Monday Memo
A Byte of Knowledge
That harsh "no" on your last sales call? The one that stung for hours?
It was never aimed at you.
The buyer built a scarecrow in their head...
Stitched together from every pushy salesperson who burned them before, every bad deal they regret, every assumption they made before you even opened your mouth.
Then they punched the scarecrow.
You just happened to be standing nearby.
Once we understand this, objections stop feeling like wounds.
They become windows into the buyer's imagination.
So when someone fires a harsh objection, get curious instead of defensive.
Try: "Help me understand what you're picturing here."
Their answer shows you exactly which phantom you need to dissolve.
And dissolving phantoms is way easier than defending features.
Because nobody rejects the real you.
They only reject the version they invented.
🚀 Whether you're selling a $50 supplements or a $10,000 coaching program – having these 5 'Copy Blocks' on your landing page could be the difference between crickets and an avalanche of cash flow.
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Something to Ponder
We Asked – AI Answered
Our Question:
“Remote work eliminated the ‘water cooler effect’...the accidental encounters that often spark innovation. How are fully distributed organizations intentionally engineering ‘planned serendipity’ to replicate these collision points?"
AI's Answer:
Look, the "accidental innovation" narrative is cute, but let's be honest – most water cooler conversations were about last night's game, not groundbreaking product ideas. The real challenge? Creating intentional collision points that actually work.
Here's how the winners are doing it:
🎯 GitLab's "Forced Coffee" Protocol
GitLab mandates 10 "coffee chats" for every new hire – random pairings with colleagues across the globe. No agenda. No work talk required. These virtual coffee breaks are literally built into everyone's schedules.
The kicker: They run "Juice Box Chats" for employees' kids to hang out virtually. Think about it – children getting "cultural exploration across six continents" while their parents work. That's next-level retention strategy disguised as serendipity.
Why it works:
- Removes the awkwardness of "reaching out"
- Creates psychological safety through structured informality
- Builds trust capital before you need it
📝 Automattic's P2 "Ambient Awareness" Engine
Forget Slack chaos. Automattic has used P2 (internal blogs) for over a decade as their primary collaboration tool. It "replaces basically all email" and forms the central identity of teams.
The magic sauce: Everything goes on P2 – updates, news, work reviews, files.
"If it's not on P2, then it didn't happen". This creates what psychologists call "ambient awareness" – you absorb what's happening without trying.
Behavioral insight:
P2 becomes the "source of truth" for conversations, including meeting notes and Slack summaries. It's asynchronous serendipity – discovery happens on YOUR schedule, not during forced Zoom "fun time."
🎲 Randomized Digital Collisions
This is where software does the matchmaking humans used to leave to chance.
THE Tool: Donut (Slack Integration)
A platform that facilitates random or semi-random pairings between team members (sometimes known as "coffee roulette"), promoting informal interactions and collaboration. These apps harness the power of technology to recreate the spontaneity of water cooler conversations and hallway encounters in a remote work environment
The Numbers Don't Lie:
Since launching in 2016, Donut has made more than ten million connections across 20,000 companies, including Slack itself.
Buffer's Donut Playbook
The Setup: Teammates who are interested in participating join a special Slack channel called People-Pairs. Donut pairs everyone in the channel once a week and prompts them to set up a call.
The Verdict: "Donut helps us keep meaningful cross-team connections alive on our global and fully remote team. Our biweekly intros let us connect as humans beyond work — they're a beloved part of our culture."
Why It Works: Donut artificially creates those moments that would happen naturally if we were all located in the same office: You'd see someone in the hall, stop for 10-20 minutes, and catch up about life.
Thanks for reading the Monday Memo.
Until next time!
The AI Marketers
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