What's better - Logic or Emotion...?

Emotion beats Logic - every time...

We are moved by emotion not logic - we may seek to logically justify our emotional decisions, but it is the right side of the brain (or in men the central part of the trousers...) that guides our decisions...

On Tuesday, 19th September 1989 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 airliner with with 155 passengers and 15 crew on board, was flying from Brazzaville in the Congo to Paris at a height of 35,000ft.

UTA Flight 772 departed N'Djamena International at 13:13 local time but 46 minutes later a bomb exploded causing the plane to crash into the Sahara Desert in Niger, close to the town of Tenere; all passengers and crew perished.

The plane was brought down by a bomb that had been placed in location 13-R in the forward cargo hold within a Samsonite suitcase.
This tragedy affected the families and friends of the passengers and crew from a total of 18 different countries, and whilst compensation can never replace a loved one - as a group they decided to do something "illogical"

They decided to build a memorial in the middle of the Sahara...

The memorial would not be the "standard" marked stone or plaque - this memorial would be 200ft in Diameter, and be made from rocks and salvaged components from the aircraft. 

Each victim would be represented by the placing of a single broken mirror around the circumference of the circle and a list of all the victims would be inscribed on the starboard wing of the plane inset vertically into the sand.

The location of the memorial can be seen on Google Earth and Google Maps - the coordinates are 16°51’53”N, 11°57’13”E

The memorial is a truly inspiring symbol of respect and love for those that died, and serves as a reminder to the rest of us about the fragility of life and the value we should assign to it every day.

It is a touching and powerful reminder of the power of human spirit, engagement and the need for emotional symbolism; there was very little logic here..

Here's the Rule...

Logically - magic does not happen, love and relationships don't exist and life is simply a brief interlude that simply disrupts our journey from the womb to the tomb.

Emotionally - magic is everywhere, love and relationships become the reasons we live, life has meaning, and our dash to our ash is over all too quickly.

In business, people don't buy from us, follow us or get motivated by us through logic alone; we have to engage them emotionally. If you sell on Logic alone, you will always get price challenges - sell on value, engagement and relationship and price becomes secondary...

The biggest decisions we make; who we live with, where we live, what we eat and how we dress are all emotional decisions.

Does Marriage add up logically...?

I need to be careful here as Lynn does my proof checking for me...

When you met your partner, did you ask for a CV, and a list of testimonials from previous partners...?

Did you check on key skills like driving, cooking and child rearing...?

Was the deal to "try them for a while" and if you didn't like them you would trade each other in for a new model..? - middle aged men take note here...

Did you get some free samples..? don't answer that one....!

No - of course not...

Logically Marriage and relationships don't work - and yet they form the very fabric of our lives. Never underestimate the emotional context of your Business, Career or Vocation. 

Mind you....

I do remember being taken out for dinner by the Chairman of the company for lunch shortly after we were married - as a young Operations Manage I was very nervous.

Keith asked me "does your wife work...?"

To which I replied - "yes sir - but I did try her out before we got married..."

Remember...

The best decisions are Emotional ones and in business we need to enable our clients and team members to engage emotionally FIRST, so that they can Logically justify the decision AFTER.

• Do you have a clarity of Vision, Mission and Purpose for you and your company - is it more than a piece of paper hanging in reception...?

• Do these principles guide your every activity or is it just someting that was put in place to satisfy ISO 9000 or Investors in People Certification...? 

• Are you clear about WHY you are doing what you are doing, and is the story published for everyone to see...?

Here is a simple test that you can take to measure your levels of Emotional Engagement with your Business and Your Clients - maybe get them to fill it in for you...

Check the list and see how you score...

0 - 25 - must do better.
25 - 50 - still selling on price if you are not careful.
50 - 75 - you have a definite niche that your clients love.
75 - 100 - excellent, time to expand and spread the word.

It's time to engage the right side of the brain - or the centre of the trousers if you insist - get really engaged with your business and show clients what you can actually do for them.