Would we miss you?

John Moore has a great series about known brands and their importance to our lives. If Pizza Hut disappeared tomorrow, who would miss them? Could you find a replacement pizza? A replacement place to work?

What about your personal marketing, though? If you disappeared tomorrow, would the customers you call on miss you? The places you're applying for a job? The guys on the board of directors you sit on? The users who call tech support where you answer the phone?

I spent an hour on the phone with Apple support yesterday. The guy I talked to was named Seven. (Gotta love that). Seven would be missed. In fact, every time I call Apple, I hope it's Seven on the phone.

The problem with fitting in and being a cog in the machine is that cogs are intentionally designed to be easily replaceable. When one breaks, you just get another. No one particularly misses the old one.