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Thank You
As readers of this blog know, my father passed away on Thursday, March 19th. I’ve gotten so many wonderful responses to the post about my dad – both online and off – that it has blown me away. A post I wrote very much for myself seems to have been more than that.
Thank you all for your love, support, and wishes – they mean more than I’ll ever be able to explain.
The Inspiration for Fast Growth
I work very hard to ensure that this blog focuses on the issues facing fast growth businesses. To that end, I stay away from personal issues and thoughts. Today, I’m making an exception.
This morning, my dad, Philip Gardner Davidoff, passed away. I love my dad. And I owe my mom and my dad for giving me the inspiration to believe that a kid from Bowie, MD could change the world.
My dad wasn’t a role model to me in the traditional sense. He taught me, through word and deed, that I should follow my own path – not his. My dad instilled in me that anything was possible, that one person could fight city hall, and that it didn’t matter how much money you made unless you went to sleep that night comfortable with who you are and excited about what you are going to do the next morning.
Dad showed me that you should follow your dreams – even if that means risk. My parents started a travel agency before most people knew what a travel agency was. He left a comfortable, secure job with the government to work at the agency; and he did this when the world was in a recession that, in my opinion, was worse than what we’re dealing with today.
Dad also taught me the value of original, contrarian ideas. Dad wasn’t easy to get excited (though when he got excited there was no stopping him). He was understated and really smart. To get him engaged in a conversation meant you really had to bring something to the table. Dad showed me that when you have a powerful idea, you owe it to the world to do what it takes to bring it to life – even if that means some people will not treat you well in the process (Mom taught me this too).
I wasn’t the easiest kid to deal with. As an average student with a micro attention span and a little bit of attitude, Dad did for me the most important thing any parent could – he gave me the confidence that no matter how badly I screwed something up, no matter how badly I failed; Dad and Mom would be there accepting me for who I was.
Dad was instrumental in giving me the confidence to doubt the world, set a course, and pursue it. Every post you read here is the result of what Mom and Dad do for me.
I wrote about Dan Sullivan’s advice yesterday. He has another piece of advice that I work everyday to live by. Dan says that “you should always make your future bigger than your past.” I remember the evening I talked to my Dad about this. We discussed that always meant always – that on the day of your death you future can be bigger than your past, if; IF, you inspire enough people to advance your journey.
Dad, your future is bigger than your past. I miss you.
What We Should All Learn From Morton’s
Those who know me know I loves me some good quality steak – especially a medium rare New York Strip. They also know that the only thing that doesn’t go well with steak (IMHO) is a commercial pitch. So it is rare that I find myself enjoying a great steak at a business function.
Last night was the exception, as I had the unique privilege (thanks to the Washington Chapter of EO) to enjoy a fine steak at Morton’s and hear a presentation from Morton’s very own Chairman, CEO & President Thomas Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin was hospital, gracious, entertaining, and very insightful. I highly recommend the Morton’s experience. They made me feel welcomed and served me as an individual, even though there were more than 70 present.
Enough with the commercial – now to the point of the blog. Baldwin provided insights that every fast growth executive should keep forefront in their mind. Here are the highlights – ignore them at your peril.
- The road to good service is paved with mistakes – well handled (that insight is worth the costs of a year’s worth of Morton’s dinners).
- In response to how a premium offering deals with today’s recession: I can’t worry about the recession – I can only worry about the things I can control.
- In response to how Morton’s is managing during the recession: We’re controlling our costs, cutting overhead where we can, executives are not getting raises or bonuses – but the guest hasn’t seen any of it.
- Food is wine, wine is food – that’s our philosophy (it’s also probably why Morton’s averages 15-20% more per head than its competitors with little advertising).
- If it’s not perfect, we don’t send it to the guest.
- The whole idea is to be genuine.
- They train and reward – maniacally (my word, not his).
- People who work with you will fail. I will fail. The key is to keep it a minimum – and when it happens, fix it.
All those tidbits and a great NY Strip to boot – who could ask for more?
Stimulus or Growth
With all of the (much needed) talk about how we are going to stimulate the economy and attempt to get things back on a forward track it’s quite easy to get confused. Today’s Wall Street Journal has a great editorial from Sam Palmisano, Chariman/CEO of IBM, discussing how the government can invest for growth.
It’s a must read. It’s well written, well thought, and on point. Additionally, it has lessons for all business leaders on how even when the short-term interests and the long-term interests seem to no longer align, with a little thought and creativity they just might. My favorite quote from the article: “Rather than just stimulate, we should transform.”
Pardon Our Dust While We Complete Our Move
For those loyal readers, you may notice that the scenery has changed. For all new readers welcome.
After three years of blogging, we’ve moved to WordPress which we believe provides a better platform to support the community we are attempting to build. As with the businesses we consult with, we advise them not to let perfection get in the way of progress.
Moving a blog is difficult – with a significant probability you will lose some audience as the RSS feed doesn’t follow. To that end, we want to get back to blogging on our new platform, with our preliminary new website design. It’s not perfect, but it’s home.
Over the next few weeks, you’ll see our archive build back up, and the site become fully live. You’ll find plenty of opportunities above and beyond this blog to support your efforts to grow. As always, your comments are welcome.
How Much Should I Spend On … ?
One of the most frequent questions I get is how much should be spent on a marketing or sales initiative. Whether it’s a website, CD, brochure or any other communication mechanism.
Seth Godin has a post on his blog that I think provides great insight. He refers to it as “real vs. slick”.
While I don’t like the reference to “slick,” (which to me is negative), I think he means production value. The key is that when you go for “production value” (ie. I want this to look fantastic), then you have to go all the way – and that means spend the money and the time to make it work. Otherwise, focus on the content and make it real.
The Failure to Create Value Is – Well – Failure
While I don’t enjoy the ride, I say good riddance to the vast array of companies of have gone out of business this year. Merrill Lynch, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman, Bear Stearns and I’m sure many others. Please know, I feel for the people that work there (I worked at Merrill, and I have many friends and associates who still work there and at the others).
Why so crass? Because all of these companies forgot that profits are supposed to come from creating value – not from manipulating transactions. The one thing every company I mentioned has in common is that they thought of profit as a number on a financial statement. They all failed to ask the questions: “How are we creating profit? Is there any real value there?”
Had they answered those questions, they’d still be around creating value for all of us.
Write A Book In A Weekend?
The hits keep coming. Recently I wrote about a the bad idea called Salesconx that lets people put their trusted relationships up for auction. Today, someone sent me a link for something equally deserving of criticism – Write A Book In A Weekend.
Yup, in one weekend (and for $97), you can have a book that (in the words from the website) can:
- Get more of the highly coveted clients you desire
- Charge higher fees—even as much as quadrupling your current asking price
- Establish your expertise overnight—expertise that you don’t have to explain because no one will question you
- Speak volumes about your professional knowledge and credibility—24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
I have written or co-written five books, four of which have been self-published. I am also in the process of marketing a book idea to publishers. Some may claim that I’m just “old school” trying to keep people out of my “club.” Others may claim that as someone who is self-published, I’m merely the “pot calling the kettle black.”
Let me be clear – I’m a big fan off authoring books (and blogs), and I endorse the idea of self-publishing (obviously). I also don’t have a problem with ghost-written books (some of the best books in the world have been ghost written and my company, Imagine, provides ghost writing services). The problems I have with this idea are:
- It’s a fake promise – there’s no way someone is going to be able to write a book that will deliver results in a weekend, and they shouldn’t even try. The focus of the offer:
A fill-in-the-blanks book template, already designed in “book format,” so you can craft your book in a matter of hours. (Remember the word game “mad lib?” It’s a lot like that!).
That’s the author’s words – not mine.
- It adds meaningless noise to what is already a crowded and noisy marketplace.
- It treats customers as unsuspecting at best, and stupid at worst. The idea that merely because your name is on a “book”, you become immediately transformed into an expert commanding “4 times what you used to charge” is absurd. It is true that authors get treated to (at times) unreasonably favorable treatment. The reason is because writing and publishing a book is hard work. It’s like a college degree – it doesn’t necessarily prove that your capable, but it does provide a degree of separation from those who don’t have it.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes of all-time. Former heavyweight champion, Joe Louis, once said, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Just yesterday after making a presentation to CEOs, I was asked how hard implementing a particular idea would be. I responded by saying that anything easy doesn’t provide any value or advantage because everybody is doing it.
Look, I understand building thought leadership is hard. Randy Pausch, in his famous The Last Lecture talked about “brickwalls.” He said brickwalls of there for a reason – to keep those people who don’t really want something out. Brickwalls are your advantage – stop trying to bypass them.
So if you want to write a book (or do anything else), I encourage you to do it. But, give it the time that it deserves – and stop looking for shortcuts. You’ll be happier with the result.
Improve Your Best Results With This Tip
I’ve been working with a number of clients who are all opportunistic. I like to consider myself as oppurtunistic as anybody – and I’ve learned that if you’re not careful that trait will kill your business.
The reason for failure is rarely, if ever, a lack of opportunities – it’s the failure to focus. Opportunism and focus don’t always get along so well.
Here’s my tip – stop doing something. Pick something that you think is important and make the decision that you are not going to do it. Take that time (and, more importantly, energy) and apply it to something else you are already doing (don’t add a new thing). I promise you’ll see better results – faster.
If you feel like it, share what you are going to stop doing in the comments section.
Improve Your Best Results With This Tip
I’ve been working with a number of clients who are all opportunistic. I like to consider myself as opportunistic as anybody, and I’ve learned that if you’re not careful, that trait will kill your business.
The reason for failure is rarely, if ever, a lack of opportunities – it’s the failure to focus. Opportunism and focus don’t always get along so well.
Here’s my tip – stop doing something. Pick something that you think is important and make the decision that you are not going to do it. Take that time (and, more importantly, energy) and apply it to something else you are already doing (don’t add a new thing). I promise you’ll see better results faster.
If you feel like it, share what you are going to stop doing in the comments section.
How Much For Your Trusted Relationships
It has often been said that sales is the world’s oldest profession (that’s just another form of sales.) I’ve dedicated quite a bit of my life to help (in whatever way I can) professionalize the sales and marketing industry. I’ve written about respecting your audience, telling the truth, doing something great, living up to your promises and simply doing good.
Every now and then, I see an example of bad selling that leaves me asking myself if I’m just “spitting into a headwind.” Last week, a friend and a noted Web 2.0 expert, Craig Stoltz, pointed me in the direction of (in his words) a “new sales-focused social networking platform.”
I’m nervous about sharing the name of this company, for fear of the old PR axiom: any press is good press, but I’ll risk it. Salesconx is a new online social networking site that allows people to buy and sell individual leads. It’s like traditional sales leads groups (where you trade your relationships with clients for other people’s relationships) with an online and monetary twist (think eBay). Here, you get to auction your trusted relationships.
I understand how difficult it is to get the time and attention from qualified buyers. I also understand the power of networking (though it is often practiced badly and becomes a significant time wasted) and how networking can support breaking down attention barriers. I’ve even embraced many of today’s social media and “Web 2.0” applications. I’ve always been nervous about them – hoping that their power would be used for good instead of evil.
However, as every day passes, I get increasingly concerned that the potential power that online capabilities bring to relationship building will actually make trusted relationships even more rare. Whether it’s the misapplication of LinkedIn’s recommendations or best answers application (great intent, but today you have people offering to trade recommendations with each other or fixing best answers) to this newest application.
I get why someone would create Saleconx (and I even understand why someone might fund it). I empathize with the unsuspecting salespeople who might be tempted to try to buy some access. However, I cannot imagine who would actually sell the trust and respect of their clients, friends and associates. This act should qualify for Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Person In The World.”
Let me be clear – the trust and respect of your buyer’s, friends, and fans should be the most prized possession you have. It’s called goodwill and if you look at any company that builds sustainable success, you’ll see that goodwill is the most valuable item on their balance sheet – even though you can’t touch it. As difficult as it is to build it, it’s is nearly impossible (and extraordinarily expensive) to regain after you’ve you blown it (just look at Starbucks).
Salesconx is a BAD IDEA!! As is the nature with most short cuts, whatever short-term gains it might bring, it will introduce tremendous long-term pain. Look, I know it’s tough to get the attention of your market today. As I said, I empathize with the desire to find a short cut. But please – PLEASE – don’t fall for this “fool’s gold.” The reality is access that is sold so crassly will not have the implied value that a truly mutual beneficial introduction will have. And, the more common this type of fake introduction becomes, the less valuable a real introduction will be (after all, how will the unsuspecting buyer know the difference).
There are only two reasons to utilize this type of interface. If you don’t feel you have the capability to sell, or you don’t feel your offering is really worth anyone’s attention, then I guess you’ll have no choice but to use this type of platform. If you fall into one of these two categories, please do me a favor – gain the skills or find a better offer to sell; but please – PLEASE – stop propagating the image of the salesperson who will do anything for a buck.
Keys to Effective Sales – Go Deeper
I don’t remember where I read this, but I found it very insightful – the only value that exists in a library lies in the books you haven’t read. The point is that books that you’ve already read are no longer valuable because you’ve already learned from them – the real value lies in what you don’t know.
The same is true for sales. If all you all you do is address the “needs” that your customer/prospect already knows, you are not creating any value, and your merely being a commodity player. If you want to separate yourself from your competition, the only way to do that is to address items that:
a) your customer/prospect doesn’t know about or understand, and
b) your competition doesn’t address.
The only way you can do that is to go deeper in your questions and conversations than you ever have. You must master The Five Rules For Creating Demand, and you must develop business acumen.
The failure to do this will leave you smack in the cross-hairs of commoditization.
Losing Your Brand
Your brand is your lifeblood. I’ve written before (as have many others), your brand is not what you say about you – it’s what others say about you. This means that you don’t control your brand, your audience does. Going against your brand in a short-term attempt to “win” is not only a tactic of last resort, it’s something that shouldn’t even be considered.
I’ve worked very hard to avoid any mention or analogy to politics and the presidential race on this blog. The emotional charge of politics makes it difficult for my real message focused on profitable growth to come through. However, David Brooks (New York Times columnist) has written such a good piece on The Education of McCain that I couldn’t avoid it.
Brooks talks about how McCain has been “forced” to fight a more traditional (and negative) campaign than he and his advisors wanted. Brooks quotes McCain’s advisors as saying, “[We] didn’t choose the circumstances of this race. [Our] job is to cope with them.”
While McCain’s advisors are making the traditional, safe choice, I still think it’s the wrong one if McCain wants to win – let alone govern. McCain’s advisors claim that the only way that they can get news attention is to attack Obama. While that is certainly true at this point, it’s also so against type that long-time McCain supporters have wondered what is happening to their candidate. McCain is becoming the very politician he (and his supporters) used to mock.
McCain has succeed by going against the traditional political-type. His premature defeat has been called several times (in 2000, they said he would never be able to run for President again, and in this election cycle, his candidacy was declared DOA in the primary season). McCain has always stuck to his approach and won in the end (even though he “lost” the 2000 election, his influence increased).
Now, he’s going against his brand. Now, he’s playing traditional politics. Now, he’s lost he core difference. I get that playing his non-traditional game was a long shot (legitimately, his entire candidacy was a long shot and few thought he’d get this far) – however, playing this new game (one that I don’t think he’s particularly good at) puts him in a far more precarious position. I’d rather that he stuck to his guns, and tried to pull another one out.
Now “Tweeting” on Twitter
Well, when I first heard about it, I thought it was silly. Who in the world (that is actually working) would use Twitter. I’m now one of them. I’m actually finding it quite valuable. Why:
Because Twitter is a proxy for the market. I talk often about keeping things simple, now I have a great proxy for it. If you can’t fit your message into Twitter (140 charecters), it’s probably two complicated.
If you’d like to follow my “Tweets” just click here.
A Valuable Thought
Information is no longer an advantage; nor is access to it. Now, it’s the ability and speed to transform information into meaningful action.
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Resources
Doug's Washington Business Journal Columns- Intelligent Growth Articles
Third Wave Selling Blog
Products to Grow
