The Wow Factor
Posted on June 21, 2007
What is the Wow Factor. In short the Wow Factor is people’s first impression when they say, "wow that is really cool." Digging a little deeper however, it is much much more.
- The Wow Factor is excellence in motion. First and foremost the Wow Factor is the result of top quality work that often involves blood, sweat and tears.
- The Wow Factor drives innovation. With each new major roll-out of Windows or Apple’s operating system, with the premiere of the high-end BMW or for us Texans the newest Ford pickup (tongue in cheek), there is a Wow Factor. Business thrives on offering the latest technology aimed at impressing people enough to let go of their current model to upgrade for the latest features.
- The Wow Factor is more than being showy. To truly impress folks it takes more than a shiny gloss over an old bag of tricks. It takes real ingenuity.
- The Wow Factor builds your career. A few key homeruns on projects will leave a lasting impression and will open doors for advancement.
- The Wow Factor is sometimes serendipitous inspiration. Some of my best work is the result of dumb luck combined with experience. It just happens. Call it inspiration, a "thought spark" perhaps.
- The Wow Factor follows failure. The proverbial "if life hands you a bowl of lemons make lemonade" is very true. Often through adversity, trial and error, testing and proving are required to come up with a real gem of a concept. This may be the most encouraging concept of all.
- The Wow Factor is profitable. Getting it right, really right and finding a way to market that product or skill can be very profitable. I often tell my girls, "find something you love to do and become the best at it and people will pay you to do it. You’ll never work another day in your life." I believe it. Most days I don’t work, not in the sense of drudgery. I love to create and solve problems.
- The Wow Factor builds credibility. People will respect what you have to say and see you as an authority on the subject. Experience, well-honed skills and effective execution of key projects will prove-out your God-given talents. Everyone has them, just keep exploring to learn yours.
- The Wow Factor is right timing. Timing is huge. Sometimes the Wow Factor is delivering what was promised when you promised it. Sometimes it’s knowing when to throw-in an extra feature or accomplish a task unrequested and unexpected.
- The Wow Factor leaves behind a legacy. Truly amazing art or ingenuity will outlast your time at a position or maybe your lifetime. Maybe the Wow Factor in your life is the investment in your children or the love you show your husband or wife.
Everyone has the potential for greatness in their life. You might not be a Michael Angelo or an Albert Einstein, but you have natural gifts, abilities and perspective that is unique and very valuable to work, family and society. You are made in the image of God. Talk about the ultimate Wow Factor.
Filed Under Productivity, Creativity |
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7 Responses to “The Wow Factor”
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The wow factor is when you have to come up with an advertisement for a client and you suddenly get hit by a big idea… and its original and campaignable.
The feeling is out of this world… incomparable
Yes, how wonderful it is to be able to produce a truly valuable concept. The wow factor I think can take many forms, but advertising is definitely the classic example. When I produce a truly excellent web app or site I have the same feeling.
… that’s the next thing I want to do. Since you’re in the field do you think it’s something I can learn through an online course?
Random,
Well, I’m totally self-taught. Just naturally acclimated to it but been doing it since ‘95 so I’ve been at it a while. My skill sets run in many directions from database, dynamic code, graphic design, styles, search optimization, writing for the web etc. That’s just how I’m wired and the trajectory of my career. Not really planned, just worked-out that way. You seem to be market/business experienced. So I would encourage you to define a path based around your other skill sets/experience/education and add technical skills to it. There’s much more about this we could talk off-line if you would like, but go for added skills relevant to your end-goal. Much is learned by doing and research. It all depends on how you learn best. I enjoy wading through volumes of information, trial and error etc.
The wow factor happens when something deep inside is suddenly satisfied in a way that was hitherto “missing”. Anything that is an order of magnitude better than you expected will have that effect for that reason.
What wows one person might not wow another. I get a huge “wow” when I find I’ve written especially sublime and eligant code or find some that someone else has written. However I sow my wife half a screen of code and she seems unimpressed that it took me all day to write that (unless I tell her what it is and how it works, we’re two very geeky people).
Matt, yes that is very good point indeed. The Wow factor is very personal. Very good observation. First we wow ourselves with what materializes and sometimes, though not always, it will wow others. excellent thoughts my friend.
Thank you. It’s all down to you providing the stimulating content you know.