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I think both brands and work relationships—with employers, coworkers, peers, clients, customers, etc—move through three phases:

  1. Prove you’re competent
  2. Prove you’re reliable
  3. Prove you’re human

(They don’t always progress in that order.)

No. 3 is the one most often missed. And the most valuable one.

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The markets are betting on inflation not just being so 2024.

the US government’s monthly auction of 10-year notes on Tuesday...landed the highest yield for newly auctioned securities since 2007.

The overall yield on the US 10-Year Treasury Bond also touched its highest intraday point, 4.699%, since last spring. That’s thanks to an extended selloff emboldened by new economic data suggesting more interest rate cuts are less likely in the short term thanks to economic growth coupled with more stubborn inflation.

Yields on the 10-year note have been rising since December as markets have bet that President-elect Donald Trump’s economic plans, like tariffs, and all-around animal spirits could push up inflation and the deficit, further reducing the probability of rate cuts.

Wouldn’t be surprised by a purchasing bump in the near term to stock up before the expected tariff impact makes things more expensive.

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This is a good reminder from this year’s Seth Godin daily calendar, curated and illustrated by Debbie Millman.

It is easy to get caught up in our own tastes and aesthetics when making marketing decisions.

But they’re a distraction.

The tastes and preferences that matter are those of the customer.

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From the abstract of the paper Do Influencers Influence? A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Celebrities and Social Media Influencers Effects 📝

Findings reveal that social media influencers (SMIs) are more effective than brand-only advertising and that there is no significant difference between SMIs and celebrity endorsers. Taking these factors into consideration, the effects are moderated by perceived credibility and influencer types, indicating that mega-influencers are relatively more persuasive, while nano-influencers are less persuasive compared to celebrities, respectively. Findings imply that there is a “sweet spot” wherein SMIs are most effective and distinct from celebrity endorsers, providing support for more nuanced conceptualizations of SMIs and calling for future research to explore additional enhancing and attenuating factors.

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You can obsess about your customers or you can obsess about your competition. Both work, but of the two, obsessing about your customers will take you further.

from Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly 📚

I’d argue obsessing about customers takes care of the competition.

Everything is customer service.