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Are You Nose Blind?

I read in an article that before Febreze was a “cleaning staple” sold at groceries across America, Procter & Gamble declared it a dud and nearly pulled it from shelves.



In the launch research, marketers talked to a park ranger who said her love life was ruined because everything around her smelled like skunk.


She began crying as she told them how the spray had changed her life.


Drake Stimson (Senior Brand Manager) sniffed the air inside her living room. He couldn't smell anything. We're going to make a fortune with this stuff, he thought.


But the product didn't sell when it became widely available.


Searching for answers, Stimson visited a woman with nine cats who tried Febreze but didn't keep using it. She was so used to the smell of cat urine; she didn't know she needed it.


Marketing a product that neutralizes odors to a consumer base that inherently believes no odor exists in their own home is impossible.

Stimson then knew the park ranger took them down the wrong path. “She made us think that Febreze would succeed by providing a solution to a problem. But who wants to admit their house stinks?"


Febreze's first marketing attempts failed miserably, due to “nose blindness.”


People who lived in chronically smelly homes did not know that they lived in chronically smelly homes.

With constant exposure, they became desensitized to the scent. Without the scent, there was not even an opportunity for knowledge.


You can have blind spots because of desensitization in a lot of areas.

Some people live in clutter and just do not see it.

Some people live in chaos and do not recognize it.


Your perception of "normal" renders you "blind" to things.


It can make you “blind” to dysfunction, sexism, racism, bullying, discrimination, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, peace, acceptance, functional relationships and so much more.


Take a step back and look at your house as if you were looking at it for the first time as if someone else lived there. What do you see?



Consider some of your favorite people. Do you adore them so much that you choose to ignore their flaws?


Consider your least favorite acquaintances. Do they possess any good characteristics that you ignore because it's easier for you to think of them negatively?


The P&G marketing team utilized its research cues—the bad smells that were supposed to trigger daily use were hidden from the people who needed them the most.


Maybe your blind spots contribute to increased conflict in your relationship with one or more people.

Perhaps your blind spots allow you to avoid conflict in a relationship.


Do you recognize your "nose blindness" to your blind spots, how can you get your relationships back on track?


Keep looking for the blind spots and building a better you.



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If you haven't already gotten your copy of my new book, it's available below.

Blind Spots in Relationships

What I don't know I don't know about myself





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