Dec 3, 2018
You might guess that the best-selling food in America is the hamburger. But if you guess that the second-place food on the list is pizza, hot dogs, steak, or wings, you’d be wrong. In fact, it’s potato chips. Worldwide, they’re second only to rice.
Despite the immense popularity of this food, many of us have no idea how it originated. It all started in New England in 1853. George Crum, a chef at a resort, grew frustrated as a guest repeatedly sent back his French fries, insisting they should be thinner and less soft. In his exasperation, Crum sliced a potato as thin as possible, fried it until it was completely crunchy, and sent it out to teach the picky customer a lesson.
Instead of learning his lesson, though, the customer was ecstatic. He loved the crunchy, lightly browned, paper-thin potatoes. Soon, other diners started requesting the dish, and it eventually showed up on the menu as a house special. The chips were eventually packaged and sold throughout the region.
In 1932, Herman Lay decided to start selling potato chips to Southern grocers, not just in New England. He went from restaurant to restaurant and grocery store to grocery store to sell potato chips from the trunk of his car. You might recognize his name as being part of Frito-Lay, the major snack manufacturer that still exists today. Isn’t it interesting how being rejected can be transformed into an ultra-profitable innovation?
Think about your own business. If someone rejects you or your product, do you look for the opportunities that the rejection points to? Take a lesson from potato chips, and keep in mind that rejection can turn into a multi-million dollar empire!
From this story, you’ve already learned from how rejection transformed into an ultra-profitable innovation because of a happy accident, and how a traveling salesman built a billion-dollar industry out of the truck of his car through grocery stores. Those are two of today’s key insights! Tune into the episode to learn all about the other: why replacing a proven winner is less risky than improving a proven winner.
In This Episode:
[03:02] - This episode will cover three key insights that will help you become a highly skilled ethical influencer. Alex explains what they are.
[04:11] - We hear the story of the potato chip, and its popularity both in the United States and the rest of the world.
[05:12] - Alex talks about how George Crum invented potato chips in a fit of frustration.
[07:39] - We learn about the next episode in the evolution of potato chips’ popularity.
[08:28] - Alex draws a lesson out of the story of potato chips.
[09:11] - Here’s today’s Alexism: “Delegating your vision is a mistake. It’s like giving up your newborn baby to an orphanage.”
[12:36] - Alex makes a point about attitude and competence, pointing out that a good attitude isn’t enough.
[14:57] - We hear a rumor about something that Tony Robbins did as he was starting out.
[16:12] - Alex quickly goes over the insights that he’s covered already in a brief review of the key points of the episode.
[17:58] - To get the most from this episode, head to this link and write down your biggest takeaway as a review. If you’ve already done so for a previous episode, write it down on an index card instead!
[19:35] - Alex gives away a free gift to listeners of the podcast: instant access to his video e-course! You can find it at this link!
Links and Resources: