October 2010
By Scott Stratten
We picked up a copy of Scott Stratten’s new book a few weeks ago at the Nashville stop of his “UnBook Tour.” In UnMarketing, Stratten calls for reconsidering traditional sales and marketing tactics like cold-calling and, instead, focusing efforts at the top of the Hierarchy of Buying.
Current satisfied customers are at the top, then referrals by a trusted source and current relationships that have yet to purchase. Cold-calling and search through ads are techniques that target the bottom of the pyramid. Competition at the bottom is fierce, and your chances of reaching a receptive audience are slim.
Stratten argues that business is built on relationships, and social media is one way to build and strengthen those relationships with clients and prospects. He provides some case studies for how (and how not) to engage with influencers through social media and gives good tactical advice for increasing newsletter subscriptions and dealing with defectors in blog comments.
Stratten practices what he preaches. Instead of calling around North America to try to find venues that would book his tour, he used Twitter to engage with his audience and asked which cities would be interested in hosting him. It worked. His 30-city tour will run through Dec. 4.
August 2010
Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie L. Smith
Smith’s thesis is just as relevant today as when Creating Competitive Advantage was published in 2006. In fact, it may be even more critical in today’s increasingly competitive environment.
One of Smith’s most important points is that companies often confuse strengths for competitive advantages. They focus on strengths such as integrity and client trust, which are great and essential to business. However, these strengths are not competitive advantages. Some of your competitors likely have these strengths.
Her definition of competitive advantage is the “reason people do business with you.” It’s what your competition doesn’t have, what allows you to close the sale.
A competitive advantage must be quantifiable, i.e. it must have supporting proof points.
The following statement is not a competitive advantage: “Our people are the best in the industry.” However, it become a competitive advantage when you add: “Our engineers have a minimum experience of 15 years in the business, twice that of our nearest competitor.” It gets even better when you can add the customer into the mix: “Our clients realize a 4x return on investment because our engineers average twice the experience of our nearest competitor.”
Smith cautions the reader, “Remember that competitive advantages are always moving targets. You have to review your own, and your competitors’, at least quarterly. Business is a chess game. You need to think two or three moves ahead if you expect to win.”
YOUR TURN: What book helped you get a competitive edge in business?
June 2010
It’s vacation time. Good books are a staple of any trip to the beach, lake, or mountains. Here are a few books we’re planning to read this summer.
- The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki — Entrepreneur. Advisor. Investor. Kawasaki has done it all. The Art of the Start is his take on creating an entrepreneurial environment inside any company.
- Personality Not Included by Rohit Bhargava — Bhargava argues that brands must become dynamic personalities to connect fully and meaningfully with their customers.
- Mastering the Hype Cycle by Jackie Fenn and Mark Raskino — Gartner invented its hype cycle several years ago to explain the rise, fall, and ultimately sustainability of innovation. Fenn and Raskino explain how companies can avoid the typical problems and return more from their investment in innovative products and services.
- The Big Short by Michael Lewis — Lewis has a stellar track record of fascinating stories, from Moneyball to The Blind Side to Liar’s Poker. In his latest book, he takes on the financial crisis in 2007-08 that led to the current recession.
What’s on your summer reading list?
April 2010
The title is no lie. Author Clark Campbell has devised a method for capturing a project’s salient points into a one-page project manager (OPPM) that can communicate its status and the performance of those in charge.
Campbell has used his approach to plan a $30 million software project for SAP, a large event, and a $10 million distribution center.
The information captured in the page includes:
- Key objectives
- Major tasks to be accomplished
- Status of those tasks
- Who is in charge of the task and other team members
- Costs
Campbell provides a step-by-step plan for completing the OPPM, how to use the OPPM to compile reports for senior management, and how to use the OPPM as a meeting agenda.
Download the OPPM template.
February 2010
The Elements of Influence by Allen Kelly
Ever meet that person who always seems to be a step ahead of the competition regardless of the circumstances? He or she always seems to read the tea leaves the right way and say the right thing to the right person at the right time.
Allen Kelly calls that person a playmaker. In The Elements of Influence, he details how playmakers operate and explains how to run more than 25 different plays designed to create influence.
Some of the plays are well known, such as the Red Herring and Trial Balloon. Others, like the Crazy Ivan and Peacock, are more entertaining. Details about all 25 plays are online at http://www.plays2run.com/table.
Kelly explains (without preaching) how each play works, its potential benefits, and its pitfalls. He also explains how to decode when someone is running a play on you and what plays you can run as a counter.
The Elements of Influence contains examples of each play and how sequences of plays can impact a desired outcome.
December 2009
Fearless Leadership by Dr. Loretta Malandro
In October, we wrote about leadership expert Dr. Loretta Malandro and her belief every business leader has blindspots. We decided to delve further with Malandro’s book Fearless Leadership.
Malandro defines a blindspot as an unproductive behavior that undermines success and business relationships.
Fearless Leadership explores the top 10 blindspots that Malandro and her team have identified through extensive research. They are:
- Going it alone
- Being insensitive to your impact on others
- Having an “I know” attitude
- Avoiding difficult conversations
- Blaming others or circumstances
- Treating commitments casually
- Conspiring against others
- Withholding emotional commitment
- Not taking a stand
- Tolerating “good enough”
Malandro believes that solving blindspots are critical to organizational success. She provides convincing evidence from her work with professionals around the world that organization change does not happen until leadership changes. The book provides detail on each blindspot, excellent examples from Malandro’s practice, and strategies that leaders can use to diagnose and overcome their own blindspots.
