The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

They don’t try to make everything perfect. (The lobby is vaguely reminiscent of an auto service shop waiting area.) But they nail the moments that stay with you.

It’s as though the leaders aspire to create a complaint-free service rather than an extraordinary one.

Transitions should be marked, milestones commemorated, and pits filled.

CONNECTION: Defining moments are social: weddings, graduations, baptisms, vacations, work triumphs, bar and bat mitzvahs, speeches, sporting events. These moments are strengthened because we share them with others.

PRIDE: Defining moments capture us at our best—moments of achievement, moments of courage. To create such moments, we need to understand something about the architecture of pride—how to plan for a series of milestone moments that build on each other en route to a larger goal.

INSIGHT: Defining moments rewire our understanding of ourselves or the world.

ELEVATION: Defining moments rise above the everyday. They provoke not just transient happiness, like laughing at a friend’s joke, but memorable delight.

For the sake of this book, a defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful.

2: Deepen ties. What if Panda Garden House rebranded “fortune cookies” as “friendship cookies” and included provocative questions inside, intended to spark conversation at the table? You might break open your cookie to find: “When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?”