I’ve been listening to Seth Godin’s audiobook Tribes and was struck by a thought that I wanted to share.
When it comes to leading your business and serving your market, are you more like a thermostat or a thermometer?
Are You Noticing the Temperature or Setting It?
Seth talks about the difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. It was a great analogy that got my wheels spinning as I thought of someone who was kicking it up in her market. When I think of the many companies and business owners I’ve been around that are reactive to what market conditions are saying. There are others setting the temperature in those same markets.
The difference between the reactive leaders and the proactive leaders is easy to spot in the current economic conditions. Business leaders are coming forward with the ways to make it through the downturn, to make it through and grow. Meanwhile their status quo peers are not sure how to make a difference in their market they just now its not turning in their favor. What to do?
In the real estate market, many realtors are struggling to succeed in the real estate market. But that’s not the only story playing out for realtors.
In Portland Oregon there is a realtor who is listening to her market and she’s changing the temperature. Kirsten Kaufman knows that cyclists and people interested in being greener have different needs than an average home buyer. They are a growing segment of home buyers in Portland and Kaufman is pedaling on their level by combining home tours with cycling.
Check out her Tour de Homes on YouTube
She’s not making everyone happy by offering a sweat inducing tour but she is speaking directly to the needs and wants of home buyers who are looking for a different kind of commute and having a home that meets their lifestyle.
Your small business doesn’t have to show the neighborhood on bike, but your business can change the temperature in your market.
How will your business make a difference no matter what the market looks like?
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