Category Archives: Thinking Aloud

June 13, 2016 · 11:45 am

What’s In It For Me?

There are an awful lot of demands made for consumers‘ attention. Think about how often you’re assaulted by someone or something that’s begging you to pay attention. Nobody can pay attention to every one of these things so how can you have a better shot at being one of the chosen few? It’s by answering a simple question for the target- “what’s in it for me?”

I’ve written on a number of occasions about the need to solve someone’s problem. In fact, if you’re not identifying the problem you’re solving in your marketing materials, there is a high likelihood that those messages are being ignored by the people you most want to respond to them. Think about walking down the streets of a crowded city.  There is a lot of noise around you and yet it’s possible to have a quiet conversation with someone who is walking beside you.  You’ve both learned to tune out what’s unimportant.  That’s what consumers do to messages that don’t pique any interest. You need to engage consumers in a meaningful way.

One way to do this – and hopefully I’m doing it now – is to give those consumers something of value.  We humans have a strong need to reciprocate so by giving people something of value you encourage a more open mindset.  It can be information (Free Whitepaper!).  It can be a discount or a nicely targeted product (a free shirt to people buying shorts, for example). The point is to give them something to let them know what’s in it for them.  What you want back can be as simple as an email or something more complex.

Solve problems.  Give value.  Do both from the customer’s point of view.  Pretty simple, right?  Then let’s go!

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June 10, 2016 · 10:31 am

Sous Contrôle Régulier

This Foodie Friday I’d like to revisit the subject of sous vide cooking. I blogged about this (you can read that post here) 18 months ago after I received an immersion circulator as a gift. I’ve come to love cooking this way. Not only is it easy but the results are amazing.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, sous vide (literally “under vacuum”) is a cooking method in which the food is placed in a container of some sort (I generally use a Food Saver bag) from which the air is vacuumed out. The sealed bag is then placed in a water bath which is held at a constant temperature by the immersion circulator. It can’t overcook since it never gets hotter than the target temperature you set. While, for example, the center temperature of a steak you cook on a grill might be perfect, the outer 40% is probably overcooked (that gray layer is overdone, friends). That doesn’t happen using sous vide, although you do need to sear the outside of anything you cook briefly once it’s done.

During the earlier post, I made the business point that sous vide thinking in business is dangerous because it might lead to complacency since the method is very “set it and forget it.”. I failed to mention, however, the good things we can learn in business from sous vide. The key to this method isn’t really the vacuum – it’s the steady temperature control.  This sort of constant environment provides a couple of advantages.  Not only does it prevent overcooking as mentioned earlier, but it also is very repeatable. Maybe instead of being labeled “under vacuum,” this method should have been called “under regular control.”

The analogy to business is pretty clear in my mind.  Having worked for bosses who are very hot and cold (much like an oven’s fluctuating temperature), I can tell you that I much preferred working with managers who were more on an even keel.  I’m sure your staff, co-workers, partners and clients feel the same way.  Fostering repeatable results from our team is one of the role roles any manager plays. The fact that the food is in a bag, a closed environment, plays a role as well.  The bag keeps all the moisture in so the food braises.  If you’ve ever had a nicely braised short rib or lamb shank you can appreciate how wonderful the results can be from this method.  In business, keeping an inclusive team mentality is the equivalent of a closed bag in my mind.

I’ll repeat the warning about complacency, but I can’t recommend using the regular, even control of sous vide strongly enough, both in the kitchen and in business.  You in?

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June 6, 2016 · 11:10 am

Ali And Me

The passing of Muhammad Ali happened over the weekend. Another one of my boyhood idols gone, except this one was also a hero well into my later years. Those of you who know me in the offline world know that I’m rarely speechless but when I met Ali for the first time I found myself unable to utter even a single word for a few minutes. I was working at ABC Sports at the time and we had done a deal with Ali to license his name to a clothing line. He came to the office and the photo you see is the one he signed for me. I can still feel the man’s overwhelming aura.

Like most young sports fans of the late 60’s and early 70’s, I grew up watching Ali fight on free TV. I also watched as he stood up for his beliefs even at the expense of his career. We can argue about the Vietnam war or Ali’s commitment to nonviolence (odd for a boxer, perhaps) but there is no arguing about the man’s deeply held beliefs and his influence on society. The man was an artist in every sense and his legacy can be seen in nearly every modern athlete’s training and swagger.

I met Ali for the second time a few years later when I was at CBS Sports. Ali decided he wanted to come to the Final Four and even though he was now very visibly suffering from Parkinson’s, the brightness in his eyes hadn’t dimmed a bit. He hadn’t fought in a very long time and yet walking him through the dome where the games were taking place was like walking with Moses through the Red Sea. The crowd parted as “Ali, Ali” was whispered everywhere. I have walked through crowds with many other famous people.  No response was anything like the palpable adoration I felt the people had for Ali that evening.

Others have written about his influence on society as well as the large number of humanitarian acts he performed. I’d just like to add two things – what he taught me and what I think any business can learn from him. I learned when it’s wrong to keep quiet from him. Ali risked his name and his freedom to do what he felt was the right thing.  When he was vindicated, he continued his career but also continued to speak out and to do good works, not letting the adversity which had robbed him of the prime of his career to diminish his drive to be the best both in the ring and outside of it.  The final struggle of his life, Parkinson’s, which lasted for the last three decades also didn’t diminish his presence in the world nor his desire to help his fellow-man.

How many of us in business think the way Ali did?  How many of us speak up when we see wrongdoing?  How many of us use the bully pulpit of our business to change the world in a positive way for all of humanity and not just for our shareholders?  I’m quite aware that we have a responsibility to those shareholders but we also have a responsibility to our planet and the people who inhabit it, don’t we?   Maybe Ali’s memory can serve to inspire us to fulfill that responsibility.  He was the best in his business, winning the heavyweight title three times, but he was also the best in so many other ways.

Thanks, Champ.  You’ll be missed.

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