In typical 37signals fashion, the wisdom in these pages is edgy yet

Out-teach your competition
You can advertise. You can hire salespeople. You can sponsor events. But
your competitors are doing the same things. How does that help you stand
out?
Instead of trying to outspend, outsell, or outsponsor competitors, try to
out-teach them. Teaching probably isn't something your competitors are
even thinking about. Most businesses focus on selling or servicing, but
teaching never even occurs to them.
The Hoefler Type Foundry teaches designers about type at
Typography.com
. Etsy, an online store for things handmade, holds
entrepreneurial workshops that explain "best practices" and promotional
ideas to people who sell at the site. Gary Vaynerchuk, who owns a large
wine shop, teaches people about wine online at Wine Library TV, and tens
of thousands of people watch every day.
Teach and you'll form a bond you just don't get from traditional
marketing tactics. Buying people's attention with a magazine or online
banner ad is one thing. Earning their loyalty by teaching them forms a
whole different connection. They'll trust you more. They'll respect you
more. Even if they don't use your product, they can still be your fans.
Teaching is something individuals and small companies can do that
bigger competitors can't. Big companies can afford a Super Bowl ad; you
can't. But you can afford to teach, and that's something they'll never do,
because big companies are obsessed with secrecy. Everything at those
places has to get filtered through a lawyer and go through layers of red tape.
Teaching is your chance to outmaneuver them.

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Emulate chefs
You've probably heard of Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Julia
Child, Paula Deen, Rick Bayless, or Jacques Pepin. They're great chefs, but
there are a lot of great chefs out there. So why do you know these few better
than others? Because they share everything they know. They put their
recipes in cookbooks and show their techniques on cooking shows.
As a business owner, you should share everything you know too. This is
anathema to most in the business world. Businesses are usually paranoid
and secretive. They think they have proprietary this and competitive
advantage that. Maybe a rare few do, but most don't. And those that don't
should stop acting like those that do. Don't be afraid of sharing.
A recipe is much easier to copy than a business. Shouldn't that scare
Mario Batali? Why would he go on TV and show you how he does what he
does? Why would he put all his recipes in cookbooks where anyone can buy
and replicate them? Because he knows those recipes and techniques aren't
enough to beat him at his own game. No one's going to buy his cookbook,
open a restaurant next door, and put him out of business. It just doesn't work
like that. Yet this is what many in the business world think will happen if
their competitors learn how they do things. Get over it.
So emulate famous chefs. They cook, so they write cookbooks. What do
you do? What are your "recipes"? What's your "cookbook"? What can you
tell the world about how you operate that's informative, educational, and
promotional? This book is our cookbook. What's yours?

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