I’m a big gadget guy. I love to head over to the computer store and check out what’s hot.
These days I have my sights set on the iPad2 which supposedly comes out tomorrow here in Japan.
But why do such products become a phenomenon?
Of course they must cater to a certain need but what Apple does better than any other company today is it innovates.
All other companies are playing catch-up right now.
Apples products might not be the most powerful available but they are
- Reliable (which keeps complaints down)
- Easy-to-use (which means even my mother can use them)
- And finally, they’re stylish.
One of the things I learned many years ago is that although we have 5 senses we tend to favor one above the rest – sight.
Regardless of whether we are shopping for a car, a house or a computer we tend to rely on our eyes.
It looks good, it must be good.
It looks cute, I must have it.
But looks don’t necessarily equal reliability, quality or value. In fact, I’ve often found that the opposite is true.
These days companies understand that style counts but thanks to social media great companies must mix style with those other qualities if they ever want to grow.
In years past a few students have made the mistake of buying a computer or a car on looks alone and have paid the price later.
When it comes to cars, our first consideration should not be how we look when we get there…but whether we get there at all.
With computers, we should consider what we need – portability, power, programs, size and weight.
Success looks so easy when we see it on TV.
We read about success stories every day and hear about various people’s struggles to achieve it but it’s hard to grasp just how much they gave up or how hard they worked to make their goals a reality.
At the same time success isn’t that hard, it just requires us to take action on a few areas of our life.
Unfortunately people want to see results immediately and when they don’t get what they want fast enough, they move on to another scheme.
Looks can be deceiving whether we’re dealing with products or success.
We must learn to see with our mind and logic to avoid falling into the trap of trusting our eyes.
Adrian Shepherd