Extraordinary Experience #22: Four essential words.

Words are the foundation of our commerce. They give insight into how we think. They are what we use to exchange value.

Hence, we wanted to focus on four essential words, but not the four you may expect.

Sharing. Extra. Ordinary. Experiences.

Share: To have in common, to partake of, use, experience or enjoy with others. Sharing is an act of giving and an act of selflessness. We experienced plenty of sharing over the past three days. You likely witnessed many that we did; share your story, share the stories of others (always obeying Copyright laws), share handshakes, share thoughts, share a meal, share a cup of coffee (without passing germs), share gossip, share jelly beans, share mingle stick (nothing implied), share treats, share tweets (bugs bunny funny intended), share introductions, share conversations, share scent strips, share curious green shots.

If you didn't share while at Fuse then you really didn't attend the conference.

Extra: More than is due, usual or necessary. Making an effort greater than expected or containing more than expected. Extra time, extra effort, extra passion, extra emphasis, extra special, and extra thinking. Something beyond expectations is extra and hopefully you found a bit of extra in your time at FUSE. It was designed by those who believe in delivering extra for those who enjoy experiencing something with extra thought put into it.

If you didn't see the extra over the past three days, you might want to check your eyesight.

Ordinary: The regular or customary condition, the parts of the mass that do not vary from day to day. This is the base for all other things. If we don't know ordinary, then how do we define extraordinary? We have ordinary moments within a larger extraordinary experience, for contrast and deeper understanding. Ordinary might sound boring as a word, but the idea is essential in the process of learning. We need a comparison and we will all have ordinary moments.

If you only saw extraordinary at FUSE then you must not get out much (so we're saying there was ordinary there, and that's okay).

Experiences: Direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge. We all enjoyed experiences today. Capsule shared experiences leading up to FUSE and the conference itself offered a panorama of experiences through the voices and visuals of others. We traveled, learned and lived all around the world while sitting in the bowels of a Westin hotel (not a paid ad, we just like Westin). Experiences are the fuel of strong brands, the more memorable, engaging and relevant the experience, the more impact it has on the value of the brand.

If you didn't experience anything memorable at FUSE then you might want to start taking a daily supplement of Ginkgo Biloba.

Four essential words: Share. Extra. Ordinary. Experiences. Use them with care, try not to turn them into the third rail of marketing (fill in: brand, innovation, engage, insight, disrupt). Words are important, use them with discretion, use them deliberately, and use them with consideration for what they really mean. Your peers will respect you more and so will your eight grade English teacher.

Capsule would like to thank the FUSE conference sponsors for sharing an extraordinary experience with all of us.