Returning to Japan has been a fantastic experience punctuated by fabulous food. If you’ve never been, small restaurants are everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE. Choices are endless.
When you’re looking for a good restaurant in another country, how do you decide? We navigated by sight.
It’s common in Japan for restaurants to advertise their menu outside. There are lists of specials, often with pictures of meals. Many restaurants feature plastic renditions of their food. My daughter and I commonly gravitated to the plastic food and our stomachs would growl with anticipation of what we saw.
The realistic rendition of food in plastic was often more powerful than ratings and recommendations. We saw it and we wanted it. More than text or a picture, the three dimensions brought it to life.
Change is often seen as a foreign land for employees. How will they make the right decisions along the way to avoid embarrassment and struggle along the way? For those in leadership roles, it feels like communications are enough. “We’ve told them what to expect. Isn’t that enough?”
No.
The best we can do is give them a clear view of the future and how they will navigate through it. Just like restaurants, we can do that with text, with stories (reviews), with images, and with experiences. What will awaken the greatest hunger?
I can tell you about Japan, but until you successfully ride their subway system and try the beef tongue, you will have some trepidation. When we give people the most rich experiential view of the future state, we help prepare them to transition successfully. We dial down the hesitation so often interpreted as resistance. Consider:
- Field trips to similar organizations
- Interviews with people who have gone through it
- Previews and demos
- Process “table reviews” and walkthroughs
Plastic food looks good enough to eat. It draws people through the door. How can you give people the tastiest experience of the future?
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
