My two year old, is enthralled by the fact that i can make a paper plane fly by just strategically folding a blank piece of paper. The look of awe in his eyes as the paper plane takes to the sky, is a magical experience. The art of paper plane making has been used for generations, and not just to prototype big ideas and innovative new technologies.
Beyond the fact that there might have been no wright brothers and no first flight, without the humble paper plane, i love that the paper plane is a great way to teach my young guy that ultimately his actions can affect his results and that the way he/we build things actually matters.
The point of teaching my little guy about paper planes is not just to demonstrate the potential of a piece of paper, it is also to show him what his efforts make possible.
As a business owner and leader, your business is that blank piece of paper. The kind of plane (and business) you build ultimately depends on how and where we make those folds.
I ultimately suck at making paper planes that can fly further than a few feet, but success is not guaranteed even if you make the best planes in the world.
John Collins spent nearly three years designing, building and perfecting his paper plane model “Suzanne” , with the aim of breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest paper airplane flight.
While John Collins did indeed have the best paper plane in the world, he realised that he lacked one critical ingredient.
He did not have the best throwing arm.
It was not until he met and partnered with John Ayoob a former college-football quarterback that they were able to break the world record.
On their own, the features and benefits of your products and service, no matter how good they are, cannot sustain your business. It is only when they affect customers in the marketplace, that meaning can be derived from them.
Success is not what you make but the difference that it makes in peoples lives.
Your purpose as a business owner, marketer, service professional, is not to make the best planes with the perfect wings, but rather to make things and services that enable people to better versions of themselves, and to show them their wings.
The best products and services do not simply invite people to say “this is awesome”, but they remind people how great they themselves are.