Looking Past Pigment, Language and Gender

I'm always on the look out for "new ways to do things" and a recent piece in AdAge.com explains the concept of identity marketing where you look past the obvious demographic segments to get a better understanding of messages that will resonate well with your target audience.

User Generated Content in the Soda Wars

It wasn't that long ago that marketers gave themselves goldstars when a consumer would alter their lifestyle to use the product (leaving the house earlier and driving to Starbucks versus brewing your own coffee at home) -

Now, everywhere you look consumers are altering our products to fit their lifestyles -

Here's the latest -

For you, the question isn't WILL this become an issue for my industry, but rather WHEN will it happen and WHAT will we do to give consumers some input in our process?

Give Your Ideas Time to Ripen On the Vine

Long-time readers of this monthly newsletter know that I will occasionally write on an idea I have not explored to its ultimate conclusion. I do this because the idea is intriguing and worthy of open consideration, despite its nascent existence.

This is one of those -

I spent the past week leading a client's strategic planning retreat on a tiny island 45 kilometers off the eastern coast of Nicaragua. Little Corn Island is like no place I've ever been. On its 900 square acres there's not one single road, which is OK as there are no motorized vehicles. Bicycles substitute for cars. Wheelbarrows serve as trucks. Electricity is provided by solar panels and generators. Our hotel has one computer, connected to the Internet by satellite. It works when the power is on, which last Tuesday it was not.

At about 8:15 Tuesday morning, the power went out. No computer, no water, no fan. My cell phone had been out of range for two days already.

The lights had gone out previously but they normally came right back on. This time, the hotel said it was a problem with the generator and no one had any idea when it would be repaired.

I found a shady place with a decent breeze, picked up a pencil and did some old-fashioned, hand-powered "analog" word processing.

Over the span of 4 hours, I did by hand - in slow motion - what I had planned to zing out in 30 minutes on my computer. I didn't find something else to do until power was restored, I just did what needed to be done - by hand, at a much slower pace.

And you know what? The end-product was better. It took longer, but it was more intuitive and met the needs of the client in ways that a "digital" effort might not have done.

Vine-ripened tomatoes are immensely superior to their artificially matured "hot house" cousins because chemical reactions that result in the perfect fruit aren't rushed on the vine.

Because things are so automated these days, it is too easy for us to pound thoughts into our keyboards, without really thinking about them. And, just like hot-house tomatoes, our end-product suffers for lack of time to ripen.

So, take a moment to think about this -

What would happen if your company had a "black-out period" when everyone in the place was forced to work in "analog mode" - by hand?

• No computer access - turn it off at the server.
• No phones - find a way to kill the ringer.
• No copier, no musak, nothing electronic.

Tell them to spend the time writing letters, reviewing agendas, thinking through strategies, looking for ways to be more effective (rather than simply more efficient).

As I said at the beginning, this idea hasn't been fully explored, but it certainly has potential.

How often should you do this? I don't have a clue what would work for you, but after this week on Little Corn I am going to try and go "unplugged" for about 4 hours a week. I wish I were the CEO of a big company so I could pull this off and watch what happens on a grand scale.

At your next staff meeting -

Read this to your team and ask:

1. What benefits might we enjoy by doing something like this?
2. How extreme should we be with the elimination of electronic tools?
3. When are we going to have Seybert lead a strategy retreat for us on a tiny Caribbean island?

The Difference Between THE and A

I am one of those people who can latch on to subtle differences in word meanings. You will often find me in the midst of an argument that includes someone saying, "Isn't this just a matter of semantics?" And, they're usually correct.

MOST semantic disagreements are minor and not worth the effort - but I want to focus on one such distinction that might make for some valuable dialog around your organization.

One of the hottest books in America these days was written by a 50-something Australian divorcee who has attracted the attention of Oprah Winfrey and million of others. Rhonda Byrne titled her book The Secret - a decision that could have a lot to do with its success.

It's a self-help book with some rather unusual suggestions. Want to lose weight? Don't heed your doctor's advice by changing your eating and exercise habits, rather follow Byrne's suggestion and "avoid looking at people who are overweight." [I'm not kidding.]

In a world saturated with advice and how-to books, why has The Secret drawn so much attention?

Donavin Bennes, who buys books for Borders says, "It was an incredibly savvy move to call it 'The Secret.' We all want to be in on a secret. But to present it as THE secret, that was brilliant." [Newsweek - March 5, 2007]

Do you catch the subtle and critical difference?

Byrne's book doesn't promise to be ONE of a number of secrets? It doesn't promise to share a dozen secrets - she claims to have the THE secret.

So?

• Do I want to be A consultant who helps people brainstorm, or THE consultant who helps companies do things differently?
• Do you want to have A shoe store? Or, would you rather be THE shoe store that caters to busy working moms?
• Which airline would you prefer to fly? One of many who travel to New York, or THE airline with the most on-time departures.

There is tremendous value in consideration of the difference between THE and A.

To borrow from Seth Godin - do you want to be a purple cow or just one of the herd?

Navigating the stream

• Sometimes you are defined by the products you offer - We are THE computer that runs the Mac operating system.
• Sometimes your definition comes from the market you serve - We are THE exercise club that caters to busy moms by providing free child care while they work out.

Bottom line - if you can't come up with a credible THE for your organization, you should probably close up shop before someone else does it for you.

It isn't necessary to have a singular focus - the workout club with a child care area for busy moms, can attract other clients but they are THE place a busy mom can go. Having a multi-focused perspective is a necessary paradox in the 21st century. What you can't afford to go without is something that sets you apart from all the others who do what you do.

At your next staff meeting -

1. Read this article to the group and ask them about the places they shop and products they use.
2. Can they define the THE factor for their favorites?
3. Then, turn it around and challenge them to define that which provides your organization with its own THE.

To PPT or not to PPT

Lots of blog talk today about the proper use of PowerPoint and Keynote - the ubiquitous presentation applications.

Seth Godin and Mike Hyatt both provided their own list of DOs and DON'Ts and they make good points -

But here's a thought -

Do you REALLY need presentation software?

Last year, I was faced with leading a retreat in a place where it was going to be impossible to use a projector.

OH MY I thought WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?

There's wasn't much I could do besides go to my notes and make the presentation SANS all the pretty graphics and other crap I'd taken so much time to develop.

And you know what? It was one of the best sessions I'd done in a long time.

I'm a good storyteller, so I used words to grab their attention. In a couple of instances I drew on a board to illustrate a point.

Since then, I've done a few more with nothing but my notes (and charming personality) - and the comments are always positive.

"He knows his stuff and doesn't get lost in PowerPoint slides."

My point is this - presentation software has it's place, but if you are a good storyteller and you know your stuff, take a deep breath and jump off the board without a projector to keep you afloat.

Does this twist work?

The axiom "Less is More" makes sense on many levels.

So, I'm wodering if there are an equal number of situations where the opposite is also true.

Think about this.

Can you name situations when "More is Less" in your life or business?

Fish where the fish aren't

The biggest fish are seldom swimming with the pack.

If you want average success, drop your hook where everyone else is fishing . . . but the trophy is out there swimming in uncharted waters.

Seth Godin makes a simple observation about the downside of "targeted marketing" in this entry from his blog.