The Experience

It’s amazing how much we can achieve when we have the right tools. The best tools are ones that not only bare good fruits, but ones that you enjoy using just as much. The joy it brings is just as important as its function. 

I like to write - journaling to be specific. With a pen and paper, not a computer. There is just something about the pen and paper. Something about it is calming and highly satisfying. I start and I write down whatever that pops into my head and go with it. A free flow if you will. It enables an outlet to discover what is happening deep within. It is my form of meditation, an important part of my introspection, and therefore self-awareness. 

As such, I decided to go and purchase one of those fancy fountain pens I’ve always heard about and seen in the movies. I always thought it looks so cool, and has a good reputation, so I got myself a good quality yet affordable japanese made fountain pen. I’ve always noticed that if I do my research and get a high quality item, I tend to use it more - such as my road bike. I got a good one and ended up using it a lot which had a very positive overall impact on my life. A good return on investment. So, I got the pen and had it engraved with my company name as well. That way I am more likely to take better care of it and not lose and it just seemed like the classy thing to do (obv).

The moment that fine nib hit the paper, I immediately fell in love with it. How smooth it was. How easily it glided along the page. How little effort I had to exert to write. That sound. Oh that sound. THe sound the nib made when gliding along the sheet was just mesmerizing. I realize I am romanticizing this quite a bit but there was just something about it that made me want to use it more and more. It made me look forward to waking up and writing in my journal to start off the day. It made me write more. I simply love using it. 

I quickly discovered that I wasn't the only one who felt this way. I started youtubing videos and checking forums on fountain pens ( lol I know). It turns out there is a whole world dedicated to this stuff. There are thousands of inks, papers, converters, cartirgies, nibs, etc. to choose from. Insanity!

So then, I started thinking, what is it that makes this device that attracts so many enthusiasts? What makes manufacturers constantly create new ink, and different peripherals to appeal to the vast loyal fanbase?

I found that, much like myself, many others would describe the same “joy” that I had felt. Joy in both the outcome and in the process as well. In fact, I’d argue that enjoying the process is in fact more important than the outcome itself. If you don’t enjoy doing the thing, then there will be no outcome to love. That is why those cliches are cliches - “love what you do”, “Fall in love with the process”, etc. 

So, then I started thinking, how can this small, insignificant pen be applied to a broader way of thinking with relation to society as a whole. In order to have an impact, we must create tools that the users enjoy using. They will use it more, more enthusiastically, and therefore produce larger and better quality results. So easy, who knew?! So, then, let’s take a closer look at what does it mean to enjoy something exactly. To enjoy is to feel joy. An emotion. The mechanism in which emotions are invoked is called the experience. The experience we have when using something is what causes us to feel. So then, it all comes down to emotions. We can deduce that in order to create a successful, impactful, and well-loved product/tool it must produce a sense of satisfaction and joy in its use as well as the result. 

Let’s take a look at the companies who pride themselves in the experience they provide for their customers. Companies such as Apple, Starbucks, IBM, McDonald’s all have a unified culture centred around the customer experience. People enjoy using their Apple products and appreciate their beauty. People have meetings in Starbucks and do their work there, the same cant their major competitors. IBM puts their clients first in all that they do and each and every employee realizes how their particular post impacts their customer‘s overall experience. McDonalds invested the concept of fast food. Your burger, ready for you to eat in 30 seconds or less, everytime, without having to use a fork or knife or plates. Just throw the wrapper away. They provide an experience to their customers. It’s not a coincidence the same companies who have impacted our society on such scale are the top performing companies in the world. 

So, we can see how paramount the experience is when it comes to our ability to have a large scale impact on our society. Now, let’s talk a look at what a company really consists of at its core - People. They say a company is made up of its people, processes, and products. Processes are created by people, and so are products (designers, those who built the machines that build the product). So far, we’ve understood that emotion is the central concept to focus on when striving to deliver a lasting experience. We, people, are not as predictable as machines. We have emotions. That’s our fundamental driver. As Nietzsche once said, “Logic is a slave to emotion”. We use logic as a means to justify our actions. 

So, now, when we say companies who provide exceptional experiences, what are we really saying? We’re saying the culture and the people in that company are providing exceptional experiences with the human emotion in mind. Empathy. 

So, how do we stimulate emotions in others? Where better than to begin with the self. In fact. How can one understand and empathize with others without understanding oneself? Introspection. That is the origin of it all. You need to know yourself at a deeper than surface level in order to do well, long-term, for your customers, employers, employees, partners, and society as a whole.

The experience. Deliver an experience. Invoke emotions. Give people an intangible reason to come back. Because after all, it's all about people. Everything we do is to somehow serve a purpose to people. That is our unified “why” - to serve and positively impact society.