Why Smart Brands Invite Imagination.

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A Lesson from My Father, Half-Finished Condos, and a Yiddish Saying

Why Smart Brands Invite Imagination. How unfinished condos, a Yiddish proverb, and respect build better customer connection

After last week’s post about my father’s “half-finished” condos, I got a thoughtful note from Jean, a reader who wasn’t quite sure what to make of the story.

She saw the message and sensed the meaning, but she wasn’t ready to land the plane just yet.

Jean wrote:

• “Were your dad’s condos half done, but shown to non-fools who could envision the possibilities with his help?
• Or did he complete the essentials (though not the details), so they were essentially done, and as a result, any fool could envision the possibilities?
• Or is it that your attitude toward the customer, in recognizing they are never fools, is part of what helps you sell the vision?
• Or is it that you can’t get so caught up in your vision that you don’t leave space for them to have vision as part of the cooperative undertaking?”

Now that’s an engaged reader.

I told Jean she wasn’t missing the point. She was dancing with it. Each of her interpretations carried a piece of the truth. Taken together, they got very close to what I was trying to say.

The Real Meaning Behind “Never Show a Fool Half Work”

As I wrote, my dad rarely completed his condos before he sold them. Sure, the walls were up, the roof was on, and the plumbing worked. But the trim? Unpainted. The fixtures? Still boxed. The kitchen? More “under construction” than “ready to entertain.”

Yet the bones were solid. The layout was smart. The space was livable. And more importantly, the finished product was imaginable, not to him, but to the buyer.

That was the magic.

My father didn’t show so little that buyers couldn’t picture the completed project. But he also didn’t overfinish the space to the point where their vision had no room to breathe. He left just enough blank canvas for someone else to pick up the brush.

That wasn’t an accident, that was the plan.

And here’s the twist: My father didn’t think his buyers were fools. Quite the opposite. He respected their intelligence. He trusted their imagination. And he trusted his ability to help them get there.

How Incomplete Work Sparks Connection, Not Confusion

The phrase “never show a fool half work” is an old Yiddish saying my father probably picked up from his parents. It might sound like a judgment, but that’s not how he used it.

He saw it as a reminder, Know your audience. Meet them halfway.

Which brings us to your brand.

In our rush to show how buttoned-up our service is or how fully-baked our product has become, we often go too far. We overexplain overdesign and oversell.

We try to complete the picture for them, thinking it’ll build confidence. But what it really does is rob our audience of the joy of discovery. And as I’ve written here so many times before, “When you’re explaining, you’re losing.”

Clarity and simplicity don’t come from showing every detail. They come from showing just enough to let your customer find themselves in the story.

People Want to See Themselves in Your Story

Think about Apple’s original iPod campaign. Black silhouettes, white earbuds, vibrant backgrounds. No faces. No context. Just movement and music.

It could be anyone. It could be you.

That campaign worked because it didn’t say, “Here’s our product.” It said, “Here’s your moment.”

Great brands tell better stories by leaving space for interpretation, not by filling every blank.

Respect Is the Real Foundation

Like skilled builders and sharp storytellers, great brands leave room. They don’t just bark at their audience. They create space for conversation.

David Ogilvy once said,

“The consumer isn’t a moron, she is your wife.”

Today, the phrasing might raise eyebrows. But the sentiment still holds. Ogilvy wasn’t talking down. He was talking up. He meant your audience deserves respect, clarity, and intelligence.

Not demographics. Not data points. Not AI. Human beings. People who want to participate in the story, not just read it.

So no, Jean, it’s not about leaving things undone. And it’s not about assuming your customer will figure it out on their own. It’s about presenting your work in a way that respects their imagination, invites their participation, and rewards their attention.

That’s not just good salesmanship. That’s good branding.

That’s how smart brands build lasting customer connection: by showing just enough, and then stepping back.

That’s respect.