by on April 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

A Flash of Brilliance

When you have a flash of brilliance, do you let it die on the vine?

When you have a flash of brilliance, do you let it die on the vine? Most flashes of brilliance come to us in the morning as we wake up our resting mind. Of course our mind doesn't really rest. While we sleep the daily flak gets shoved to the back and the mind gets a clear picture of what's really important to us. Those problems at home and work that have been in our thoughts for days, become clear while the mind rests. For me, it's in the shower. Something about the hot water and the quiet of the house lets these flashes float to the surface. I can't wait to write them down because they will evaporate a quickly as they materialized. If you had one flash of brilliance a week and followed through, how would your life change? Post a comment and tell me what happens to your flashes... … [Read more...]

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by on April 19, 2012 Leave a Comment

What is Your Absorption Rate?

What is Your Absorption Rate?

The human mind is so complex, it may never be completely understood. We do know there are three ways we learn things. A small portion of people can sit through a meeting and simply listen and absorb the majority of the material. The next group can hear the presenter and see the PowerPoint to make sense of the material. The third group must write down what he hears and sees. I am in the last group and I constantly take notes. Remember your 3rd grade teacher talking and writing on the blackboard? There was a reason for that. It improved the absorption rate. Sometime about 5th or 6th grade, teachers were trying to get you to take notes. It wasn't to torture you. It was to get you to soak it up and retain the material. I went to a meeting this week with some very sharp people talking about how business gets done in Hollywood. I had my trusty steno pad and Zebra rollerball but, as I … [Read more...]

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by on April 14, 2012 Leave a Comment

Ignorance, Knowledge and Action

Ignorance, Knowledge and Action

Think about the impact of this one sentence..."The gap between ignorance and knowledge is much less than the gap between knowledge and action." This runs through my mind on a regular basis. Something triggers a flash of brilliance and you don't quite know what you need. Thanks to the internet, you can move from ignorance to knowledge quickly. This idea shows some real possibilities. Everything points to a very good idea. So...why in an overwhelming 93% of the time, you never take action? Let me give you a hint. It's fear. Fear of making a fool out of yourself. Fear of disappointing the family. Fear of hitting the wall. And the mother of all fears...the fear that chills your bones... The fear of success. … [Read more...]

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by on April 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

I Live in the Projects

I Live in the Projects

I tell everyone I live in the projects because I always have a project in the works. It doesn't matter if the project is one I dreamed up or you dreamed up, the success rate is dismal. Trial and error taught me two things - It's all about the experience and not your experience, your customers. "So, what's the answer?" you ask. It's not as hard as we like to make it. Most likely the project your working on is in the industry you work in, right? So you feel you have an intimate knowledge what your customer wants and needs. Maybe... The truth is they are only your customers until they find something better. We are hunter/gatherers hardwired since we crawled out of the ooze. We hunt for more berries, sweeter berries and slower animals. The solution is to get out on the street. Hang out in the coffee shops. Sit in the malls. Talk to people. Ask them about things. Most … [Read more...]

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by on April 4, 2012 Leave a Comment

But Can They Outfox the Newly Empowered Consumers?

But can they outfox the newly empowered consumers?

This was a line in a New York Times article about retail pricing, "But can they outfox the newly empowered consumers?" Why would you even think such a thing? Retail customers have long been in the dark about cost vs. retail. The first market to be gutted by the internet was life insurance. Remember all those life insurance websites from 20 years ago? Compare prices in 10 seconds! Life insurance was an overnight commodity. Did the insurance companies outfox the empowered consumer? Of course not, empowered consumers can't be outfoxed by gimmicks and slight of hand. Empowered consumers respond to true value. I mean value like Apple did to the cell phone business and Starbucks did to a cup of coffee. Value is all you can offer empowered consumers and you better do it right because somebody else will. … [Read more...]

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by on April 1, 2012 Leave a Comment

Experience is the Only Product the Customers Care About

Experience is the Only Product the Customers Care About

The New York Times recently had an article about retail pricing. The main thrust of the article was about how today's consumers think and the information available to them to make a decision. Dale Pollak in his Velocity 2.0 blog talks about the same thing. I can relate better to Dale's blog because I have been involved in the automobile industry for 30 years. The experience is the product we deliver and the only thing our customers care about. When I was a retailer, people would often ask, "What did you pay for this car?" My initial reaction was , "None of your business!" I soon learned that was the wrong reaction. The customer was trying to justify value. Value is what it's always about. Nobody ever argues that a Cadillac has more value than a Corolla, but there are a lot more Corollas on the road than Cadillacs. That indicates when it's time to write the check, more people will buy … [Read more...]

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by on March 21, 2012 Leave a Comment

A Slow Drive Through Town

A Slow Drive Through Town

Once upon a time, I took a slow drive through a prairie town. Not unlike most towns in the heart of America, Main Street was busy with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The side walks were covered with mothers and their broods. Merchant wares stood on the sidewalks giving passers by the 'come hither' look. I was a lad in one of those broods once. I was in awe. I continued my drive up Main Street. There stood the towns hospital - a beacon to those who were in need of a friendly old doctor and a nurse dressed in a crisp white dress and a strange hat. A hat she wore as a badge of honor. Oh look, the doctors parking. Buicks and Oldsmobiles neatly in a row. Brothers and sisters were born there and grand parents died there. I was humbled. I continued up Main Street past houses that were as fine as any in America. Emerald lawns that seemed to stretch forever covered with children … [Read more...]

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