SteveBuelow.com

I have a dear friend in Minneapolis who says he is “Always Thinking of Ways to Help Make Your Day Remarkable…!” and the truth is that he is.

Now before I continue, I must clarify three things.

First, I guess he doesn’t really live in Minneapolis anymore, though that is where he grew up. No today, he lives just across the border in a small Wisconsin town that you’ve never heard of… but alas, I digress.

Second, I want you to notice what his tag line DOES NOT say.

In a culture that teaches that we should all go out and get everything we can for ourselves, Chris is NOT out to make HIS day remarkable… no, you see, that is what he has planned for you.

Interesting.

And finally, having known him for twenty-nine years, I can attest to the fact that he was that decent of a guy EVEN BEFORE the Vikings had Brett Favre… BEFORE they were 8-1… BEFORE they were a GREAT football team!

Oh, sorry… digressed again.

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It’s funny how concepts and conversations tend to travel in waves.

Using both hands, I can’t count the number of times in the last week that I’ve run into people who are within days of writing their first blog article… and no, I can’t believe you asked that… I don’t NEED to count using my fingers!

Geez…

But here’s the thing… when asked, I always speak with these folks about “What’s important…?” and as my little survey showed last week, it can be easy to pinpoint areas of passion… so go ahead and start there.

But here’s another way of looking at it… which is to say… look at “What’s NOT important…!”

Just like my description of my friend, Chris, reversing the terms often highlights the truth.

So… what is NOT important to blog about?

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In a nutshell… anything that stifles the conversation… that pitches the latest PR spin… anything that resembles a salesperson standing on the sidelines, shouting their one-directional message with an over-sized megaphone.

I was on a site earlier this afternoon that had used Traditional Media (radio) to promote New Media (their blog) as a place of “transparency”… of “authenticity”… yes, a place to “really get to know” them.

There were seven posts for the entire year… two about how great their customer service was… one about how great their delivery was… and four about how great their product was… each complete with a negative slam toward their nearest competitor.

Here was a business that really ought to know better… a company that could and should be focused on finding ways to make their customer’s day more remarkable…

If only they could get over how remarkable they consider themselves.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Photo Credit:

*Micky