1. Make a Great Product

You can do everything right, but if you don’t make a great product, your business is going to bomb very quickly. Sprinkles Cupcakes understands this! In fact, they don’t just sell a cupcake, they sell “The Gourmet Cupcake”. They offer hundreds of delicious handmade cupcakes that are made from some of the finest ingredients in the world. I mean just have a listen to some of the ingredients they use: natural citrus zest, Belgian chocolate, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, sweet cream butter. Are you hungry yet? These gourmet cupcakes are to DIE for. The lines just to get your hands on one of these things is INSANE. If you are working on a product that you want to sell like HOT CAKES, then you need to think about Cupcakes! Make your product THE BEST product in the industry. Otherwise why bother doing it?

2. Make It Easy For People to Buy Your Product

The lines for these gourmet cupcakes where getting ridiculous. Nobody could get their hands on these cupcakes. The issue wasn’t making the cupcakes, the issue was selling them in the store. How did Sprinkles Cupcakes get around this issue? They innovated yet again and created the world’s first Cupcakes ATM. And it wasn’t just any ATM. It was another great product. Customers could now simply walk up to the Cupcakes ATM, select the cupcake they wanted to purchase, and out would pop a gourmet cupcake. Sounds too good to be true? Why would anyone want to buy a cupcake from an ATM? That brings me to my next point.

3. Let People See How It Is Made

Sprinkles Cupcakes decided that it was critical people buying their gourmet cupcakes from an ATM would get an incredible experience. In order to do this, Sprinkles Cupcakes added cameras and an incredible interactive LCD touch screen. Customers select the cupcake they want from a massive list, and once the selection is made, Sprinkles Cupcakes shows the customer the cupcake being pushed into the ATM, pushed into a box, and then packed fresh for the customer to eat in a matter of seconds. If you are developing a product, you need to provide proof that you are the real deal. You can’t just claim you have the best ingredients, you need to show people the proof and evidence that what you say, is actually the reality!

4. Provide Great Packaging

The packaging, and the entire experience is just incredible. You just saw the video above. Everything that Sprinkles Cupcakes does is about a great package. Packing isn’t just the box the product ships in. Packaging is everything. The cage behind the cupcake ATM showing you all the delicious cupcakes. The ATM itself, the video screen, the way the cupcake door opens revealing the delicious gourmet cupcake.

5. Focus on Doing One Thing Really Well

So many people try and focus on doing 100 different things. Many service providers seem proud to offer hundreds of services and are proud to say “we are the one stop shop”. The problem with that, is you can’t really get good at one thing! How simple is cupcakes! Who would have thought you could build an empire on one simple thing like cupcakes? If you are working on a new product, a new business, or a new service offering, remember that you need to focus on one thing, and do that one thing very well. Better than anyone!

6. Make People’s Mouths Water

You have to make people’s mouths water when they see your product. You have to make them want it so badly, that nothing they do will make them forget that your product is available right now, and all they need to do is give up their credit card and a few bucks. Have you ever walked by a gourmet cupcake store before? Once you see and smell and experience one of these cupcakes, you will not only buy one cupcake, you will keep coming back for more. Ok, on that note, I need to go buy a cupcake! Good luck with all your marketing efforts friends.

Even this little one year old realizes it doesn’t feel very good to try and type on a glass surface, but feels great on a tactile keyboard. I should have made a video, but if you were here you would have seen him type a few keys then swipe the screen. Type a few more keys, then swipe the screen. Once he was done, he folded up the iPad with the keyboard inside, and went on to play with something else.

If this one year old is right, Microsoft just may have a hit on its hands with the Surface. Microsoft has out-innovated Apple yet again. The question is, will people buy the Microsoft Surface?

1. A law firm hired to try and salvage a company that’s main advantage is innovation and research is a death wish.

2. Letting the two founders leave the company was a massive mistake, as the entire essence of the company is now gone.

3. Creating a new BlackBerry OS is a waste of time because developers do not want another ecosystem, and applications will not be developed for BlackBerry OS 10 regardless of how great it may be.

4. Going on public record time and time again to say RIM is not in trouble and the sky is the limit while continuing on the path that has lead them to lose 95% of their market cap is going to take the stock even lower.

Taking Advantage of the Great

People absolutely love BlackBerry Instant Messenger. BBM is indispensable to people. Everyone loves it. Nobody wants to lose it. At the same time, people that have BlackBerry’s love their tactile keyboards. Not everyone loves typing on a screen. RIM needs to figure out a way to take advantage of these features. People love the security that BlackBerry provides.

Lose the Junk

BlackBerry owners are starting to hate the operating system and the fact that BlackBerry users don’t have a wide selection of quality applications that are updated on a regular basis. The lack of applications, games, music service, and lack of developers in the ecosystem make it an incredibly unattractive phone for most consumers. Even enterprise customers want to have some fun when they are waiting for a delayed flight. BlackBerry doesn’t currently let them have any fun. For developers, the outdated SDK and lack of quality application development tools makes developing for BlackBerry devices difficult and also an unattractive proposition.

Gain an Incredible Operating System and Platform

Windows Phone has been picking up incredible steam. It has won countless awards for its incredible user interface. Users fall in love with the device. Pairing RIM’s BlackBerry hardware with a keyboard, BlackBerry Messenger, and RIM’s security for the enterprise with Windows Phone OS is an incredible combination that would see enterprise customers fall in love with BlackBerry devices again. This approach would solve an incredible amount of issues quickly, while still maintaining RIM’s unique position as the company that makes “BlackBerry”.

The Ultimate Enterprise Phone

The Windows Phone BlackBerry would dominate the enterprise market literally overnight. I can’t tell you how many people I know that have switched to iPhone from BlackBerry still miss BBM and the great keyboards. By combining the best of Windows Phone, with the best of BlackBerry, RIM would see droves of customers come back to the BlackBerry, and fall in love yet again with one of the greatest companies that Canada has produced. It’s not too late RIM, but you need to take action fast. Scrap the BlackBerry OS 10, partner with Microsoft to bring the BlackBerry Windows Phone to market, or everyone will be looking for a job in less than a year, including CEO Thorsten Hein.

The Problem with Social Media

The current state of social media is that of the wild west. There are hundreds of social media platforms, social media tools, billions of self-proclaimed social media guru’s, and everyone is fighting to dominate as much land as they possibly can. Some convergence and synergies need to take place in order to take consumers and enterprise customers to the next level of social interaction and real-time communication and collaboration. Microsoft is trying to lead the way with the purchase of Skype, and now Yammer.

Yammer Integration with SharePoint

SharePoint is an incredibly powerful tool when implemented by a quality Microsoft partner. The problem with the current version of SharePoint is that it does not enable real-time communication and collaboration with large groups of people. Yes there is Lync, and yes there is email, however these forms of communication require someone else to be listening. This has to be directed conversation.

Yammer, like Twitter, allows businesses to communicate with each other by simply throwing things out into the wild, and seeing what “sticks” with certain people. Imagine having your organization all posting micro updates to Yammer/SharePoint, and individuals getting updates from everyone across the organization. These things are crucial in all organizations, especially in larger ones where communication and understanding “The Pulse” can be so tough! Imagine updates like:

“Just landed in Chicago to work with ACME on our new web site launch with SharePoint as the back-end”.

Then later someone else sees the update and responds

“That’s awesome I didn’t know we were working ACME on a SharePoint project, boy do I have some news for you.”

The new conversations, chance encounters, and sales that can occur are fantastic!

Yammer Integration with Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an incredibly powerful tool for businesses. At Imaginet we live and die by the data within Dynamics CRM. The problem with Dynamics CRM, is that unlike SalesForce.com that has Chatter, there is no simple way to communicate and get a real time feel for what is happening within our sales organization. Like my previous example, driving all that data and rich conversations into Dynamics, and associating specific conversations dynamically with target accounts and clients is going to be a huge win for so many organizations.

Yammer Integration with Lync

Lync is a fantastic communications and collaboration tool. However the problem with instant messaging applications and phone calls is they require someone to be listening. What if you just want to send out a status update? It’s very hard to do so with Lync. Having a new tab within Lync that connects Yammer to the entire organization will be huge.

Conclusion

When you tie together Yammer, SharePoint, Dynamics CRM, Lync, and even Skype, you begin to see where Microsoft is building an incredible toolset that will provide incredible competitive advantages for so many organizations for years to come. I for one am incredibly excited for the Yammer acquisition, and I can’t wait to see what comes of it.

Before Even Getting to the Airport

Make sure you buy the right ticket. If you want a direct ticket, buy a direct flight. So many people don’t check this and end up on a flight that stops in multiple cities.

Next, make sure you check-in to your flight before you head to the airport, 24 hours before your flight. This way, you can pick your best seats if you want to move, and make sure you have a spot saved for you on the plane.

When you pack, try and fit everything in your carry-on bag. Make sure your carry-on bag can actually fit everything in it and is regulation size for a carry-on bag. If you need more space, then you will have to check your bag.

I’ve gotten really good at fitting everything in my carry-on for up to a 5 day business trip. I have an amazing bag that is just amazing and worth every single penny. Carrying-on will save you a ton of time because you can check in at home, and when you get to the airport, you can just go right to security! Also, when you leave the airport, you don’t need to get your bag at the luggage carousel! You can just head right to the cab or person picking you up.

Get Ready for Security before Security

You are going to need to either go through a metal detector, or a scanner. Either way, when you go through security, you can’t have any metal on you or you will set off the machine and slow everything down. Instead of waiting until it’s your turn to put items into the bins, get ready before hand while you’re standing in that huge line! Take off your belt, jewellery, and any change or wallet you have and put it in your carry on. Do you have a jacket, laptop, or other items like toiletries? Everything has to go in bins. Are you wearing shoes? Take them off.

Before Boarding the Plane

This varies depending on the airline you use, but these tips will work generally speaking. Make sure you have your boarding pass out and have your ID handy just in case you need it. If it’s an international flight, you will need your passport. Make sure it’s open to the picture portion, and have your boarding pass inserted into the document on that page. Makes it very easy.

You should have a boarding group number as well. Find that make sure you listen to the instructions so everyone can board quickly. There is a reason why certain people board before others, and it’s mostly to make sure the plane leaves as fast as possible, which is what everyone wants.

If you have a carry-on bag with you that’s fairly large, make sure the plane you are getting on isn’t too small for the bag. If you think it might be an issue, make sure you get a green gate check tag for your bag.

Boarding the Plane

If you have a roller bag or suitcase, close the handle and carry it when you are getting on the plane. Almost every flight I see at least one person attempt to roll the bag down the aisle of the plane, banging every single seat back and forth as they make their way to their seat. You are slowing everything down, and hitting people with your bag. If it is too heavy to carry down the aisle, your bag is likely too heavy and you should have checked the bag!

Make sure you know where you are sitting before you get onto the plane. Chances are you have been sitting for a while waiting to board, so there is no excuse for you not to know where you are sitting. If you have a carry-on bag, try and find an open bin and place your bag in the bin.

Once you’re seated, be polite to your neighbour! A nice “Hi there I will be your neighbour!” seems to work really well if you don’t know what to say. You’d be amazed at how many people you will meet on the plane that could be lasting connections for you in the future.

Take-Off

When the door shuts, you need to turn off your electronics. Cell phone, smart phones, iPads, laptops, anything with power needs to be off. And let’s all be honest with something, none of that stuff can actually interfere with the plane, BUT they do want you to pay attention for the first 10 to 15 minutes in case something goes wrong. If the plane happens to have audio jacks for your ear bud headphones, you can plug into that if you want to drown out some noise.

Make sure you have your seatbelt on, and also make sure your tray table is up, and your seat is not reclining back.

During Flight

Once you have been in the air for 10 to 15 minutes, you will hear two beeps, this tells the flight attendant it is safe to start regular service of the plane, and tells her she can let everyone use their tech geeky toys. Keep your seat belt on while you’re seated, unless you need to head to the bathroom or stretch your legs or something.

Also, if you don’t need to recline your chair, don’t do it. It’s crowded enough on planes now, and you reclining your chair basically sticks your head into the person behind you. It’s not very nice to do. Also, let’s talk about the reading light. If it’s a red eye flight and the lights are off, don’t be the person that turns their reading light on. Seriously, it can wait.

Just before you are ready to land, take some time to put away anything you took out during the flight. Have your carry-on bag ready to go. I always do a double check of the seat back pocket to ensure I didn’t accidentally leave something there that I might forget. Do you remember what bin your roller bag or jacket is in? Now is a good time to think back and be ready.

Landing and Taxi

Stay seated. Once you land and you are off the runway, you can turn on your cell phones and smart phones. You have to keep your seatbelt on until you are at the gate and you hear the beep and the seatbelt light comes off. Once the seatbelts on light is off, if you are in the aisle, make sure you stand up, grab you bag and your overhead bin items, and let the person by the window or middle seats to get ready as well.

Once In the Terminal

Ok so you are in the Terminal again. First thing you should do is double check your gate if you have a connection and make sure you have enough time to make it to your next flight. There should be monitors everywhere for you to check this. Don’t ever rely on the boarding pass to tell you what your gate is, as they move quite frequently.

If you are at your final destination, just make your way to the baggage claim. Follow the signs, and if you don’t know where to go, generally speaking most of the crowd from your flight is going to the baggage claim.

I had the pleasure of being invited to Global Winnipeg’s first Tweetup today at Harv’s Air in St. Andrews. This is the home of the Global Television SkyView 1 helicopter! It was an amazing event centered around one very important issue, Fill The Food Bank. Winnipeg Harvest head, David Northcott made some startling revelations about the state of need in Winnipeg. I was shocked to hear that in the last month, there has been a 70% jump in need for the Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank. It was incredible to see the passion David has for helping and serving our community. Sometimes we take for granted all the things we have, and we forget that there are so many people, young families, children, that are in desperate need for people to step up to the plate and donate to Winnipeg Harvest. I have to say I was incredibly moved.

Learning about the amazing SkyView Helicopter

The SkyView 1 Helicopter

During the tweetup I had the chance to meet many of the Global Winnipeg team. Some of them brought their young families with them to see the helicopter landing and see a very cool detailed presentation on how Global, Shaw, and CJOB keep an eye on traffic and breaking news with the incredible SkyView 1 Helicopter.

Chatting with Marlo Boux of Girl Talk With Marlo

Winnipeg Tweeters Get The Word Out

The event had some of Winnipeg’s A-listers when it comes to twitter, with a combined following getting close to 100,000 in attendance. It was great to mingle and catch up with friends, and more importantly help get the word out that Winnipeg Harvest, and the Winnipeg community really needs our help. If you live in Winnipeg, please head to Safeway, Superstore, Shaw, or Global Television and drop off a non-perishable item today. If you don’t have time to drive down and drop off some food, just head to TogetherIsAmazing.com

Erin Carrasco of Erin’s Tea, Ron Cantiveros of Filipino Journal, and Marlo Boux

The Community We Serve

While this was definitely a fantastic event to mingle, eat great sandwiches and some amazing cookies, I left the event with a more important message. With some of the news you see broadcast on television, it’s easy to become disheartened at the state of affairs in our world, and our community. Today was a great reminder that there are people that truly care about Winnipeg, our community, and the world we live in. They want to help, contribute, and give back in any way they can. Why does Global Winnipeg, Shaw, and CJOB exist? Why do these people get up at 3 in the morning to host morning television or radio? They do it to serve, and hopefully make Winnipeg a little better every day.

Caine Monroy is a great story of a boy that has a dream to build an arcade, and accomplishes his goal over a summer. When he could have stopped, when he had nobody coming to see his arcade, he still opened his store, and waited for people to come and play his games. He cleaned his store, cleaned the floors, created incentive programs, all in the hope that if you build it, people will come. This 9 year old boys shows us all that we need to keep our faith, even when times are tough. Please watch this video, but make sure you have a tissue.

When asked why he felt Apple would never move into the enterprise without Microsoft, Tim Cook answered “Look, what CIO was going to be dumb enough to le their employees walk around with all the corporate secrets on the iPhones. The same phones that their kids play angry birds on.” <pause>

“Well, now that I think of it, CIO’s have been letting employees connect up to their corporate email and messaging with our incredibly unsecure iPhone. Maybe we should have just waited it out…”

The combined company will have a market capitalization of over $820 billion, and employees over 140,000 people worldwide.  Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft Corporation, was quoted as saying “I guess we just didn’t see this coming. We were so busy trying to come up with a better search engine than Google, I guess we stopped paying attention to Apple for about 5 years.”

Tim Cook and the Apple board moved quickly to remove all of the Microsoft Executives, and promoted Apple Store employees to manage Bing, Windows Phone, and XBOX.

Nokia Lumia Windows Phone’s Come to AT&T

AT&T is finally putting some serious muscle behind Windows Phone. They have made the Nokia Lumia 900 their “Hero” phone. What does this mean? It means when you walk into AT&T, every sales person will be carrying a Nokia 900. Huge banners and displays will be dedicated to the Nokia Lumia series of phones. AT&T has spent an incredible amount of money training its staff on all the incredible benefits of Windows Phone. Every major television station will be airing Windows Phone commercials.

The best part? You will be able to get the Nokia Lumia 900 for $100 at any AT&T store. Should you want to purchase the phone via Amazon, you can get the Nokia Lumia 900 for a penny! And if you are a new AT&T customer, you can get the Nokia Lumia 900 for free!

Nokia Lumia Windows Phone’s Come to Canada

Rogers has finally realized that Windows Phone is the future, and they have also made Windows Phone one of their premium phones. Check out the beautiful website rogers has created promoting the Nokia Lumia 900. If you are Canadian, you can pre-order the phone today for only $99 on a three year contract.

Final Thoughts

This is the big launch folks. If Windows Phone is to stand any chance of competing in the Smartphone market, they need to nail the launch of the Nokia Lumia 900. I personally have a Nokia Lumia 800 and can tell you I am ridiculously impressed with the phone. It has the best reception I’ve ever seen, music sounds fantastic, the design is brilliant, the camera is amazing, the battery life seems to last longer than any other phone I’ve used, and the screen is amazingly bright and crisp. The Nokia Lumia 900 is a little bit larger, better camera at the back, and includes a camera at the front. In terms of applications for Windows Phone, there are nealy 80,000 applications for Windows Phone now, and many of them are amazing.

I can control my XBOX with my Windows Phone, play many fantastic XBOX Live games, and be incredibly productive with Outlook, SharePoint integration, Skype, and Lync communication. The social media integration is fantastic, you just have to try this phone out.

Windows Phone is definitely the best operating system out there for smartphones. I’d happily throw down my phone vs. any other phone out there, and show you just how impressive the phone is. Here is a video I shot almost a year ago that shows exactly why Windows Phone is miles ahead of the competition.