Skip to main content

Startup Vitamins

I almost never endorse a specific product, service, website, etc. and I'm not now...not exactly....I'm simply commenting.

At Startup Vitamins one can find all sorts of brutally honest, no-nonsense, real-world motivational products. I like it, and will be buying a specific mug that I love....but this is not an endorsement. Not exactly.....it's commentary, and here's why...

I love the quote "The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference." I believe the folks at Startup Vitamins have embodied this quote exquisitely.

There has been a trend for decades of motivational posters and paraphernalia, with one truly stand out example....it stands out because it sort of sucks....I won't be naming it, but you know the one. Platitudinous pablum, offered up as profundity. Silver linings, soaring eagles, mountains.....you've seen them....you've rolled your eyes at them....you may have one hanging in your workplace.

And then...the backlash. A parody line of similarly designed products, but all with a negative and humorous twist. Anathema to the above mentioned (and not to be named) line of products. The mirror image of their predecessors, snarky as snark can get. This particular company, by its satirical send-ups, expressed a deep seated hatred for the aforementioned series of motivational products, that they implied, did little motivating. Deep. Seated. Hatred.

And then comes Startup Vitamins.....there may be others like it, others before it, but this one has my eye.

They seem to have taken the opposite of love for their predecessors, and their indifference is inspiring.

They take the trend set before them, and ignore it completely.

They take a simple and honest snapshot of a function of production (sometimes specific to an industry or even tailored to a specific company), an approach, a state of being, and offer it up as a reminder.

To inspire. Honestly.

Sometimes their message restates a simple truth, sometimes it defines a certain vision, sometimes it commands a higher calling....but it never sounds preachy. Not once.

Oh, screw it.... this is an endorsement. Got get a mug or poster at www.startupvitamins.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Patron Saint of Salespeople

St. Lucia or St. Lucy is the Patron Saint of salespeople. Her story?? She stood strong in her faith and was persecuted because of it. She was hooked to a team of oxen, but could not be moved. She stood strong in her beliefs. Then she had her eyes cut out and was stabbed in the throat. Nice metaphor. In October, I missed my 'quota' for the first time this year. My 2010 personal goals allowed for this (plus one actually), but I was attempting to pitch the sales equivalent of a no-hitter. I missed. Even though I am still at roughly 150% YTD Even though I am guaranteed to go to President's Club (they've already listed it under 'taxable gift' on my last paystub). Even though I will almost assuredly be in the Top 10 nationwide..... Even though I have not been dragged away by a team of oxen, I still feel my eyes on a plate. But, I'm the one doing the gouging. There is no one as critical of me as me. Self-flagellation....works well with the Patron Saint/Catholic mot

Telecommoditization: Part 2 / Fungibility

Fungibility is a fun word. I look forward to beating several CIOs and IT Directors over the head with it. Fungibility seems to be the defining word for what makes a commodity. The nut-shell definition for fungibility is "the same regardless of who creates it." Every telecom provider has a multitude of differences, therefore they are not fungible. Since most people tend to LOVE to talk about the negative, let's focus there. Ask any IT professional about their telecom provider. They will generally grumble and whine (typically these people hate their lives) and tell you about EVERYTHING that is wrong with their telecom providers. Each story will have different issues and problems. Each will show the weaknesses of a given provider. Logically this shows that we (telco's) are all different and not fungible. Also if each provider has different weaknesses, we must have strengths. There is an old telecom mantra "Everybody sucks, we suck less." In future blogs I will

One-Quarter Cleansing Cream

In 1955, the now legendary Ogilvy and Mather advertising firm began their campaign with Dove. "One-quarter cleansing cream" is, to this day, a corporate tag-line for Dove. The company was profitable in its very first year, an extreme rarity in personal-care products. Ogilvy and Mather stress their ad campaign and the Dove tag-line they created as being responsible for such success. Dove's ubiquitous tagline was created when David Ogilvy, the dynamic mind behind Ogilvy and Mather asked the question "Well, may I know the formula?" When the good people at Dove explained the ingredients, Mr. Ogilvy found out that the soap he was hired to advertise was only three-fourths soap. One-fourth of Dove soap was a compound with the generic name of "cleansing cream". Mr. Ogilvy saw this as a major differentiator and helped create a brand that became a household name. His trademark pursuit of an exceptional story to tell for his clients, created an approach that