Is This Fucking Awesome?!

That’s the name of a WordPress plugin I paid someone to build for me several years ago. I had no damn clue why I did it, but it was fun and funny and the developer (Nick Ohrn, he’s fantastic) got enough of a kick out of it that he gave me a nice price break. The concept was simple – right when you hit “Publish” on a WP post, a pop-up would appear that asked if the post was “truly fucking awesome” with yes/no button options. Clicking YES would publish the post and clicking NO would prompt you to go back, edit the post and “unleash the badassery”.

You guys read that story about a dude who used his computer password to remind himself of important mantras in life? It made me think of a presentation I once gave to a marketing agency about Commander’s Intent and how it affects processes and human behavior. Commander’s Intent is an approach to managing uncertainty, originally hailing from the military. Soldiers were provided detailed orders with tactical movements and intricate strategies…but everyone knows that carefully laid out plans, especially in war time, can be drastically affected by external events. So, the Commander’s Intent was a concise statement that directed teams to the overarching goals and desired end result, should things go to shit in a hurry. Essentially, it’s a mantra, an easily digestible umbrella statement that is meant to guide your decision making. Same as the password dude’s approach.

Maybe “Is this fucking amazing?!” can be the same for you. I cut my teeth on word of mouth marketing, of which a basic tenet is to destroy expectations by making things remarkable. Taking a few seconds to question yourself on the amazingness of any external activity can be a major difference maker. Go ahead, give it a shot for a day.