Daily Inspiration: “Have you ever noticed you are surrounded by people who are willing to set the bar consistently lower?”

“Have you ever noticed you are surrounded by people who are willing to set the bar consistently lower?” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Apparently, space-based lasers that start forest fires in California are now a thing. From a future trends perspective, it’s pretty certain that future economic success will come to other nations that display a closer relationship to reality and sanity. But I digress.

What’s your focus on quality? The value of your product or service? Are you willing to compromise or do you choose to stick to your worth?

A key point to consider today is this: companies and leaders that have succeeded at innovation have often refused to dilute the value of their brand, the quality of their product, the perspective of what it is they provide. Apple is the study – it is a brand with a foundation in quality and worth.

It is a difficult decision to stand your ground – but this is not a new issue. Through the last few decades, organizations have had to deal with the commoditization of their product or service – everyone at some point or other has to make a decision on whether they will join the so-called ‘rush to the bottom’ when it comes to price.

In my own industry, the same trend has played out through the last year in a major way. In the early days of the pandemic, many topic experts and speakers panicked and reduced their fee to a significant degree for the virtual world. Not only that, but they did little to improve their product offering, validating their mediocrity. Many are still offering up the same old, tired bookshelf backdrop, with a Powerpoint with small fonts squished onto the screen, convinced they will soon be back on a stage at a conference somewhere. Why put in the effort when you don’t need to?

it looks cheap and it is cheap.

In my own case, I initially considered dropping my fee – but then decided I wouldn’t join this race to the bottom.

Instead, I would focus on building a top-notch product that would continue to be premium priced, and that would be sustainable for the long term. If a hybrid conference is to emerge – a combination of live, in-person events married with a virtual product., I was going to have the best darn product in the world.

My view? I’d continue to work to provide a high-end BMW while everyone else was rushing around figuring out their broken down, slightly used Ford Focus.

I think I did the right thing. The evidence is right here.