February 16, 2006

Can you tell me what your job is in 3 seconds? Read this before you write your resume!

"If you can't describe your job in one sentence, you are either a nuclear physicist or your job shouldn't exist."

Recently read a great article in the FT by Lucy Kellaway, entitled "Waffle and waste of money are hallmarks of the non-job" where she goes after some of the incredibly awful job descriptions you can find in the job columns. Here are some examples and her wit in vivisecting them:

• "Liveability Theme Manager" at Oldham council, in the north of England... The council is searching for a "motivational leader with determination and stamina to successfully deliver our key strategic outcomes". The ideal candidate must have "a good understanding of neighbourhood solutions", and will earn up to £38,010 a year. (She sees this as an affront to the English language - is Livablity a word? split infinities, half a dozen cliche's wrapped in hyperbole)
• The British Transport Police: "Due to internal growth we have a rare opportunity for a Positive Action Support Coordinator to join our Leadership and Diversity Team" (the internal growth makes her think of tumors)
• The Westminster Drug and Alcohol Action team looking for an "Information and Performance manager" "Joining our busy and vibrant team, you will facilitate and manage reporting systems that ensure DAAT partnership and DIP teams are fully briefed on all relevant data" (she is confident only that the team is not vibrant and that the Westminster drug problem is not about to get any better)
• An HR head whose duties include "implementing and embedding HR policy and process, ensureing delivery of a value added service" (she sees only three word that do not set off alarms - "and", "of" and "a")
• She also highlights several typcial problems: verbs like develop and implement, warning words like effective, systems, strategies, best practice, deliver, meaningful, sustainable.

Read this before you write your resume. And also how about reading it before you put up the "about" copy on your website. Go through any corporate website or browse any VC's porfolio and you will ikely see a lot of maximizing and leveraging and providing premier solutions to non descript customers with problems so vague that only a psychiatrist could help them. Keeping it simple and straight forward it key to pitching not just for you but for your company, product or offering. Remember your ABCs and XYZs.

(PS: take a look at Jobster - an Ignition portfolio company - for their job listing. Personally I have to say my favorite is Microsoft MSN's "Be the Butterfly")

Posted by johnza at 11:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 27, 2006

Read All About It

"NEWS is what someone wants to suppress. Everything else is advertising.” - Reuven Frank, former head of NBC news

The Economist has a very interesting survey of the PR industry. You should take a look.

As all of us in the start up business know, outside of online or DR advertising, the most impactful way to get your brand and message out there with less resources is public relations. Now it seems the rest of the world is taking notice of this as well. Including P&G. Just like everyone else they are increasingly turning to alternatives to big media advertising because they want a measurable return on investment from their campaigns.

"In a recent internal study, P&G concluded that the return was often better from a PR campaign than from traditional forms of advertising, according to Hans Bender, the firm's manager of external relations. One reason is that in comparison with many other types of marketing, PR is cheap. In P&G's case, it can represent as little as 1% of a brand's marketing budget."

Spending on PR in America has been growing strongly and reached some $3.7 billion last year. PR spending will grow by almost 9% a year. This is faster than the overall market for advertising and marketing. Wow.

Other commentators on this trend are Laura and Al Ries. Their book, “The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR” asserts “PR has credibility... Advertising does not.” Their advice, much like that we give to most of our portfolio companies, is that a marketing campaign should start with publicity (or online marketing) and shift to advertising only after the PR objectives have been achieved.

Good food for thought. But here is a counter

"The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper." - Thomas Jefferson

Posted by johnza at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 04, 2006

Leveraging the Optimal Synergy of Maximal Nonsense

I just got this wonderful book as a gift: Why Business People Speak Like Idiots : A Bullfighter's Guide, by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, Jon Warshawsky

I know a lot has already been written about this but boy, it made me blush for all the times I have used such absolutely useless jargon and taken way to long to say something simple. Made me think of some good quotes for the day:

• "I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short." - Pascal
• "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Lincoln (also credited with the above quote); and...
• "Don't give me none o' that jibba-jabba!" Mr T. (in the dedication to the above book.

In addition to writing this book, guys also wrote a piece of software that reviews your documents and points out the BS. They wrote this while consultants at Deloitte & Touche (which originally gave the software away for free but now is no longer associated). One blogger wonders how consultants have enough time to focus on building such a tool instead of adding value and leveraging customers' potential. If you haven't already checked it out, you should, download it here.

For more on how to fight this kind of bull, check out the website and the blog, which also keeps track of some of the most egregious instances of marketing BS such as:

• Blockbuster announcing the end of late fees but not meaning it.
• Dumb corporate anthems (vs. jingles which I think are a lost art); and
• Microsoft's ads on Your Potential Our Passion which I won't comment on out of loyalty to my former employer.

Posted by johnza at 03:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 08, 2005

Jimmy Neutron on the Essense of Marketing and Sales

My boys and I were just watching The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (a great kid's series about a nerdy genius boy - kind of like Rich Tong - who invents all kinds of stuff to solve his problems). They really love this show, but little did I think that it would have lessons for marketing and sales people.

The episode is called "Birth of a Salesman" and the background is a school sales drive/contest to see which kid can raise the most money by selling candy. In this episode, we learn all about persuasion, targeting, technology and features vs. customer empathy, and the benefits and pitfalls as using premiums to drive initial customer acquisition. And the overall lesson that being too smart often leads to bad marketing(makes me feel a bit better).

The vehicle for these lessons is the rivalry between Jimmy (and his technical prowess) vs. his nemesis Cindy (and her charm, persuasive talents and force of will).

Jimmy's approach, like many tech firms, is to focus on the technology. He goes door to door trying to sell candy by explaining its chemical make up (wow, even worse than just focusing on features). Unsurprisingly, no one buys.

Meanwhile, Cindy adapts deftly from customer to customer. When knocking on a mom's door she plays the poor orphan girl. With the tough guy janitor, she plays a scene from the Godfather. And when selling the truly goofy parents of Jimmy himself, she resorts to singing and dancing and sells them more than their own son. This is too much for Jimmy and leads him to give the following deeply insightful marketing quote:

"I have miscalculated. It's not about superior intellect. It's all about manipulating emotions with shallow, unscrupulous behavior"

Right on!?!? ;-o

Inspired by this he creates a robot that he thinks embodies all these qualities. It is called (in an off hand literary reference) the Willy Loman 3000 or WL3000. Unfortunately, WL does a very pushy, cheesy job that is way too transparent. So he employs a standard act of desperation - the giveaway. In order to make the sale (because that is his only objective) he starts using every cool invention and possession of Jimmy's as a premium for making the sale. All the way to actually giving Jimmy away. Not the best outcome.

So what are the lessons we all can take from this profound drama?

• Just because you have a high degree of competence (or even genius) in one area, does not mean you can apply it effectively in another;
• The superior technology features of your product and the background of how they came about may be very interesting to you but you should not assume they are to anyone else;
• Speaking in your customers' language and changing this depending on which customer you are talking to is not only perfectly moral (not two faced, really), it is a lot more effective than the above;
• Beating people over the head doesn't ususally work; and finally,
• Bribing people to buy your product - with premiums - can be a great way to get people to act, but do so with caution, you could end up losing your shirt (or more) in the long run.

For more such profound Jimmy Neutron quotes look here.

Posted by johnza at 02:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 25, 2005

And of course with easy payment terms...

Just saw this quote from The Sun magazine (wonderful monthly writing, ideas, essays):

"The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments." - Mad magazine

How true this is. Just goes to show you how important it is to get entry offers that lower barriers for people to make the initial purchase decision.

Posted by johnza at 09:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 06, 2005

Blogging -- Real life

"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem." - David Carradine

Boy, have I ever been absent from blogging for a while. And I feel bad about it. But this great quote made me feel better.

Maybe what I've been writing in this blog isn't exactly poetry, but it was writing. And maybe running around the country communicating with investors and trying to help small companies grow isn't exactly a poem but it sure did make me too busy doing to write anything about it lately.

Hope to have a bit more time for reflection in coming weeks. And still like the idea of "being the poem" in the other parts of my life too.

Posted by johnza at 09:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 03, 2005

The Case Against Perfection

Way too often, especially in the VC business, talk of the beautiful future takes up a lot more time (and warm air) than talk of the practical steps needed to make progress. I can't even count the number of companies that come in talking about the amazing "platform" they have built (meaning technology rather than business platform) that will make them a huge industry leaders someday without any idea of the actual thing they could offer that real customers will buy now. I can't count the number of geniuses with the ideal plan for the perfect situation in the market - who have no idea what they will do in the wild eccentricities of the market.

Thus it was really refreshing to chat with a CEO recently who had a great focus on all three of the ABCs - the vision, yes, the roadmap yes, but also a starting point that simply made sense, even if it wasn't pristine or ideal. In the midst of our conversation she had a terrific quotation:

"Never let PERFECT get in the way of BETTER."

Boy are these words to live by, not just in marketing, or business but in all of your life. Here a number of other quotes that reinforce the same sentiment that I just thought were fun to keep in mind:

"Perfectionism is the enemy of creation, as extreme self-solitude is the enemy of well-being." - John Updike

"A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week." - George S. Patton

"The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides." - Henri-Frédéric Amiel

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business." - Michael J. Fox

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali

"Strive for excellence, not perfection." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

"I don't confuse greatness with perfection. To be great anyhow is…the higher achievement." - Lois McMaster Bujold

"A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections." - Chinese Proverb

Maybe I like these because I think action and failure and learning are the key to all forms of evolution -- or maybe I like these because they make me feel better about myself ;-)

Posted by johnza at 04:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 17, 2005

In the Line of Fire

Jerry Weissman is a phenomenon. A powerhouse. We owe Jerry a great deal – for teaching us just about everything we know about presenting, for inspiring us with some great concepts, and for being a big supporter of our efforts in writing our own book.

I recently had the distinct honor and delight of receiving an advance reader's copy of Jerry Weissman's newest book, In the Line of Fire : How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts. It's being published in July by Prentice Hall.

I enjoyed this book even more than his last (which is saying alot). This is a very focused, very hands on book. It is all about dealing with the heat, not of the prepared pitch but beyond it when you open yourself to questions. This is something all of us can use because life goes way beyond the Powerpoint slides. Here are a few highlights:

• Control the time – before starting with questions, set a time limit or an excuse to end the session after only a few questions
• Control the traffic – raise your own hand and ask for questions
• If you don’t know EVERYONE’s name in the audience, don’t call anyone by name
• Make the questioner feel like you heard them (or make the audience feel that way)
• Resist thinking of the answer while the questioner is talking – instead look for the key issue around which to formulate your MESSAGE
• Focus on that key word and sound clear and decisive in using it to deliver your MESSAGE as an answer
• Create a buffer between the question and your expression of the answer, keeping you in control and not on the defensive (boy he has a bunch of great techniques for doing this)
• He’s also got a very useful variation of Yes, But, So called “Buffer – Agree – But – Evidence – Call to Action” You have to check this out.

Can’t wait until the full book comes out. Congrats Jerry on a terrific accomplishment and on a truly terrific Rude Q&A/interview/Debate Taser to put on your communications utility belt.

Note, we are far from Jerry’s only fans in the blogsphere, here are a few other who sing his praises:

• Tina Ornstein found the wonders of WIFFY (what’s in it for you) in Jerry’s last book
• Watertank and Dennis Kennedy recommend Jerry’s as one of the two books you should read about making powerpoint presentations “Interestingly, neither is really about PowerPoint."
• Fast company highlighted Jerry’s great five rules for great presentations (which I love)
  

  Focus on what matters.
  Converse, don't perform.
  Plain talk is the best talk.
  Let me rephrase that!
  The pause that refreshes.

• Mike Clark has a great list of powerpoint resources, commentary etc. and of course highlights Jerry
• And Doc Searls highlights Jerry as “the presentation guru whose influence on the corporate selling skills of Silicon Valley CEOs should be valued in the billions of dollars, at the very least” in his own classic post “It's The Story, Stupid
  Don't Let Presentation Software Keep You From Getting Your Story Across” - also a must read:
  

  “Begin with the end
  Come from who you are
  Tell your story
  Write from an outline
  Talk from headlines, not headings
  Use graphics
  Use numbers for lists
  Research
  Make comparisons
  Stand and deliver”

What fun. Keep your eyes open and pre order his book!

Posted by johnza at 06:18 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 11, 2005

Another take on strategy and tactics

Once again, "the map is not the terrain."

I just can't stop finding stuff about the distinction between strategy and tactics fascinating. Here's another great quote, this time from Baron Henri de Jomini's Art of War:

"Strategy is the art of making war upon the map, and comprehends the whole theater of operations. Grand Tactics is the art of posting troops upon the battle-field according to the accidents of the ground, of bringing them into action, and the art of fighting upon the ground, in contradistinction to planning upon a map."

via 1000 Blacklines

Posted by johnza at 08:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 11, 2005

Who me? Not know what I'm talking about...

Just saw this great quote from Betrand Russell about math:

"Mathematics is the subject in which we do not know what we are talking about, not whether what we are saying is true."

Sounds just like marketing to me, with the difference that marketing people know that they don't know what they are talking about, don't care, and just keep on talking as if they were absolutely, passionately convinced (remember, all marketing people are liars ;-)

Via A Clear Eye.

Posted by johnza at 05:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 21, 2005

Twin Brothers - Viability and Contibution

Yesterday, Rich and I had lunch with a most extraordinary person, Sidney Rittenberg. Calling him a China expert would be a most inaccurate and ungracious understatement of the scope, depth and significance of his experience and of his sagacity. (See his fascinating autobiography, The Man Who Stayed Behind, and also recent stories in the LA Times and New York Times for background.)

Amidst our wide-ranging conversations on business, technology, history and politics, we talked about the importance of culture and values in building great, long lasting companies, about how important it was, not just to be focused on the money but on a real vision of how what you do will make something better and on what kind of people you hire and what motivates them. Sidney then said something that really stuck in my head:

"Yes, the twin brothers of viability and contribution. Unless what you are doing is set up and made to be a viable enterprise, it won't survive. But unless what you are doing makes a real contribution it won't attract people, won't stay vibrant and won't last over the long run"

Great input for any endevour, including starting a company, running an existing one or even managing a government government.

Here's some links to more interesting Sidney Rittenberg material: a good short bio, another book, a transcript of an interesting speach about contemporary China, and an audio of a talk he gave at University of Washington about the Cultural Revolution and its subsequent effects upon Chinese society.

Posted by johnza at 04:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 18, 2005

More on Strategy from Liddell Hart

Been reading more from this amazing thinker and writer, including his aptly named book, Strategy.

The book, focused on military strategy, is mostly about the superiority - in terms of economy and likelihood of positive outcome - of the indirect vs. direct approach. What we most of the time refer to as the Stealth Play.

Some good advice for start-ups as well. Sometimes constraints can set you free as in this quote about Napoleon during his Italian campaign:

"The restiction of Bonaparte's freedom of action [because of orders from the Directory and his own limited resources] proved the proverbial blessing in disguise. For by compelling him to delay the pursuit of his dreams, it enabled him, with his enemies' assistance, to adjust his end to his means until the balance of forces had turned far enough to bring his original end within practicable reach."

It really is good to have a strong, inspiring vision, but often it is best not to try to dragrace the others in the market, no matter how great your product, but rather to start smaller, build strength and then assert yourself - witness Google.

Click here for a great summary of Liddell Hart's maxims:

• Adjust your end to your means. In determining your object, clear site and cool calculation should prevail. It is folly 'to bite off more than you can chew'
• Keep your object always in mind, while adapting your plan to circumstances. Realize that there are more ways than one of gaining an object, but take heed that every objective should bear on the object.
• And in considering the possible objectives weigh their possibility of attainment with their service to the object if attained - to wander down a side-track is bad, but to reach a dead end is worse.
• Alternate objectives allow you to keep the opportunity of gaining an objective; whereas a single objective, unless the enemy is helplessly inferior, means the certainty that you will not gain it - once the enemy is no longer uncertain as to your aim.
• Ensure that both plan and dispositions are flexible - adoptable to circumstances. Your plan should foresee and provide for the next step in case of success or failure, or partial success.
• Do not shove your weight into a stroke whilst your opponent is on guard - whilst he is well placed to parry or evade it. Hence no commander should launch a real attack upon an enemy in position until satisfied that such a paralysis has developed.
• Do not renew an attack along the same line (or in the same form) after it has once failed. It is even more probable that his success in repulsing you will have strengthened him morally.

In other words: keep your eyes on the prize, but make sure their are achievable prizes along the way; conditions change so be ready to change with them; don't try to beat somebody who is bigger than you are expecting you to challenge them; and if you lose, don't keep banging your head against the wall - learn from the experience and try something else.

Pretty reasonable.

Posted by johnza at 07:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 13, 2005

Retrospections and Resolutions

Alright, alright, it's a little late in the year already for this (been spending a lot more time with my kids and day job than blogging lately). But a friend of mine was recently asked to provide some 2005 predictions for the press so I thought it would be fun as I dive back into blog to list some of the looks back and look forward I ran across.

• Wizards of Ads kicked off the new year with Thoughts to think in 2005 and a quote that really should be my personal theme "You've heard that before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes? This is true. It's called living." Indeed, 2004 was so full of action - election, book, new fund, blogging - that too much of what really matters in life passed by. Hopefully not this year!
• Emergic has a great overview of top tech trends of 2004 in two parts. I personally resonnate most with simplicity. I see the trade-off between simplicity and power as one that moved in right direction in the enterprise with more hosted, simple models but not yet in the home. Can't wait to see more.
• The Unofficial Google weblog recounts a nice little almanac for what was a truly big Google year.
• Tom has a list of search engine marketing resolutions wonder if anyone will keep them
• Decker has his own roundup of 2005 trends and predictions.
• Don the Idea Guy, points us to NYT's year in ideas.
• Todd gives his own year in review.
• Kirsten "nudges" wise women to nudge other women entreprenuers with their own business pledge for 2005. Go!
• She also has her own trend-spotting summary.
• Media Guerilla highlights his 2005 thoughts about the role blogging will play in media.
• Alain shares his marketing thoughts for 2005. Very good stuff, not really just marketing, good solid business advice!
• Ben at Church of the Customer has 10 resolutions, I like them all but particulary, "somehow change the world" we should all have that attitude, in whatever humble way we can.
• TJ highlights the San Jose Merc's news predictions. Allof them sound like they kind of happened, huh.
• Battelle has 17 predictions for 2005, around search and stuff. I like them and I like that he is honest about his own prospects. Will be interested to stay tuned.
• Frogblog highlights a BBC story on the 100 things we didnt know last year. Really, really fascinating - like the fact that "George W Bush got the highest number of votes for president of any candidate in US history, in November 2004....John Kerry got the second highest number."

For me 2004 was blur and 2005 started out with a reminder of the power of nature and of human kindness. There are enough predictions and resolutions above so my resolutions I will keep to myself.

Posted by johnza at 05:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 21, 2004

Strategy – the study of communication

Recently reading TE Lawrence’s biography “Lawrence of Arabia” by B.H. Liddell Hart and came across some really great quotes and thoughts on strategy.

Lawrence was a great student of military and political strategy (as was Liddell Hart – an awesome strategy thinker
in his own right). Before he helped engineer the Arab revolt that so deeply influences world politics today, he read all kinds of more or less obscure books on strategy. Here are some thought provoking quotes from his readings:

From Wilhelm von Willisen (mid 1800s), he found a definition of strategy that truly spoke to him:

• “The study of communication.” This is really interesting – all about how you move, stay in touch with your resources and allies and stay on top of what is going on. Not to be flip but it sounds a lot like the core of marketing – products as conversations, businesses as conversations, teams as conversations.

From Marshal Saxe (mid 1700s) he learned some of the fundamentals of unconventional competition that we think about all the time when it comes to the stealth play:

• “I am not in favor of giving battle, especially at the outset of a war. I am even convinced that an able general can wage ware his whole life without being compelled to do so.
• “The whole secret of the art of war rests in the legs and not the arms”

Valuable lessons for taking the indirect approach. Think of the dynamics. What is the reaction to your action? What is your ability to manuever? What is the value of direct confrontation? What are the risks? What makes most sense given your objective, your abilities and those of the others on the field?

Posted by johnza at 08:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 19, 2004

Defining the Finish Line

At the Rockies Venture Club talk this week I got a great question from one of the audience. Pondering Dragraces and such, Nigel asked me the marvelous question, "How do you define the finish line?"

In business, as in life, it is great to set goals and to celebrate when you pass a goal line. But despite what we say about dragraces, is there really a "finish" line, where you are done. I certainly hope not. In business as in life, it seems to me that if you ever really think you're finished then you are stagnant, in for trouble. I don't want to be done until I'm dead, and even then???

Which leads to this week's first quote from one of my favorite poets:

"and death i think is no parenthesis"
- e. e. cummings

And (as another event commenter pointed out) for those who might not be quite as goal/dialectic motivated here's another more Taoist quote that makes a similar point about not believing in the end point as the point:

"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way"
- Wayne Dyer

(wow, marketing as philosophy, must be getting tired or old or both)

Posted by johnza at 09:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 08, 2004

Quote of the week - Simplicity

Great set of articles from the recent Economist Technology quarterly, starting out with a great quote from Confucius: “Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
Here are some highlights from these articles:

• The ABCs of complexity in the enterprise: 66% of all IT projects either fail outright or take much longer to install than expected because of their complexity; average firm's computer networks are down for an unplanned 175 hours a year; 15 years ago firms were spending 75% of their IT budget on new hardware and software and 25% on fixing the systems that they already had; now that ratio has been reversed—70-80% of IT spending goes on fixing things rather than buying new systems.... Customers no longer demand “hot” technologies, but instead want “cold” technologies, such as integration software, that help them stitch together and simplify the fancy systems they bought during the boom years.
• A huge gap exists between what consumers want and what vendors would like to sell them.
• And few technologies pass the Mom Test where they are simple enough for mom to use

Simplicity seems to be the new buzzword in the blogsphere as well. With good reason. So what's the answer? Several threads recently talk about simplicity in software and where it’s headed, where it might be coming from and what might happen in the process of trying to get there, alot highlight the promise of Web Services but the jury is far from in.

• Emergic notes Adam Bosworth’s recent post on Software as a Service “Most of the value today is coming from the community, the reputation, the access to information and goods and services, and the media itself. This ineluctable fact coupled with the driving forces of much faster evolution in response to the natural selection of market needs, much cheaper and easier and more simple user interface, and much better ability to know what can be done better for the customer are all combining. Services will be the dominant model.
• Beyond VC highlights the same post and summarizes why it’s the model of the future: “it’s easier to sell, it’s easier to install, cheaper to support, easier to integrate, cheaper to build, “While I am not suggesting that every product will evolve this way, it is clear that simplicity rules. The ASP model is certainly one way of accomplishing simplicity.” Big promises, really worthy of driving forward and motivating an industry, but a tall order nonetheless, especially for existing big vendors.
• Scott Loftness takes note of the same post but poses some questions: “First, the question of revenue ramp. No question that building sustaining recurring revenue streams results in highly valued businesses at the end. But it requires patient investors who are comfortable with the slope of the revenue curve… Second, the target environment has to presume broadband to deliver a decent consumer experiencce. That's increasingly less of an issue -- but has to be thought out… It's also important to note that some companies can do both. Intuit's Quickbooks on the Web comes to mind as a great example of taking packaged software and delivering it in a very high quality way as an ASP…What Sixapart is doing with Movable Type and TypePad is another.”
• And friend, John Ludwig highlights these and a whole number of posts that reinforce simplicity. Of note is Jon Udell’s post that reminds us that simplication and simplicity are not the same thing. In pursuit of simplicity we have to avoid traps like trying to cram everything into one device or service because less is supposedly more.

Holy Grail? Like we’ve said before, Best of both promises may not always be fulfilled but progress toward the goal can drive real evolution. Link to the best of both plays.

Posted by johnza at 07:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 28, 2004

Quotes of the week

Three related quotes this week. The first two came from Sandbox Wisdom:

"Common sense is not so common."
- Voltaire

and similarly,

"Most marketing knowledge is tacit knowledge. The issue is one of implementation."
- Mohanbir Sawhney (who really liked our book by the way:-)

Both of which underscored for me how marketing doesn't have to be a mystery. You have the tools, you have the guts, you just need to know how to use them. And so for the last quote, which came from looking at Johnnie Moore's blog on the importance of improv.

"A battle was never won according to plan� � and a battle was never won without a plan."
- Napoleon

As much as we think you should start with your playing field assessment and in defining a core strategy, you have to be flexible, trust your instincts and adapt when you are actually running down that field.

Posted by johnza at 10:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 19, 2004

After the dragrace finish line...

Just met with the super smart, super nimble, fun CEO of KongZhong, Nick Yang. They are one of the fastest growth consumer companies delivering all kinds of entertainment, community and media services to mobile handsets. I can't even tell you the numbers and their speed, they might make you too dizzy.

Nick had all kinds of pearls of wisdom behind his success (having to do with patience, focus, clear risks and bets and flexibility - all of which he seems to have in spades). But one of the things he said (and put up in the poster pictured below) really struck home:

"Number One is Temporary. Only Exceeding Yourself is Forever."

You got that right Nick! Keep it going!!

Posted by johnza at 08:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 30, 2004

Positioning Statements: A loaded gun

In a recent entry, Market Ramsey at Radio Marketing Nexus asks "Do Positioning Statements Kill?" To which I respond (not trying to sound like the NRA): Positioning is like a weapon, in the wrong hands it can kill, in the right hands it can save your life. That said, Mark Ramsey and Tom Asacker have an important point... that beautifully written slogans are really not the answer. They can be the bane of good marketing, and a huge waste of time. Which made me think of this week's quotes:

"The best ad is a good product."
- Alan H. Meyer

"A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it's bad."
- Bill Bernbach

Nonetheless, I think it's important to make a distinction between "positioning" and "positioning statements." Frankly, if you don't figure out your positioning (unique promise, to a select target, relative to alternatives) before you do a bunch of marketing, you are bound to fail no matter how good your product is.

Posted by johnza at 12:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 08, 2004

Strategy vs. Tactics

BusinessPundit: Strategy - It's Hard To Stick With It Business Pundit highlights an age old issue that made me think of this week's quote (one of our all time favorites):

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
- Sun Tzu (Chinese General, circa 500 BC)

So what is strategy and what are tactics. For fun below is a short outline of an explanation we've used to clarify this supposedly easy but often devilshly tricky distinction:
-------------
Objectives 101
. What is an objective?
. What is a goal?
. What is a strategy?
. What is a tactic?
. What is a plan?

Objectives and Goals
. Objective a : something toward which effort is directed : an aim, goal, or end of action b : a strategic position to be attained or a purpose to be achieved by a military operation
. Goal a : the end toward which effort is directed : AIM (Also a specific, measurable achievement behind an objective)

Context
. Business: How to make money from spending money - Engineering, Finance, Operations, Marketing Sales
. Marketing: How to build demand with the market place - Product, Price, Place, Promotion
. Communications: How to promote effectively - Messaging, Media
. Personal: How to contribute to all of the above

Strategy
. Strategy a : The science of military command, or the science of projecting campaigns and directing great military movements; generalship.
. The set of decisions made to best ensure achievement of the desired objectives, based on an assessment of:
... one's own current situation/position; capabilities & shortcoming; competitive position
... options/alternatives -- risks
... timing

Tactics
. Tactic a : a device for accomplishing an end; b : a method of employing forces in combat
. The set of requirements for a plan to take effect

Tactical vs. Strategic:
. Always relative to one another
. Tactics: the set of actions taken to fulfill a strategy

Plan
. Plan a : a scheme devised; a method of action or procedure expressed or described in language; a project; as, the plan of a constitution; the plan of an expedition.
. The combination of objectives, strategies and tactics
. The specific articulation of how the tactics will support the strategies that will achieve the objectives in time
. The rationale that supports this course of action

Anyway, we've found this little glossary useful in the past. Let us know if you think it makes sense.

Posted by johnza at 04:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 30, 2004

PowerPoint: Prison or Pallette?

This week's quote supports where I come out in the recent heat around PowerPoint: My freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action... Whatever diminishes constraint diminishes strength. The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self of the chains that shackle the spirit. - Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971), Poetics of Music There seem to be four basic views on this very simple product that we helped launch ages ago. Let's look at each: 1. PPT is evil, it is turning minds to mush and worse Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune looks at all the arguements that PowerPoint is dumbing down the world and making us all superficial. Kinda like calculators allowing us to forget math but worse. Hightext also sees PowerPoint as evil and as really monocultural, derived from and pushing a purely Western, American way of thinking and expressing. While Paul Kedrowsky points out that all this sublimation of our brains by may not be such a big deal, just slowness of innovation. 2. PPT is bad communications and should be replaced This is typified by Edward Tufte's view in the Cognitive Style of PowerPoint. Smart guy, terrific influence on UI design. But made my brain hurt. 3. PowerPoint is a canvas, good or bad because of the painter Hey, if David Byrne uses PowerPoint to make art, it can't be all bad. And besides, it can be supremely funny. Just look at the Gettysburg address or Clinton's recent book as PPT (in one case at least PPT may have forced an improvement). 4. PowerPoint is a fact of life, deal with it. Get good at it. Most others see PPT as a tool that can be good or bad depening on how you use it. And a bunch of great entries have strong guides to help. Here are a few: Beyond Bullets is chock full of strong suggestions but here is one I really like. Peterthink and Michael Hyatt has a great list of resources to help you. Brad Feld and Oliver Thylmann offer some strong tips if you are pitching to a VC. Business2.0 highlights the secrets of PPT "KungFu Masters" my all time favorite of which is Jerry Weissman. And of course, Seth Godin offers some great advice on how not to creat really bad PPT (but remember to buy his book before you get this free prize). For me, I clearly net out on the third and fourth points. I love PowerPoint. It helps. Why? For the same reasons as Stravinsky.

Posted by johnza at 08:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 23, 2004

Smiles, lollypops and no Buck-Fifty

This week's quotation: By far the best proof is experience. - Sir Francis Bacon There has been a bunch of talk recently about the fundamental importance of the customer experience in building a brand, heck in building a real business. To us, products are the customer experience. The whole experience. That is what we take the notion of products as conversations to be all about. Fast Company is now conducting it's first ever Customer Experience Awards. Brand Autopsy invites all of us to help. Clearly Starbucks is a contender, although some folks voice dissappointment. Meanwhile Lowe's is getting some pretty damning attention. For my part, I love WAMU. Ever since we got our simple refinance, free checking (with interest!) and free passbook accounts for the kids I have been plain old impressed with Washington Mutual. Somehow despite all their mergers they have been able to keep paying attention to the details. When I had questions about online billpay, they actually answered the phone. When we got disconnected, they called right back. And apologized!! Everytime we go to the branch, the employees smile, work hard to help, and explain things simply. And, potentially most importantly, they give the kids lollypops.

Posted by johnza at 09:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 15, 2004

One of us or one of them

A recent entry from Mark Ramsey and Mercury Radio brought this one to mind: Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people. - William Butler Yeats A darn good idea. As Mark says, "Consider this next time you stoke up your fancy-pants positioning line."

Posted by johnza at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 10, 2004

Speak up or shut up.

Two quotes of the week this time. "I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up." - Tom Lehrer I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead. - Samuel Goldwyn I thought of these after looking at The Writer's Path entry (of June 4) on finding your e-voice. "Successful bloggers tend to have clearly defined e-voices. They�re described as having an edge or exhibiting a kind of quirkiness. There are those who growl and, otherwise, act curmudgeonly. They write with bite. There are reasoned, logical voices in the blogosphere, but far more are content to turn a phrase into a turn of the screw rather than attend to the tune of their pitch." Really provoked some introspection about this blog and about the importance of a genuine voice and personality in all communications but in marketing for sure. Brands without a consistent and distinctive personality are confusing and not lasting. And I guess blogs that lack that are just plain boring (or autobiographies with the author as the most important audience). Still working on finding the right e-voice for this site, but will think about it a bit differently now.

Posted by johnza at 04:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 02, 2004

On Advertising

"The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper." - Thomas Jefferson What does this really say about advertising? What does this really say about journalism and the media(be it print, television, internet, blogs)?

Posted by johnza at 05:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 24, 2004

Brevity is the soul of wit

Apropos given the simplicity topic. And actually it's "Since brevity is the soul of wit... I will be brief..." Of course, it's by Shakespeare and it's from Hamlet, Act II Scene ii, spoken by Polonius.

Posted by johnza at 08:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack