BMW is one company that champions design thinking. When a customer sets foot inside of a BMW, it’s designed to be an experience. Every detail matters. From the details of the aerodynamic exterior design to the minuscule sound effects when certain buttons are pressed. Reaching this level of design excellence isn’t easy. It requires a lot of thinking, design thinking.

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We are approaching a new era of Remarkable Customer Experience. Until now, companies have settled for satisfying customers; meeting their expectations; giving them what they asked for. But now, the companies that are going to win are the ones who leave customers saying, “Wow!” These are companies that seek to go above and beyond, offering the level of customer service that gets people talking. Interestingly enough, we’ve seen examples of this with successful companies like Starbucks, Zappos and Chick-fil-A. They each have created a dynamic and unique customer experience that leaves every customer with a little – and sometimes a lot – more than what’s expected.

I’m a dancer.

Not to sure if any of you know this (lol).

Before I delved into graphic design, web design, and social media, dancing was my passion. It still is, but not to the extent that it used to be. From an early childhood, I’ve always had a massive fascination with the convergence of dance and design – the art of human expression through motions.

My journey as a dancer began as I sat in front of a tv screen, amazed at the human defiance of motion expressed by Michael Jackson. He was indeed a Design Thinker. He had an ability to design motions in such a way that it not only captivated an audience, but told a story. His story. Our story. Beyond mere performance, Michael Jackson had a unique gift that I think remains misunderstood by those who are not dancers.

I’ve seen hundreds of teams perform in my lifetime. I’ve performed in various arenas as well. But there is always a deeper yearning for the authentic expression of the art of dance that I think has been missing. Originality. Uniqueness. Remarkable. Defiance. Honestly, I feel that way about everything. lol.

I came across this amazingly cool company called Cardnetics while reading an article of Entrepreneur Magazine. This unique idea is the product of Bryce Bell, a Mechanical Engineer from Oklahoma.

Here’s a little snippet about the product from his website:

It started as just a fun project when I designed and built the Cardapult mainly just to see if it could be done. People seemed to like the card quite a bit and I liked the idea of designing similar cards, so I refined the build process as much as possible with my limited budget to see if people would actually buy enough of these cards to support a business. Right now it is a one man operation.

The idea behind the cards is this: People will keep the cards around for their utility or entertainment value even if they don’t need your products or services right away, and your name will be more accessible when you are needed.