“We can’t all be Zappos or work somewhere supercool like Google. And I’m glad that we can’t, because if we were all the same, we’d all be perfectly ordinary,” states Scott Stratten in “The Book of Business Awesome/The Book of Business UnAwsome.”
Stratten says seeing and reading about the great things people do in business makes him feel like he can do great things, too. But sometimes examples of brilliance in action can be intimidating.
“Whether it’s because you’re just getting started, you don’t have the same budget or resources, your industry isn’t cool enough, or you’re sure your customers wouldn’t like it, other people’s awesomeness can sometimes make us feel a little small,” says Stratten. “Too often, feeling intimidated becomes our excuse not to be awesome.”
Instilling the sort of awesomeness that inspires entire teams starts with individual belief. “I call this situational awesome, and we can all do it,” says Stratten. “We have access to it every day — in our attitudes and in our interactions. It starts with the passion we have for our work and our product.”
Situational awesome leads to occupational awesome, which is about individual roles and how they define windows of opportunity to put awesome into action.
Next up is divisional awesome, which is all about groups and the amazing things that can happen when people come together to create results that are truly greater than the sum of their parts.
Last is institutional awesome, where the work of individuals and groups create brand-wide amazingness.
“Together, all of these levels become your brand voice, the message and the image people think of when they think about your company. Whether you are a frontline worker or a top-level executive, you can create awesome,” says Stratten. “the individual is the start.”
