The Infatuation Interval

 

Jeroen KraaijenbrinkJeroen Kraaijenbrink • 2nd • 2ndStrategy and Leadership Consultant | Global Top 20 LinkedIn Creator | No-Nonsense Collaborator, Educator, Mentor and Author | Enabling Leaders to Improve Through Strategic Insight and Guided Execution |Strategy and Leadership Consultant | Global Top 20 LinkedIn Creator | No-Nonsense Collaborator, Educator, Mentor and Author | Enabling Leaders to Improve Through Strategic Insight and Guided Execution |

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1h •

Ever heard of an “infatuation interval?” You should, because it determines to a large extent how successful your products and services are—and especially for how long. This is what it means.

In his book, “Slingshot,” Gabor George Burt introduces the concept of an “Infatuation Interval.” It is a key part of his Slingshot framework that is definitely worth reading in its entirety.

An Infatuation Interval is the period during which customers are so excited about a product or service that they, as Burt argues “become temporarily blinded by any shortcomings or possible defects and are in a trance of positive affiliation.”

During the Infatuation Interval it is primarily the customer’s emotions at play, and in particular their excitement about the novelty of the product or service.

Once this period is over, customers enter a second phase, which Burt calls the Entitlement Period. During this follow-up phase customers “consumers feel entitled to all of the offering’s perceived benefits and demand more.”

In short, during the Infatuation Interval, customers are more excited about a less-than-perfect product, while during the Entitlement Period they are less excited and demand a perfect product.

Whereas the change from Infatuation Interval to Entitlement Period will be gradual, the radical difference between the two phases creates a clear case for serving as many customers as possible during the Infatuation Interval.

After all, during that time they are more excited, less complaining, more willing to pay, and more likely to be ambassadors for your product or service. Burt provides us with three ways to leverage this period to make optimal use of it:

1. Extend the Infatuation Interval by creating a product or service that is simply fascinating and which has diverse facets of which discovery takes some time. Another way to do so is to hold back supply so that demand overshoots supply.

2. Create a stream of Infatuation Intervals by continuously innovating, extending or improving your product or service. By launching new updates, upgrades, add-ons, or features, you keep the product/service interesting and customers excited.

3. Create infectious infatuations so that the excitement of one group of customers spreads to other groups of customers. This happens, e.g., when you target one specific market segment first, after which you market it step-by-step to other target markets.

I believe there’s many organizations who can benefit from actively managing the Infatuation Interval of their products and services to make and keep them exciting for customers. Can you create and extend your Infatuation Interval?

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THE FOUR QUOTIENTS

 

Jakob BovinJakob Bovin• 3rd+• 3rd+I've worked with 800+ leaders to achieve breakthrough results | Together we fuel high-performance in your leadership team | We bridge the strategy to execution gap across the organisation | We unlock your full potentialI've worked with 800+ leaders to achieve breakthrough results | Together we fuel high-performance in your leadership team | We bridge the strategy to execution gap across the organisation | We unlock your full potential

1w •

Leadership is more of an art than a science
And it's a lifelong learning process.
The 4Q's is an intriguing way to consider the different dimensions leaders must excel at.
 
INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT - IQ
 
IQ tests were first given in 1904 by Alfred Binet to help identify children that needed extra help in French schools. Over the past century, the interest in IQ has remained high across the world.
Whilst top leaders typically have a higher IQ on average, IQ alone won't get you very far to become an effective leader.
 
EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT - EQ
 
Although the term Emotional Quotient first appeared in 1964, it really took off in 1995 with Daniel Goleman’s book “Emotional Intelligence”.
Today it’s widely acknowledged that to be truly effective, leaders must develop the five dimensions of EQ: empathy, effective communication or social skills, self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation.
This is very challenging - because leaders are under constant pressure.
There's a constant focus on results, KPI’s and key stakeholder interests.
Often the hard things (results) are in focus, not EQ.
So, leaders that do embrace and develop EQ are those that truly multiply their potential for growth and impact.
But that only has value if you are taking the organisation in the right direction… which is where SQ comes in.

STRATEGY QUOTIENT - SQ
 
The Oxford languages definition of strategy is "a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim."
Phenomenal strategists have the ability to develop a strategy that builds on the collective experience of the organisation, market dynamics, organisational capabilities and constraints, key trends... And then set that in motion so that people are excited to charge ahead.
... But SQ without execution is merely a daydream - so, we need XQ to get results.

EXECUTION QUOTIENT - XQ
 
There is no dictionary definition of XQ, probably because it remains somewhat elusive and so challenging.
XQ is obviously crucial to sustain an organisation and momentum.
The leaders who are strong in this get results no matter what.
But it needs to exist in harmony with the other Q's, otherwise individuals, teams and the organisation cannot follow or perform in the long-term.
 
 
THE FOUR QUOTIENTS - EQ, IQ, SQ, and XQ - are interdependent.
 
IQ is a foundation, EQ enables collaboration, SQ maps the journey, and XQ drives us to the destination.
Leaders must strive to hone and develop and balance these four quotients to unlock their full potential.
Consider where you are and how you can become stronger.
Keen to hear in the comments which one you think is the most important.
 
Enjoy your weekend!
Jakob 
#leadership #iq #eq #sq #xq

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Jeroen KraaijenbrinkJeroen Kraaijenbrink • 2ndStrategy and Leadership Consultant | Global Top 20 LinkedIn Creator | No-Nonsense Collaborator, Educator, Mentor and Author | Enabling Leaders to Improve Through Strategic Insight and Guided Execution |Strategy and Leadership Consultant | Global Top 20 LinkedIn Creator | No-Nonsense Collaborator, Educator, Mentor and Author | Enabling Leaders to Improve Through Strategic Insight and Guided Execution |
2d •

What is the right horizon for a strategy? 3 years, 5 years, more? It depends on what you are trying to achieve. There are four strategy horizons, each with their different purpose and timeline.

Any organization should at any point in time be involved in the short-term, mid-term and long-term. This means that you need to have your eyes on different horizon’s at the same time.

You can’t just focus on the short-term, because then you’re not prepared for the future. And you can’t just focus on the long-term, because then you can’t manage current affairs.

To balance your attention and focus on the right things, it is useful to be aware that there are four Strategic Horizons, each with their own specific orientation.

Horizon 1: Tactics (1-2 years)
Incremental improvement requiring minimal investment. The focus is on optimization of the existing core. Involves operational steps that can be taken with relatively high certainty.

Horizon 2: Strategy (2-5 years)
The typical timeline for strategic plans. The focus is on “step change” and investing in available opportunities. Data and evidence still have their place but uncertainty starts to creep in.

Horizon 3: Vision (5-10 years)
Venturing into the unknown. The focus is on blue sky thinking to create viable options for the future. You can describe a high-level vision, but there’s no linear way to get there anymore.

Horizon 4: System Change (10+ years):
Changing the rules of the game. The focus is on achieving ecosystem change together with others. Instead of prediction and planning you prepare to enlarge the realm of possibilities.

All four horizons are useful, but for very different reasons. The first two help you prepare for concrete actions and allow for linear, step-by-step planning. The latter two, on the other hand, are more speculative and require a more explorative and collaborative approach.

Which horizon requires more attention in your organization?

Credit: The Four Strategy Horizon’s model is inspired by a combination of McKinsey & Company’s 3 Horizons Model and Amy Webb’s HBR article “How to Do Strategic Planning Like a Futurist”