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Failure is not the end of the world. With GM now restructured and the financial crisis coming to an end, should we be celebrating?
Yes, IF you have learned from your mistakes.
Fail fast and move on
Many business people I know, have worked with or read about in the press, shy away from talking about failure. Failure is an opportunity. Failure should be expected some percentage of the time no matter what business you are in. The trick to capturing this opportunity is to quickly learn from the act of failing and move quickly to what is next — someone I know coined the phrase “fail fast and move on”.
Ask “why”
Companies and business people usually get blinded by the negative side of failure and do not critically ask “why”. Why did this failure occur? Was it a breakdown in our analysis, strategy, execution, management or the team culture? What ever the reason without delving deeper you have eliminated one of the most important opportunities to understand your performance and whether you or the organization has the foundation to succeed in the next opportunity.
The power to unite or divide
Experiencing failure can be one of the most positive drivers of unity or division. I think about my dad’s experience in Vietnam or other vets that have great stories of how challenging moments can bring a team or a unit closer together. This can hold true in business as well, given the right foundation is in place. The foundational element that is absolutely a must is that everyone in the team shares the pain. I have seen team leaders call out team member failures and destroy an individual and their own ability to lead the next team. On the flip side, I have also seen great leaders share the pain or even take more of the heat in tough times. It is these leaders that inspire dedication and motivate those that work for them to jump higher and achieve more. I would caution that no leader can or should take all the “heat”. The team needs to feel the pain or you miss the opportunity to unite.
How will you celebrate your next failure? Please comment!
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This post is a tribute to a mentor of mine, Alan “Big Al” Johnson. Big Al should be credited for the idea of lust, fear and greed… at least that is how I remember it. Big Al was ahead of his time in understanding human behavior in the business world or maybe just too raw in his explanation, but that is what you get from a poet.
Lust, fear and greed are three of the most powerful drivers of people in business and thus business itself. If you are someone are trying to created action or movement inside an organization, this framework/theory may help. I will explain each component of lust, fear and greed and then describe how the conceptual framework could help.
Lust
Have you ever been in a meeting when someone says, “I love that idea” or “We HAVE to do this”. Well witness the lust of a business professional. The object of lust could be noble like a competitive advantage or differentiation or could be that my peer CEO has a corporate jet, so I want one too. What ever the object, one thing holds, this is a powerful force of human behavior and drives both rational and irrational business decisions.
Fear
Fear is most likely the reaction to competitive pressures like missing out on an opportunity or being trampled — “The competition is close to locking up an exclusive on a technology for 6 months, we have to move faster!” Fear can also be related to costs overruns as well — “costs are increasing faster than expected, we need to figure this out before it gets out of control.” Fear can also be personal, such as fearing that your management will see you in a bad light because of a recent failure.
Greed
Greed is the easiest to comprehend and see in action. Most of the time it is related to the accumulation of wealth either for the company or personally. There is also the greed of power, which can either manifest in infighting of business units or actual managers.
The bottom line:
The take away is that these are very power forces individually, but I have a theory that nothing really happens until at least two of these forces are at work in the same situation. As an example, for a project to get funded “greed” must be at play (ROI or positive NPV), but it will not be initiated unless either lust or fear are present. You might see this manifest with a competitive response to a competitor’s move or an executive that wants badly to be in a new market. What I have found helpful is in using the simple terminology of lust, fear and greed to understand and deal with a situation. If I am trying to drive action or change, then I know that at least two forces need to be at work.
What are your thoughts? Do you have a great example or story to share? Please comment.
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MENTAL is a medical mystery drama featuring Dr. Jack Gallagher, an unorthodox psychiatrist who becomes Director of Mental Health Services at a Los Angeles hospital where he takes on patients battling unknown, misunderstood and often misdiagnosed psychiatric conditions. Dr. Gallagher delves inside their minds to gain a true understanding of who his patients are, allowing him to uncover what might be the key to their long-term recovery.
Why I like this show?
It is entertaining and it educates. I think it also has great potential to tear down stereotypes and silence of those that are effected by mental illness (patients, spouses, children and friends). In my college years, I was pursuing the track of a psychologist and spent 2 internships in psychiatric facilities. The doctors portrayed in the show are great examples of real life doctors and their own demons they are dealing with – minus the doctor I knew that had a mental illness and tries to treat himself (true story with a bad ending). My interest in the show is only increased by my family’s struggle with my father’s bipolar disorder and the triumphs and failures with modern day pharmacology as well as standard medical practices when doctors treat the disorder and not the person.
Good job Fox! Now if we can just get you do do something noble with American Idol.
If you are interested in the new science of mental disorders, please check out my post from last year.
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This is the seventh and last in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.
Over the past few years, measurement of marketing has dominated the vernacular of lead marketers and marketing literature – ROMI, ROI, campaign tracking and management, etc.. The reality is that not everything worthwhile can be measured and it takes an equal or greater effort to generate insight from measurement.
Watch out… As the pendulum swings back, companies are re-evaluating the right mix of measurement and management. When they do, will your staff’s talent and skills be seen as they key to decision-making or a weak link in the connection between metrics and action?
Skills of successful top marketers and marketing executives are evolving. More business orientation and holistic approach to decision making are a must to continue to demonstrate value. This means marketers are adopting revenue as a measure and some are responsible for a P&L.
What is your next move?
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I could not help sharing the new Mac ad called “elimination” from Apple:
Disclaimer: I switch back to a Mac a little over two years ago and I believe I made the right decision for me.
Bottomline:
Why this ad works is it because it is based on truth or at least perceived truths and I would argue that in a consumers mind these are the same. What is Microsoft’s next play? Who knows, but I would encourage them to focus on the core product to increase stability and work with partners like Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo to clean up the messaging for the “PC” solution.
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In a New York Times article today, Starbuck’s answer to McDonald’s McCafé $100 million dollar blitz is:
“If your coffee isn’t perfect, we’ll make it over. If it’s still not perfect, you must not be in a Starbucks.”
In the article Terry Davenport, chief marketing officer at Starbucks, is quoted as saying..
“[Competition] is trying to just commoditize coffee and take it down to a level where all coffee’s the same, and if coffee’s coffee, you might as well buy the cheap stuff. … We just don’t believe that to be true. That’s why we wanted to tell our stories.”
See more of what Starbuck’s is saying and the ads on their blog.
So, what is the story? At Starbuck’s, we make a mistake once but never twice?
I am disappointed that the message for the ads has to be driven by negative undertones. I understand they hope to drive social media to help by employing a Twitter promotion contest. And negative news is good news, but for an iconic brand who defined a category for so long to not see a positive message to push is concerning.
If you want a story, talk about heritage or the fair trade efforts that you have helped to implement for farmers or even the premium ingredients. This type of story is real and authentic vs. “just don’t buy the other guy’s stuff”.
Comments welcome!
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This is the sixth in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.
Whether developing new products or looking to increase loyalty, having a continuous stream of customer insight that draws on many different sources is important. This feed needs to be constant and plentiful. Technology is making it easier to find new ways to gather and make use of customer insight with limited resources.
Customer research and voice of the customer programs like councils and feedback meetings are the more traditional ones many marketers employ. Marketing organizations should not forget the many simple everyday ways to accomplish this via tools like email, google alerts, RSS feeds, Twitter or talking with the services or sales representatives. The important thing is to make it an integral part of your day / week.
What can happen if you are not watching/listening?
Many should not forget the Motrin campaign that had so much twitter backlash over a weekend after the launch of a new “hip” mommy ad that the parent campaign pulled the ad. Don’t let this happen to you! Ensure your insight and listening post are capturing as much feedback as possible.
An example of a company doing this well is Dell with their IdeaStorm.com, where users generate ideas for new features or often irritating sales and marketing practices or service policies. The community can then vote on them which helps Dell focus and prioritize.
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A friend recent sent me this post from Gawker, thanks Bruce! In the post they poke fun at the rationale (download) provided by the agency, Arnell Group, on the multimillion dollar logo refresh. Personally, I want to look for the positive in what they created, but this document does not do them justice. What do you think? Please comment.
Posted at The Letter
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This is the fifth in a series of short posts related to The CMO Agenda research. Informed by recent CMO conversations and CMG Partners‘ collective experience helping top marketers develop marketing strategy, we have compiled a list of seven ideas or jump starters for further conversation. These are meant to spark discussion, ideas, and action as we all enter a difficult 2009.
Many industries and sectors have seen new growth opportunities shift from products to services. For example, take the classic case of IBM and the switch from product to services, which is cited many times over as what saved the company.
“Experience” might be next frontier as customer service is now becoming a qualifier for purchase decisions versus an order winner. Differentiating on an experience could range from engaging all the senses in industries like travel and leisure to providing simple surprise and delight moments in less experiential industries like technology or manufacturing. The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore is a source for much more to think about along these lines.
Recently, I worked with a luxury travel company on defining a new set of products for the high net worth baby boomer market. Through focus groups we learned that boomers were craving experiences. The example that sticks out most was a person stating: “I want to be guided by a well know chef through the Moroccan spice market, hand select ingredients for dinner, then participate in the cooking process — culminating in the meal itself.” Oh.. and research shows that they are willing to pay through the nose to get this!
For a more grounded example…
Not too long ago, I opened a college savings/investment account for my newborn daughter. I picked Scottrade because I had previously opened a brokerage account and was satisfied. Within 4 hours of applying for an account online, the local branch office, one mile away, called to make sure everything went as planned and to see that any questions I may have had were answered. It was a simple yet effective point of differentiation, and I loved it.
Whether meandering through a spice market or simply calling your customers to make sure they had a good experience, marketers need to think beyond the widget or service offering of today. How will your company or industry take advantage of this opportunity to win or retain customers with a unique experience?
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Recently, I have been speaking to lead marketers about growth — how they define it and what they are doing to achieve it. Through 13 interviews, not one lead marketer has mentioned pricing as a way to increase revenue or profits. Is price no longer a marketing function in corporations?
According to a McKinsey study, a 1% increase in realized price delivers the greatest improvement – a healthy 10% increase in operating profits. This is exactly why marketers need to be thinking about pricing strategies and price management disciplines. As an example, one industry that is ripe for a price increase is the aftermarket auto parts business like Carquest and Autozone. With sales of new cars at all time lows, people are trying to extend the life of the car they have. I recently spent $95 dollars to replace the battery on my car and would have easily paid another $5. It is these types of small increases that drop all of that incremental $5 to the bottom line.
Other price strategies exists, such as bundling or understanding “basket of goods”. When my wife and I go into Target we can not, for some reason, leave without spending ~$50. That is no accident. Are they the cheapest on everything? No, but we continue to pay because my wife believes certain categories of products are price competitively and we just can’t help ourselves buying other products due to convenience.
The Bottom Line:
Price is a big lever! Learn how to employ it and manage it. For further justification in how this works even in a down market please read my friend Sid’s post.
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