Humans live to connect. Businesses want to connect with potential customers, politicians to potential voters, singles to potential spouses, and churches to potential members.
For some things, the connection is universal. Consider Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most profitable brands. I am personally enjoying one as I sit in my hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand. What’s more, I could enjoy this same drink on nearly every block in Thailand, and every other place I’ve visited, including South America and England. I could have it on the plane ride home, during my layovers, and back in my living room in my home in Defiance, OH. Coke, as a product, is connected with a lot of customers. This is a pretty universal connection.
Whereas my coke sits on a table to my right, my wife sits next to me on my left. Currently, there are less than a dozen people within a couple thousand miles that even know we exist, let alone know anything about the nature of our connection. As my friend and wife, our connection is far less universal (thank God!), but certainly more significant. This connection will be enjoyed on the plane ride home, at every layover, and certainly back home in our living room.
Some connections, while small, are strong. Other connections, while universal, seem irrelevant. Either way, connections fuel our experience. If you have a message to promote, a product to sell, or a name to be made, you have to understand the power of connections.
The CEO of Coca-Cola once said “There’s nowhere in Africa that we don’t go… We go to every town, every village, every community, every township.”
Coke didn’t become a universal brand by simply hoping and praying. It went looking for connections. There exists a connection that has the potential to be as universal as coke and yet as intimate as marriage. This is the Gospel. But it’s likely to remain irrelevant unless there are people willing to go looking for connections, in every town, every village, every community, and every township. Quote taken from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_45/b4202054144294.htm P.S There are more posts coming regarding my trip, including a video that should be done within the week!
Joe Graves 