MM171 - New and Improved Tide | MM Book Study Pt. 29

Just because something is new, does that truly make it better? We need to understand when a change is actually needed and when we are just trying to make “New and Improved” Tide.

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[INTRO]

♫ Trenches by Pop Evil ♫

*Alex*

Welcome to Morning Mindset. A daily dose of practical wit and wisdom with a professional educator & trainer, Amazon best selling author, United States Marine, Television, and Radio host, Paul G. Markel. Each episode will focus on positive and productive ways to strengthen your mindset and help you improve your relationships, career goals, and overall well-being. Please welcome your host; Paul G. Markel.

*Professor Paul*

Hello, welcome back. We are coming towards the end of the Morning Mindset book study that we've been doing for almost 30 days. Now. I think this one is recording my show notes. This is number 29. That's right, and we're going to talk today about "New and Improved Tide". You guys are out there, you are like "The laundry detergent?"

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Yes, the laundry detergent. Now, we're not specifically going to talk about "New and Improved" tied as a particular product. But as a concept, and the reason that I use it is because, in my lifetime, that's probably one of the first-ever "New and Improved" products that I ever took notice of.

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You know, watching television commercials when I used to watch Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days, sitcoms and so forth back in the 70's and they would take a break and there would be a commercial for "New and Improved Tide; Now with Stain Fighter". Now with this, now with whatever and of course it's a marketing tool.

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You know Tide dishwasher or laundry detergent, had been around for a long time and you know, back then in the 70's many of your moms and grandmas use it all the time. But they had competition, you know, you had all the temperature and whatever. So how does tied get people excited about buying their product again, or come back and buy their product since they went and where, you know using something else while they make it "New and Improved".

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Now you might be thinking "But is it really 'New and Improved' or did they just come up with a new package in a new label?" Now there's a certain segment of our population, and maybe you're part of that segment, that will jump on anything that is new. It doesn't matter what your field of endeavor is, or area of endeavor.

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You know whether you like skiing or snowboarding, or if you like guns or hunting or cars or motorcycles or are you name it. Whatever your favorite thing is, you know, whatever you spend your disposable income on it in that area. Eventually. Someone's going to come up with a "New and Improved" right?

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This is "New and Improved" that's "New and Improved" a version 2.0., that's the new cool thing. You know, it used to be just for computer software. That's why we used to talk about, you know, 2.0-3.0-3.5 whatever. You know, that that's it, and you know, it's funny to me. I just realize it that most Millennials probably don't know or realize that before the internet and before home computers.

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Before everyone was using software in their home computers, a version 2.0 or 3.0 or whatever like a point you remember when Windows 3.1 guys remember that you probably don't know that that really wasn't a thing in American culture until we started using home computers and software. That's when we started out with the "Version whatever".

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2.0-3.5 whatever became popular, but now sometimes they are really, truly, genuinely better. Like for instance Windows 3.1, I remember using Windows 3.1, and then I remember when Windows 95 came out and all of my geek computer friends were super excited about it, and I wasn't and I didn't know why I should be and I asked him.

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I'm like "Wow, why are you so excited about Windows 95?" and he was like "Oh you don't understand man. This is this operating system is going to be so much better than Windows 3.1." I was like, "Okay, help me understand" and then my friend explained to me the benefits and the fact that you could have more than one window open at a time, and you could do this, you could do that, and I was like, "Oh, Okay, so it is an actual genuine Improvement."

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Recently, I was talking to a friend of mine and we were talking about a new product. That is a version 2.0, right? A new version and I said to him like "Why is it 2.0 better than the first one?" and he said, "You know, I really don't know." He said I don't even know if it is he said but that they're trying to get people excited about the product again, so they came out with a version 2.0. When it comes to your productivity, when it comes to you as an individual, whether you're a worker or what have you need to ask yourself when you encounter these quote-unquote "New and Improved" things.

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The question you need to ask yourself is is it really "New and Improved" or is it just the old thing in a slick package and if you're in charge? You need to ask are we just changing just to change, you know, because change is good and pure like changes good changes good or is there an actual reason now?

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We've talked previously about the "We've always done it that way" mindset or the 3-ring binder mindset or-or I guess you know three-ring binder, makes me a dinosaur, that's old stuff. But the PowerPoint mentality that. I was given a PowerPoint and everything's on the PowerPoint and we just keep delivering it over and over and over again, and until we all die, you know, that's the can improvements be made do improvements actually need to be made have we discovered a better way to do it?

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The answer may be. Yes, they answer maybe Yeah, we actually have discovered a new better different, you know a way to improve our productivity to make the product better we can make and the product could be a process, you know, the product could be a way of teaching product could be anything or.

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Are we just trying to make something new and are we just trying to slap a new label on this old thing?  Does what, you know did Tide actually need to be changed. Did it need to be "New and Improved" or was that just marketing?  and when it comes to your business whether it's your own personal business or whether you work for someone else.

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There are always people out there that will embrace the new just because it's new.  Now as we have seen with Windows 2000 just because you make something new doesn't make it better.  Sometimes when we change things the change isn't a positive. So just because something's new such just because something's different doesn't necessarily make it a better thing.

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Sometimes it's better to leave things alone, and if you want to be a positive if you want to live a positive and productive life, if you want to have a productive business life a productive work life. It's going to be up to you to be the guy. Who's sitting at the table that raises his hand or the girl would be the girl that raises her hand and say alright.

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We need to have an honest discussion. Does this really need to be changed are we just changing because that's what you're supposed to do or are we changing and adding real genuine improvements to this product or process? , and I understand because of the way our culture is that that we've been, you know focused on our we are led to believe that anything that's "New and Improved".

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It's got to be better.  Because they said it is but is it really?  Is it really are we putting a lot of time and effort into "New and Improved" when that time and effort could best be spent somewhere else? Or do we genuinely have something to say?  Yeah, you're like man, but I can't be that guy. I can't be that girl, you know if I speak out if I opened my mouth and speak my mind the person who's already decided that we're going to make it "New and Improved".

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They might not like that. Sure, it's your life to live, live it. However, you want to live it. But that is the question that you need to ask yourself when it comes to should we change it. Should we alter it? Should we modify it? Should it be "New and Improved" tide or use the tide just fine the way it is?

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I don't know you have to figure that out for yourself, but it's something to think about when it comes to productivity and positivity. Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have one more if today's today's 29 that means 30 is next and that will be the end of the book study and I'm looking at my calendar right now because that's what I do when I'm recording this and it looks like that that will be on Monday. So I'll talk to you then. I'm your host Paul Markel. What did I just say? I'll talk to you real soon.

[OUTRO]

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*Alex*

Thank you for spending time with us today. To get show notes, submit a topic request, for more from your host Paul G. Markel, visit MorningMindsetPodcast.com. That’s MorningMindsetPodcast.com. Please leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player, we appreciate your time & effort, and we look forward to reading your honest feedback.