Monthly Archives: May 2011
I’ll never forget the very first day of Heinz Marketing. It was just me, a laptop and a (pending) business license. I had a meeting with a new client in downtown Seattle in the morning, and a prospect in the afternoon. My mid-day office? The public library. It was exciting. And terrifying. Still is. If you’ve started a business, you know what I mean. I think sometimes about what I would have told myself then, based on what I know now. Which instincts I’d reinforce as sound, which lessons I wish I’d have learned earlier. So to remind myself and possibly to help others, here are my ten recommendations when starting a business. 1. Build & Print Stuff Later My first business cards were freebies from VistaPrint.com. My first Web site was a $9.99/month GoDaddy.com “Website Tonight” template. I had those for at least eight months, until I had the … Continue reading
In a number of industries, large firms have created the concept of a “blockbuster”. The blockbuster is the big “make or break” product or service that creates such a bow-wave of profits that it sustains all the other development projects. You are familiar with blockbusters if you take medications like Lipitor, which is one of the most profitable drugs ever created. Unfortunately for its manufacturer, Lipitor’s patent will run out shortly, and there don’t appear to be too many new blockbusters in the hopper. For years the pharmaceutical industry has focused on finding and protecting the next blockbuster, while placing less emphasis on drugs that solve problems but don’t drive as much revenue. This strategy, which drove up pharmaceutical stock prices in the 80s and 90s, is beginning to look a bit thin, as the costs and risks associated with developing a “blockbuster” and the increasing difficulty …
The traditional top-down structure in organizations can be a powerful inhibitor to innovation. It is a reflection of a command and control style of leadership where orders are issued at the top and followed by the ranks. People lower down the organization who have great ideas can feel inhibited about promoting them. They feel it is disrespectful to challenge the command chain. Most modern businesses try to overcome this with open communication and employee empowerment. But there is a more radical alternative – destroy the hierarchy altogether. Oticon, the innovative Danish hearing-aid manufacturer, broke the conventions of corporate structure when it tore up the hierarchy and created what became known as a ‘spaghetti organization’. People are not allocated to departments but move from project to project. The system looks chaotic in a conventional sense but Oticon have achieved remarkable success with it over a period of ten years. Another celebrated … Continue reading
It’s been said that a problem clearly stated is already half solved, but for most entrepreneurs, impatience usually gets the best of them and they never get the chance to apply the necessary critical thinking skills to solve the myriad problems encountered on a daily basis. Even for the most critical of problems, their problem solving techniques is more of a blind hunt for information rather than a careful search for the relevant facts. Authors Charles Kepner and Benjamin Tregoe articulate this quite well in their classic book on critical thinking titled The Rational Manager. “A problem cannot be efficiently solved unless it is precisely described. How can you correct a problem if you don’t know exactly what the problem is? No matter how urgent it may be, it will not be correctly solved without a very exact statement of what it is, and what its critical dimensions are. It … Continue reading
Some years ago, there was a big problem at one of America’s most treasured monuments — the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. Simply put, birds — in huge numbers — were pooping all over it, which made visiting the place a very unpleasant experience. Attempts to remedy the situation caused even bigger problems, since the harsh cleaning detergents being used were damaging the memorial. Fortunately, some of the National Parks managers assigned to the case began asking WHY — as in “Why was the Jefferson Memorial so much more of a target for birds than any of the other memorials?” A little bit of investigation revealed the following: The birds were attracted to the Jefferson Memorial because of the abundance of spiders — a gourmet treat for birds. The spiders were attracted to the Memorial because of the abundance of midges (insects) that were nesting there. And the midges were … Continue reading
As problem solvers our role is to support companies, clients, and customers by solving their business problems. We’re asked to help drive sales, increase traffic, and build community. These challenges, and others, are solved through our ability to combine ideas in new and meaningful ways. That’s creativity. Creativity is sparked by our imagination. Unfortunately, most of us have been conditioned to quell our imagination to pursue lives as “serious adult business professionals.” Deep inside, unheard and hidden lies that imaginative kid who used to ask, “Why not?” The few “chose ones” that are creative are viewed with awe like a master magician… Their ability to pull a tagline out of a hat leaves us in ooo-ing and ahh-ing, with golf-claps of delight. Creative? Me?! I can’t do that! *Gulp* The good news? That’s just your perception. A misperception. That kid is still in there. We need to remember how to … Continue reading
