If you don’t let people know you’re important, no one will. Have confidence in what you do, and people will fall in line. A lot of people who shy away from themselves. They look to please and impress by guessing what they think their clients want, but that’s not really how it goes. The first time I went to Eleni’s bakery over in the Meatpacking District, I couldn’t help but find myself entranced by the delicate presentation and well-designed interior. So their cookies were a bit of a shocker to me. I bit into the free sample, and much to my surprise, they were crispy.
At first, I wasn’t impressed, but as I let the flavor and crispness of it all sink in, I started to see the light. It was bold. Daring. Playful. Decades into the soft and moist cookie war, someone was willing to be different. The cookies were a strange throwback to my Chips AHoy childhood, though leagues apart in quality. But had two critical clues been missing, I may well have simply dismissed my sample cookie without giving it a second thought. Fortunately, those clues were present. First was the design. Everything about the store was so well-designed that it signaled to me that they cared. That what they did was no coincidence, but, rather, the product of an intentional effort. The second was that they referred to crispness of the cookie in their signage. That also clued me in.
These two things were enough to get me to give this new and contrary approach a chance. I was willing to evaluate their cookies on their terms instead of my own. Isn’t that what we all want? Before that day, I’ve never really cared for crispy cookies. I’ve always liked them gooey and soft. But now, you can count me in as a fan. And it’s all so simple. It’s about making your intentions clear and showing people what you’re really about.
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