Casual Fridays

I dropped in on Pause, my guilty pleasure, and Jory has posted her take on Randall Rothenberg’s interesting article in Strategy+Business.

Like Jory, I was taken back by the article and left feeling like it challenges a lot of what we’ve learned from Seth Godin’s Purple Cow and Tom Peters’ WOW! Either I totally misunderstand the article, or basically it espouses that the idea doesn’t matter as long as the execution is good.

I completely disagree with that notion. The execution does matter, but it cannot consistently overcome a horrible idea. Last night’s episode of The Apprentice is an excellent example. In creating an advertising concept for Lamborghini, the men lost based on horrible ideas. In his article, Rothenberg states the following.

Every manager, from the middle on up, knows that the secret to success lies not in strategy, but in galvanizing a team to implement the strategy.

Yet if you watched The Apprentice last night, you saw one team focus on teamwork (the men) and they lost horribly. Why? Because they never had a solid idea to build around.

Teamwork is huge. It is critical. But without a good idea, you have no reason for a team to exist.

Last weekend I met with some friends for a little retreat. We reflected on life and looked at how our passions and experiences might be indicating purpose for our lives. As we shared our lives with each other I thought about how I wouldn’t want to do what they do, and they probably wouldn’t want to do what I do. And that’s GREAT!

If we’re part of an organism, then we have our own purpose to fulfill. A hand doesn’t try to see and an eye doesn’t try to pick up a hammer and swing it. I shouldn’t try to find purpose in bookkeeping or accounting, and an accountant probably wouldn’t find their purpose in my idea-generating activities.

Still all the parts belong to the same body. They have the same blood coursing through them. They rely on the same air, food, and shelter. If the body decides it must do something (eat, sleep, run, etc.), then the parts have to work in conjunction for this common purpose. So must the parts of a business. People, departments, and divisions all belong to the same organism. They have the same financial “blood” flowing through them. They rely on the same mission, vision, and leadership. They may have different functions, but they need to come together in order to accomplish a common purpose (market growth, increasing margins, adjusting to competitors, etc.)

An organism has purpose on macro and micro levels. If the micro-purposes come together, they can accomplish incredible things on a macro level. Problem is, we often don’t know our purpose on ANY level.

OK, fess up time. I’m a Taco Bell junkie. Also, for some strange reason I really like the phrases on the sauce packets. Several of the phrases are cute and clever. I’m just surprised you can’t submit suggestions for phrases on Taco Bell’s website. Actually, there’s not even a mention of the sauce packets on their website, so I had to find a third party to help me out.

Why do you do what you do?

There’s a question to ask often and answer honestly. Two reasons:

Understanding what drives you can help direct/redirect your decisions.
You might ask why you chose your current occupation. In answering that question, you can discover motives and desires that lead you to your job. Conversely, you may realize that you chose your job because of security or because of what others expect of you. These “answers” (which really just lead to more questions, which hopefully leads to more discovery), can help you decide where to go from here and do it authentically.

Understanding your motives can give insight into what motivates others’ decision-making.
Not everyone will share your motivations, but at the core of your motivation is likely a universal motivator… one that nearly everyone shares with you. Try to find the universal motivators behind your decisions. Now, ask if your product/service taps into any of these motivators. If not, ask how it could. Find innovative ways of tapping into universal motivators.

The Oracle from Matrix Reloaded says it better than me.
Neo: But if you already know, how can I make a choice?
The Oracle: Because you didn’t come here to make the choice, you’ve already made it. You’re here to try to understand *why* you made it. I thought you’d have figured that out by now.

Per Bruce and (of course) Seth, Gilette has announced they will unveil a 5-blade razor in early 2006.

Somebody please remind me, what is the benefit of multiple blades? Multiple opportunities to cut myself? Originally, I believe they touted that you could get a smooth shave with one stroke of the razor. So, instead of shaving over the same area two or three times, now you just go over it once. Good idea.

Did I ever shave the same area five times? No. Not unless I want razor burn so bad that my neck resembles the topography of Mars. So, what is the purpose? Marketing. One-upmanship. OK, one-upmanship marketing.

Seems like the megahertz “myth” redux. Wintel PCs were blowing away Apple in megahertz speed ratings. In a race to have the fastest PC, manufacturers eventually commodotized the market. After one gigahertz (1,000 mhz), very few people could find reasons to buy faster computers. Soon, manufacturers were looking for another way to differentiate their product. Now speed is almost a non-factor. Any new PC is usually fast enough. It’s the peripherals (monitor, mp3 player, printers, cameras) that steer purchases now.

So, has Gillette (and the razor market) “jumped the shark?” I think so. Yet, razors don’t typically use peripherals so I’ll be interested to see how they differentiate themselves after this.

Ever try to serve hors devours on a rubberband?

Ever try to bend a toothpick?

If you manage employees, do they know what rules are flexible or inflexible? Seth gives a good example of why they should.

Advertising and the Christian faith make strange bedfellows.

My wife and I are currently going through a small group study by Crown Financial Ministries. The study is intended to help families apply biblical principals to their money management. One of the points they make is that the more TV you watch, the more catalogs you peruse, then the more money you spend. Often needlessly. Honestly, that’s a hard pill for someone in marketing to swallow. How do I reconcile that? Partly in my choice of clientele and partly with honesty. Still, it seems like a fine line to walk.

Additionally, I recently read a bbc.com article detailing how more churches and ministries are using advertising to draw attendance. I have no problem with this in practice. And some of the ads are actually pretty good. What I am concerned about is churches and ministries RELYING on advertising as many businesses do. What if churches become more concerned with making sure their advertising is incredible than seeing that their ministry is effective? I also worry that while attempting to be clever, ministries may not be authentic in their advertising.

Advertising and faith. It’s like having dinner with Steve Jobs and Billy Graham. I respect both, but don’t know how they’d relate with each other… or how I’d fit in the middle.

Do you work within an organism or an organization?

What’s the difference?

If one part of the organism hurts, the other parts feel the pain as well.
An organism tries to keep its body intact. It prefers to heal rather than amputate.
Parts of an organism work in conjunction. The eyes can give guidance to the hands and feet. The hands can shield the eyes. The feet give effective mobility to the rest of the organism. The parts do not act independently.
Change is part of life for an organism.

If one part of an organization hurts, the other parts can be apathetic.
An organization will jettison departments if they’re not deemed “profitable.” It prefers to seal off losses than heal them over time.
Organizations, despite their name, may not work “in organization” from one department to another. The term “right hand, meet left hand” ironically applies to organizations more than organisms. Coordinating departments in an organization is often very difficult work.
Change can seem like death for an organization.

As Seth said, bureaucracy is death. I wonder if our country is becoming less of an organism and more of an organization.

Where are you, your company, your product, your brand, your industry?

In my absence next week, I’d like to refer people to John Moore’s Brand Autopsy blog. John has his own entertaining and insightful way of approaching brands and marketing.

One of his favorite “patients” (aka targets) lately has been GM and their employee discount for everyone. While I agree with him on the dangerous addiction to discounts, I’ve noticed a reason this could have been good for GM. It introduced the same no-haggle environment as GM has used with Saturn.

1. This enhances the experience for the customers. No more driving all over town (or way out of town) to ensure you got the best deal. No more hearing, “Let me talk with my manager about that.” or “What will it take to see you drive this car home today?”

2. Creates a sense of reliability. Customers know what to expect and feel confident those expectations will be met. Same reason I know I can eat lunch at Taco Bell for $3. I don’t have to worry whether or not I have enough money. I know before I walk in the door. Hence, I’m qualified before I walk in the door as well.

3. Flat pricing takes emphasis off of dealership prices. This causes them to focus on actually ADDING value to the car-buying experience. Dealerships would be forced to understand what customers want and innovate instead of using price to lure customers onto their lot.

Two problems with this:

1. None of this matters if Detroit puts out shoddy cars.

2. GM already announced they will return to Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. Instead of employee discounts, they plan to cut the MSRP of the 2006 line across the board. I think that’s even worse.

Say “Welcome back.” to Mr. Haggle.

Oh, and John… take care of my readers will ya?