Real Business

What’s not common though, and does get respect much more readily, is how we implement those ideas. If you round up five people and give them the task of bringing the same idea to life, you’ll get five completely different results. That’s because our individual personalities mean we each bring a completely unique approach to any situation. That’s why you’re so special – only you will solve a problem in precisely the way you do it.

Here’s an example (from my world) that neatly shows this principle. Here are two novelty memo pads, both with the same core idea:

First is a product I created, the Cock-A-Doodle pad. It’s a bestselling notepad, printed with the drawing of a naked man on every page. Each man has a gap in his groin area, so that anyone can complete the picture by doodling a… you know what. The pad includes six different men throughout and comes complete with a branded pencil.

Compare this with another company’s product below it – the core concept is exactly the same, but on their version, the details are different. The drawing of the man is smaller, the same guy appears on every single page and there’s no pencil included. Same idea, different details, which means a different result overall.

Now, you might be thinking, “Shed, how is a childish novelty pad relevant to me?” Well, the principle applies to your business too – it’s not the idea that matters, it’s how you bring it to life that makes all the difference between success and failure. Incidentally, my Cock-A-Doodle Pad has sold nearly 100,000 units worldwide…

Here’s another example of how extra details are powerfully enhancing. Take something as seemingly simple as a company logo. No doubt you’re familiar with this one:

When the geniuses at FedEx designed their logo, they wanted something that would not only clearly display their name, but that the logo embodied the idea of getting a package from A to B.

On top of this, they wanted a logo that contained a secret, so that when customers discovered this secret, it would enhance the customer’s memory of the brand and their emotional attachment to it. If you look carefully at the logo they created, you’ll see that they placed a hidden arrow (signifying movement) between the E and the X (see below)… pretty awesome!

So remember, it’s vitally important to ‘sweat the small stuff’. If you get the details right, whatever you produce will instantly become packed with more value for your customer and become more noticeable too. Not only is "God is in the details", profit is most certainly there, too.