Category Archives: Thinking Aloud

December 10, 2013 · 11:11 am

Rage Against The Machine

It’s a snowy TunesDay here at the world headquarters.  What better to play to go with the peaceful, falling snow than Rage Against The Machine?  I’m not a fan of winter and even less so of snow, so the name of the band sounds appropriately disturbed.  If you want to join me in venting a little early winter energy, be my guest:

That’s called Know Your Enemy and it’s very typical of the band’s music and lyrics. As they do in this song, they frequently call for people to wake up and take action:

I’ve got no patience now
So sick of complacence now

and later on:

Yes I know my enemies
They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
All of which are American dreams

So what possible place does this have in a business blog?  I mention it in the context of the latest report from JWTIntelligence which contains something I find both hopeful and disturbing at the same time:

In our ninth annual forecast of trends for the near future, we see how consumers are both welcoming and resisting technology’s growing omnipresence in our lives. For many, technology serves as a gateway to opportunity and an enabler of hyper-efficient lifestyles, but those who are most immersed are starting to question its effect on their lives and their privacy. One result is that more people are trying to find a balance and lead more mindful, in-the-moment lives.

Hopeful in that it’s good that people are beginning to understand that while technology can and does improve our lives it can come with some significant drawbacks.  The disturbing part is that this understanding will make using that technology in a business context ever more challenging.  Consumers are realizing that Big Data’s essentially putting an end to anonymity.  They might be feeling  technology’s effect on their attention spans.  You’ve felt it, I’m sure. That means your customers have as well.

What does it mean as users “know their enemy” and confront it as RATM suggests?  Is there an opportunity for companies to practice what I’ll call ethical tech – the use of technology that’s respectful of the user and helps them maintain balance?  Technology is what it is – those of us who deploy it are the ones that make that determination.  Will we set users up to rage against the machines?  Your call.

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December 6, 2013 · 10:49 am

On Being A Sushi Master

Foodie Friday and I have sushi on the brain.  I’m not sure why since I rarely eat it any more, but I found myself immersed in a dream about it last night and thought it might be a good topic for our Foodie Friday Fun.

Many types of sushi ready to eat.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As you know, sushi refers to the vinegared rice which is its heart and not to the fish or vegetables that accompany the rice. Maybe you have learned to make sushi at home. After all, how hard can it be? Rice and sliced fish seem pretty basic. Therein lies the business thought.

Maybe you’ve seen the wonderful Jiro Dreams Of Sushi.  If you haven’t you can find it on most of the streaming services and you should spend the hour and a half watching a master practice his craft.  While Jiro has been at it for many years (OK, decades), the path to becoming a sushi master in Japan hasn’t changed.  You spend a year washing floors and dishes.  Then it’s a year learning how to slice clams and small fish.  A couple of years doing meals for the staff and making the cooked food.  Happy day – you’re five years in and it’s time to learn to make rice.  After that, it’s rolls for takeout only and maybe by year 7 you can actually speak to a customer.  Finally after a decade, you are a sushi chef.

Of course here in the U.S. one can go take a course and in a few months apply for a job saying you’re a sushi chef.  Which is the business point.  Too many of us opt for the quick route as we develop our skill sets.  The notion of “paying dues” is completely foreign to most younger businesspeople and even to a few of us oldsters.  It’s particularly noticeable in evolving fields such as social media.  Think about how many self-proclaimed social media or marketing “gurus”, which is a Sanskrit term for “master”, are under the age of 30.  Really?  I’m sure they know the tools.  The business?  Maybe not so much.

There is no substitute for the ongoing process of learning.  Some things take time and learning to be a master of any sort is one of them.  Much of what I know came from experience, not from books.  We all need to think of Jiro, who continues to learn and to improve his technique.  It takes a year to learn to make rice.  Maybe we should give our businesses at least the respect Jiro shows his?  What do you think?

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November 22, 2013 · 9:53 am

President Kennedy

Fifty years ago today I was sitting in my third grade class when a teacher came in sobbing.

John F. Kennedy

Cover of John F. Kennedy

President Kennedy had been shot and the next few days have been burned into my brain ever since.  Strangely, all of those memories are black and white, since that was the kind of television we had at the time.  In retrospect, the day and his death ended an era of hope in this country as we moved into an era of conflict and chaos.

Smarter people than I have written about JFK’s impact but I thought it might be appropriate to translate a few of his thoughts into business thinking since that’s what we do here on the screed.  As is also our custom, I’m going to avoid the politics of what he had to say as well as what others had to say about him and his administration.  First, the most famous quote from his Inaugural Address:

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

In business terms, this is a recurring theme here.  Flip “country” to customer and I think you’ve got a solid paradigm through which you can view almost any business decision.  Next, the quote that triggered what might be his most enduring legacy:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

While we can debate the merits of the space program (and I wrote about that a while back), I don’t think there’s much debate about two things.  One, that program contributed to the rapid advancement of many of the technologies you’re using at this very moment to read this.  Those same technologies are driving a lot of growth in our economy and around the world.  Two, and this is the main business point, the imperative to think big thoughts.

No business can succeed by standing still.  What’s the next frontier?  How can we be better and lead?  Kennedy viewed space as a defense project which is clear when you read the address from which the quote is taken.  Dreaming big is a great defense, because the odds are your competitors are trying to as well.  As the space program has proven, the by-products of big ideas are often more valuable than accomplishing the goal itself.

Finally, Kennedy took office as a 43-year-old, following President Eisenhower who was 71 when he left.  He was the first president born in the 20th Century and projected an image of youth and excitement.  His language was forceful and filled with imagery of destiny and long-term thinking about solving problems.  That’s a great model for anyone who presents ideas which most of us do on a regular basis in business.

What happened 50 years ago today was a tragedy.  I wonder sometimes how different this country – and the world – might be had Kennedy served two terms.  While his presidency wasn’t without controversy and crisis (if you haven’t seen the movie Thirteen Days, find it and watch it!), it’s his legacy of civil rights, social programs, NASA, and the Peace Corps that stand out in my mind.  His approach to leading is a great model despite some of the personal foibles he had, and taking his approach to business issues isn’t bad either.  You agree?

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