If you are in business, you will have heard people drone on about the need to have a unique selling proposition. That you need to understand what makes your business unique and stand out from the pack.
Taglines, punch lines and brand development people all start by focusing on your uniqueness. And to be perfectly blunt ... just recently I realised this quest for identifying your "uniqueness" is actually the greatest block most businesses face when trying to market their business.
Let's start by defining the problem with the word "unique". Ask the average person on the street what the word means and you will get answers like "one of a kind", "nothing else like it" and "incomparable". So far so good.
Now ask them to think of one unique business – one that is a "one of a kind" with "nothing else like it" or "incomparable" and the conversation rapidly dries up. They stutter and stammer. They start half saying something and then trail away when you ask, "Is that really unique?"
Then ask them what makes them unique as a person, and you will find you get blank looks, the odd platitude and sudden excuses to hurry away.
Realistically there is no one business that is 100% original. If we go back to ancient texts, you will find the saying "there is nothing new under the sun", so this has been a problem that has been around for a few thousand years.
Asking businesses to identify their uniqueness sets up a mental paralysis for people. Their minds go into a loop with no conclusions being drawn. Or, it creates a situation where people grab platitude answers while trying to settle their minds (just look at any dating site to see how people deal with being asked to describe themselves). Neither of these solutions really helps the situation.
This is not to say that the quest to find out what makes you different is a fool's quest and needs to be abandoned. People do want to know what makes your business different from the rest and the reason why they should buy from you.
So perhaps better questions to help you tease out your difference or essence are:
What are your strengths?
What do you do differently to other people?
How precisely do you do what you do?
What do people value about you?
What do people regularly say about you on feedback forms or testimonials?
If you asked your favourite clients to describe your business and what it does, what do they say?
What value do you add to other businesses?
What do businesses or people feel after they have worked with you?
Do they get the same feeling and value from all parts of your business, or do different parts create different results?
These gentler questions prompt thought and answers, rather than paralysis.
Try to consider both your view of the world as well as your client's viewpoint. Often a person from the outside looking in will highlight blind spots or hidden gems that you were not aware of.
The bottom line is the word "unique" is a rocky shoal upon which many marketing efforts have floundered. Stop trying to be unique and find your difference or essence instead. These are calmer and easier waters in which to sail.
Many managers struggle with the odd Maverick employee. The one who is conceptually brilliant, has exceptional ideas but has the people skills of a cobra. If ever you have watched "House" you know the sort of person I am talking about.
Maverick employees are some of the hardest HR challenges managers have to face. On the one hand, they get great results, but in the process they burn everyone around them. You, as a manager, are torn between wanting to keep the results and needing to fix their behaviour.
Let me be really blunt here. The ends do not (and never will) justify the means. Unless you get a rapid behaviour adjustment when you raise your concerns with them, you have a problem that you need to take fast action on.
It doesn't matter what the results are that the person gets, if they alienate half your workforce, creates havoc with your legal team and tramples over your business reputation, then, unless you have a never ending supply of new clients and employees, you need to cut them loose. Remember, people are rarely sacked for what they do. Rather they are sacked for how they do it.
If you are struggling with what makes you remarkable or different, then this latest book by Seth Godin will certainly make you think. In your face, compelling and passionate, this book finds new ways to help you understand the critical need for difference in business (and how to find yours).
Linchpins are very different to Maverick we talked about above. They are the sweetness without the sour. They get results through their passion, and yes they are unique (without the resistance to the word). It also looks at leadership at all levels, taking responsibility and building innovation - all essential in most business organisations.
Another brilliant book to add to your management reading list!
Legal stuff: This newsletter is intended as only a general guideline for Australian businesses. You should seek specific advice for your situation rather than relying only on this newsletter
Earnings disclaimer. Some of the content may include advertorial information, which means I may receive financial compensation for the products I recommend. But - unless I know and trust the product, I will not recommend it.
Thanks again Ingrid for expanding on this often overused word "uniquness". If we simply concentrated on delivering "a point of difference" we can save ourselves a lot of headaches.
Be good to yourself
David
email
Many managers struggle with the odd Maverick employee. The one who is conceptually brilliant, has exceptional ideas but has the people skills of a cobra. If ever you have watched "House" you know the sort of person I am talking about. 
