Monthly Archives: December 2016

December 21, 2016 · 1:07 pm

Social, Smoke, And MIrrors

I’m frustrated. Some of the frustration is with myself because I can’t seem to explain why hiring certain people to work on your business is a bad idea when compared to hiring other kinds of experts. Some of the frustration is with businesspeople who don’t seem to grasp that the tools aren’t the business. In an effort to ease my aforementioned frustrations, let me vent a bit and, hopefully, in the process of doing so help clarify the issues.

With very few exceptions, a recent college grad is not an expert on how to use social media as a marketing tactic. I think the supposition is that since most of these kids have been on social media for a decade and are generally quick to adopt the next new thing that they’re qualified to lead your social media efforts. That is as ridiculous as assuming that I am qualified to repair my car just because I’ve been driving for 40 years. Rattling off buzzwords isn’t the same as understanding business goals. Doing things because they’re “cool” or because they appeal to the social media person isn’t a great strategy. Things are done because they serve the customer and in so doing, move the company toward one of more business goals.

The tools aren’t the business. We use the right tool at the right time for the right purpose in everything we do. We don’t decide “I’m going to use a hammer” when the goal is to cut meat. I’ve had discussions with potential clients who have no clue why they’re on Facebook or Twitter. I’ve had others who blast out a dozen pieces of content a day with no examination of their analytics to help refine the type of content they’re pushing, the frequency with which they do so, and the channel(s) they employ.

I’m open to suggestions for cutting through the smoke and mirrors. It’s not so much that my proposals to help aren’t chosen (and I know I’m speaking for several other senior consultant types here) but that the ones that get chosen are doomed to failure because they’re style over substance. This hurts everyone – platforms, clients, consultants, and ultimately customers. We can’t expect clients to invest in developing channels – particularly social – if we can’t produce results. We can’t produce results if we don’t understand the underlying business and its customer base.

Thanks for indulging me today. What’s on your mind?

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December 19, 2016 · 11:33 am

6 Ways Your Business Might Be Narcissistic

You might have been hearing a lot about narcissism lately. Since we don’t do politics here we won’t go into the reasons why that is, but since it’s been front and center I thought I’d do a little reading on the topic. I came across this summary in Psychology Today which I’d encourage you to read. See if it sounds like anyone you know or might have read about.

In any event, as I was reading it I realized that the traits narcissists exhibit are often displayed by some brands or businesses as well. As with people, I think displaying some of the traits I’m about to mention are signs of a personality disorder. The brands are sick, in other words. As with any illness, they require treatment, but the first step to fixing the illness is to diagnose it. Let’s see if any of these traits, sound like your business.

Oil on canvas

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  • You have a grandiose sense of self-importance. You don’t acknowledge that you’re one of many potential solutions to a customer’s problem. In fact, you might just think customers are there to solve your problems;
  • You lack empathy: your company is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others – customers, vendors, even your own employees;
  • You show arrogant, haughty [rude and abusive] behaviors or attitudes. Customer service is impersonal and rarely resolves the problem to the customer’s satisfaction, putting the business first;
  • A corollary to that is that people who criticize your business are written off as idiots because you believe that you and your products are “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions). You know: people who “get” it;
  • Your business puts out inordinately self-righteous and defensive messages. The brand is never wrong, even when it’s clear you are (look up the Apple response to complaints about the iPhone 4 dropping calls. Apple’s response? People are holding the phone incorrectly);
  • Finally, you often react to contrary viewpoints with anger or rage. This might be social media comments you delete or refuse to acknowledge or it might be to bar certain press from your events. You might “ban” a customer because they’re too demanding or undercut people who criticize you rather than discuss the merits of their claims.

If three or more of the above signs sound familiar to how your business behaves, you need help. As with narcissistic people, narcissistic businesses have a lot of difficulty maintaining healthy relationships. As we all know, it’s those relationships with our customers and others that keep us in business. Without them, we’re dead. OK?

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December 16, 2016 · 12:55 pm

Your Dishwasher And Your Business

This Foodie Friday we’re going to take a business point from the aftermath of our foodie experiences. Unless you’re in the habit of using paper plates and plastic cutlery, you usually have some dishes to wash after you eat. Many of us are fortunate to have dishwashers to do that job for us. We load the dishes, glassware, and cutlery into the box, add some soap, and go watch TV or read. Of course, the dishwasher can be used for so much more.

A dishwasher containing clean dishes

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You can pretty much put anything that’s not wood or cast iron into your dishwasher for a good cleaning. OK, electronics aren’t such a great idea either. You can, however, let the dishwasher take care of doing some otherwise nasty cleaning jobs such as washing those pop-out range filters or all the buttons and drip pans from your stove. I’ve been known to stick my sweaty, smelly golf hats in there for a good washing (they actually sell plastic forms so the hats won’t shrink) and I also ran some glass light fixtures that were filthy through it. Obviously you don’t want to put anything through that’s hollow and can collect water that might precipitate mold formation later on but otherwise, with the aforementioned exceptions, anything plastic, metal, or glass is a candidate for a trip through the dishwasher.

What does this have to do with business? Most of us think of the dishwasher as a single-task machine. It washes kitchen stuff – dishes, etc. The truth is that it’s way more versatile. I think many of us think about many people this way. We don’t think the accountants are creative nor that the lawyers are marketers. I’ve worked with accountants and lawyers who definitely were. While it’s usually pretty apparent what someone’s strengths are, we don’t ask often enough how those strengths – critical thinking, writing, etc – can be applied in areas other than the one in which the person is currently using them.

You might have to remove the top rack to fit something like a garbage can in there. You might have to ask the accountant to adjust his or her paradigm too. The results, however, are worth it in both cases (who likes to wash a garbage can?). We need to keep an open mind about all things in business, don’t you think?

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