Businessweek has an expert Q & A on the housing bubble. Some of the answers may surprise you.
Businessweek has an expert Q & A on the housing bubble. Some of the answers may surprise you.
Posted on June 22, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Word of Mouth is critically important to the success of any marketing campaign but it will never replace Integrated Marketing Communications. Word of Mouth and Integrated Marketing Communications should work together to expedite full adoption of a product or service. This point is best illustrated by examining the potential impact of both communications concepts as a product is accepted into the market.
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Posted on June 21, 2005 in Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Apple Computers and Pixar Animation Studios are two excellent companies. Most people would be proud to have either of them on their resume. Below are the thoughts of someone who worked at both organizations. He’s a pretty insightful and creative guy. I have read this over and over and it inspires me each time.
The text and picture below are from Steve Job’s commencement address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005.
Posted on June 19, 2005 in Leadership | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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More advice on the Real Estate situation in high-growth markets is available in this article from Bloomberg.
Posted by Dave Lorenzo
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Posted on June 18, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Overachievers enter into each interaction with a desired outcome. They have an idea of what they want from each meeting, each phone call and each e-mail. Successful individuals have internalized this behavior – they don’t even realize that they are doing it. They are also incredibly appreciative when other people are focused on achieving an outcome from a meeting or an interaction. This helps them cut through clutter and enables them to be twice as productive as everyone else.
Having an outcome focus refers to the thought process behind your activities. Scheduling a meeting, accepting an invitation, picking up the phone, writing an e-mail or even going to the store should all lead to something. Most people take these things for granted. Have you ever sat in a meeting and wondered afterward why you just wasted an hour of your life? Why did you go to the meeting in the first place? What were you hoping to accomplish? What was the desired outcome?
Outcome driven thinking is about being in the moment. What you do right now will create your past and it will have an impact on your future. Our life is a collection of these finite opportunities. We do not know when they will run out so we owe it to ourselves to make the most out of each and every moment.
Entertainers have an expression that is relevant to this point. They say that when you go up on stage you have to “be in the room”. That means that you need to be in tune with everything that is going on around you and act in harmony with those events. You have to be mentally present in order to make a difference. Use this moment to advance toward the outcome you seek.
Giving thought to the desired outcome of each situation will do three things for you.
What did you hope to get out of a visit to this website today? Did you achieve your desired outcome? How can I make it better tomorrow? Let me know. Post a comment or send me an e-mail.
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Posted on June 17, 2005 in Individual Performance | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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A friend sent me a link to a productivity tip at Open Loops. It is practical and Bert Webb provides you with the reasoning behind why it works. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
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Posted on June 17, 2005 in Individual Performance | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Duct Tape Marketing has a good post on client interactions. Connecting clients and allowing them to share ideas is one of the most powerful things you can do as a business consultant or a B-to-B supplier.
In today’s competitive environment, we must find ways to provide clients with additional value. Introducing your clients to one another is a great way to help them come up with creative ideas. Sharing experiences allows clients to see solutions in action. This is particularly powerful and effective when your company supplies the service the clients are describing as a great solution. A case study wrapped in an unsolicited client testimonial has a magical effect on the way your clients view your business.
A byproduct of these client-to-client sessions is the development of a community. This serves as a support group, friendship circle and business networking society for the people who are most important to your business. It is not uncommon for clients to develop deep relationships with other members of these groups. I have even seen business alliances develop and employees move from one company to another as a result of these interactions.
We began conducting client roundtable sessions with our clients at Gallup a couple of years ago. The sessions are organized around topics that the clients request. Our clients tell us that these powerful sessions have helped create valuable peer groups that provide on-going value for their businesses.
The bottom line: When you get your clients together, everyone wins.
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Posted on June 17, 2005 in Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Seth Godin is on target once again with his follow up to a post from June 14 on being “good enough”. I completely agree with today’s point. Continuous improvement is the critical to sustainable success.
Striving for perfection is better than striving for being competitive. In order to be truly remarkable you have to keep getting better. Perfection is a moving target. The business that listens to its customers and improves based upon that feedback will never settle for good enough.
Remarkable businesses stand “good enough” on its head and make it appear passé. Sending a fax was remarkable at one time (vs. sending a letter in the mail). The standard is now e-mail. Sending an e-mail was once remarkable but now it is good enough.
Today’s good enough is tomorrow’s junk.
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Posted on June 16, 2005 in Leadership | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Here’s a link to Buzz Machine.
Some folks think talking about the bubble will make it burst. It’s not a soufflé. It’s economics. Rising interest rates will make it burst. Talking about it just helps people understand what is going on. Be sure to read the comments. This is good dialogue.
Check out my post from Monday, June 13.
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Posted on June 16, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Seth Godin has a post today about companies settling for being good enough. In his post he references Jet Blue as a company that will not settle. This works in theory. It works in a discussion. Reality is more complicated.
We should all keep in mind that you have to be good enough before you can ever be great. Many airlines can’t even get to the point where they are good enough. Last week Gordon T. Anderson reported (CNN Money) on the Global Passenger Survey conducted by Skytrax . Jet Blue nabbed the top spot in North America. Jet Blue is a low cost airline with great service. They don't fly everywhere. If they don’t fly somewhere you need to go, are they still great?
Two points:
1). Good enough is fine if it is a milestone on the way to great. Too many people settle for good enough as a final destination.
2). Great is subjective. What’s great to me may not be great to you. Take the survey listed above as an example. Jet Blue is great in North America but it doesn’t fly to enough places to be ranked world-wide. Does this mean Jet Blue is only “Good Enough” and not “Great” on a world-wide scale?
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Posted on June 15, 2005 in Leadership | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)