The Weekly Minute - Feb. 23, 2024
Happy Friday, all.
I come to you from a coffee shop on this beautiful February Friday. Getting a few hours of ‘Focus Time’ as we wind down the week and polish off a few projects. In today's fast-paced world, finding moments of uninterrupted focus can feel like a rare luxury. Yet, amidst the constant barrage of notifications and distractions, carving out dedicated focus time is more crucial than ever. It's during these periods of deep concentration that our productivity soars, our creativity thrives, and our most meaningful work takes shape.
Let’s get in to this week’s content, which dials in on the relationship between time and luxury, convincing yourself and creating your luck.
The Relationship Between Time and Luxury
How Hermès Sells Time (via Trung Phan)
Phan dives into the long history of Hermès (and LVMH) and how that contirbutes to the “time” they about selling.
As a luxury brand, Hermès leverages its rich history, exclusive buying process, and meticulous craftsmanship to create desire and scarcity, particularly evident in the iconic Birkin Bag. From its founding in 1837, Hermès has maintained a focus on quality and exclusivity, crafting products that stand the test of time. The company's approach contrasts with short-term strategies, reflecting a long-term vision akin to Jeff Bezos' philosophy at Amazon. Ultimately, Hermès' ability to sell time is integral to its enduring success and allure in the luxury market.
The article notes that one of the key ratios in luxury is (# of people who know about product) divided by (# of people that can actually get the product).
“With its managed supply, Hermès has a sky-high ratio — because the denominator is limited — and everyone in the numerator is left waiting. The wait for a Birkin can be up to 5 years. Per Vanity Fair, long wait times have been a feature for Hermès since the beginning as “hand-stitched perfection cannot be rushed” and even ‘royal coronations were sometimes delayed until Hermès fittings for the carriage and the guard had arrived.’”
Hermès makes the customers “work” for the right to get a Birkin Bag. Think about that. Time is a much more scarce asset than money. And Hermès forces even the most well-off people to expend their time before they can get the bag.
In sum: acquiring a Birkin Bag requires the consumer to embark on a multi-product purchasing journey that costs a lot of money and…wait for it…time.
Convinced of Something
The Cookie Thief
I was introduced to this poem in a team meeting this week. Here it is:
“A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”
With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!
She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.
She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.
If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.”
It has a stellar meaning behind it, and quite a twist at the end!
How often have you be absolutely convinced of something, only to find out later that you were mistaken?
Time Well Spent
Three CX Measures You Need to Understand (via Shep Hyken)
For any person who has any interaction with a customer, whether in sales, support or just might happen to answer a customer’s call, should pay attention to a few new way to measure customer experience. Here are three unique ways too look at it:
Time to Happiness: How long does it take an upset, unhappy, or angry customer to return to being happy.
Time Well Spent: Ask yourself, “Based on the conversation – or interaction – I just had with the customer, do you think they would give me a high Time Well Spent rating?” Yes, this is subjective, and it’s the customer’s opinion that matters, but keeping in mind that you’re creating value in the time your customer spends with you will help you focus on delivering your best customer experience.
Does the Customer Come Back?: Ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now going to get the customer to come back the next time they need what we sell?” This is my Loyalty Question, a concept I’ve shared many times over the years.
I love this thinking and encourage our businesses to move to this direction!
Make Your Own Luck
More Than Luck (via Character LAB)
This article focuses on the importance of believing you can cultivate your own opportunities; here are a few key bullets that I picked up:
Mindsets are crucial when opportunities appear scarce: Fixed mindsets breed passivity, while growth mindsets spur action.
Don’t wait for lucky breaks to fall into your lap. You can’t be passive here, you need to develop a proactive stance.
They suggest asking, "What steps can I take to find or create new possibilities?" in times of limited options.
Sora - Wow!
OpenAI’s new Sora platform can create videos of up to 60 seconds featuring highly detailed scenes, complex camera motion, and multiple characters with vibrant emotions.
The future is here.
