How are you making people feel?

As we plan for our next home, one of my criteria is a fire pit on a patio close to the house, ideally a gas one that I can easily turn on whenever I want that experience.

I did virtually no camping as a child. Still, as an adult, I enjoy the energy I get from sitting around a fire with friends and family, listening to music, eating s'mores, drinking a glass of wine, and enjoying the energy that comes from the experience.  If I'm 100% honest, I don't do it much at home right now because it requires a real fire, is away from the house a bit, and too often, I'm ready for bed early…yes, a bit lame.

 But I love the opportunity when it's there and easy to tap into.

 What's your experience sitting around a fire?  Do you love it or not get much from it?

 One of my colleagues shared the importance of tapping into customers' emotions in marketing, which got me thinking about what I want you to visualize for both programs I focus on.

 One of my signature programs is The FIRE Circle for women leading small organizations who want to optimize their competitive advantage - how they lead their teams.  The name for this program came to life when I thought of the feeling I wanted to create for the women in this group. 

✔️I want them to feel they belong.

✔️I want them to feel the safe vibe of sitting with other people in a dimmed light so they can share their stories.

✔️I want them to feel the energy that comes from being around other like-minded people.

✔️I want it to feel fun.

I want them to get the feeling of sitting around a fire with their closest friends.

My other signature program is the Compass Program for CEOs and their leadership teams who are starting to grow their organizations or are ready to scale to the next level. 

For these leaders, I want them to feel like they have a guide who is prepared to lock in a destination, prepare the map, and help them navigate to it….creating the organization that will allow them to create impact and grow. 

In both programs, I want the leader to walk away confident that they have put the best strategies in place for how they will lead themselves, their teams, and their organization.

All leaders can tap into the emotions we want our customers or employees to feel. The question, though, is how intentional we are with our approach.

When was the last time you asked yourself, "How do I want the employees on my team to feel about their work experience?" and "How do I want my customers/clients to feel about working with us?"

If it's been a while (or never), carve out some time this week to set the intention and then identify how to test the experience you're creating to see if there's a gap.

It all starts with being intentional about the feelings you want to create. You can't control all the factors, but you can control your initial intention and the behaviors and actions you take.

 Hopefully, I've given you some food for thought for the week ahead.