Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn

A company I work with needed a way to ready the industry for their offerings and increase the firm's name recognition. Their research and publications team seemed suited for the task. Although widening the market and strengthening brand was far more lucrative than the sales the team brought in by selling papers, the group refused to give anything away. They believed what they were doing was right; that people wouldn't value the research as much if it was freely available, and that clients preferred paper copies to online versions. No matter how many times the CEO told them to blanket the marketplace with information, they continued to do what they'd always done. Then we sent them all to an industry event where they spent time asking questions and challenging their beliefs. Something almost magical happened. The people they met expressed their appreciation for the company's reports, asking if they could have the rights to reproduce and then distribute the research to their customers, too. Within a few days the team developed a new set of beliefs around their value to the industry. They began behaving like a team of market researchers and industry evangelists rather than a product group generating sales for one company.

So what are you going to unlearn first? Create a list of several approaches. Write it your journal or on a sticky note to post on the computer, the television, the dashboard, or your desk--then buy yourself a few slices of bologna.