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February 18, 2010

When no one ever says no

Last night I dreamt about Elvis Presley, the young, beautiful Elvis—before the pills, pork barbecue and polyester jumpsuits made him fat and sad. In the dream, I was arguing with Elvis, trying to convince him not to do something. But he wouldn’t listen. Young as he was, Elvis was already addicted to getting his own way. No one ever told him no.

It doesn’t take Dr. Freud to analyze why I had the dream. Yesterday, I had a painful encounter with a senior executive who felt his needs weren’t being met, so he was kicking and screaming and making people scramble.

This executive was no Elvis, yet he was just as spoiled. People who reported to him knew to answer every question with “Yes.” No one ever challenged him, pushed back or put him in the time-out chair until he calmed down.

The “never say no” dynamic has serious consequences. People stop sharing bad news with the executive because he doesn’t want to hear it. They don’t raise objections, even when they have legitimate concerns. They rush around trying to anticipate his desires instead of doing their jobs.

As a result, the executive gets what he wants. But he doesn’t get what he (or the organization) needs.

He may not end up like Elvis, but the outcome is sad just the same.

Posted by Alison Davis at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2010

110 books in 2010. #4: Buying In

I am fascinated by books that explore what motivates people—because I seek insights that will help me communicate more effectively. That’s why I picked up
Buying In (The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are) by Rob Walker.

Although there are some interesting concepts in Buying In, ultimately I was disappointed. Mr. Walker takes a journalist’s approach to his topic: He reports on other people’s viewpoints instead of developing his own thesis and using evidence to support it. As a result, halfway through, I grew weary of all the reported stories, and yearned for Mr. Walker to take a definitive stand about why people buy. (Finally, at the end, he reached a not-so-groundbreaking conclusion: People buy things that reinforce their sense of self.)

Despite my disappointment, Buying In did offer several valuable insights, including:

A great definition of branding: “Branding is really a process of attaching an idea to a product. . . If a product is successfully tied to an idea, branding persuades people . . . to consume the idea by consuming the product. Even companies like Apple and Nike, while celebrated for the tangible attributes of their products, work hard to associate themselves with abstract notions of nonconformity or achievement. A potent brand becomes a form of identity in shorthand.”

Two basic conditions must be met for any connection to occur between a consumer and a product. “The first is salience. This simply means we have to know about something, be familiar with it, have it easily accessible in our mind . . . salience matters: You are in no position to desire an iPod if you have no idea what it is. The more you see something, the more familiar it becomes—not as a result of the thing changing, but as a result of your brain changing through repeated exposure.”

The second condition: relevance. “The number of things that are familiar to us obviously goes up each year, but only a small number are relevant. In some circumstances, it’s what’s relevant to us that becomes salient to us: If you’re in the market for a car, you notice care ads; if not, you probably don’t.”

There are better books on consumer behavior; you can skip Buying In.

Posted by Alison Davis at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)

February 07, 2010

110 books in 2010. #3: The Little Blue Book of Marketing

Last month, I facilitated a series of workshops on communication planning. Seeking inspiration as I prepared for the sessions, I went to my pile of books and found The Little Blue Book of Marketing (subtitle: Build A Killer Plan in Less Than A Day) by Paul Kurnit and Steve Lance.

I agreed with the authors’ premise—planning works best as a collaborative process—so I began with high hopes. And The Little Blue Book does contain many tips on facilitating a planning session.

The most valuable of these provide advice on stimulating participants’ thinking before and during a planning session. The authors suggest three different ways to do so:

Thought-Starters. Questions you pose to participants ahead of time to “get in a good mind-set for the meeting.” Examples include: What’s the most indispensable technological device in your life, and why? What’s the most successful advertising campaign you can think of? What was the biggest innovation in your product category in the past five years?

Warm-ups. Exercises “to get the creative juices flowing.” Warm-ups are “relevant to the task at hand, yet removed enough so there’s no right or wrong response.” Examples include: Who is your favorite superhero and why? If you were stranded on a desert island, what are the three things you’d bring? Which three websites do you find most indispensiable?

Workouts. Facilitation sessions to move the plan forward, and relate directly to what you’re trying to accomplish. For marketing, these could include: What is the most impressive characteristics of a competitor that could apply to your brand? Develop the worst product idea you can imagine for your company, then flip it 180 degrees to make it a great idea.

Although these techniques are designed for marketing planning, they could easily be adapted to any planning session.

However, despite some helpful hints, The Little Blue Book was ultimately disappointing. There’s not much content here: It truly is a little book, with not much substance and too much repetition. And although the book is clever (catchy chapter titles and quotations), I would have appreciated less style and a lot more how-to substance.

Also, I’m puzzled: Why “Little Blue Book”? Made me think of the little red hen, but I’m not sure how she relates to marketing or planning.

Posted by Alison Davis at 01:24 PM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2010

Hot in video: How to

Pop quiz. What are the most compelling headline words/phrases? Answer: "You" and "How to."

That's because we human beings are fascinated by ourselves ("Are you talking to me?") and are equally interested in learning how to make our lives easier and better.

It's also why one of the fastest growing categories of video is "how to."

For example, Howcast, a site that offers original videos on topics ranging from How To Talk To Your Cat to How To Make Jello Shots, is currently streaming 25 million videos a month, and also shows content on YouTube and offers iPhone and PDA apps. (To learn more, read this Tech Crunch blog.

And 5min,a syndication platform for video, has 150,000 videos in categories from food to home to health to pets. The site has more than 30 million unique viewers. (Read this TechCrunch blog for more info.)

Think about you could add how-to video to your communication mix. For instance: "How to conduct a performance appraisal." Or: "How to understand the company strategy." Or: "How to make your workplace safe."

The possibilities are endless . . .

Posted by Alison Davis at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)