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The previous post on “promise” had a straightforward message, “Know what you pledge, vow, and commit to your customers.” The rest of strategy is about figuring out how to keep that promise better than your competition, in a way that you can make money.

Recently, I had the good fortune of attending a keynote by Ken Schmidt. As he described the story of Harley Davidson, I realized that my previous post was boring and “functional” and my message was incomplete.

Can you make a promise that your customer will feel they are “cool” and you can make them look cool when they use your products or services? Can you promise your customers that they will feel fulfilled, and have a reason to love themselves even more?

This is not about promoting narcissism and making the world vain and self centered. It is about connecting with your customers as “people” and at an emotional level.

This sounded really crazy to me until I realized that so few companies do it well, and almost all leaders do it exceptionally well.