This morning my 14 year old son said that he LOVED Corvettes and I asked why. You see, every time he and my 11 year old son see a Corvette or Mustang, they gets all excited – too excited.
“Because they are fast and cool looking.”
“Would you pick a girlfriend based on those criteria” I asked.
“No.”
“What else do you know about Corvettes?”
Struggling… “That they are really cool.”
“Coolness is a cultural factor. Do they have style? And why don’t you get excited when you see other typical ‘cool’ cars – like a Porche or Fararri or Aston Martin or ….”
“Aston what?”
“Have you been inside of a Mustang?”
“No, but I saw the inside and it was cool. These tan leather seats…”
“So if I put tan leather seats inside a Gremlin (my first car) it would be cool, too. Right?”
This was all said lightheartedly, but with a twinge of seriousness.
What makes something “COOL” and is that reason enough to get it?
Too many in our professional world are waiters – order takers. They tell us what they want and we give it to them. A training. A wiki. Social something. But we need to back up and ask “Why?” Much of the time they say they want these things because 1) that is all they know or 2) because they are deemed ‘cool’. Both of these were in play with my son and his cars. He didn’t know much about other brands, nor did he really know why he liked them, but he knew what was cool.
If they don’t know why, find out for them. Even though it may seem like a bother to them, they will thank you in the end.
