3,14159...Perspectives on Marketing (and then some)

Corporate silence is not golden

2012-05-08T17:07:00.002+01:00

Sometimes you just know better.

At least that's you think.

Interestingly enough, this makes you...stop thinking.

Even data, normally indisputable, becomes a source of heated Ad homimen arguments

Big organizations, home to some equally big egos, suffer a lot from accute adhomimenitis...

That's why internal and corporate communications are key.

When corporate radio is turned off, water cooler radio turns on.

Internally, egos and departmental agendas lead the way, creating silos that resist even the most logical directives.

Externally, your firm will look like an endangered ship, abandoned by its captain sailing adrift in rough seas.

Never stop sharing what your company knows and namely what only management knows, leaving aside any prejudice (a.k.a. as stuff you think you now but don't) against social networks.

But always remember: one should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated...

Don't think... you know it all.

Are you talking to me?

2012-05-08T08:54:00.001+01:00

A lot takes place in a company.

"Unknown heroes" perform "absolute miracles" on a daily basis.

Purchasing and manufacturing.

Marketing and selling.

Shipping and collecting.

Information systems.

HR and Finance.

All taken for granted, all equally difficult in itself.

And even more difficult to articulate.

Corporate Communications (CC) aims to provide these daily efforts some well deserved internal and external visibility.

With few exceptions, its the son of a lesser God, overshadowed by more exciting product advertising.

A cost, not an investment. Not a good one, anyway.

Anything will do.

That's most unfair.

And wrong,too.

Not anything does it. Not right, anyhow.

In most instances, CC has to address heterogeneous targets.

Employees with different education levels, ages, years in the company, commonly geographically dispersed.

Loyal customers, recent customers, lapsing customers and prospects.

Institutional partners, operational partners and commercial partners.

It's not a cost, not when its done right.

Knowledge of the company, the contribute of chain link and the values of the organisation is critical for staffers, customers and external partners to value the company beyond its brands:

- business information reduces uncertainty and anxiety and minimising unnecessary tensions.

- formative content adds value to teams and individuals.

-institutional messages shine a light on hidden contributions to society.

This should allow for better alignment, higher motivation and positive feelings towards the organisation that should ultimately convert into cost efficiencies, sales and profit.

Even more so when you take the chance - at almost no extra cost- to systematically seek feedback that helps you check the pulse, actually the pulses (internal and external), of your organisation.

It's certainly nice to have, but also a must have.

Keep these audiences captive for all the good reasons: offer them something for them (and about them!), they'd be willing to pay for and look forward to.

More people will want to join in, and you shall (all) be released.

Welcome aboard

2012-05-08T01:31:00.004+01:00

Surely you'll remember your first flight on an airplane.

For weeks , months or even years, we've all dreamt about it.

Excited.

Anxious too, sometimes to the extent of requiring special treatment.

But over time, flights become down to Earth, so to speak.

Even pilots get bored.

And once exciting trips to exotic destinations become ultimate synonym of bad food, lack of storage room and turbulence.

Specially if you're flying in a no frills seat.

In business, premieres are (or should be) also memorable.

The first day in your new company the new recruits are as excited as when they first flew.

And hand to hand with excitement, comes anxiety again.

"How can I make a great first impression?"

"What if I do something wrong?"

"Where's the bathroom?"

"HELP!!!"

The same applies when a prospect becomes an actual customer.

"Where do I sign?"

"Who can I talk to?"

"Where's the bathroom?"

"HELP!!!"

The good news is that properly welcoming these new stakeholders will not require massive funds.

A few (this's your captain speaking kind of) words from the CEO,...

... easy reading, nicely packaged brochures ...

and presented in a symbolic yet heartfelt ceremony.

And luckily for you, for some reason most companies are not doing it, not properly anyway.

In rough times, new customers and motivated self suficient staffers are invaluable.

Make them feel executive class special, even for a day.

They may just find (other the bathroom...) that you've made their day, exceeding their best expectations.

And this can only help them hit the ground running,...

...turning them less prone to feel bored or mistreated...

...and hopefully never feeling urged to fly away.

In truce we trust

2012-05-07T20:35:00.002+01:00

France has a new leader.

So does Greece.

And so did Italy, Portugal and Spain very recently.

In common: failure.

Failure to comply with expectations?

Failure to comply with expectations created by the leader himself
to millions of citizens?

Non!

Failure of the losing candidate campaign manager...

But someone wins.

Someone wins that created...more expectations (sometimes with a tiny little help from good marketing , others despite bad slogans).

Someone wins that created...more expectations through vows that are history shows that sooner than later are meant to be broken.

Why?

Because of personality, or even worst, lack of it.

We all know what politicians say in electoral campaign is not to be taken too seriously. They soon contradict themselves.

We all know what politicians say when they reach power or join the opposition is expectedly biased.

And we also know what French politicians and particularly Mr.Hollande (which ironically and God knows if prophetically, reads Holland, the last of the Eurozone troubled economies, in French language) will say is meant to impact the world economy.

The proof?

Whilst normally people pray that there was some truth in the electoral promises, this time some are hoping that he has deliberately lied (?!)...

Thank God in business, the truth is the truth (?)...

In the world of metrics, lying is not acceptable, Yahoo for that!

(What? TIM too!?...)

How much can change then due to Mr.Hollande's business background?

Either way, should you be lucky enough to live in a democratic regime - by far the worst form of government, except all others - enjoy the very few days of truce and truth in between governments.

The rest of the year is likely to be a bunch of public and (not so) private white lies: it seems to be bigger than us...

(Ask) To protect and serve

2012-05-06T15:53:00.000+01:00

A crime scene.

Paramedics, forensic teams and uniformed guards rush to the scene.

And then, only then, arrives the laid back, filthy rain coated criminal detective.

Asking lots of questions.

Who?

When?

How?

Why?

Whom?

Unfortunately for the enquirers, the victim is most times unable to help.

In business, salesmen, like policemen, (should) try to protect their customers.

Questioning should be a critical part of their job.

And more so when their customers feel victimised by lack of time, money and extreme competitor aggressiveness.

Distressed, they may even blame him/her, their own private police officer, for not protecting them properly, even from menaces beyond their control.

This may be hard to handle, but it means that, unlike some crime victims, they're alive and expect you to help them solve their problem.

That's when men separate from the boys: good salesmen know it's time to stop talking and listen.

Heston Blumenthal said "...I like asking questions, to keep learning; people with big egos might not want to look unsure"

And according to Oliver Wendell Holmes "A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve".

Parking your ego and asking questions will not only minimise immediate damage, it will help learn things you boost sales.

So if you are a sales manager, show your team the beauties of the art of questioning.

Ask them to ask...

It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion in the ocean

2012-05-05T20:09:00.003+01:00

Size matters.

Polar bears, whales and elephants have (almost) no predators because they're so big.

But as their environment changes rapidly, they become more vulnerable.

Dinosaurs vanished because they lacked heat, food and water, whilst smaller animals like mammal and insects survived.

Ants and humans are among the most successful.

They are both a versatile diet (both omnivore).

They have both great communication skills.

And both are capable of engineering marvels.

But ants are able to carry several times their own weight and travel long distances whilst big headed humans had to invent machines that allowed them to do just that.

Should the development of ants brains not be constrained their small size (!), they might rule a not unlike science fiction kind of world.

Luckily, human brains grew overtime, the homosapiens' being a kind of XXL version of their primitive cousins'.

Again size matters.

But only just...

(Einstein, by all means a big brain, carried his own head without artificial locomotion aids and was only 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) tall.)

In business, size is also important but not decisive, not in itself anyway.

Very small operations will find it very difficult to grow due to limited skills and cash but the most successful companies today are much smaller (unfortunately also job wise) than their predecessors.

Some big business will disappear whilst others grow even bigger.

The same thing will apply to marketing, as in even in the most successful companies less people with less money and less time will be invited to sell and compel more.

Like in nature, and despite what dinosaur leaders may think, only versatile, highly coordinated and well trained organisations will manage to reframe its challenges and thrive amidst rough times.

But hopefully, working together, big and small will find the way to build a most long lasting bridge over troubled water...

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." (*)

2012-05-05T16:22:00.000+01:00

What's reality?

Wikipedia's?

TEDx guru talks'?

This humble post is real, even if it has no physical body.

It took its humble real writer, a real computer to compose it.

It's a rational product of a 44 old, book addict brain looking to impact professional peers and prospects.

But it's also the aftertaste of a nice homemade lunch, prepared with love and followed by a whisky on the rocks and a Cuban cigar.

And and intake of sumptuous Taj Mahal vibes under the first Spring sunbeams.

It seems to me reality is (in this case, a written) synthesis of senses, reason and emotions.

Despite the recent behavioral approach, most (allegedly) rational economists tend to think of the theoretical Homo economicus instead of real humans, sometimes with terrible results.

To them, marketing is children and naïve adults' stuff.

But if reality equals truth, why is that that according to the most realist writer Mark Twain, "only fools and children tell the truth"?

And was factual history kind to Churchill because he (kept his promise and) wrote it himself?

Either way, when it is as harsh as it is today, a little dreaming does comes handy.

So here's a toast to one of the masterblender of fantasy and reality: the marketer, that (sometimes childish) nobody's fool on the hill!

(*) Albert Einstein

Magic Mirror, on the wall, who is (really) the fairest one of all?

2012-05-03T13:30:00.000+01:00

Most articles about technology focus on the future.

And lots of articles on how the present unavoidably shapes our projections.

Interestingly enough there's plenty of technology around aimed at preserving the past.

From plastic surgery to bottox, photoshop to make up, air implants to silicone, we all seek our glory days when we look in the mirror.

Even the film industry has mimicked its (always eager to look their best) stars by kaleidoscopically rediscovering Snow White...

... re sinking Titanic in 3D (and having someone thinking of building a new one...)...

...and resurrecting The Avengers.

When it works, magic is great...for the magician (*).

(*) Ask JK Rowling, now a millionaire whilst Harry Potter all mighty is MIA, if not dead, almost killing the career of Daniel Radcliffe in the process...

But no_body (not even Cher's...) can turn back time.

And in most instances, (mirror) illusions of eternal grandeur and beauty produce disastrous results, and not only to mean queens.

In marketing as in life, real and filmed, the same thing applies.

Apple, Google and Facebook's magic may not fade out overnight, and technology will certainly play a critical role in extending their tenure.

Ultimately, their resilience will come from further humanising their products and services, joining forces with equally resourceful partners to better anticipate consumer needs and (economically fulfillable) everyday dreams.

In our rough days , the real magic of any business is making money...today.

But it doesn't take magic mirrows, just knowing how and where to look: beyond the obvious.

Real success, as in the real past, lies in making customers feel real better, and if possible (when they look at their own real mirrors) beautiful, no matter what...

Watch your (corporate) language

2012-05-01T11:07:00.000+01:00

Business has never been so international, even for small corporations.

And English is its language.

As every language, it is the result of an ongoing amalgamation of foreign influences.

Spanish...

...French,...

...Italian...

and even German .

Local elites now share the language with the world.

No place is this more visible than in the Premier League.

The Manchester City Vs Manchester United derby was allegedly watched by an audience of 650+ million, compared to "only" 400+ million for Real Madrid Vs.Barcelona.

A couple of not so irrelevant facts may help explain the difference :
- American owned United alone hosts players from 21 nationalities

- City is Italian coached and Abu Dhabi owned .

In business as in football, speaking a common language is far more than a linguistic exercise.

Sharing a language help basic communications but over and above that enable sharing experiences that build trust and embeds beliefs.

Other than allowing to open new commercial markets, it also makes room for sensitive, complex assignments previously reserved to H.O. masterminds being allocated to peripheral structures.

Interestingly enough, HR & corporate communications, ultimately responsible for strengthening ties and setting common grounds, are by norm gregarious roles, deeply entrenched in the empire capital.

Communicating corporate values, like learning a new language, starts by listening and understanding.

Sitting in the office may not mean they'll keep hiring (native elite) people like us and not catering for and promoting diverse views and interests.

But I guess it would do them no harm to every now and then grab a pocket dictionary and hit the road...

Oh Lord, won't you buy me, a Mercedes Benz?...

2012-04-30T19:11:00.000+01:00

Product: seriously, crisis resilient, economical, maneuverable vehicles

Communication: irreverent, techie executions

Sector: automobile

Brands: Ford Smart and... Mercedes?

THE luxury sedan, prominent star shaped logo in the bonnet, reassuring status icon for the driver behind the wheel Mercedes?

That's right.

The Stuttgart brand return to F1 after decades seems to be a part of an overall strategy to revitalise the brand.

Making the brand more performant is probably relevant for the growing community of demanding billionaires, interestingly enough a growing breed in times of (now official) global crisis.

But selling a few hundred tailored super cars is hardly Mercedes business.

More importantly, F1 is a great vehicle for reaching upper middle class viewers worldwide whilst providing its loyal users yet another element of recognition.

Good bye male exclusive status quo, an all time favourite protest icon for past and current generations alike.

Hello all inclusive, safe and socially consensual lifestyle.

Welcome women and even youngsters

It takes a lot of reinvention, and not only in the technological sense of the word, for a brand to celebrate 125 years.

You do have to be SMARTtly cool...

Who's afraid of the big bad (advertising) wolf, now?

2012-04-30T15:56:00.001+01:00

It's official.

The world is on the verge of a global recession.

It's no longer a kind of genetic cancer affecting only careless, irresponsible Southern Europeans.

The good news is that the first step to a cure is identifying the disease.

The bad is that, as every cancer survivor knows, mental wounds, unlike physical pain, may never heal.

At a time when even banks loudly promote savings rather than loans, marketers will have tremendous difficulty to convince people to spend or invest their monies.

Economy is about expectations, and not surprisingly these are, with the exception of few developing countries, on the low side.

And since an open economy is - like a chain -, as strong as its weakest link, even these countries's growth may be affected, its most euphoric citizens not likely to engage in over(t) consumerism as their allegedly more developed peers did.

Commercial marketing has been blamed by instigating greed and manipulating entire populations but even the most skeptical about its benefits might now agree that some moral uplift may come handy.

The good news is this may bring back exciting, beautiful executions and take away reasonable, "money does not bring happiness" campaigns.

The bad news is consumers will be looking for the wolf beneath the sheep's clothing on every advert.

Paradoxically or not, as economical expectations decline, brand expectations get higher.

Even with technology on your side, it's a tough match.

The solution?

Be (too good to be) true!...

Brasil is calling you! And your business...

2012-04-29T21:02:00.000+01:00

Growth is meant to be back in the global economic agenda, and specifically to the EU.

But where to?

BRICs have certainly been on top of the agenda

But B,R,I and C at once is virtually impossible.

Where to start, then?

China, the biggest but also where wages at rising two digits and higher profile candidates to political leadership seem only to agree in how to deal with political dissidents?

Russia, where new business aristocrats and all that political leaders seem to agree on is that the good life is better then rising life standards?

India, with its unsettled burning geopolitical agendas with high profile neighbors Pakistan, competition with China for critical natural resources like water and deep ethnic fractions that a few exceptions only highlight?

Brasil, despite not untouchable when it comes to common traits like corruption, state interventionism in the economy and inequality, has been able to exhibit some positive developments in each of these fronts.

Neighbors are much smaller and the most notable have been doing it to themselves by consistently or opportunistically attacking big business.

Heavy industries, FMCGs and even financial companies are expected to flourish as infrastructures are built and lower interest rates allow dozens of millions to adopt lower middle class purchasing habits.

And the country's 300 billionaires and highly skilled, well travelled and foreign language speaking elite diplomats will certainly have a say in international business and political agendas.

Also, for the next few years at least what happens in Brasil(ia) won't stay in Brasil, and we're not (only) talking football. Even US President Obama knows (like him or not) this...

"Brasil is calling you!": a great marketing campaign as much as a big business break?

Maybe you should consider starting packing your (corporate) bags, you'll surely don't want to miss a thing...

Let it B(e)

2012-04-25T20:52:00.001+01:00

Brasil (or Brazil) starts with B.

The B in BRICS.

The B in Biggest country in South America, home to the world's largest and some claim longest river in the world, which runs across the world's most famous rain forest and Earth's lung.

The B in Tom JoBim's Bossa Nova, samBa and futeBol.

And the B in Balada, where every Saturday night fever burns...

But there's life beyond the mundane and most times stereotyped imagery of Brazil.

B also stands for big Business: 300 Billionaires and 7 Fortune 500 corporations, led by PetroBras.

And in marketing (other then Buy at Macy's...) it stands for great puBlicidade (advertising), including this great ad for Brahma featuring Beer, Beach, and (I tried hard, but couldn't resist it...) a glimpse of that acclaimed Brazilian national treasure, the Bumbum (*)

(*) In free translation: firm, round shaped, suntanned lady derriere, aka as "the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on"

Some attribute this success to born creativity traits,...

...others highlight the market size and growth prospects that led major international agencies to secure their own presence in the country and...

... if anything, the upcoming sports events bring even higher hopes to this flourishing industry

The fact is big multinationals now lead the market making life more difficult to even the most resourceful 100% national talent alternatives, even if the market growth is likely to compensate for a loss of market share.

Wouldn't it be a good idea for the latter to look beyond national borders for partnerships with equally great agencies in other parts of the world and propose to service their customers in Brazil?

It may not be a natural move, but for once Plan B may just produce A+ results...

Eventually great events

2012-04-25T15:31:00.000+01:00

"They were just kind of simultaneous - the film ending and the sets being destroyed. I was struck the first time I saw the Great Hall become a big pile of burning rubble and getting scattered around. It's really quite shocking for the fans."
Rupert Grint

Big events are meant to be great.

Sports tournaments, live music concerts and sometimes even cultural exhibits make our day.

OK, maybe days.

All right, years.

A lifetime?

Well, very few but yes, but some events do get in fact stitched to our memories forever.

That's why despite recession sponsoring investments have managed to become more relevant and grow, F1, FIFA, NFL,NBA and other international events and teams making zillions,...

... builders of stadiums and arenas, along with related business and all sorts of service providers to the event organizers proliferate...

...and countries and cities invest pornographic amounts of money bidding for hosting these events, celebrating loudly when they're the chosen ones.

Sadly, that's also why even other much more rational and urgently needed investments are overlooked....

Sports organisers and building companies will be sports organisers and builders, and in a global economy they'll soon invest their massive earnings in more financially prospectful locations, even under extreme natural and sensitive political conditions.

And the latter would even be happy to destroy every single piece of concrete they've erected, at a price, of course.

As far as the man on the street, most events are not more than (a later looked as corny) Summertime love.

In reality, they only just dilute the temporary annoyance of traffic restrictions, inflated prices and never ending queues.

As shown last night, not even Barcelona's soccer team glory is eternal.

Even the nicest memories fade out when times get rough and abandoned "white elephant" stadiums are sad reminders of a spending frenzy that mortgaged every one's future.

Rocker Gavin Degraw said that "There's always some amount of gradual, slow burning destruction over the course of partying".

Current Brazilian public authorities, the proud hosts of the upcoming soccer World Cup and Olympic Games were hardly born when the country hosted their last big tournament.

In 1950, the country lost much more than the dramatic final; they somehow subsequently lost the chance to reform political institutions and foster economic growth.

Hopefully this will help remind willful and diligent Dilma Rousseff and her team that real life is not like the movies.

Sports events and initiatives like Open Government and Rio+20 do provide the country well deserved international visibility that along with a prospectful economy and widespread electorate support provide a unique opportunity for change.

May they ensure that this time after the fire, the fire still burns...

Not now, Onassis!

2012-04-05T13:42:00.000+01:00

An intrepid Greek aspirant entrepreneur about to meet an important prospect on a Venetian restaurant spotted Aristoteles Onassis in a nearby table.

Anxious to impress and close the deal, he asks Onassis to pretend they knew each other and so he did.

When the guest arrived our entrepreneur drove him to the table and Onassis the millionaire raised to salute both, only to be repelled by a loud: "Don't be a pain, Onassis! Can't you see I'm busy ?!"...

This may have never happened but Onassis fortune and beautiful women surely made him a celebrated and parodied marketing icon.

But you can bet that his own success took much more than PR stunts. And that the same applies to just any entrepreneur.

Looking virtuous and pure is as important to entrepreneurs as it was to Caesar's wife and man's grammar.

And great PR can do great things for your brand and company, proclaimed its good intentions, creating buzz and minimising damage with an important spill over to critical internal agendas.

But not even in the technological XXI st century, where reputations can be built and destroyed in just a few seconds, is business about virtual reality. (Right, Google?)

Nor a Venetian masquerade...

[I]Dea(l)s

2012-04-05T13:11:00.002+01:00

All businesses start with an idea.

Sometimes someone else's idea.

Other times even an amalgamation of loose ideas from different people.

Improved.

Reinterpreted.

Repackaged.

Newton didn't invent the apple nor the tree, let alone gravity.

Franklin surely didn't create lightning.

And to some Windows and Apple are a product of artificial insemination.

So don't be obsessed with good and fresh ideas.

Normally the good aren't fresh and the fresh aren't good.

And if yours is good and fresh, it may just take a fortune to get prospects to (literally) buy it.

Either way, you'll end up broke or even in a place full of creative minds that will make your crazy ideas look dull: the (in)sanatory.

Idealising ideal ideas is not about entrepreneurism, it's about phylosophy.

Drive, pragmatism and team spirit, critical qualities for an entrepeneur, are by norm as alien to phylosophers the sense of a most refined humour.

Think of something you like to do,...

...that people say you do real good...

....and like you doing it.

Take your chances, and get it started...

Brand new games

2012-04-01T23:06:00.001+01:00

The game is on.

It's engaging.

It's viral.

It leaves a trace. (And, at no extra cost, an invaluable database...)

Games are used in childhood as invaluable learning tools.

If anything, technology increased its appeal and potential (and that of conferences on the subject...).

So, other than (re)igniting friends and family gatherings, games are now used to educate adults.

And this makes them a business...of businesses.

Games can educate consumers on your brand,...

...customers on your services,...

...and/or staff on your corporate values.

They can be played online, outdoors and even in cinemas.

They're relatively cheap.

They can help you boost your sales whilst reinforcing your positioning.

What are you waiting for?

It's so easy, all you have to do is know the rules and... play the game!

We are all Berliners

2012-03-30T11:50:00.001+01:00

Berlin tried to unify Europe by force in the XX th century.

And by force, Berlin was divided in two.

By a big wall.

XXI st century most potent weapon is money.

And Berlin is apparently using it to unify Europe by force once again.

And once again Berlin is divided in two, one of which with apparent memory lapses.

Like most remakes, it's a dreadful move.

Germany's recent progress would have hardly been possible without external vision and determination.

And of course, loads of propaganda, including some overdoses of extreme paranoia.

What's good for Germany is good for Europe and in fact the world, and what's bad too; it's the modern world of interdependency.

Let's hope German determined leaders may find in the past the inspiration for leading forward the most powerful country in Europe through the winds of change...

Interest(ed) rates

2012-03-30T10:57:00.002+01:00

Some of the world's most iconic brands .

Reputed corporations, with solid values.

Political stability.

Social security.

Human rights.

Diversity.

Recognise Europe?

These are in fact some of the trademarks of the this troubled land.

And ultimately one of the reasons why it's so troubled.

Generous international aid with even more generous payback.

Cash starved countries car boot selling their most valuable assets.

Companies with great potential and highly skilled staff at bargain prices.

It's a (not so) grown ups tug-of-war, similar to corporate competition, only more savage as the standards of living of thousands if not millions are on the line.

So there's only one way out for Europe, other of course than avoid shoot your own feet campaigns and learn from and empower great local marketing experts.

To put an end to internal and cross-country tugs-of-war and play once more the pipes of peace...

Europe lost (in translation)

2012-03-30T09:47:00.002+01:00

Booz&Co + INSEAD’s are circulating a survey on Europe.

For some reason, it reminded me that the name of the founder of was to become the current European Union was called Jean Monet

And maybe this was a most unfortunate occurrence.

A phonetic translation to English results in…John Money

Money it is in fact that seems to rule European politics.

Interest rates.

Public spending cuts.

Exports.

Meantime, thousands of citizens reclaim the streets and much more suffer in silence.

Monet actually means solitary, and that’s surely how Jean would have felt when preaching a new Europe.

Should he be alive, he’d probably be enjoying a robust retirement allowance, unlike other senior citizens that were thrown out with the bath water.

But even he would probably feel lonely and sad.

Monet is not money.

It's abour a EU rope that holds people together, rather than tying their hands behind their back and mistreating them.

And nice or not so nice marketing campaigns won't be enough.

I like to think Europe is not lost, if anything it's unfinished.

And more than ever it must be more than just an old word in an once naively romantic world

But completing the task will take much more than words… .

Take five to high five

2012-03-26T11:29:00.001+01:00

When I recently started blogging professionally here at 3,14159...Marketing (and then some) I certainly couldn't see this coming:

1 online crash course

5 months

116 articles on marketing and (infinite, irrational and transcendental, quite like 3,14159...) disciplines

352 Twitter followers, including Prof.Paul Kruger, Ken Blanchard and Columbia Business School

1843 Linkedin contacts

5677 (and counting) page views according to Google Analytics

21796 (and counting) page views according to Blogger

For some prejudiced minds blogging and social networking is meant to be all about unproductive people releasing the most inadequate comments and bad taste photos & videos after getting high.

As everywhere else, I did in fact find plenty of bad stuff online.

But from my hands-on experience there's also plenty of educative and sometimes insightful material...

...at hands reach...

...most of it absolutely FREE.

For personal but more importantly professional use.

Blogger provides you the easiest way to develop your own blog, your corporate voice to the world.

Twitter allows you to touch base with the leading authorities in your business field and Academia's best.

Prospect customers publicise and update their won profiles, sometimes even signaling their intents on Linkedin.

Facebook, Youtube and now Pinterest puts your consumers at the distance of one post, video or photo.

And with some spare bucks you can run a Google Adwords campaign that puts you in the spotlight of business partners all over the world.

So take it from me, times change.

You'll not want to lose the opportunity to give each of your stakeholders a big high five.

So consider putting your prejudices and fears aside and take five...

What goes up, must(n't) come down

2012-03-25T16:08:00.001+01:00

Cats.

Gracefully agile.

Temperamentally independent.

And a with a propensity for heights that sometimes gets them into trouble.

Today's entrepreneur is like a cat.

A technical skill well grounded in higher specialised education and sometimes even working for some of the best companies in the world.

Internet and social networks as elevators.

And immeasurable ambition.

But we all know cats have seven lives, and entrepreneurs only have one.

So they should not rely solely on a graceful idea they've agilely prototyped,...

...overestimate their multitasking abilities...

...and underestimate the dangers of reaching the top unprepared.

After all even the biggest wildcat of all lives and hunts in groups, carefully training and planning every single move so not to exhaust precious energy.

Becoming a king today is probably easier than ever before, but ruler's business is hard, sometimes misunderstood and even mocked at.

So, as father of entrepreneurial spirit Isaac Newton did, today's entrepreneur should stand on the shoulders of giants.

Or risk to be a king of anything...

A blogger and a gentleman

2012-03-24T22:45:00.001Z

Invite, don't be unpolite

Suggest rather then request

Share only your fair share

Always congratulate, never importunate

Storify but don't glorify

Objectivise instead of adjectivise

Ask meaningfully, respond willingly

Invest when others rest

Follow up, don't give up

It's not about what people giving you anything, but people thinking "You give me something"

Irate twits and angry birds

2012-03-24T21:56:00.000Z

Character.

Meaning: "The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another"

But also: "One of a set of symbols, such as letters or numbers, that are arranged to express information"

A twit may look (an is) a straightforward, easy to assemble combination of 140 characters, hardly enough to pass across a comprehensible message.

And sharing it is just so simple.

But that's probably why it shows so much of your unique character.

Whether in the comfort of your very castle or touring well armed with the most powerful tablet/smartphone you're hardly suffering from any social or professional pressures.

You twit because you feel like it...

... when and where you feel like it...

... about what you like or dislike, but either way interests you enough to share with the world.

Yet your tweet may reach millions of people who may not be able to put your comment into perspective, let alone give you a chance to do it later on.

Social networks may make you rich and famous but one insensitive twit only from even a rich and famous character can provoke an outburst of protest.

And if you're twitting on the behalf of an organisation, concerns go well beyond your personal sphere; if you screw up you may be risking both your career and your employer's reputation.

Twitter can be a great tool to spread sensitive corporate messages but you surely not when you're hot headed.

Irate twits fly faster than angry birds, and what goes around, comes around...

Caution! Hazardous material, handle with care

2012-03-24T10:22:00.001Z

Technology.

It has been shaping our lives for centuries.

The nature around us,...

...our bodies,...

...and now even our brains, for the good and for the worst.

The same happens to business Information Systems.

They improve control, increase speed and now exponentiate reach.

And above all they bring costs down.

In the right hands, technology can trigger individual health and collective wealth.

In the hands of mentally disturbed psycopats and/or unsocial technocrats they destroy people's and companies' lives.

Game killing boosts useful human aptitudes as much as they can educate and inspire real life killings.

Excel spreadsheets, automated CRM programmes and now the internet and social networks boost corporate results as much as they can dangerously alienate decision makers from flesh & bone employees, business partners and above all consumers or end users.

Luckily, internal and external communication techniques and technologies have also evolved exponentially and can help to bridge the gap between augmented reality leaders and 3D people.

Mind you, it's not a plug-and-play thing, it even requires from the leaders the willingness to rethink their marketing.

But even when they need to take tough measures, their good intentions may no longer be misunderstood...