Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques

by Michael Michalko

I record the thoughts and ideas that the quote elicits from me, without censoring. There are no wrong answers. I write whatever comes to mind, and end up with: What does the customer see as important? How can I deliver? Can I go the extra mile for the customer? Will it make a difference? Will they become loyal purchasers? What can we do? Woods are full of trees. Trees are customers. How are trees tended? Cared for? Harvested? What similarities are there between trees and customers? Can I nourish customers daily? Weekly? What are the customer’s deep and dark desires? Can I discover them? Should I work harder? Longer? Should I make company promises in writing? Should we rewrite our guarantees? What can I do so the customer perceives me as honest and hardworking? Wood comes from trees. Wood builds. In what ways can I build better relationships with customers? More establishment? More service? Problem solving? Provide information? Robert Frost made personal appearances. Should we have executives make personal calls? Seminars? Trees are pruned. Do I have too many customers? Should I prune the unprofitable accounts so I can devote more time to our profitable ones?