on his next play, given the same type of throw — tebow connects. to live and die by the sword.

more than 1 million mentions on twitter. the rate of tweets announcing the victory hit 9,420 per second. beats the 8,868 tweets-per-second rate reached when beyoncé announced her pregnancy.

forget disney world. forget what people are saying on social media and around the cooler at work. tebow earns a $250,000 bonus for this playoff win. it’s quite the story of forgiveness, second chances and redemption. can you imagine what would have happened if this game ended instead with a interception for a touchdown, and with the steelers victorious? i know, not possible with god on tebow’s side. still, what a holy war these broncos are waging.

look at what the team’s on-field leadership believes…

“football is an aggressive game, a combative game,” broncos coach john fox said. “you can’t play it careful. you can’t play it hesitant. you’ve got to pull the trigger.”

let me state here that i’m no tim tebow fan. i certainly won’t give him singular credit for what’s going on in denver these days. what’s most interesting is the alignment of strategic planning, branding and tactical execution — from iconic owner, to rookie coach who’s adapted the plan to account for his quarterback’s talents and shortcomings, to a number of players peaking at the right time (tim tebow, willis mcgahee, demaryius thomas, elvis dumervil, von miller, and others). not to mention, these rabid fans actually produced an orange version of their opponent’s famed “terrible towel” for this game. you’re dissing the legendary steelers, winners of a record six super bowls. that’s pushing your chips all the way in.

fan or no fan — and i’m an oakland raiders fan in football — this has become something more than just sport. this is big business.

so let’s take a look at the difference between the two concepts. if you’re familiar with the military application of the terms, then you know that strategy is the highest of tier of planning. tactics are the lowest. in between is the operational level, where strategies are converted to tactics.

every businessperson has allowed his or herself to jump past strategy and operations to tactics. it’s easy to justify. better to do something than nothing. talk is cheap. don’t just sit there. the list of cliches goes on and on. however, we also know that time and energy are both limited. haste makes waste. with a little bit of upper level planning, the effort you put into tactics will help you to capitalize and achieve entirely different results. you will have a firmer resolve as you hit the battleground running. your focus is sharper. actions will mean more to you because they fit into a bigger picture. one can easily argue that just having a strategy — any strategy— will make each tactic more meaningful and impacting.

so do yourself a favor. be strategic. truly strategic. don’t just rush into the marketing tactic of the month because someone pitched you to consider it. even if someone you know benefitted from a measure, carefully consider how much you are like him or her — how your goods, information and talents might fare with same. when you have a strategic plan, you will be armed to make the quick decisions you feel yourself wanting to make. that’s because you will know your goals and how various speculative actions can or cannot reinforce them.

if i lean in one direction, it’s that an edge can’t fully be assimilated. it takes wonder, wishfulness and willpower to even pursue and develop an edge in the first place. few have that burning desire or curiosity in his/her belly. that means that few can take an edge and execute like its previous vessel. many are perfectly at ease with following life’s various manuals and attaining acceptable levels of performance. as students, some just won’t have what it takes to match or outdo their teachers.

that brings this around to perspective — the way in which one person perceives, parses and positions information to inform a more polished understanding of the way things are. is information not the same everywhere? it’s perspective that decides who gets it and how much of it. perhaps perspective is why i share at just about every turn. helping others is good practice, and i never feel that i’m at risk of irrelevance or bankrupcy. perhaps it’s my respect of karma that leads me to be so free with edge.

i’m reminded of a conversation that hip hop artist missy elliott and rock and roll hall of famer prince once had on the subject. missy elliott was fired up years ago that artists were “stealing” production methods from her and co-producer timbaland. she even went so far as to write new material that challenged that others had been copying — which one could argue was, in itself, copying through rehash. prince stepped in with a simple suggestion. why not change the game all over again? you did it once and could do it again. there’s nothing gained by copying something that’s already been improved. the bottom line — keep inventing.

before you go thinking that i advocate debt whole-heartedly — that is not my message. i’m saying that if you’re doing nothing…or you’re waiting for the right time…and you have the means and/or access to borrow a reasonable amount of capital for something that will boost your prospects in the near-term…then you should look into it today. better still, pull the trigger. we’ve heard it a gazillion times. it takes money to make money. if not now then when? despite the don-trodden talk that’s far too easily uttered these days, there’s an abundance of opportunity out there —and there are less people with whom you’ll need to compete. that’s an exciting notion!

this old school silence — still dormant despite having the greatest tools they could ever have to deliver their brand at their disposal — is trimming bottom lines each day. do i have your attention now? okay then. what are these tools i tease? for starters, it’s a meaningful blog platform and a vibrant social media presence.

THE B WORD. i can’t tell you how many businesses cringe or snicker at the mere mention of a blog — as if i’m some crazy, out-of-touch, coffee-shop slacker. a blog platform, where leveraged properly, takes the brand conversation to a richer and far more meaningful level. it establishes and reinforces intimacy. still in denial? take inanimate objects vs. people. i know that many of us love a trusted set of golf clubs or a mini cooper. i don’t care how cold you are, but you better have a closer relationship with your family, a pet or a significant other!

on one side of understanding this, you’re putting a face (or faces) to the products, services and information you provide to the marketplace. the stories of how people produce things and what it means to them. the fundamental problems in people’s lives that are being solved. reflections on how much better life is each day, thanks to the brand. yes, all of the intimate details. if you’re uncomfortable providing this sort of experience, then you should be asking yourself why. people need to know you to like you. humanizing a business from an entity to a collection of people is a huge initial win.

at an intermediate stage, you should be jazzed that people no longer need to visit your website to know what’s new. blogs offer something called rss feeds, where people can subscribe to your website updates. subscribers provide email addresses or they can’t get the goods. the latest content is pushed to these emails, which also means pushed to phones and tablets. stop and imagine the power of that for a second. brands being pocketed. buzzing. chiming. nudging. sounds like a cozy place to be, no?

on the advanced end of the spectrum, a spirited blog moves the tone of the consumer-brand relationship from indifferent all the way around to loyal. for those who’ve truly succeeded at building a strong return business cycle, you know this isn’t easily attained. it takes investment. it’s letting down your guard, connecting with people and being there time and time again. you become a regular, reliable force in a consumer’s life.

SOCIAL MEDIA VANITY. what’s more disappointing than the blog cringe? when it comes to talking about consumer relations, disappointment peaks with social media vanity. it’s like high school all over again. i need tons of “good time friends,” and i want each of them to like me (even if i don’t plan to invest in any of them). it’s also like the 25th reunion. i feel irrelevant. i need to cover up gray hairs and get back into the game. what is the social media equivalent? let’s launch facebook and twitter profiles!

if you seek relevance (and businesses can’t afford not to), then start by committing to colorful, harmonious business communications. don’t just create a social media profile to have one, then demand that people like you so you can get that count up. think in terms of cultivating real, lasting friendships. yes, again, i’m implying a personal connection. provide a voice (or better, a chorus) through your social media profiles. stay in front of these audiences (and they won’t likely be the same people at each). ask for requests. perform like every show is your last. make that brand sing.

don’t think in terms of likes. you want consumers to fall in love with your brand. like isn’t the stuff of unwavering commitments. like is maybe, and as long as you’re good. love, on the other hand, is can’t wait to tell my friends. love is putting that sparkling brand on your finger and showing it off. love is unconditional.

Just listen to a few passages from The Chosen One (above left video):

“Proverbs 27:2. Let another praise you and not your own mouth…a stranger and not your own lips.”

“He’s very well-grounded…doesn’t try to come across like He’s it…even though people know He’s it.” 

“He definitely has not let the attention get to His head, like it does so often for so many kids. He’s humble and He’s quiet, and He’s also real serious about being the best player He can be.”

“When you take a look at everyone telling you you’re great, everybody wanting your autograph…to be able to stay humble is pretty amazing.”





I’m sorry. I don’t see humility when I look at Tim Tebow. I know that I’m supposed to fall for it hard. What I see is someone who previously drove feverish vanity campaigns — first with the top college coaches to recruit Him and then with the Denver Broncos to draft Him. Products like documentaries don’t get produced, packaged and promoted without the subject’s steering and approval. He can pump the brakes now and play the gosh golly game with us. “Tebow Time” is already a phenomenon. Perception has been altered.

Among the most far-fetched perceptions is that He’s a Hall of Famer in-the-making. He compared Himself to Steve Young long before his first professional game. Heck, it was before his first college snap. Surely, these claims must be supported by his performance, right?. Uh, no. Tebow isn’t first in any category among His peers (yes, He has those). What’s worse, He ranks last in pass completion percentage (48.5%) and passing yards per game (117.3), among those quarterbacks with 100 passing attempts or more.





Yes, He’s third in total rushing yards (517 yards). Sure, He has just two interceptions against 11 touchdowns. Okay, His team is 7-1 on His watch. Still, He’s not tops in anything. The Denver Broncos have played solid, opportunistic defense during their surge. Their placekicker kicks 59-yard field goals about 30 feet past the posts. Willis McGahee is enjoying a resurgence at running back. These are all playing major roles in the team’s success. It’s not all Timothy.

All of this begs a simple question. Shouldn’t Tim Tebow politely remind reporters that the fuss about Him is VASTLY misplaced? America, I’m just not comfortable with all of your attention! That will never leave His lips. Perhaps He, His Family and His handlers have stumbled upon something huge along the way. Maybe that’s changed their thinking about the best way to sell Him. Are you ready for it?





Timothy is average. He works very hard and fails a whole lot. He breaks down in defeat. He requires your attention and loving support. He’s perfect for all of His imperfections. Ugh.

Tebow Time is the menace of mediocrity at its worst. It’s messaging that implies that performance should somehow come second. After all, mantras of mediance permeate the American upbringing. Nothing new there. It’s the thought that counts. Practice makes perfect. Work harder than the next guy. If at first you don’t succeed — try, try again.





Tebow Time is that protective coddling that assures all of us that we are special snowflakes — no matter what. Honey, pay no attention to those mean boys and what they’re saying about you. We’ll make sure you’re drafted in the first round. We’ll get John Elway to accept you’re worthy of a professional future.

So go ahead and shout “Tebow!” on football Sunday. Timothy would never let any of your fanaticism go to His head. He’s doesn’t pat Himself on the back. He doesn’t think He’s God. He isn’t after every last dollar in your wallet. He doesn’t demand every ounce of respect you have to offer. There’s absolutely no entitlement complex with our Timothy.

Tebow Time to wake up, America.

vanity has always been a destructive force for business owners — especially those of the small business variety. they’re the ones who aren’t surrounding themselves with enough lucid advisors, who don’t take the time (or can’t afford the time) to be more than less informed, and who aren’t listening to those who try to provide constructive criticism. vain businesspeople are far too quick to accept and possibly even plan their next move based upon a few supportive words. they mistake these sorts of comments for encouragement. next thing, they’re investing in something because someone else offered up words that person thought would brighten another’s day. they weren’t necessarily serious about what they were saying (at least not “business-serious”), and they weren’t offering up weaknesses (which would be better targets for investment). anything other than sunny verbiage would prove to be a real bummer for far too many people.

let me stop the rant here. you get my point.

maybe i’m being too hard on small business folks. it’s difficult to ignore the patterns of behavior you see and hear over time, from the position of someone directing marketing and branding for many a small business. i’ve seen vanity play far too treacherous a role with this sector. challengers and big brands can survive bad decisions. small businesses are vulnerable, with more modest budgets for new investment. because of what transpired at my website, i was reminded just how dangerous vanity can be in business.

so — would you like to see the comments that were loaded into the fake comment generator being tested at my website without my permission? email me (eric.s.townsend@gmail.com) and i will forward the seemingly hundreds that were created for preying on website owners. wild stuff.

what’s more likely to be happening is that the consumer has yet to think seriously about your offer. he or she may not have listened all that closely to your pitch. you can look at this as the consumer’s shortcoming (which i feel is ill-fated), or you can examine what you’re not doing in the equation. if you haven’t grabbed him or her, then you certainly haven’t “built the value” of what you’re offering. that’s an important first step to take. make sure you’ve got a product and pitch that sizzles. if you hesitate to wonder if it sizzles, then back to the drawing board. your enthusiasm and careful preparation (or lack thereof) will make or break your pitch. also, move to minimize or eliminate their distractions. ask to meet during a time when the consumer will likely be less busy. perhaps meeting outside of their work environment will help him or her focus more on what you can do to help them. definitely make sure you have all decision-makers at the meeting, if there is more than one. nothing says this isn’t all that important more than meeting with non-decision-makers, or with one executive in the equation. there’s no urgency where you can’t arrive at some sort of consensus by the close of a meeting.

so — how do you build value? consumers like to hear that what you’re doing requires great skill and insight. perhaps you’re uniquely qualified for a challenge at hand. each likes to know that the stakes are high, but that you’ll do whatever it takes to ensure success. each wants to hear that doing a quality job means you’ll need to make a significant time commitment to his or her project. the bottom line is that you need to earn the response where it’s “huh — that’s where i figured this would be” or better still “wow — that’s less that i thought you were going to say.” the “wow” response is where quick closes and sales occur (known in the sales community as “laydowns”). it’s also where great projects are jumpstarted. the consumer likes all that he or she is getting (relative to the price being paid), which translates into a feelgood attitude for getting down to business, which allows you to do your best work.

let’s look at my business. our pricing is reasonable. however, that fact can be lost on new clients at the outset. they can’t yet measure or appreciate the “value add” that we bring with regards to smart, sustainable marketing. many haven’t invested in long-term planning and marketing to date, opting instead for quick-fire ways to generate leads. the reality for many businesses is that they can’t envision potential until they’ve gone up a level (or two) and are looking back. only then can many look back on the impact that someone else brought to what they once offered. consumers know what they have, where they are and how pressing the feeling is that something must be done to alter the course of natural events for the better.

technology, for all of its benefits, also represents a substantial obstacle for many service providers to navigate. consumers generally don’t fully understand the powerful (yet easy to use) technology that can be employed on their behalf. all of the widgets, wherefrom and what’s new or next tend to perk up consumers. it sounds great in a generalist kind of way. that’s because most don’t know or do exactly what we do. that’s why they need us. technology is scary for many, and impatience with it can cripple a consumer  to the point where he or she doesn’t want to consider the details carefully because it makes his or her head spin.

lastly — don’t underestimate the impact of the last thing that happened before the consumer broke away to meet with you. it can dominate attention span. ask how their day is going, or what they were working on today. watch for the tone and pace of their response, and how much command he or she has on matters in play. establish a comfortable vibe by offering to help them with current concerns you can readily address. point to how a different perspective or reality can change everything. place your offering at the heart of that bigger solution.

for me, i’m supercreative and all about taking top-quality products to market. doesn’t matter if the medium for the enhanced creativity is words, music, fashion, website design, or business strategy. i’ve mastered all of these. i learned about being too focused from 9/11 and the demise of my former business. i wasn’t diversified. most of my clients became quickly hurt when planes were flown into buildings (still can’t believe that happened and what it did to my life at the time). this meant i became quickly hurt. the rest is history. i took on a disaster relief loan from the small business administration, but it was too little and too late. my income these days is more fragmented by linkedin standards — yet also more diversified and stable by my standards.

some think focus is the end all be all. linkedin appears to be in that camp. focus can also be a detriment. it’s the “too many eggs in one basket” thing. it doesn’t always allow you to capitalize and succeed given new challenges and seasons. sometimes, it doesn’t even allow you to even see that there are challenges and seasons. you do one thing and don’t see the impact of other things. your view is incomplete. you take that one thing and have to make do with its ups and downs. when you’re rigid, you lack the flexibility and latitude to move freely in your actions.

let’s bottom line this. why is linkedin promoting the singular path? seems like an outdated concept to me — less than the full pursuit of happiness. not saying that choosing one path can’t work. i’m saying that it’s also viable (and increasingly so) to have multiple paths that run mostly parallel and either converge regularly or are set to converge eventually. linkedin is mostly a job site. jobs are singular roles and don’t often require diversification. i get that. but some also use linkedin as a way to show people where they’ve been and where they now stand in their career. for that crowd, singularity isn’t always a fit. people choose the paths they choose to take advantage of opportunities. they are providing for themselves. linkedin should pivot to include these models with their career resource. many are falling outside their norm when it comes to interests, means, commitments, etc.

if you think success is drawn to certain types of people before others — like those with established track records and rock-solid business plans — again, it’s time to reconsider. sure, it can be like that. more often than not, however, it produces a nonsensical popcorn trail that generates serious laughs and plenty of folklore later. it falls to freakish luck or happenstance as much as it aligns with careful design. people stumble upon it, including those who seemingly should have no shot at or claim to it. it’s not totally by chance, though — it seems to be attracted to those who roll up sleeves and aren’t afraid of getting dirty, failing, looking the fool, learning through mistakes, etc. it’s not vain or sanitary.

so what is the ultimate take away? be open to what you least suspect has the makings of success. those who have flubbed and succeeded will swear by fortuitous accidents, receptors, availability, flexibility, intuition, plugging away, and more. you get the gist.