Every year somebody comes to me and asks about the tow truck story.

Every year somebody comes to me and asks about the tow truck story. Let me give it to you again this year. So the big reason for the tow truck story is because of better mousetrap mentality. And what I mean by that is most businesses think the best way for me to go dominate the category is to create the best product possible. And when consumers see it, they're just going to suddenly recognize how great it is and they're going to drop everything else and they're going to line up at my door and I'm going to get rich and famous. That's not actually how people work. When you explain that to leadership teams, they get really doubtful. They're like, no, no, no, it's all about the product. It's all about the product. The tow truck story helps you to understand why it's not about the product in the moment of decision. So here's the tow truck story very quickly. Let's imagine that you've been working on something that's really important to you for the last several months. I don't care what it is, the biggest deal you ever had in the business or, I don't know, your parents 50th wedding anniversary and you're the emcee. It doesn't matter. The point is that it's super important and today is the big day. So you've got all your material ready, you've got your Sunday best on, you walk down to your car, you get in and you look at your watch and you're feeling really good, which means that you've got a 30 minute window when you get there to be prepared. Great. But as you leave the garage, it's raining cats and dogs outside and as you hit the highway, the worst thing possible happens and you pop a flat. Now normally you just get out and fix it yourself, but the thing is is you're on your way to this really big event, it's raining cats and dogs, you're in your Sunday best and you don't want to look ruined when you get there. So you call for a tow truck. Now it takes the tow truck driver 15 minutes to get there and they haven't even started working yet. The tow truck driver gets out of his truck, walks up to your car, knocks on the glass and says, did you order a tow truck? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you say looking at your watch. Fantastic, he says, you made the right decision calling our towing company. See, our towing company has been in business longer than any other towing company and our hiring and training standards are more rigorous than anybody else. In fact, we've won awards for that. Now, when you take a look back, nobody else has that truck and we created that truck specially with Mack Trucks because we want to make sure that when we carry your car, the second biggest investment in your home, that we're doing it appropriately. The special sauce of the tires that we did, now that's a special polymer so that on days like today, we know that the truck will never slide or skid and bring additional damage to your car. And we do all of this for you because we care about you, our customer. Now what are you thinking the entire time this clown is talking? Shut up and fix my tire, right? Now imagine the exact same scenario, same truck, same driver, same everything, only this time, the driver comes up to your window, knocks on the glass and says, did you order a truck? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you say, I did. Fantastic, he says, our motto is on the road in 15 minutes or less. We know you've got things to do. And he goes off to get work started. Now, remember, same driver, same company, same training, same everything, which one are you going to avoid like the plague and which one are you going to be telling your friends about at dinner that night? That's the lesson. Driver number one represents 99% of businesses. They believe that the product is the most important thing, their history, their team, everything that makes them them is what consumers care about. But what do people really care about in the moment? They don't want to hear about your company, they just want to move past the problem. That's the insight. Driver number two represents all of the super successful brands. Apple, Nike, Disney, Dollar Shave Club, etc. They recognize that what the customer cares about in the moment is only the thing that they're trying to achieve or to get around. And that's the big lesson. Once the consumer has heard that right message in the moment when they needed to hear it, they understand that you get them. And then they reward you with the thing that you want most, which is interest in your business. If you have somebody on the leadership team in your business that is hopelessly trapped in better mousetrap mentality, the tow truck story can do a lot to help get them unstuck.