It could only happen here
Sorry about that early send!
There are certain experiences that only happen in New York City. Seeing Lin-Manuel on the subway, eating dinner next to Timothée or running into Steve Martin in front of an Upper West Side building. In my 2 wild years living in Manhattan, none of those things happened to me, but they could have! I did see Tracey Ullman riding a bike and a dating show villain getting sushi.
My own New York star struck moment was much more suited to me. In 2019 I was consulting with a small Japanese dessert cafe [as one does] - the founder wanted to focus on hospitality and epic experiences. Right up my alley. The founder and I were sitting in a little coffee shop in Greenwich Village talking about hospitality and training staff. I quoted [paraphrased, lets say] Made to Stick, one of my favorite pop business books. (Turns out I even had the title wrong which I learned when I looked up the link.]. Made to Stick is about knowing you who are, having a North Star at your org, if you will, so everyone knows how to behave autonomously. If your company goal is, for example, make every customer happy, your staff knows to go perhaps way too far. If the goal is Have it Your Way, you’d better make sure I can order how I want. There is a great story in the book about Southwest Airlines and a chicken caesar sald but I’ll let you discover that joy on your own.
So I explain quickly the idea of Made it Stick and then go to another favorite, The Power of Moments. Yes, I am a fan of Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The Power of Moments, which I frequently mis-title as Epic, is about experience. If you’re running a café, or any business, I think. you should be thinking about knowing who you are, and how to make experiences amazing. I have brought both of these ideas into higher education, repeatedly, to make incredible student experiences. One of the examples in The Power of Moments is how Yes Prep School in Houston created Senior Signing Day, an academic celebration modeled after ESPN’s college football signing day where high school players commit to a college team. Now, I love a good college recruiting story, my favorite was when U Tennessee had 102 letters sent to Stanton Truitt to recruit him. [He played for Auburn]. But what if you’re not a world class athlete, you are, in face, just the rest of us? The Power of Moments.
OK, so what’s the New York story? As I was talking about the Heath brothers books and pointing at their covers on my phone, a couple was standing next to me. [It’s New York, everyone is always standing next to you.]. The husband asked if I liked those books - again, I can’t stress how much I like and talk about these books. And then his wife said - I am Dan Heath’s agent! ACK WHAT? I’m a fan, for sure. I was wearing Carolina blue and he teaches at Duke. That’s how big a fan I am. She asked if I would like a galley copy of his new book and I started to cry. That’s right - some people cry over Taylor Swift, some over Will Leonard. I cry over good research and brilliant insights. Hey, if Dan Heath can be excited about winning a New Yorker caption contest, I can be excited about being one degree closer to Dan Heath.
A coupld of weeks later I got a galley copy in the mail, and a couple of weeks after that, a SIGNED COPY of The Power of Moments. Stood in my 300 sq ft studio and sobbed. A little thing for him, I am quite sure, but wow - I was struck.
Now, if you’re a Dan Heath super fan [I’m worried he will take out a restraining order over my enthusiasm], you know that his latest book came out January 21, 2025. I had planned to wake up at midnight for my download [my NYC bestie does this for all Taylor Swift albums] but I admit it was the coldest night in the past 6 years in Chicago and I was under 5 blankets with my dog, so no immediate reading for me.
Now that I’ve read Reset [ok, more than once] I’ve already implemented new changes in my life. I’ve been feeling a bit like it’s the same old-same old, and as we’ve heard, insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting different results. What’s your reset going to be?
Hopefully my reset never involves sending too early - apologies for the double duty!