Martin Lindstrom is an inspiring business leader. He’s he founder of Lindstrom company and is a leading thinker in brand strategoy, business transformation, innovation, creativity and more. All of that not only to improve CX (customer experience) journey but to reinvent the whole experience for the better.
So when I found out that he has published a new book “The ministry of common sense” I thought I’d listen to his promoting the content. I’ve listened to several podcasts where he’s a guest.
Let me first clarify the purpose of listening to several podcasts with the same guest on the same topic.
I started doing that when Seth Godin published “ The Practice shipping creative work” because I’m a big fan of Seth :) More seriously, I discovered that when I listened to 3 or 4 different interviews I got a deep understanding of the author approach to his work.
Here are 4 lessons I learnt from listening to interviews with the same author :
The book core message. It’s what is repeated in all interviews, including anecdotes that illustrate the philosophy of the book. How the author responds to questions in different interviews with similar references sometimes word for word gives a good understanding of what is the book is about.
The applications of the content, how it can serve the reader, what solution it brings to me. The “what’s in it for me” concept which, if well depicted, would convince me to buy the book.
The way the message is delivered to engage the audience. The author discusses the book and how his background lead him to write this particular content creating a connection with people that are familiar with the profile of the author.
The diversity in the quality of interviews. They can be more or less insightful and rich, hence the need to listen to several podcasts. This can seem obvious that all content is not good (or as good as other) but this is particularly true I think with promotion of books. Some interviews are “linear” or standard, the author “does the job”, other are really enlightning and you discover the author from a new perspective. This even “exhales” the podcast, there is a good connection with the host and you can feel the guest is happy to be interviewed. This is exactly what I felt with Martin Lindstrom interview on Elevate podcast. So even if all interviews can’t be first class, you need in your promotion tour to have those particular ones, the deeper interactions that you’ll make sure to also promote more.
I think the above lessons can be applied to other content being promoted online, not only books. This is part of a marketing strategy for personal branding.
Martin Lindstrom on His New Book – The Ministry of Common Sense - Elevate Podcast Robert Glazer
If I wanted to sum up this book, I’d say it’s about empathy, lean approach (not reinventing the wheel) and creativity.
“Companies are so entangled in their own internally generated issues, and further beset by reams of invisible red tape inside employees’ heads, that they lose sight of this core purpose — and inevitably pay the price.”
Martin Lindstrom insists on the relation between empathy and common sense.
It makes perfect sense because you can’t create better products or improve your customer journey if you aren’t unable to put yourself in your customer’ shoes.
To make his point, he refers to a pharmaceutical company creating products for people suffering asthma and how a in-home visit to a patient changed the entire organisation strategy.
Disclaimer : as I work in the market research industry, I’m particularly touched by innovations that arise from listening to consumers!
The interview is not only about the book, I also learned about the author’s childhood, he travelled on a boat with his parents and got a job at Lego in his early teenage years after opening a Legoland in his backyard and recording hundreds of visits per day.
His background definitely plays a strong role on what he’s now and his ability to be creative and empathetic. He’s lived a life that not many have lived which opened his eyes to what is possible not what are the limitations of a situation.
In the interview, Martin Lindstrom touches upon how the education system creates a one size fits all path that doesn’t help children flourish (or not all of them).
Another element that resonated with me is obviously the importance of common sense in business.
We have reached a point where basic common sense is often overlooked while complex inefficient process and solutions are implemented.
There are so many reasons why we loose track of common sense, Martin Lindstrom list some of them, I’ve selected 3 that I think are clearly conflicting with common sense in the workplace.
“The first reason is that most companies are accountable to Wall Street and their shareholders, period. They overlook the people who actually buy and use their products and services, forgetting that customer-centric organizations not only create value but drive sustainable growth. In this clash of priorities, common sense dies.
Third – tech is the enemy of common sense. It destroys empathy, compromises our agency, turns grownups into children, impedes innovation, and, worst of all, makes us doubt our own store of common sense (the human kind).
Fourth – meetings and powerpoints. If companies had their way, meetings would be scheduled from morning until night. Breakfast meetings, snack meetings, lunch meetings, midafternoon meetings, twilight meetings, dinner meetings, bedtime meetings.”
Martin Lindstrom mentioned steps applied at a Swiss airline which has resulted in improved efficiency and higher customer satisfaction. It all started with spending time with customers and employees, understanding their experience and looking with candid eyes at what can be modified. Innovation doesn’t have to be the result of a 5 years R&D plan !
Below is Elevate podcast high level summary, I definitely recommend to have a listen here :)
Three Key Things You’ll Learn:
1. Why companies need to do more to understand their customers.
2. The key components of common sense every company and team needs.
3. Why empathy and common sense go hand in hand, and how to leverage both.
More resources on the book launch
Marketing Journal “The Ministry of Common Sense” – An Interview with Martin Lindstrom
Formamind is a regular newsletter published twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. It focuses on self development, innovation, creativity, team collaboration, leadership and my personal journey towards understanding how our brain works.
You can like, share or comment this post to let me know if this type of content is useful to you.