A few weeks ago I took my car to the dealer for an oil change and the clerk promised it would be ready in about 1 ½ hours. Once the car was ready, he presented me with a questionnaire which asked, among other things, if the car was delivered within the promised time frame. The answer was yes, or course, but the promised time frame was 1 ½ hours, or about 1 hour more than it should really take. Sandbaggers.

Four years ago, after hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, FPL advised us that full restoration of power could take four weeks. Eighteen days later (ahead of schedule, of course) full power was restored. Sandbaggers.

Perhaps the ultimate sandbaggers are Wall Street guys, who insist they deserve bonuses in spite of piling up billions of dollars in losses (because if it weren’t for them the losses would be much greater, of course). Sandbaggers.

Setting low ball goals breeds a culture of complacency and underachievement. Setting two types of goals, regular (easy) and stretch (hard), is also counterproductive, because it allows us to claim victory even if the stretch goals are not achieved.

Every goal should be a stretch goal. Stretch goals should be hard, but achievable, and should require us to exercise creativity and effort above and beyond the call of duty. If you want to instill a culture of performance, always set stretch, ambitious goals and give people the guidance, tools and support to achieve them.

The lesson MC Hammer’s story teaches us is that we can start with whatever assets we have today, and leverage them to take us closer to our goals. In his case, he took what was left of an old and fading asset (his 1980’s fame) and found a catalyst (social media) to breath new life into it. Instead of complaining and dwelling on fame and fortune gone by, Hammer reinvented himself.

All of us have legacy assets of which we are not taking full advantage, like a passion we’ve been supressing, an old acquaintance we haven’t contacted in a long time, or a skill we haven’t practiced in years.

Like Hammer, you can bring those neglected assets back to life.

For example: That book that you always wanted to publish but couldn’t move it through traditional publishing houses? You now have many self publishing options at your disposal. That long lost high school buddie that you found through LinkedIn? Contacting him may lead not only to a rekindled friendship, but also to a promising new business opportunity. The presentation skills you learned at your teaching job? You can leverage them in a new career in sales.

This process is called re-branding, and it is not that hard. Start by taking inventory of all your skills, passions, relationships, values, points of view and personal preferences. Then, take a look at your environment. Most likely it has changed in your favor since the last time you were paying attention. Social media is just one example of that change, but it’s a good place to start, as an old school rapper already knows.

Free has generated a lively debate in the blogosphere, with some questioning the validity of its conclusions, others finding some merit to them but hoping that we can find a way out, and others fully embracing them as the inevitable way things will be from now on.

The book is full of interesting examples of how companies and entire industries have been build around giving away stuff. There is a comprehensive chapter on Google (probably the best known company that has been able to build a business around a wide array of free services).

There is also a very good example that I think summarizes the main point of the book: that as previously scarce things become abundant, new scarcities are created, and with them, new ways of making money. Anderson goes back in time to remind us how in the early days of radio, musicians got paid for life on-air performances. That business model was killed by records, which became the new way to make money. Nowadays, of course, the recorded music industry is being challenged by the zero marginal cost of distributing music over the Internet, which has forced musicians to embrace other ways to make money, like live performances and licensing.

My impression after reading this book is that we are not necessarily doomed by the economics of free, but we do need to work on creating business models where we can turn giving away stuff to our advantage (for example, to build an audience faster) and then find related products and services where money can be made.

The main importance of this book for small business owners, in my opinion, is that it will open our eyes and minds to new ways of charging for products and services, and will help us understand the complicated dynamics of pricing in an Internet economy.

As we internalize the concepts discussed in this book, we will come to accept that some of the things that made us money in the past may need to become a marketing cost, as we strive to create multiple, new streams of income that feed each other.

These days you can’t build a strong personal brand without a web presence. As professionals and small business owners, whatever our field, we need to become publishers, and use tools like blogs and social media profiles to publish and share information.

The most important element of our web presence is a blog, followed by our profiles in the main social media networks (for me, those are LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook).

We can also set up an account with a simple blogging platform like Posterous to share shorter and lighter posts. Finally, we can put it all together by creating a simple personal page where we can introduce ourselves and link to our blog and social media profiles.

All the different elements of your web presence feed from each other, which means that you can leverage your content in many different ways. For example, you could:

• Craft your elevator pitch and use it in your About Us page, or as your LinkedIn summary.
• Take a Twitter post and expand the idea into a full blown blog post.
• Take the pictures you use on your blog posts, and use them in presentations you can then load to Slideshare.
• Bundle several blog posts into a PDF eBook that you can offer for download on your site or publish it on Scribd or Slideshare.
• Take a good picture of yourself and crop it in several different sizes to create avatars for your different social media profiles.
• Slightly modify blog posts to turn them into articles you can upload to article clearinghouses (you can then use your elevator pitch as your bio at the bottom of your article, adding a link to your website).
• Set your Facebook profile so that you can autopost content from your blog or other social media sites.
• Summarize the main takeaways of your blog posts in less than 140 characters and publish them as Twitter posts. Then, use those tweets as slide titles or takeaways in your presentations.
• Film yourself reading your blog posts aloud to turn them into video clips and upload them in YouTube.
• Gather all your Twitter posts for a week and bundle them to create blog posts.
• Write book reviews on Amazon and use them as blog posts.
• Aggregate your content from different social media sites by auto-posting it on platforms like FriendFeed or Tumblr.
• Etc.

The possibilities are endless and limited only by our imagination. By leveraging our content and establishing a strong personal presence online, our chances of having our sites and social media profiles appear in the first page when somebody Google’s our name will be greatly increased.

(This post was inspired by the Fast Company series 30-Second MBA.  By harvesting 30 second clips from their archive of interviews with top business leaders and organizing them around relevant topics, Fast Company has created an exciting new product, generating buzz and expanding their online footprint).

That episode let me thinking: who’s convenience are you really paying for?

Let’s see: by ordering online you do all the work (you don’t need an expensive human to interact with you), and the theater receives your payment hassle-free through your credit card company. If you buy from the ticket window, on the other hand, the theater has to pay an employee for several days, balance the cash register at the end of each day, deposit cash payments in the bank, etc.

Yet, those who buy online are the ones paying the convenience charge…

Why is that so? I think it is in part because most people still consider buying from the ticket window the normal thing to do-the way things have always been. It is probably for that same reason that banks are still reluctant to charge customers for conducting business through a teller, but instead have no problem charging outrageous fees to those who get money through an ATM. Without going out on a limb, we could also argue that governments act the same way when they decide to raise taxes instead of finding ways to spend less and more productively.

For those who apply that logic, in the short term everything looks fine: convenience charges increase the theater’s revenue per guest, banks can “invest” the ATM fees in expensive lobbies and nice desks for their officers, and government bureaucrats can get easy money to finance ineffective social programs.

In the long term, however, things won’t necessarily look that good. Theater operators may start to wonder why are there so many empty seats, traditional bankers may finally start to pay attention to those pesky online banks that are stealing their business, and politicians may soon find out that the same people who pay their salaries can also boot them out of office.

Businesses should use pricing to reward the most desirable customer behaviors.

If a customer interacts with you in a way that reduces costs and results in a more efficient operation, that behavior needs to be rewarded. For example:

• You could charge less for an ebook than you do for a real book (which requires paper, ink and complicated logistics).
• You could offer free shipping to those who increase their order size.
• You could offer a discount to those who put your service on automatic payment or pay you in advance.
• You could give a better price or an internet-only freebie to those who purchase from you online.
• Etc.

Incentives drive behaviors. Make sure you reward your most profitable customers.

What’s your take?

Good brands have succinct, compelling slogans that clearly explain what makes them unique. To illustrate the point, let me bring up the example of two large retailers: a thriving one with a clear purpose and an unbeatable position (Wal-Mart), and a struggling one, grappling with identity issues and with no clear message (Sears):

In 2007, Wal-Mart adopted the slogan: “Save money. Live better.” It is a clear, concise and powerful statement, easy to understand and communicate. It is also the company’s four word mission statement.  So, what did Sears do? More than a year later, it adopted the following tag line: “Life. Well spent.”  I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but it seems to me that Sears’ slogan is a not-so-subtle attempt to say essentially the same thing.

Sears’ slogan has three main problems:

• It came late:  Wal-Mart beat them to the punch. Therefore, the slogan, far from helping Sears, positions it in a futile “follow the leader” path in a battle it cannot win.
• It is weak:  Sears’ tag line is written in passive voice, as opposed to Wal-Mart’s.  Any copywriter worth his or her salt will tell you that active beats passive voice every time.
• It is not credible:  if somebody asked you to name a brand that helps you live the good life without spending a lot of money, which would more easily come to mind: Wal-Mart or Sears?

In summary, aside from making your slogan short (four or five words, tops) make sure it is:

• Expressed in active voice
• A concise version of your brand’s core mission (friendly memo to Sears: it helps if you have a core mission to start with
• Clearly differentiated from any of your competitors’.

What do you think?

Simple enough: social media is all about giving up control and letting users be creative.  But how much control should social media brands give up to their own users? This interesting question ignited a lively debate in Tom Anderson’s blog.  Tom had uploaded a caricature of himself on his LinkedIn profile, after which LinkedIn contacted him and asked him to replace it with a real picture (caricatures, logos, and group pictures, among other things, are against LinkedIn’s user guidelines).

Needless to say, Tom wasn’t happy and asked his readers for their opinion: was LinkedIn justified in making this request? Should social media brands impose restrictions and constraints that limit their users’ creative expression?

Here is my take: absolutely, yes. Social networks are brands too, after all. Good brands must create the conditions for a powerful, relevant and consistent user experience.

Allowing the use of caricatures instead of actual pictures would erode the brand experience LinkedIn is trying to create. Most people view LinkedIn as THE professional social network, and there is no doubt that its strict user guidelines have played an important role in strengthening that brand position (the fact that LinkedIn is the only major social network that makes money seems to validate this even further).

The same reasoning applies to other social networks:

For example, is Twitter justified in limiting our creative expression to 140 characters? Absolutely, yes. The 140-character limit is pivotal to Twitter’s brand experience. Take that limit away and Twitter would become just another blog platform, and it would not be the strong brand it is today. We could also make the point that constraints actually increase creativity: by imposing the 140 character limit, Twitter is in fact forcing us to get more creative, by finding ways to be more clear and concise.

Similarly, is Facebook justified in deciding that only official representatives of a brand should be allowed to create a fan page, and not extend the same privilege to brand enthusiasts? Absolutely, yes. By enforcing that rule Facebook keeps spammers at bay and reduces the possibility of getting hit with copyright infringement lawsuits, while at the same time enhancing the user experience and increasing the value of the Facebook community.

Social media are revolutionizing marketing, and the fact that customers are more empowered by them every day should be celebrated and encouraged. But first and foremost, social media properties are brands too, and as such, the universal rules of branding apply to them as well. As brands, they must design a user experience that best serves its most valuable customers.

Probably one of the greatest presentations I’ve seen lately is Oprah’s commencement address at Duke University, which took place last May.

After watching it for the first time, I felt compelled to watch it again, this time taking notes. Here are the reasons why I think Oprah’s delivery is so effective:

1. Show confidence

Seeing Oprah address a large group with confidence may seem natural, since we’ve always known her as a media superstar. However, to get to that level she’s had to work very hard. Confidence is perhaps the most important ingredient of any successful presentation. Knowing your stuff is a good way to start building the confidence you need.

2. Recognize others

Your presentations shouldn’t be about “you”, they should be about “them”. Just as Oprah takes time to recognize the mothers of the graduating class, take time to acknowledge those who helped you with a project, and thank your audience for giving you their most precious asset: their attention.

3. Use personal anecdotes

While you shouldn’t speak about yourself all the time (it gets boring fast) by all means do sprinkle personal anecdotes here and there to give credibility to what you’re saying. For example, show how you’ve solved a relevant problem in the past. Oprah draws upon a wealth of personal anecdotes to bring her speech to life.

4. Use compelling examples

Don’t be afraid to shock people to get your message across. Notice how, when speaking about overcoming obstacles, Oprah tells the story of a young woman who, after falling ill with a rare flesh eating infection, had to have her limbs amputated to save her life. You can bet that at that point Oprah had her audience’s undivided attention.

One good way to make your points effectively is to use images. If you’re talking about the devastation caused by a hurricane, show an aerial view of the disaster area instead of tables and pie charts. Similarly, instead of just displaying a bullet-pointed list telling how great your product is, show a picture of a satisfied customer using your product.

5. Tailor your examples to your audience

Always explain how your examples are relevant to your audience. Throughout her speech, Oprah clearly makes the connection between the experiences of the people she met on her show, and how the graduates can extrapolate those experiences and apply them to their own professional life.

6. Use repetition to drive home your main points

Just as you need to contact a prospect an average of seven times before you make a sale, repeating your main ideas often increases the probability that your audience will remember them. Notice how Oprah always repeats the following words after she makes a point: “If you [do this] you will be a huge success”.

7. Be real

One of the best parts of the speech comes when Oprah mentions how great it is to live in a big house and fly in a private jet (this at a time when CEOs were being chastised by the media for their propensity to travel in style). Even though afterward she recognizes that there are more important things, she doesn’t portray herself as hollier-than-thou by pretending she doesn’t like the finer things in life.

Similarly, in your presentations, don’t be afraid to expose weaknesses, to say things that may not be very popular, or to acknowledge that you don’t have all the answers. We tend to like and trust more those who sound human than those who sound like a carefully rehearsed sales pitch.

8. Follow your instincts

Oprah mentions the importance of following your gut, and gives examples of how sometimes she’s had to go against the recommendations of others. If you’re going to speak in front of a group, make sure that you believe in what you’re about to say.

When all the lights are on you, and you’re all alone holding the mike and the laser pointer, you become the spokesman and the endorser of whatever you’re about to say. Don’t compromise your credibility and integrity by talking about something you don’t believe in.

9. Always summarize your main takeaways

Notice how Oprah sums up her whole speech in one simple takeaway: “follow your gut”.  In this age of “death-by-PowerPoint”, information overload and short attention spans, take this extra step to make sure your main ideas sink in. Your audience will thank you for that.

Aside from these nine observations, we could add one more: practice, practice, practice. The fact that Oprah’s speech flows so naturally is because she is a pro. You can do the same if you remember these tips and consciously start to apply them in your presentations.

In summary, for a great presentation:

1. Be confident
2. Be thankful
3. Be personal
4. Be compelling
5. Be relevant
6. Be repetitive (of your main points)
7. Be real
8. Be convinced (of what you’re about to say)
9. Be concise
10. Practice, practice, practice

If you’ve read up to this point, please take the time to watch the speech or read it here.

Why would people keep on piling up dirty towels on top of the trashcan if they could better dispose of them by throwing them inside? Easy: because everybody else was doing it. After all, If everybody’s doing it there must be a good reason, right?  Maybe the trashcan is full or something… right?  Wrong.  Just because everybody’s doing something doesn’t mean it’s right, or efficient or logical.

In the business world, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of chasing mature markets because they’re “proven”, like the “piling-up-used-paper-towels” market. They believe that that’s where “the money is”, and that if they get just a tiny fraction they will be OK. However, it seldom turns out that way.  Mature, mainstream markets are saturated with competitors, engulfed in price wars and burdened with high barriers to entry.

Instead, why not try to find out what the big guys are doing wrong, what customers they are neglecting, what core brand benefit has taken a back seat in the name of operational efficiencies, and come up with a way to address those needs and those customers?

When everybody is busy looking at the paper towel pile, look around for that elusive self-closing door.

Pizza Hut has started to change the name of some of its stores to The Hut, the rationale being that they don’t want to tie their fortunes to one product (pizza). Its packaging now proudly displays the chain’s new focus (or lack thereof): “Pizza – Pasta – Wings”.

Here’s the problem. Ask anybody you know what Pizza Hut stands for and they will tell you one thing: pizza. Come back in five years and ask: “what does The Hut stand for?”  What do you think the answer will be?

Here’s a wild guess: not pasta, not wings, and most likely, not pizza either.  Those of us old enough to remember that The Hut once stood for pizza will probably have forgotten, and newer consumers will probably be too young to make the connection.  Most likely, The Hut will turn into just another me-too offering in the crowded “a-little-bit-of-everything” budget restaurant category.

On the plus column, at least Yum Brands (The Hut’s parent company) is not yet rolling this out to all the stores.

What do you think? Good or bad idea?