innovate big

authenticity: a brutal lesson from the “real-world”

Last week I had the best coffee experience of my life. And as a bootstrapped entrepreneur, I should know. I have done my share of time working from all kinds of coffee shops before being privileged with office space. Nevertheless, “best” is probably a bit of an exaggeration but this particular experience reminded me of what successful companies have done in order to stay relevant and attractive in today’s world of too many options. Don’t just take it from me, apparently I am not the only one who thinks this place in particular is awesome.

What made this experience different was the personal touch and authenticity of the owner Phill (who some believe to be a “local legend” of sorts) and the caring staff. Each cup is brewed individually just for you. The owner interacts with customers whenever possible and was even drinking his own custom brew while I was there. It is amazing how such human subtleties make a world of difference. I even overheard a kid say to Phill “my mom came here and said it was the best coffee she had ever had.” Truly priceless.

While at Phillz Coffee, I felt like I was a part of something. I wasn’t just another customer.

This experience (of which I hope to have more of) got me thinking about how businesses could replicate this in the online world. Yes; blogs, myspace pages and other personal online publishing tools are bringing personal and meaningful relationships to the virtual world but so much more is possible. As we already know, things are headed in a different direction entirely. The future is not in “selfish” publishing but “self-less”, co-created and relevant publishing. Including me (as employee, consumer or partner) is the most powerful and meaningful way a company can connect with me.

Consumerism and mass media aren’t dead. They are just evolving really fast. Thanks “facetube”.

Have you co-created something you believe in online recently?

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why transparency = social responsibility
disruptive innovations will drive “real good”