential ingredient to your business plan.

If you don’t think storytelling is an important part of branding, count how many times you tell (or are tempted to tell) the Nordstrom story to co-workers, friends, peers, business acquaintances or people at conferences. “