When I was young, my brother and I found ourselves in our fair share of mischief. Since I grew up in a small town, it didn’t take long for word to get back to my mother. Of course, by the time we got home, my mom was ready with the usual litany of threats. Everything from groundings to the dreaded, “Wait ‘tIl your father gets home.”

Among all that was the thing that got to me the most.

“What possessed you to (insert any of the long list of shenanigans)? How do you think that makes someone else feel.”

What my mom deftly pointed out was that there was a real person that we had affected. That got me. And has stuck with me.

Branding genius from mom

I look at what the majority of brands do today. They talk about features. They talk about functions. They talk about themselves.

We get so caught up in trying to get people’s attention. To tell them why we’re different and why we’re better. And we forget mom’s sage admonishment.

“How do you think that makes someone else feel?”

Apply it to anything that you’re doing before you send it out there into the world. The question can revolutionize how you connect, unlocking the ability to reach people in a meaningful way. It's how you take that first step to turning customers into champions for the brand. And then watching those champions turn into evangelists.

The most magical thing may just be that any brand can do this. Just ask the question my mom (and maybe your mom, too) asked. She would be so proud.

I have developed a system called the Thrust Story Framework that taps into the power of this question and more to help brands discover powerful ways to connect with those they hope to serve. If you'd like to learn about putting it to work for your brand, send me a note. You can also find it in my book – Big Audacious Meaning - Unleashing Your Purpose-Driven Story.