If you’re up on who’s doing cool things, you already know about Seth Godin and Tim Sanders. Two of my favorite bloggers and authors. Part of Seth’s sort’ve book tour for his new book, Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?, has been a series of audio interviews with panels of well-known writers and bloggers. This is a good one! You can check it out right here.
Where does a discussion begin from a strategic standpoint? Similar to the old illustration of the man who climbed the ladder of "success" only to realize that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall…launching a discussion about strategy without first clarifying what business you’re in can lead to some disastrous consequences.
Couple observations: First, even if you’re a non-profit you’re in a business. You may not think of it that way, but if you’re working on developing a winning strategy you’ve got to start with agreement on what business you’re in. Second, there are some organizations that already have a crystal clear understanding of their business. I’ve found that those organizations are in the distinct minority. How can you tell if your organization has clarity on this question? For starters, you’ll have fewer times when you get to the top of the wall, look around, and say, "Dohhhhhhhhhhh!"
Need a little bit on how to think about what business you’re in? It’s not always the first thing that pops into your mind. One of my favorites is Domino’s Pizza acknowledging that they’re not in the pizza business. They’re in the delivery business. 30 minutes or less. How about Target? They staked their claim on low price but with a designer’s edge. They’re different than Walmart. Can you see it? What about Apple? Think they’re in the computer business. Or the digital music business? Or the phone business? They’re not even really in the tech business. What business are they in? How about the cool business?
Back to you. Do you know what business you’re in? Can’t do the strategy thing without knowing. Doesn’t go where you want to go.
If you’re like me, when you hear that line you think of the scene in the Godfather III when Michael Corleone is told, "It’s not personal, it’s only business." I don’t know about you…but I don’t remember that working out too well. And the truth is, thats turning out to be the case today. Very tough to separate the two.
Peter Sheahan, the author or Flip, writes that
"in the years ahead, two things will count the most. The first is your ability to unlearn the things that are losing relevance, to flip yourself free of old scripts and to learn the things that are gaining relevance. The second is whether people come to know and trust you as they struggle to bring their own learning forward (p. 135)."
That is an interesting statement. What’s he saying? It’s not just business. It’s not just numbers and impersonal. It’s all about whether people come to know and trust you.
The question might be, "how is your organization wrestling with making it personal?" Lots of us are about growing the number of customers. All of us need to be about helping our customers "come to know and trust us as they struggle to bring their own learning forward." Amazing how relevant that little concept is, isn’t it?
Whiteboard. 8 influential speakers. 30 minutes each. Looks like a good time.
Want a different look at Rick Warren than you’ve ever had? Check out this interview at Davos. In the words of Brian Bailey, "oddly fascinating." Truth is, this is the real Rick. If you’ve ever gotten into a conversation with him you’ll recognize him right away.
Think you know how trends spread?
One of the most influential books over the last few years has been Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. Very interesting stuff. Based on the idea that trends are launched by a very few influential people referred to in the book as mavens, The Tipping Point has had an impact on the marketing strategies of many organizations. And now it turns out that we may have given too much credit to the theory.
In a fascinating Fast Company article, Duncan Watts, a "a network-theory scientist who recently took a sabbatical from Columbia University and is now working for Yahoo," challenges the "influentials" theory. Gladwell’s diplomatic response?
Duncan Watts is exceedingly clever, and I’ve learned a great deal from
his research," he emailed me. "In the end, though, I suppose that I
feel the same ways about his insights as I do about Steve Levitt’s
disagreements with me over the causes of the decline in violent crime
in the 1990s. I think that all books like The Tipping Point
or articles by academics can ever do is uncover a little piece of the
bigger picture, and one day–when we put all those pieces
together–maybe we’ll have a shot at the truth.
Gotta love it! Very interesting article. You can check it out yourself right here.
Want some very practical applications? Take a look at Guy Kawasaki’s blog for some great takeaways.
If you haven’t checked out Seth Godin’s latest interview on his newest book/idea, Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?, you can listen in right here. Basic idea? Commodities (necessary products) are everywhere. Meatballs are commodities. When you try to put the new marketing on top of a meatball…well, it’s like putting the sundae toppings on top of a meatball.
How does it apply to all of us? Well…I’m pretty sure there are a few of us working in a meatball factory and at the same time trying to figure out how to grow. And we’re tempted to try and market what we’re producing, thinking that marketing is what’s missing. Dohhhhhh!
There are definitely some great sound bites on this one. Love the idea of "who vs. how many" from the standpoint of really designing your strategy to capture a certain kind of person versus "the watered down larger market."
Or how about this one: "If you make x in a factory, then you’re probably going to have a hard time growing." Again, factories make commodities. And commodities are meatballs. Try to dress them up with a little whipped cream and a cherry and you don’t get an appetizing thing. You get a meatball sundae.
In addition to Seth Godin, the interview features Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More), Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Workweek), and John Jantsch, founder at Duct Tape Marketing.
Take a listen right here.
Ask yourself, how many of your processes or policies are set up to make life easier for you and how many make life easier for the customer? Change the ones that are about you. Peter Sheahan, Flip (p. 117)
What are you aware of in the experience of your customers? There’s a concept in Peter Sheahan’s Flip that’s really got potential…don’t think it’s 100% accurate…but with a little tweaking it could be very helpful. It’s referred to as the Total Ownership Experience and he uses a diagram like this to describe the concept. The basic idea?
Personal caveat: I’m pretty sure it’s just that I’m not buying the use of the terms "form" and "function". If you’re into the idea that "form follows function" you can see the dilemma here. It should be that functionality describes how it feels to use the product or service. Then I’d use a term that Sheahan uses later for the next layer, "aspirational inside", to describe how it feels to own the product or service.
I’m going to unpack the concept over the next few days, but think about it like an iceberg…not a pyramid. Makes a lot of sense. So much more going on in terms of the total ownership experience. This is more than an interesting concept. Like in Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow there is definitely something here that all of us could benefit from understanding. It’s not simple or obvious, but with some thought I bet we can give our customers a better experience.
Sorry I’ve been MIA lately! I’ve launched a new organization, SmallGroupResources.net and the new blog/web site goes live tomorrow. I’ve been working really hard to figure it out and do it right. I’ll be offering consulting and coaching on launching small group ministries. I think the toughest part is behind me. Good times!
