Linda Popky asks, are you afraid of friction and failure in your business? Tune in as we talk about the significance of FRICTION in your business. Avoiding the trap of success is all about the willingness to make mistakes so that growth happens continuously. Linda also shares why hiring people smarter than you brings a new lens to your business. It pays to get uncomfortable when what you’re after is growth and better marketing. 

In this episode we’ll cover:

• Having a team who are FANS of your mission
• Why to hire people smarter than you
• Why Friction is necessary in any business
• Celebrating failure in a productive way
• Avoiding the TRAP of success by doing things in new ways

Target Audience: Linda serves small businesses and even Fortune 400 companies. Her mission is about helping them understand their branding, value proposition, and how they build out channels. Additionally, she helps them to focus on what markets they should go into (the strategic end of marketing).

The Power of Friction

There’s a natural friction that can exist between groups in an organization. The desire is to smooth this over. But really, some discomfort is necessary for productive growth, according to Linda.  

If you want to be heard above the noise, you have to do things differently. You need creative friction because that is where innovation comes from.

Let’s take the Taxi service industry as an example. It was the same for about 100 years and people were not happy. Along came Uber and threw some friction into it. In the beginning, people were not sure about it but innovation was born.

Who We Hire is Important

When we hire people, it is important that we are not the smartest people in the room- that they are bringing in new perspectives. Then, new ways of doing things are born.

Find the friction point and nurture it. Create a culture where failure is supported and opportunities where people can learn from it.

New Ways of Doing Things

Don’t get trapped in your success. Often times, we want to keep on doing things the way we’ve been doing them because we assume that what has worked before will continue working in the future. But this is not always the case.

Take the example of Amazon: they changed with the purchasing of whole foods. They are rocking the boat for many other food companies.

What friction will you bring into your own business? How do you raise the creativity factor? Figure out what your assets are and move quickly!

Good Marketing Is Not Enough If…

You don’t have a good product OR SERVICE. In the early days of marketing there were markets where trading took place. You had to have quality products and the right pricing. Things had to be packaged properly and you had to be at the right place at the right time. Those basics are still true today.

Practical and Actionable:

Keep this in mind: Employees can either make you or break you. They must understand what you stand for on a deep level. If they don’t, the attitude that comes through is that they don’t passionately care about the customer and the company’s mission. Always remember, your team is an extension of your business.