That’s what we give to the demo version. Or at least that’s the invitation when someone sends us a song title with (demo) after it. Forgive the mess and let the creative brain flow.
Demos are fun because we’re hearing something in-process. More exposed. Without as much insulation. I love demos.
Inviting someone (or being invited) into that part of the process is a true gift.
If you’re building a new theater it pays to add one more seat. That extra seat represents thousands of dollars in annual revenue. And to add one more seat you only need to down size all the other seats in the row by a half an inch.
So you cut each seat by a half inch and that gives you an extra seat. And since the math works in one row, why not do it to all rows…so now you’ve got an extra seat in each row. Now we’re making money.
You’ve squeezed a half inch out of each seat…but if each seat has two arm rests and you can cut a quarter of an inch of each arm rest, that math should give you ANOTHER seat in each row.
So now you’ve got seats that are a little narrower than normal but functional…and arm rests that usable but aren’t quite comfortable. But the cashflow is gonna be insane.
It’s a slippery slope…
What about taking out the arm rests all together? How narrow can the seats be without violating codes? Can the aisles be narrower in order to add more seats? What’s the minimum amount of leg room needed…maybe another whole row can be added?
At some point you have to ask…is anyone going to want to come to this place? Or even more so…is anyone going to want to come back…is anyone going to tell their friends how wonderful it was?
Eventually, adding one more seat is going to do the exact opposite of what you hope adding one more seat is going to do.
The current Airbnb commercial is great…
If you book a hotel, your bedtime has to be the same bedtime as the kids’.
If you book an Airbnb, your bedtime can be whenever you want.
From day one this was always true about Airbnb. Only recently have they decided to crank up the volume on that aspect. It’s an angle that isn’t for everyone…but for the people it’s for, it resonates deeply.
For most of us the key to the great commercial or ad or marketing idea or message lies within something that is already true about what we do. We just need the eyes to see it and the guts to go for it.
Green means go. Red means stop.
Yellow means a lot of different things. Do I speed up or slow down…what’s the person ahead of me gonna do…and the person behind me…how long is the yellow…are there cameras…who gets the green light after this one turns red?
The greens and reds are so clear and easy.
Yellow is more like real life.
Knowing you have a great answer for the question you know they’re gonna ask is an awesome feeling.
The best is in music meetings when you’ve showed them your new song and they ask, ‘what else do you have?’…you knew they were gonna ask it and you came in with another stunner that they knew nothing about. You knew you were gonna blow their minds before they even finished the question.
And what’s more…not only did you have another surprise great song ready to go but now they feel smart about having asked their question. If you can make them feel smart and emotionally connected…then maybe you can do the same thing to their boss…and if you can, now they look like a genius for bringing you to their boss. What a gift.
The water doesn’t come to a boil on low. It boils on high and then it can boil on low.
The rocket ship uses most of its fuel during take off. And then flies to the moon.
You can hold the weight for a long time once you get your arms fully extended.
You can’t boil on high forever.…the good news is you don’t have to. But sometimes you’re gonna have to if you want to simmer the way you want to simmer.