The Brussel Sprout and Christmas – an eBay parable

“All the world’s a stage”

eBay, the world’s online auction place, continues to provide amazing 21st century “village square” stories. There are a number of people selling left over, or completely uneaten, Christmas meals. One item caught my attention: a single Brussel Sprout (see auction here). Cooked (for 6 minutes in lightly salted water, we are told) and frozen. Now awaiting sale. It eventually fetched £ 99.95!! The funds were donated to charity. In the process of the bidding, a refrigerated truck driver offered to fetch and deliver the item anywhere in the UK for free! (Oh, and as I did my eBay search, I found many more other Brussel Sprouts for sale, most fetching about £5).

Why, you ask? Because eBay is not just an auction site. It is the “village square”. Its a giant flea market, not just with stalls and shoppers, but also with entertainers, and a few village idiots. And, while you’re out having fun, you’ll probably feel OK parting with some money to support a good cause or to pay an entertainment for a monet of frivolity. eBay proves you can do that online, too.

Its a strange world.

Confirmation of a character Tsunami

Sitting in a lecture at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok listening to David Hastings talking about the tsunami that devestated this region on the 26th December 2004. Some interesting insights are emerging as to the systems in place through technology and networks that are designed to alert the region to the constant threat of tsunamis. When an earthquake occurs it takes three readings before the size and character of the quake can be determined. This got me thinking about personal feedback…

When one gets feedback that is ‘confirmed’ three times then perhaps it becomes possible to determine the ‘character’ of the feedback and respond accordingly. This offers a useful person check in utilizing feedback for personal development. Just a thought.

The other thing to stand out from what Hastings said was that there are times when the network fails to work – when a warning is not passed on – based on political or regional sensitivities. Hard to imagine that one country would intentionally withhold information that might save lives concerning a looming natural disaster but it seems that is indeed the case. Again, considering toxic personal networks that may exist within a corporate environment, perhaps it is not that hard to imagine the failure of the network in this regard!

Apple released Intel Powerbook

Steve Jobs delivered his keynote yesterday at the Macworld expo in San Francisco. Here’s a list of all the announcements he made and blow-by-blow commentary. But the most exciting announcement is the release of the MacBook Pro – the first Mac with an Intel inside. It starts shipping in February – and I hope we in SA get it soon…

Watch the Keynote.
Some analysis of the Microsoft/Apple relationship.

Technorati Tags: apple, macbook pro

The Rolling Stones and the Boomers’ enduring music surprise

In 2005, The Stones completed the most successful USA concert tour of all time, taking in a total of $ 162 million in concert ticket revenues. (Jay Leno commented that it is hard to imagine how much it might have been if half the audience hadn’t claimed senior citizen discounts .

But in all seriousness, there are two major generational trends driving this ongoing phenemenon (All of the Top 10 grossing concert tours of all time have occurred in the last decade by bands originally formed in the 1960s through 80s – see list below). Besides inflation pushing up concert ticket prices, there has been a huge increase in what concert organisers can charge and what concert goers are prepared to pay, mainly because the ageing Baby Boomers (born post-World War II and into the 1960s), who want to continue to hear the music of their youth, now have serious spending power and cash to burn. Average ticket prices rose over 10% to $57. This is a trend other industries can also plug into.

The second reason is that great music can go on for a long time. It seems to me that Boomers are constantly surprised how “their” music is recycled, remixed and replayed in various different formats. Boomers, the children of rock n roll, grew up believing that they needed to make a clean break with the past, bringing nothing with them from their parent’s musical tastes. They expect that each successive generatoon will do the same. But that’s not true – it never has been. Good music endures. It should not surprise Boomers that the good music from their youth will also survive, in a variety of forms. Leaving a legacy is something that will begin to grow in importance as Boomers reach “prime time” (the preferred term to “the golden years”), and they will need to adjust their sometimes adversarial approach to younger generations if they’re going to do so successfully.

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Culture of Innovation

Speaking from my own experience, employees I’ve worked with pretty much kept to themselves. If there were any suggestion boxes, they were the the the traditional variety in which employees could pass on their thoughts anonymously. Most of the time, they were minor gripes and didn’t really contribute much to the company.

I was different. I made many suggestions, thinking I might be able to make a difference. I soon discovered that I would receive no feedback. None of my suggestions were implemented. Only a couple of times was I successful in seeing –something– come out of my many notes to management.

The first one was to talk them out of buying a propane forklift, by using their own words against them (this was a plant that built circuit boards; these things were supposedly sensitive to pollutants, like fumes). The other was when I was in a quality circle. I advanced the idea (complete with diagrams) of modifying a motherboard so certain parts could be ’stuffed’ into the board without worrying about them being put in backwards.

But I was very frustrated that out of the many ideas I proposed, I received absolutely no feedback. If you are interested enough, I’ll post a couple of what I thought were my best ideas. BTW, this company no longer exists… But I’d still rather not mention the name.

My current place of work is a little different. They have told us they are much more receptive to suggestions. The prospect of bonuses for the best suggestions have been dangled before us. Many have been posted. However, most of the people out on the floor are still deeply cynical. I’m wondering what it will take to change this. I’d appreciate any ideas.

Ten practical marketing trends for 2006

The Wise Marketer today, gives a summary of Foxhound’s top ten marketing trends for the year ahead. Read it here.

Its a short read that will get you thinking, and prove again that the focus is moving to connections, rather than impressions. I have listed the headings below, and as you will see, each is written so as to show a move from an existing trend to its extension in 2006. I think they’re all pretty accurate trends.
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The Tyranny of Reason (Logic)

I am currently reading John Ralston Saul’s book, “Voltaire’s Bastards” (buy it at Amazon.com or Kalahari.net). He is a Canadian philosopher with an impressive reputation.

I have only just started his book, but it seems his intent is to show that reliance on amoral, “pure” reasoning, logic and systems is destroying the world. Specifically it is destroying our humanity. In the opening chapters as he sets up his case, he has taken some potshots at business and business education. I like where he is going with this. Here is an extended extract that may be a bit “heavy”, and I hope makes sense out of context. But it got me thinking…
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Technology & Talent: How consumer power drives business technology

The Wise Marketer on 27 Dec 2005, carries this story – read it here.

A summary: “The growing integration of technology into every aspect of life, whether in the home, office, family, car or recreational arenas, will profoundly impact business technology over the next decade, according to industry analysts at Gartner Inc.” The report says that consumers are now exerting massive power over businesses and the technologies that they use. Companies must take this consumer power seriously, and must make multiple connections with consumers. technology can assist in this process, if you understand how to use it properly. They must also leverage new technologies to their advantage, especially when managing and motivating their talented staff.

Some extracts:
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Interesting Google

I don’t know how long it’ll stay up for, but the new Google banner is one of the most interesting ones I’ve seen.

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It’s tough at the top

I listened to the Vice-Chairman of Johnson and Johnson, Christine Poon, at a GIBS evening a few months ago. While cleaning up my office for the onslaught of 2006 I came accross some stats she talked to during her 60 minutes with us. It illustrates that even when you get to the top, it isn’t easy staying there. In fact by the stats she quotes it’s easier to drop right out of the running.

Of the top 100 companies in the USA in 1980;

• Only 63 of them remained in the Top 100 in 1990;
• And only 32 of the original 100 remained in the Top 100 in 2004

Of the 68 that had dropped out by 2004;

• 18 exited the Top 100;
• 9 exited the top 500;
• 41 cease to exist today.

And that’s why I’d like to be ready for the next 360-odd days.

Blog Communicating

For the last couple of weeks I have been milling with a question in my mind.

Are there rules for blogging?

People that are being communicated to, how do they receive information?

Sometimes in life all you need is half a sentence, other times a couple of hours to get the message across and then there are times the audience just does not understand/grasp what is being conveyed to them.
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United Airlines nausea

One piece of advice: Thinking about booking with UA? Don’t – Not if there’s the slightest chance you may have to call their ‘customer service’ in Dublin.

For the past 3 months I have spent my Saturday morning on hold , listening to the same operatic track only to be relieved by a new wierd dialect of English. Based in Eastpoint BusinessPark, their customer malservice has so far racked up the following on me: agents whom you have to explain criteria of your ticket to, on a premium rate number nonetheless, almost 100% failiure to follow up on promises to call me back re queries they were unable to answer, the loss of my registered delivery airline ticket
and it mysteriously turning up 3 days later after UA being informed by Irish Post that one of their representatives had signed for said letter, and now the DOUBLE
charging of my credit card through erronously reissuing my ticket twice.
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Domination

Yes, another Jacques Kallis post. Ignore it, if you’re not interested…

Right now, as I write this, we’re nearing the end of the third day of the final Aus cricket test between Australia and South Africa. Its an intriguing battle, and could go anyway at the moment. Great cricket!

But it shouldn’t be this close. South Africa have been on top quite a lot of the game. But they have failed to dominate, and specifically, Jacques Kallis failed to pile on the pressure when he was at the crease. That’s the difference between SA and Aus. SA have proved they’re technical as good as Aus, and even had them worrying about a follow on today. Yet, technical ability is not all it takes. Its about attitude and application as well. When Kallis first got to the crease, he had to consolidate, and did that very well. But as the partnership with Prince grew, he didn’t shift approach.
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Office Optional

The Dec 2005 Inc magazine has a great article on Point B, a consulting company with over 200 employees, and no office premises at all. In addition to their virtual nature, they also have a specific approach to their staff and consulting work, preferring to keep everything local, rather than moving consultants around the country.

They’ve had to battle client perceptions about size and capability, but with a few big contract successes under their belt, they’re showing that their approach is working. A good story, worth a read – here.

In the magazine, they include three specific guidelines for virtual companies:
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Innovation and the Myth of R&D

Innovation continues to be the religion of business in the 21st century. Most companies spend considerable energy attempting to innovate. The temptation is to believe that simply throwing more money at R&D (research and development) is the solution. A new report from consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton indicates that the link between R&D spend and company profitability does not exist.

They examined 1,000 companies’ performance of the past 6 years, and discovered that the spending on R&D did not relate to company profitability.

The problem is that most company executives believe that they can simply decree innovation, and if they make a big enough bidget available, it will happen. This could not be further from the truth, and now there is research to prove this. In fact, most R&D spending is little more than gambling. There is a tiny chance that your R&D team will hit on the “next big thing” (and that the rest of your team will “know it when they see it”, and be able and willing to back up the R&D findings with appropriate action to take advantage of the opportunity) – that tiny chance is a “risk and reward” approach to innovation. In most cases, it ends in failure and frustration (and, usually, the sacking of the R&D team).
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