The Spark Standard

We are in the Omniscience Age. We have all known human knowledge available to us.

Yet, we may not have the time we need to become the most informed in the world. But we can try to learn smarter.

We use every tool available to learn what we can about the core principles of a thing.

We must learn first about the structure of the concepts and ideas, getting to the highest levels.

We then learn what is the most useful and applicable to our clients, for their 3 E’s (Education, Empowerment, and Encouragement.)

We teach things that are timeless. But we know that their context often changes.

Our goal is to share the timeless principles that have worked for us and others for as long as possible.

We also accept that to do that we often have to accept the changing context, and share that context.

As such, most of our content will have a foundation of evergreen content. This we will reiterate every chance we get.

Yet, we will make note when we teach things that are contextual. This may require semi-frequent updating of our material over time.

We do not assume we are the best there is on any given topic.

Whenever we create content, we will seek out who we can to share the best of the best on that topic.

Sometimes, it is more convenient and budget-friendly to teach it ourselves. Sometimes we can higher the best in the world.

With each piece of content we will decide at the outset who will teach it. When we update the content, we will decide anew who is the best teacher we can access for that content.

Every concept, course, or teaching could be argued, thought, of or approached a variety of ways.

We first gain the highest level of principles around a concept.

Then, we find what is most applicable to our clients, with a radical focus on their needs.

Then we find the best educational path between the two.

This is the “best” form of the argument – the form that connects where our clients are at (in actuality) to the highest principles of the teaching.

Every year there are The New, the most recent methods available to us to teach.

From video, to short form, tweets, audio spaces, blogs, workshops, webinars, PDFs, workbooks, eBooks, checklists, and more… 

There are always new ways to teach. And we embrace them all!

This is The New.

There is also The Old.

Story-telling, metaphor, empathic listening, ritual, gamifications, group learning, and more are The Old and proven methods of teaching that tend to drive the lessons home and last longer.

When we decide on The Best Form of the Argument, we also decide on which content types the lesson needs.

We should consider Varying Modalities of Learning, so each piece of content should have:

• A verbal form of content
• An audio form of content
• A visual form of content

When possible, as a premium piece of content, we can also offer: a tactile form of the content.

The tactile form of the argument takes the form of live events, such as live workshops and trainings, reatreats and trips, books and workbooks.

Quality is comprised of perceived robustness.

A piece of content is robust when it has:

• Perceived Value
• Varying Methods to appeal to all forms of learning
• The Best Teachers available
• The Best Form of the Argument

But there are also aesthetic elements. This contains both left- and right-brained consideration.

We implement the latest design trends. We accept that what was appropriate at one point in time quickly falls out of favor.

We regularly assess what are the latest design trends and update our brand impression.

Freemium products are more than free products.

Free products are merely cheap items that could be Googled, wrapped in a Canva template, and called ‘Freemium’ to try to make people believe that it is something more than just cheap.

Spark Freemium products are, first and foremost, premium. What that means is that Spark Freemium products are:

More than what can be merely Googled; curated.

• They are curated.
• We take the extra time to ensure we have a unique insight, or even what we can leave out.

More than templates; custom.

• They are custom-designed for peak user benefit.

More than how-to’s; expertise.

• We share our expertise.
• This is just shy of any “secret sauce” we may have. And there is not much!
• Since most expertise can be found online, we should share it!

So, what’s the difference between our Freemium (DIY) offerings, and our other offerings?

Well, mainly our experience. Experience and Expertise is slightly different.

Expertise is skill learned over time to the point of nuance.

Experience is the art learned over time knowing when to apply which nuance.