Exploring format immobility

The previous installment of my newsletter led me to have an interesting conversation with a person who contacted me through LinkedIn. This conversation was especially enriching for both parties and let's say it went something like this:

- I'm in the cardboard box business.

- No, you are in the business of allowing people to transport things back and forth using a container.

There we had our first silence. Silences are not bad in conversations. They are part of them, they are moments in which, in order to move forward, it is needed to reflect, instead of saying the first thing that comes out of the mouth because "you have to fill the space".

At that point the conversation drifted to what it really is: it's not about the objects and formats, it's about the services we provide through them. It's the difference between "the objectives" and "the purpose".

If you focus on the object, on the immobility of the format (we do this - and we're the best at this), you may make progress, but you won't get far. You will grow horizontally, but nothing more. Hey, that's not a bad thing! But when you ask yourself why you are not moving forward, focus on finding the purpose and don't be tied to the format.