The 5 Levels of Leadership

The 5 Levels of Leadership by John C. Maxwell describes a leadership framework which I’ve explored in two posts before. Here they are combined.

This post is based on the leadership guru/expert John Maxwell and his talk about The 5 Levels of Leadership. Go watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwXeg8ThWI

“Leadership is influence” – John Maxwell

According to John Maxwell leadership consists of 5 levels. Each level builds on the last one, and the higher the level, the better a leader you are! Let us get right into it:

5. Pinnacle Leadership – Respect: people follow you because they respect you!

People follow you because who you are, because of what you have achieved. This level is only achieved by a small number of people.

Upside: Your reputation allows your message to spread further.

Downside: Nope, not here!

Telltale signs. People respect you

4. People Development Leadership – Reproduction: people follow you because you are developing them!

You train people, you shown them how it is done and how they can show others.

Upside: You transfer your skills to others and start growing your company.

Downside: If there is any – it is that the development is not going automatically yet.

Telltale signs. People are learning, developing, growing.

3. Productive Leadership – Results: people follow you because you give the right example!

You are the example for the rest of the employees. You start gaining credibility because you show you know what to do. “We attract who we are, not who we want”. You create momentum, people get going because of you and keep on going when faced with hurdles.

Upside: You produce, you are an effective leader. Level 3 leadership takes care of 80% of the problems in your organisation.

Downside: You are teaching no one about leadership.

Telltale signs: Things get done, problems get solved.

2. Relationship Leadership – Permission: people follow you because they want to!

You 1) listen well, 2) observe, and 3) learn. You have an attitude of servanthood.

Upside: People like you for being their leader. It is the foundation of leadership.

Downside: Next to being likeable, not much is happening.

Telltale signs: People like you for who you are as the attentive leader

1. Positional Leadership – Rights: people follow you because they have to!

]Upside: You start on your leadership journey, you will learn how to become a true leader.

Downside: The people who follow you will give you the least amount of energy, time and attention.

Telltale signs: People start cleaning their desk at 4:30, start saying goodbye at 4:45, and leave at 5:00 PM, not a minute later.

So on what level am I?

You are not on the same level with everyone. With some people you are on level 1, with others you are on level 3.

The take-home message is: start developing these relationships to grow to the next level.

More Momentum

Momentum can be the driving force behind your leadership. Why, you ask?… Here is an example:

Momentum: Imagine you are riding a train going at 80KM an hour. In the distance is a concrete wall, 20cm thick. Your train continues at 80KM an hour and hits the wall. And without slowing down you keep on going, your momentum has blasted you through the wall.

No Momentum: Imagine you are riding a train, a train that still has to leave the station. In front of you is a concrete wall, 1cm thick. Your train wants to start moving, want to leave. But all that happens is that you are stuck behind the 1cm concrete wall.

More on Development of People

1. Recruitment – The better people you bring in the door, the better chance of success you have. 80% of success of your people is at the front door.

2. Positioning – Get people in the right seat (on the bus). Let them work the sweat spot. They work their strengths. Successful leaders position others well.

John Maxwell explains that in his high school football team the first team was invited to play the second team. The only rule was that they could not play their position. The offense became defense and viceversa. And now you can probably guess who won.

3. Equip – First learn it yourself, then do it together (be a mentor), then let the other person do it (observe, tweak, improve), then let them do it alone, and then – let them explain it to others!

References & Further Reading:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwXeg8ThWI thanks to Rens Dimmendaal for recommending the video!

2. http://www.iequip.org/

##

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John Maxwell

The 5 Levels of Leadership is a framework for leadership in almost any situation;

Why

The first day on the job as a leader doesn’t make you a leader. It may say so on your business card, but people won’t follow you through the gates of hell, heck they may even start packing their bags at 4.45 PM. The 5 Levels of Leadership explain how you can become a better leader and in effect make better leaders out of the people who follow you. It’s a lifelong journey, one that I most highly recommend you take.

5 Levels of Leadership

1. Positional Leadership – Rights: people follow you because they have to!
2. Relationship Leadership – Permission: people follow you because they want to!
3. Productive Leadership – Results: people follow you because you give the right example!
4. People Development Leadership – Reproduction: people follow you because you are developing them!
5. Pinnacle Leadership – Respect: people follow you because they respect you!

Now lets see how the levels of leadership can apply to you as a brand-new leader of a group of about 12 people during a week long event.

1) Positional Leadership

You’re assigned leader of a group. Congratulations, this is the first step to becoming a leader. During the opening ceremony you’ve met the members of your group and they are being told that they have to follow you. But what if they discover that no-one will check if they switch groups, what keeps them from leaving your group? Actually nothing, without a relationship between you and the people you lead, they will only follow you until a new opportunity arises.

2) Relationship Leadership

The second level of leadership is relationship building. This can be done by 1) listening well, 2) observing your group, and 3) learning on the go. This level has also been called servant leadership, you serve the group and build connections. People will follow you because they want to. Your group now has become fun, maybe cozy (or as we Dutch like to call it ‘gezellig’), but you are not yet productive.

3) Productive Leadership

To become productive you have to give the right example. If you start by disregarding the program, showing up late in the morning or drinking excessively, your group will get nowhere. Leadership expert John Maxwell said “We attract who we are, not who we want”, I think this applies not only to people, but also to their behaviour. If there are challenges, group assignments or other things that require teamwork, a level 3 leader (and his or her team) will be the ones to win it.

4) People Development Leadership

A week is very short time to develop people. It’s too short to show people how to do the work/study/etc. But it’s long enough to help them become good social people. If you take an effort in learning their names, explain to them the benefits of remembering the names of others. If you are respectful about differences, show them how they can copy that behaviour. At this level people follow you because you are developing them.

5) Pinnacle Leadership

The final level of leadership is something that is developed over a long time. This is a level that can be obtained by developing people, being productive and having great relationships over a long period of time. The organizer of the week long event may be very well the only one who reaches this level. At this level your track record speaks for itself and people follow you because they respect you.

When to Use

Use this framework right now! Think about what level leader you are right now. Is this different at home than at work? And how can you advance your level, what do you need to improve on to become a better leader? Good luck!

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”  – John Maxwell

Vagabonding

Vagabonding by Rolf Potts

Summary: Book with tips and tricks about long term travel.

One incredible trip, especially a long-term trip, can change your life forever. Everything in Vagabonding works, if you work on yourself. – based on principles

Not as an escape but as an adventure and a passion

Gain impressive wealth (time) through simplicity

(index: earn your freedom, keep it simple, learn and keep learning, don’t set limits, meet your neighbours, get into adventure, keep it real, be creative, let your spirit grow)

How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie – common sense – good advice

Research your own experiences for the truth Absorb what is useful Add what is specifically your own The creating individual is more than any style or system

Travel is for many busy overachievers a way to seek a simpler life (but won’t find it) No combination of one-week or ten-day vacations will truly take you away from the life you lead at home. The more we associate experience with cash value, the more we think that money is what we need to live. Long-term travel is about being a student of life It requires only that we walk through the world in a more deliberate way Use the prosperity and possibility of the information age to increase your personal options Look for adventure in normal life, and normal life within adventure

Vagabonding is an unusual way of looking at life Vagabonding is about time and how we choose to use it

Many people use the future as a way to justify the present They use the best part of their life to earn for later, then spend it when it matters the least Vagabonding is about gaining the courage to loosen your grip on the so-called certainties of this world.

It’s a process by which you first test the waters that will pull you to wonderful new places It’s not for the comfort hounds, sophomoric misanthropes or poolside faint-hearts, whose thin convictions won’t stand up to the problems that come along.

Earning your freedom, of course, involves work, and work is intrinsic to vagabonding for psychic reasons as much as financial ones. – chance to find yourself As a vagabond, you begin to face your fears now and then instead of continuously sidestepping them in the name of convenience

Walking to work was an exercise in possibility

Even if your antisabbatical job isn’t your life’s calling, approach your work with a spirit of faith, mindfulness, and thrift.

Create your own free time. Use constructive quitting (negotiate free time)

List the job skills travel has brought you: independence, flexibility, negotiation, planning, boldness, self-sufficiency, improvisation.

Quitting means not giving up, but moving on; changing direction not because something doesn’t agree with you, but because you don’t agree with something.

www.riskology.co www.guru.com

Travelling around the world is statistically no more dangerous than travelling across your hometown.

Conditions are never perfect (so just do it)

Keep it Simple.

Material investments are less important than personal investments – but this believe (flip) is why many people never go travel simplicity – a conscious decision how to use what income you have adjust your habits and routines within consumer society itself

time is what you need to live

simplifying your life may require a somewhat difficult withdrawal period. – stopping expansion – reining in your routine – reducing clutter – live more humbly – rent our your house – people may respond with enthusiasm or subtle criticism

Simplicity – both at home and on the road – affords you the time to seek renewed meaning in an oft-neglected commodity that can’t be bought at any price: life itself

My greatest skill has been to want nothing – Henry David Thoreau – wealth is not found in what you own but in how you spend your time – money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul

Do your pretrip homework, but don’t overdo it – otherwise you won’t truly appreciate the unexpected marvels of travel – know your options no plan survives first contact with the ‘world’ The world is a book, the one’s who don’t travel only see one page You don’t ever need a really good reason to go anywhere; rather, go to a place for whatever happens when you get there. – research a general itinerary – but only so you can estimate your budget and learn what’s out there. Choose your company wisely – perfect harmony on the road is a pipe dream – feel free to take some time (even weeks) apart Bring small gift items for your future hosts and friends Things to bring – small, strong padlock – clothes – toiletry – sunglasses – day pack – inexpensive camera – NO expensive items If you think you have enough money to travel for six months, plan for four – the rest is bonus – keep a few hundred dollars as emergency (non drinking) fund Keep backup copies of passport information – and what to do scenario with friends/family www.caretaker.org www.housecarers.com Voluntary Simplicity – Duane Elgin The Simple Living Guide – Janet Luhrs Less is More – Goldian Vandenbroeck The World’s Cheapest Destinations – Tim Leffel World Party – Rough Guides Don’t set limits Move deliberately through the world Look more and analyse less – like your 5 years old Break old habits, face latent fears, and test out repressed facets of your personality Allow yourself to grow through your mishaps Don’t set limits on what you can or can’t do – openness to anything that comes your way – feeling of possibility walk until your day becomes interesting keep a journal from the outset of your travels allot a certain time per week for email etc brave the open air markets and be healthier for the experience never check into a room without seeing it take a hotel business card let a merchant make the first, and second, offer Be selective in other words, doing less in a smart way – is usually more productive and fun path Meet your neighbours We see as we are Vagabonding revolves around the people you meet on the road If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? (Jesus) – try and understand other people – finetune your sense of humor – humility People travel to faraway places to watch the kind of people they ignore at home – neighbours in your home town Tourism can be a bridge to an appreciation of cultural relativity and international understanding It’s important to practice thrift, but not be obsessive about your budget – watch what locals do Hospitality offers are best accepted when in non-touristic places Having an adventure is sometimes a matter of going out and allowing things to happen in a strange and amazing new environment – psychic challenge – keep well hydrated and eat bland foods – avoid bringing expensive or irreplaceable things Keep things real – be there, in the moment – embracing reality is daunting – sincere attitude of open-mindedness (so no politics/ideology) – purest way to see a culture is simply to accept and experience it as it is now Marijuana replaces real sensations with artificially enhanced ones – it creates passive experiences – the drug vision remains a sort of dream that cannot be brought over into daily life – strive to be ‘drugs’ yourself, unmediated reality The “danger” of vagabonding resides in having your eyes opened – in discovering the world as it really is The journey is far more important than any destination – don’t want to be in all places at the same time – know your possibilities, and limitations – you will see the other places in time – patient kind of aimlessness ongoing process of finding new things – also leave behind aspects of yourself People say that what we are all seeking is meaning in life. I don’t think this is really what we’re looking for. I think what we’re trying to find is an experience of being alive. Vagabonding is a radical way of knowing exactly who, what, and where you are The Snow Leopard – Peter Matthiessen Life itself is a kind of journey Tao Te Ching Curiosity about the world is the starting point for spiritual discovery Coming home Difficult to relate what you experience to old friends and acquaintances Allow for unstructured time in your day-to-day home schedule Explore your home town as if it were a foreign land Keep things real, and keep on learning Be creative, and get into adventures Keep living your life in such a way that allows your dreams room to breathe

Principles

Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.

Summary: It’s his principles and they all make sense. But it’s the principles that include things like work hard. Duh. That is what you should do. But it ignores human folly. And is a success formula without really thinking about those human things.

Could be good to look in or for someone beginning with goal-setting.

Einstein

Einstein – Walter Isaacson

Summary: Good book about Einstein’s life. Good balance between the science and his personal life and adventures.

TBD: fuller review and links between this one and Innovators and Leonardo Da Vinci

Waking Up

Summary: great book on spirituality without the need for religion.

“wisdom is nothing more profound than an ability to follow one’s own advice.”

He also offers some more insight into meditation and how to practice it.

And discusses drugs, gurus and other good/bad ways to deepen your knowledge on this topic.

Personal note: TBD longer review with my own notes

The Caves of Steel

Good detective/sci-fi story. Listened to this one with the story-line in my mind. Was done well. Can analyse it further (TBD).

The Caves of Steel is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated, that science fiction can be applied to any literary genre, rather than just a limited genre

The Rise of Superman

Interesting book about performance.

Biggest ‘mistake’, I think, is that he sees large leaps of progress as exponential. Whilst it can just be an S-curve and/or the benefits are only incremental (computing/moore’s law)

But still an addition to the book I have about Flow already.

Note: Update the summary with notes from the book one day, TBD

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson is another one of the great biographies that he has done. Although I wasn’t interested in reading the one about Steve Jobs, I have read his other work about The Innovators.

The book is interesting in that it covers all aspects of Leonardo. Not just his accomplishments, but also with a focus on the things he didn’t complete. All in all, it’s a very inspiring read. Here is a synopsis from Goodreads:

Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.

He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and technology. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.

His creativity, like that of other great innovators, came from having wide-ranging passions. He peeled flesh off the faces of cadavers, drew the muscles that move the lips, and then painted history’s most memorable smile. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. Isaacson also describes how Leonardo’s lifelong enthusiasm for staging theatrical productions informed his paintings and inventions.

Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance of instilling, both in ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question it—to be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different.

Also see Bill Gates’ take on the book here.

…but mostly because he was insatiably curious about pretty much every area of natural science and the human experience. He studied, in meticulous detail, everything from the flow of water and the rise of smoke to the muscles you use when you smile.

Switch

From the great brothers who’ve also brought us Made to Stick, comes Switch by Chip & Dan Heath. A book about how to make a lasting change. A change in your customers, employees or fellow countrymen. It’s a wonderful read, full of examples and actionable as can be. Here is a short summary, followed by a few personal implementation ideas.

Summary

The book uses the following analogy. You are a rider (rational) who is guiding an elephant (emotional) along a path (environment). It’s a great way of looking at the world and in line with other writings from Wait But Why and others (and makes me also think about Thinking Fast and Slow).

Direct the Rider

1. Follow the bright spots: Investigate what’s working and clone it
2. Script the critical moves: Don’t think big picture, think in terms of specific behaviours.
3. Point to the destination: Change is easier when you know where you’re going and why it’s worth it.

Motivate the Elephant

1. Find the feeling: Knowing something isn’t enough to cause change. Make people feel something.
2. Shrink the change: Break down the change until it no longer spooks the Elephant.
3. Grow your people: Cultivate a sense of identity and instil the growth mindset.

Shape the Path

1. Tweak the environment: When the situation changes, the behaviour changes. So change the situation.
2. Build habits: When behaviour is habitual, it’s “free” – it doesn’t tax the Rider. Look for ways to encourage habits.
3. Rally the herd: Behaviour is contagious. Help it spread.

Made to Stick

Made to Stick – Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Summary:

1. Simplicity
   Simplicity is about making the intention very clear (Commander Intent). Example, general asks of platoon to take the hill, not where every soldier needs to stand exactly.
   Simplicity is about finding the core of the idea. The hard part is weeding out ideas that may be really important but just aren’t the most important idea. Goal: nothing left to take away. Elegance and prioritisation, not dumbing down.
   Example. Southwest airlines. ‘We are THE low-fare airline’. So do they serve lunch?
   Simplicity is about starting with the lead. If you say three things, you don’t say anything.
   Prevent decision paralysis by eliminating uncertainty about a decision.
   Example. Local newspaper. ‘Names, names, and names’. This way they share their core message.
   Step 1. Define core message. Step 2. Communicate core message to others.
   Simple messages are core and compact. The more we reduce the information in an idea, the stickier it will be. But information behind core message can be huge. E.g. Better one bird in the hand than 10 in the air.
   Proverbs are simple yet profound. Short sentences (compact) that draw from long experience (core). E.g. it’s easier to remember JFK than KJF. Ideas with profound compactness are valuable. You use what is already there.
   If simple ideas are staged and layered correctly, they can very quickly become complex. Use schema (concepts) to build on. Schemas enable profound simplicity.
   Give just enough information to be useful. Then a little more, etc. Pyramid structure text.
   Simplicity is analogies. Aliens was Jaws on a spaceship. Imagine how the spaceship looks!
   Good metaphors are generative. Create new perceptions, explanations, and inventions. E.g. Disney employees are cast members.
   Metaphors and proverbs substitute something easy to think about for something difficult.
   Feature creep is the enemy of simplicity. Message needs to be short because we can learn and remember only so much information at once.

How does this apply to Queal?
The question is how we can use simplicity as a way to describe Queal. I think it’s one of our biggest challenges because we (ourselves) think that the product is difficult to explain. So let’s try and make it simple, yet profound.
Another questions is about how we prevent feature creep and don’t overload people with information. Therefore we should be very conscious of how we present information in what order. And what to just not tell people about.
Another question is about how to prevent decision paralysis. What if they have to choose between Queal and WundrBar/Go? Should we present them as alternatives and/or what about presenting it as alternatives to a dinner/breakfast/etc.

Ideas
Queal – it’s a meal
Queal – easy meal
Queal – easier meal
Queal – it’s a meal, stupid
Queal – healthy breakfast
Queal is a quick meal, like a sandwich (analogy) only better.
Queal is an easy meal. Like a sandwich only better. Easier to make, store & to go. Easier to get vitamins & minerals. Easier to do more in life.
Boost is 21st century (schema) coffee (analogy & schema). Caffeine for energy, LT for focus. Take it with any drink. (v2)
Connecting you.
Queal Go your portable meal. Nutritious like a salad, tasty like a Mars.
Random idea: 400kcal and 700kcal as serving sizes, do Queal in tub. Prices online for 400kcal.
Lieke: More access to life. Door to efficiency. A productive lifestyle. Complete nutrition for body and mind. Enjoy life to the fullest. Key to productivity.

• Getting more out of daily life
  Easy food. The smoothiest meal. No cooking skills required.
  Nutritious bar food (bar double).
  Brain extender. Open hidden doors.
• Improve and optimise. Getting more things done.
  Onno: A great meal in a short minute. Smart fuel. The ultimate nutrition lifehack. It’s your sandwich, multivitamin and veggies in one. Your efficiency powerup. Effortless but tasty fuel to get you started – to turbo charge your day.
• Fuel (analogy) – functional, not to replace the enjoyable foods
  Shotgun approach to food. Hit all the marks. A+ nutrition. Tick all the boxes. Score 100% on your next meal. Be your own personal trainer.
  Super snickers.
  Kala: The best things in life are simple. Perfect nutrition for a better you.
• Not nutrition related (on purpose) – focus on concept
  Shaken not stirred. Everything in one place, everything in one shake.
  Two birds one bar. (time & money)
  Conclusions:
• Kala: The best things in life are simple. (image: only show shaker or bar?). (vague fb ad)
  o A/B with or without description
• Kala: shaken not stirred. (cooked. Dead animal. Grilled. Fried. Pouched. Peeled. Gutted.) video or picture? (Floris: draft of picture) (Onno: draft of video)
• Floris: give feedback to bar ads
• Kala: Brain extender. Open hidden doors. Brain power-up. 22nd century coffee.

Where to implement
Prospecting advertisements (how to leverage this info to grow)

• Paar dingen bedenken
  Website A/B test homepage & shop pages – or – improve text without A/B test
  Email funnel, what do we say to people
  What do we say with our packaging (GO bar, Queal, Boost)
  PR copy for America

Goal
Friends & customers describe Queal as: easy meal. (now they say different things 3=0)
 

1. Unexpected
   To get attention, we must attract it. You can do this by breaking a pattern (expectations). Our brain is designed to be keenly aware of changes. This is why warning lights blink.
   Surprise gets our attention. Interest keeps it.
   Example Dollar Shave Club, what pattern did it break? (high price for blades)
   Unexpectedness violates our schemas. When our guessing machines fail, surprise grabs our attention. Surprise makes us pay attention and think. It makes us want to find an answer.
   Avoid gimmickry. Surprise should be about your core message. Surprise with insight.
   To surprise it can’t be predictable. To be satisfying it should be post-dictable. If you want your ideas to be stickier, you’ve got to break someone’s guessing machine and then fix it.
   Identify core message. Find what is counterintuitive about the message? What are the unexpected implications? Why isn’t it already happening naturally? Communicate your message in a way that breaks your audience’s guessing machine along the critical counterintuitive dimension. Then help them refine their thinking.
   Expose the parts of your message that are uncommon sense.
   Keep attention with a mystery. It creates a need for closure. Mystery is created from an unexpected journey.
   Curiosity is the intellectual need to answer questions and close open patterns. Story plays to this universal desire by doing the opposite, posing questions and opening situations. Curiosity happens when we feel a gap in our knowledge. Gap causes pain. Itch to scratch. First open gap, then close it.
   If we (audience) gain knowledge we are more and more likely to focus on what we don’t know. E.g. human interest stories. Give people enough information to start caring about their gap in knowledge. Provide context. Sequencing of information is important. More like flirting than lecturing.
   Create insight, dramatic shift of how and why world changes. Create knowledge gaps, that need to be resolved.

How does this apply to Queal?
How to break a pattern/schema? (about food)
How to break & fix guessing machine?
How to create mystery?
What questions do I want my audience to ask?
What is our information sequence?

Ideas
Shake = healthy = all you need
Unexpected story = how I lived of shakes for 30 days…
The stories about soylent and not eating work because they invoke mystery. They also break the pattern of needing to eat your food and/or prepare it. They are post-dictable because it explains that the nutrients are in the mix. The questions of people are: how does this work, does it really work?
A story that combines the different aspects of Queal? Never go to the grocery story again? Everything your body needs, and more.
Unexpected (but maybe not core?) about apocalypse and not needing to go grocery shopping. Having it all, already delivered to you.
Or showing grocery store in bad way. Then ‘save yourself the trouble’. Exposing the unexpected shit of finding groceries, but maybe gimmicky?
Random idea: video that explains why it has everything. Lab-coat-ish story. Then stop, it’s not really about the science of the food (ok it is). But it’s about the research (show stacks of paper). Stock footage research on people nutrition. Maybe even funny with measuring scoop of food or excrement XD.

Where to implement
A

Goal
Aa

1. Concrete
   Abstraction makes it harder to understand an idea and to remember it.
   Example: land-reserve company that ‘gave’ people specific plots of land. (putting a name on it)
   !!!If you can examine something with your senses, it’s concrete.
   Concrete language helps people, especially novices, understand new concepts. Novices crave concreteness.
   The more memorable concrete details survived and the abstractions evaporated.
   The more hooks an idea has, the better it will cling to memory. Example: brown & blue eyes experiment.
   The difference between an expert and a novice is to think abstractly. So be concrete with novices. Curse of Knowledge. Customers are seeking easy and reliable (not complex and sophisticated).
   Use concrete (physical) props if possible.

How does this apply to Queal?
Make time concrete. Say: save 1 hour per day. Or have 1 hour more to do x. Or see your loved ones more. Possible other examples, but question is which one to use?
Compare Queal to other existing food things. E.g. sandwich.
In our copy, not focus on the complicated. Focus on the easy and reliable!
Ideas
Where to implement
Goal

1. Credible
   We believe because our parents or our friends believe. We trust authorities. Experts. Celebrities. Or anti-authorities (anti-smoking).
   About honesty and trustworthiness of sources, not their status.
   Messages can have internal credibility. Concrete details can help. Vivid details boost credibility.
   Statistics are eye-glazing (don’t use them). Use human-scale principle, intuition works on this scale. Statistics aren’t inherently helpful, it’s the scale and context that make them so.
   Testable credits, things that can be falsified (example: Wendy’s burger size). “Are you better off than 4 years ago?”.
   A few vivid details might be more persuasive than a barrage of statistics.

How does this apply to Queal?
Who is a trustworthy source that we can tap into for endorsing Queal. Any random IT person or can we find a ‘famous’ one who can endorse us. Or business person. Or hiker. That has honesty and can speak from the hearth (also not focus on the ingredients but on benefits of the benefits).
In our own messages, use vivid details of 1) ingredients (maybe – focus on grains?) and 2) use case. “When popping down for a great coding session on the 45th floor of the .. building, Peter Jackson sits down at his XSID computer. Before the starts he opens his … bag and out comes a shaker. With precision he measures 3 scoops … etc)”
Dashboard: good use of statistics, see if all are on human-scale (p145)
Ideas
Where to implement
Goal

1. Emotional
   One individual trumps the masses. Thinking in statistics shifts people into a more analytical frame of mind. The mere act of calculation is bad.
   For people to take action, they have to care.
   But using words or feelings too much is semantic stretch (unique). Find associations that are distinctive for our ideas.
   Appeal to self-interest. People matter to themselves. Try to get self-interest into every headline you write. Emphasize benefits, the benefit of the benefit. What’s in it for you?
   People make decisions based on identiy.
   How does this apply to Queal?
   Always incorporate the self-interest (why it’s good for you). Use self-interest and not money or other more ‘basic’ motivations. Maybe even use self-actualisation.
   Ideas
   Queal is not the tastiest food. It’s food that is made to make you perform the best.
   Ready, Steady, Go. Meals to make you do more. Be Ready. Do more.
   Or So you can take control (if that is more important than doing more)

• Control of destiny/time/etc
  Where to implement
  Goal

1. Stories
   Aa
   How does this apply to Queal?

Ideas

Where to implement

Goal