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Obvious Adams

Robert Updegraff

9/10
Short and to the point. A good book about not forgetting what might be obvious if you were simply to think from your users perspective for a second. Also a good lesson in not overlooking potential solutions that aren't based on your preconcieved notions of cause and effect.

What should grab your attention doesn't if your attention is focused somewhere else. Invisible gorilla study

Seeing the obvious things to do and then going about it directly.

  • deciding wants to work in advertising for a specific man
  • seems to obvious things to do is to go and tell him directly so does.

Doing the obvious

  • advertise with transparency and direct value proposition to main customer
  • gather facts and analyse problems
  • user walkthroughs

Reducing friction Getting people to understand value proposition Improving visibility

Simple and uncomplicated is powerful

People are generally are more likely to recommend simple things More likely to pay for a simple thing More likely to trust simple things

Gain a sense for the obvious

  • use one sense at a time,
    • no sound, mute TV to watch speech
    • no vision, listen to meeting with sound alone

Lessons of obvious adams

  • know your audience
    • learn about them, engage with them, ask questions, do what they do
  • be an observer of those people and, notice how things do or don't interact and try to understand why
  • do the work, especially the work other won't
  • offer solutions
  • substance beat style, principles beat tactics
  • spend time thinking everyday
  • choose self
  • persistence
  • how you analyse a situation matters, best you not comparison to others

Ways to find simple and obvious solutions

  • can you explain to an 8 year old?
  • succinct? In a tweet limit
  • aha moment?

Obvious to you / experts is not the obvious to the public

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