More Marketing Story Lines
As indicated in the last post there are 9 interesting marketing pitches. At this point we have only gotten through 3 pitches. I happen to think they are among the strongest, despite that perception, I will soldier on.
4. Contrarian/Counterintuitve/Challenging Assumptions
Relying upon yourself does not produce the most engaging lesson plans. Relying upon what has only been done before does not produce the most engaging lesson plans. Using Microsoft Word limits your ability to seamlessly integrate new ideas into your plans. Change to PlansForUs, there is strength in numbers.
While that statement is not radically contrarian it does challenge that one can rely solely upon what has come before. It also challenges the conceit of being intellectually self-sufficient.
5. Anxieties
-Without collaboration can I possibly be teaching my students the full story.
-Is this plan any good, I mean I just found it on a website.
-I am running out of time and still have no idea how to teach this concept
These are fears that teachers have expressed to me and are at the source of the problem that we are trying to solve. I “like” these because they are real and not just stuff to sow FUD.
6. Personalities and Personal Stories
PlansForUs started on a saturday morning walk through the West Village with my wife. We talked about the difficulty of working in schools where collaboration was not an essential part of teacher interaction. Over breakfast we talked about this problems and outlined some solutions on a napkin. That single conversation lead to a platform where millions of collaborative conversations are happening everyday. Creation through collaboration on PlansForUs is changing the lives of children every single day.
One of the aspects of PlansForUs that we value most highly is our close relationship to teachers. Exemplified most directly by the fact that our wives, mothers and fathers are teachers. Telling this story about the founding of PlansForUs speaks both to our connection to teaching as well as our dedication to finding a solution.
The final installment of this riveting series is coming tomorrow. All I am saying is Paris, Britney and Lindsay.