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Filed under: marketing
I needed a change, so I have moved to bethinkr.com. Look for me there.
Filed under: innovation, leadership | Tags: change, checks, Christian Science Monitor, Clarke American, Harland Clarke, newspapers
At the end of October venerable publication The Christian Science Monitor dropped its century long tradition of daily publications to move nearly completely online.
A few years ago, I attended a marketing course that was also attended by a large contingent of Clarke American managers who were trying to find a way to save their dying check printing business. They wouldn’t accept that their entire industry was dying. At least not in it’s present form.
Now they no longer exist. Not as Clarke American anyway.
But it looks like the The Christian Science Monitor will.
Filed under: brands, community, online media, politics | Tags: Anatoly Drozdov, banks, Belarus, border control, Charles Schumer, Guy Kawasaki, IndyMac, International Monetary Fund, knock knock joke, machine, nobodies, panic, Reuters, Senate, Soviet, Tipping Point, totalitarian, Twitter, USA
The Belarus “powers that be” has recently released an ill-thought out directive. Reuters reports:
Belarus’s central bank said on Wednesday it had advised commercial banks to inform the police about anyone who approaches branch customers expressing doubts about the business in a way that could cause panic.
Belarus, where much of the economy remains in state hands, says it has suffered few effects of the world financial crisis, but the ex-Soviet state has requested a $2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund as a “security cushion.”
“We are asking the banks’ security service to monitor the behavior of customers inside their branches,” central bank spokesman Anatoly Drozdov told Reuters.
“If they see someone is speaking loudly to other customers about whether the bank is in a critical position or advising against making deposits, they can ask the police for help. That person may then be detained for an identity check.”
If the customer was found to have had no intention of undermining confidence in the bank, he would be released.
There is an old knock-knock joke that I like:
Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Soviet border control
Soviet border control w…
DON’T ASK QUESTIONS!
The world is getting tougher for these regimes. Never could they completely suppress the freedom of the mind and soul, no matter how they punished speech and actions. But now, every time they try to crackdown, eventually, they are exposed as the domineering institutions of which they are. As I have written before, our modern world has no place for these groups. There is simply too much power in the common man’s voice. Guy Kawasaki straightforwardly remarked, when discussing Twitter,
But mark my words: [...] Nobodies are the new somebodies
That is, we are. All of us. We are the somebodies. And no matter which totalitarian machine tries to stop that, whether it be governmental, political, educational, cultural, or corporate, we will fight back with the weapons of discourse and dissent, founded in the freedom-seeking characteristics inherent in every man and woman.
Maybe one day, Belarus can be like America, where it’s okay for even a Senator to undermine a bank.
One of my first jobs included the responsibility of acting as the initial screen for aspiring inventors wishing to add their product to our company’s product line. As you would gather in such a situation, I told a lot of people “No.” Most simply didn’t pass the basic framework that I’d set up for what was needed for us to have a successful product launch. And most of those who did found other ways to dissuade me from pursuing.
When I did turn down these queries, there was hardly ever a question asked about my rationale. And, on the off chance that my rationale was read, I was usually congratulated for my thorough refusal of the potential vendor. In one refused case in particular, when it was discovered that the proposed product turned out to be harmful, I was publicly complimented and compensated.
There were a handful of times though that I said, “Yes … this is perfect for our customer base”; or “Yes … we can beat a major competitor to launch with a better product”; or “Yes … this is a little bit different than what we currently do, but it is a wonderful opportunity.”
When that happened, I was excited to propose such a great addition to our product line. The inventor was excited, product tests seemed to go well, marketing figures checked out, and then, usually, someone felt that it was politically harmful, or it was too different, or there wasn’t time to look at it. And then, slowly, any support that the project had would ebb away and finally die.
It’s not about how “Yes” is inherently better than “No.” Sometimes, saying “No” is the best thing to do. But it does take courage is to say, “I know this is against the current way we do things, but we should change.” And I am not saying I was courageous; I had nothing to lose by recommending these changes. But for those in the power to really make decisions (which I find myself more in now than then), that is where you have to be willing to occasionally swim against the corporate cultural and strategic stream. Because, if you don’t, you might find your business slowly ebbing away and eventually dying.
Filed under: design | Tags: Charles Dickens, DailyLit, design, iPhone, obama, of, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, Rhiannon Bowman, RSS, silica, siliceous, The Free Dictionary
There are two places that have a pretty slick design that you ought to check out. First was discovered (to me) by Rhiannon Bowman, an Obama and iPhone fanatic whose blog I have quietly followed for the last few months. It’s called “DailyLit“.
DailyLit has embraced new media (and attention spans) with their distribution model. They send books, in part, day-after-day through RSS or email. It’s brilliant. They include free old classics and new, for-pay books. I’m in a Dickens mood right now, and he is, thankfully, one of the freebies.
The second design that I have enjoyed is less obvious. My favorite dictionary site is The Free Dictionary. The definitions are more comprehensive, the synonmyns more accesible, and the ability to dive deeper into the copy is wicked. You know how you can double click a word to highlight it? Well, on this dictionary site, it takes you to the definition of that word. Any word in the copy. Say you look up pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, and you are unsure what is meant with the use of “siliceous”. Just double click and you get the definition:
Containing, resembling, relating to, or consisting of silica.
Silica?
A white or colorless crystalline compound, SiO2, occurring abundantly as quartz, sand, flint, agate, and many other minerals and used to manufacture a wide variety of materials, especially glass and concrete.
Of? It’s pretty long.
Filed under: economy, leadership | Tags: Alan Mulally, bailout, Buick, Cadillac, CEO, Chevy Volt, Chyrsler, Congress, economy, environment, Ford, General Motors, GM, GMC, Hummer, hybrid, Johnson Controls, Keith Wandell, president, Richard Wagoner, Robert Nardelli, Ron Gettelfinger, Saab, Saturn brand, UAW, Volvo
In addition to starring in a singularly scary photograph (Wall Street Journal)—
—executives of the big automakers (and associated groups) outlined a plan for action with their asking for federal funds from Congress (see below):
| General Motors | Ford | Chrysler | |
| Requested Funds | Term loans of up to $12 billion through end-2009; $6 billion line of credit | $9 billion line of credit | $7 billion loan by end-2008 |
| Fuel Efficiency | Will launch predominately high mileage, energy-efficient cars and crossovers | Improve the fuel economy of its fleet an average of 14% for 2009 models, 26% for 2012 models and 36% for 2015 models compared to 2005 models | 73% of the 2009 models will have better fuel efficiency than previous models |
| Green Initiatives | Will invest $2.9 billion in alternative fuels and technologies through 2012; will offer 15 hybrid models by 2012. Chevy Volt scheduled to be produced in 2010 | A battery-powered commercial van due in 2010, a battery powered sedan in 2011, and a plug-in hybrid by 2012; will invest $14 billion on advanced technologies during next seven years | Introduce first full-function electric-drive model in 2010; will produce more than 500,000 electric vehicles by 2013 |
| Brands | Will focus on Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC; will consider selling Saab and Hummer; sell or consolidate its Saturn brand | Explore selling Volvo | |
| Operations | Plan plant consolidations | Cut the number of dealers selling its vehicles, and retool plants to make small cars in the U.S. | Further factory rationalization, sharing platforms and components and other technical innovations expected to yield between $3.5 billion to $9 billion annually when fully implemented |
| Staffing/Labor | Wants further changes in labor agreements, including on job security, paid time-off, and health-care | Negotiating with UAW for more cost savings | Plans to cut work force and reduce health-care benefits |
| Financial Restructuring | Trying to cut $30 billion from its debt load; dividend will remain suspended during the life of loans. Expects North America to break even by 2012 | Expects a return to profitability in 2011. | Expects a return to profitability by the end of 2009. |
Source: Wall Street Journal
Not only does Alan Mulally look like the nicest of the bunch, but it also appears that his organization has the most concrete plans for action in this crisis. Specific benchmarks, both in terms of time and result, evidence of current action, and a willingness to scrimp with the rest of us; these steps win out. Mulally is by no means without blame, but he does appear, both in this article and others to be changing his tact in light of the new economy.
We need a lot more “This is what I will do” rather than “This is what I will consider” in times of crisis.
Filed under: economy | Tags: art, Carnegie Mellon, computer human interaction, Johnny Chung Lee, life, PhD, Pittsburgh, Randy Pausch, slingshot, Wii, YouTube
You probably have already seen this video of Johnny Chung Lee and his Wii; if not, you should.
This is someone that has figured out how to do what he loves (and has found an audience that appreciates his work). After seeing one of his new projects today, I took a look at his CV. Turns out that this Carnegie Mellon PhD has not only created a following on YouTube (Top Rated Video, Dec 2007), but he also was the Project Creator on:
A large scale community art project for the City of Pittsburgh for the urban renewal initiative of the East Liberty area. The project involved the construction of a 45 foot tall slingshot to launch paint-filled balloons fired by community to temporarily transform a condemned apartment building into an 18-story tall piece of artwork.
There are a few lessons here—and I wonder if it is a coincidence that another life lover and Internet sensation, Randy Pausch, also claimed this university—in the same department and field of study even?
Is there something we ought to learn more about when we discuss human interaction (the area of study for both these individuals)?
I think so.
Filed under: communication, community | Tags: blaze, Cache Valley, cats, communication, communities, fire, Logan, Utah
While on my Thanksgiving holiday, I noticed the today the front page of the small town newspaper at my wife’s parents. Take a look:
It is heartening to realize that in many less well-known areas, the “simple life” is the norm. There is also a lesson here about understanding your audience. A large city editor sent to “save” this paper may demand a focus on more mandarin matters. In doing so, the editor ought to be most aware of how his community currently and wishes to communicates, rather than how the saving editor thinks they ought to converse.
I am not advocating always pandering to the lowest level your audience. I am simply stating, sometimes people care more about cats than wars—and if that is your target group, you should be well aware.
Filed under: communication, online media | Tags: blogging, communication, communities
Today we at Zions Direct, along with a few of our sister institutions, launched our “Think” blog.
Well, it actually begin a few days back with an inchoate posting by yours truly, but today—with more substantial commentary by those who have the expertise to offer it—we can safely say it is official.
I am quite happy with how this has worked out and have great hopes we be able to facilitate better conversations through this medium.
Disclosure:
You may see that I like Zions Direct Auctions. I also work in marketing on that product, which means I may be a bit biased (but it also means I do something that I believe in).
