WOW Factor
HOW TO BUILD YOUR 'WOW' FACTOR
McGraw-Hill © 2008, 169 pages, $19.95 (ISBN 978-0-07-154519-8)
We're
all familiar with the word "Wow." We've read it, heard it, said it,
perhaps even very loudly, but if asked to define it, we might find it
hard to pin down. We might say that Wow denotes something special, memorable or noteworthy. Often Wow seems to describe an intangible quality — that indefinable something that makes a person or thing especially worthy of notice. In fact, the idea of Wow
can seem so intangible that we have a hard time determining if we
ourselves possess it. Sure, we can point to the companies and
individuals that posses Wow — Apple, Oprah, MySpace — but it's hard to explain exactly what their Wow factor is, and even harder to figure out how to garner some of that Wow for ourselves. Fortunately, Robyn Freeman Spizman and Rick Frishman not only know Wow when they see it, but they have also written Where's Your Wow?: 16 Ways to Make Your Competitors Wish They Were You! According to the authors, Wow
is actually a very simple concept, one that with the right attitude,
anyone can put to work for themselves. The authors write, "What Wow-achievers and companies with a Wow
have is a personal brand — an identity that others recognize. Whether
it's for yourself or for a product or service you sell or for your
business, you need to be extraordinary to be seen and heard amid the
tumult of the marketplace. You need to find your Wow and then use it to push yourself into the spotlight. Remember: Ordinary is not extraordinary. The difference is extra." In Where's Your Wow?, the authors guide readers through the process of building and implementing Wow.
They begin by helping readers determine what is special about
themselves, their company or their product, and then walk them through
16 concepts that, when implemented in conjunction, are essential to
building Wow. These concepts range from "Envision Your Success" to "Create Alliances" to "Remember, Timing Is Everything." For
each concept, the authors provide a plethora of real-world, engaging
examples to illustrate their points. They cite Jill Conner Browne,
author of the best-selling Sweet Potato Queens series and head
of the related merchandise and fan club empire, as a model for
envisioning your success. The authors describe how Browne's journey to Wow
began while she was riding in the back of a pickup truck in a parade
and beginning to picture a way to do fun things like that for a living.
Jared Fogle and the famous diet that put Subway on the fast-food map
show how truly successful companies identify what benefits their
customers and make that benefit a priority. The authors also cite Dr.
Henry Heimlich's creation of his anti-choking maneuver in 1974 as a
terrific example of timing and examining what is going on in the world
to find a need to fulfill. Heimlich, a successful chest surgeon, read
an article in The New York Times about how choking was the sixth leading cause of accidental death, and from that spark came his life-saving Heimlich Maneuver. Perhaps because Wow
is a subjective concept, despite the fact that the authors make it
quite clear that there is a definite path to achieving it, some of the
advice in Where's Your Wow? can come across as slightly naïve.
Of course, we all believe there is something special about ourselves,
but not everyone possesses Wow. Still, the authors provide an
excellent source of ways to identify and capitalize on uniqueness in a
crowded marketplace. Besides, it would seem out of place for a book
like this not to be part cheerleader even as it delineates the how-to
of Wow.
‘Timing Is Everything'
Capitalize on Uniqueness
