Stealing Bob
Growing up in 1970s San Diego, one of my favorite outings was a Bob’s Big Boy dinner run with my dad for a Chili Size or a late-night hot fudge cake with my theater crew. Bob’s was an institution, the west coast Big Boy version of a national chain that included Frisch’s, Shoney’s, Elias Brothers, Kip’s, Azar’s, Abdow’s, JB’s, and Eat n’ Park. Something about that charming, smiling statue with the checkerboard overalls and greaser hair flip felt irresistible back then.
So irresistible that, for decades, the iconic 200-to-300-pound fiberglass mascots holding double-decker cheeseburgers became frequent targets for high school senior pranks, college fraternities, and thieves. Stolen statues have been found chained to school roofs, tied up in trees, and standing in the front yard of a guy people thought looked like Big Boy.
Pirating one of these creations was incredibly hard. Cutting multiple massive bolts from a solid concrete base, lifting it from the pedestal, shoving it into a vehicle large enough to accommodate the payload, all without being seen, heard, or arrested was yeoman’s work.
It was also a serious and costly crime that made national news. But always with a stifled hint of humor since pulling off such an iconic and challenging feat branded the thief a sort of local hero rather than a public nuisance. Kidnapping Bob was bold, risky, and memorable business.
Make a Mark on the Market
Read those three words again. Bold. Risky. Memorable. For any brand to achieve one of these in its marketplace deserves note. Achieve two and that brand is on the map. Three is guaranteed success, and four is legendary. The sales narrative equivalent of stealing a Bob.
Theft aside, the impact is the end result. Speakers for their brands or in their own personal scenarios—giving toasts, facing their condo board, delivering a eulogy—hope to achieve one or some combination of these same three potent impacts on an audience. To make a mark on the market.
Being bold when presenting a breakout demands courage.
Taking risks to grab attention and build stakes requires stepping out of the safe script and slide zone.
To be memorable takes a willingness to surprise, inspire, and activate a listener with our content.
Demonstrate Bob-level Ingenuity
As speakers, we don’t have to step all the way into criminal activity to give a winning presentation. But we do have to be willing to show a listener we see the impossible and believe we can can do it anyway. That we’re ready to try the unexpected on their behalf, and push the boundaries with our leadership.
Be bold. Presenters have to quickly and confidently seize attention in a limited bandwidth space.
Take risks. Others should recognize our dedication and determination to succeed at all costs.
Stay memorable. Prove we’re the best to size up, ideate, and conquer the challenge at hand.
Bottom Line
It’s not about stealing Bob; it’s about if we wanted to steal Bob, how would we actually get it done? That’s the level of creativity, can-do attitude, and fearless drive to problem-solve our audience is looking for in a partner or vendor. Big Boy goals, and our ability to achieve them for those we’re speaking to. That’s what our listener wants and expects from our meeting or session.
