The past few days I’ve explored the land of fire and ice: Iceland. This tiny country of 320,00 inhabitants is extreme in every sense of the word. Huge (and active) volcanoes, waterfalls, hot springs, geysers (heck, the original geyser named Geyser is here) and hipsters fill the landscape.
Extremes attract attention. Iceland’s natural extremes are the main reason more than 672,000 people visit the country every year, more than double the population of the country.
In our businesses and communities, we need to be like Iceland and take moonshots.
Moonshots
Moonshots are the high-risk/high-reward strategies to get noticed and attract customers, residents and visitors.
No one gets excited about shopping in an above average store or visiting a city that has some interesting attractions. Instead, people want to go to the germiest wall in the world or climb on Europe’s largest glacier as my daughter did this week. (That’s her on the way to the glacier in the photo!) 
Often we are hesitant to take these big risks because we could alienate others. Iceland is portrayed as the home of extreme weather, nature and experience. This might scare away someone looking for a relaxing trip or gastronomic adventure, but it attracts plenty of tourists in high-tech jackets and hiking boots.
When we appeal to everyone, we appeal to no one. In our businesses and cities, shoot for the moon. Be the best at something. Do the most of something. Appeal to an audience passionate about something. The worst place to be is good but not great.
Lunar Training
I learned during this trip that astronauts preparing for a moon landing come to Iceland to practice. The Icelandic landscape is created from multiple volcanic eruptions and is the closet thing we have on earth to the lunar landscape. In fact, 9 of the 12 people who have ever set foot on the moon have trained in Iceland!
Along the way, Iceland learned from these astronauts and their literal moonshots. Iceland embraces its extremes.
You, your business and your community are also unique. Embrace your extremes. Shoot for the moon.
The potential rewards are great. What’s more, failure is almost the same as the alternative of making small changes that no one notices.
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