Tag Archives: business

August 15, 2008 · 9:00 am

Choice?

I was up way too late last night watching the great performances by Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson.  Of course, as a soccer fan, I’m missing the USA/Canada Women’s match since it’s not on TV and as a Cablevision subscriber, I have no access to NBCOlympics.com video.  Yes, I’m aware that it’s pretty easy to spoof the system so one can watch but that’s not this morning’s point.

NBC is charging cable operators for a supplemental package of channels for the Olympics and the online broadband site.  While many operators have said OK (and I’m wondering how they’re passing along the costs to consumers), Cablevision said no thanks.  I have no issue with this- it’s the same decision as they and others make with respect to new channels and broadband packages such as ESPN360 all the time.

My issue is that history shows that consumers don’t like gatekeepers and will find ways around them.  AOL’s walled garden is gone.  Others are as well.  ISP’s have been fairly open to date (I say fairly since some of where Comcast is heading bothers me) and wireless networks are slowly opening.   Again, I have no quarrel with Cablevision’s decision.  But why didn’t SOMEONE ask me is I wanted to pay for it?  Cable guys hate ala carte pricing, NBC wants to get paid on the whole of a footprint rather than by individual users, but in the end, in theory, my sleepy wife misses some great performances.  Sure, she can watch highlights, but if NBCOlympics.com has any archived full-length stuff she’s out of luck.

By the way, why does NBC have you install Silverlight (required to watch) before they let you know if you are able to see live video?  Nice benefit to our friends in Redmond but sort of sneaky.

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August 11, 2008 · 10:52 am

Clarity

In the process of an all-day planning session with some clients on Friday, we visited one of their web sites and found, in the main box, a promotion for an event that had taken place a week earlier.  All of us, including the president of the company, were a little surprised that it was still up, particularly since it was in a prominent place.  The person who has been overseeing the sites (they have a bunch) said that he had asked that it be changed a few days back but apparently his request had gone unfulfilled.

As we discussed the situation, it was pretty obvious that there were multiple failures.  The first one was by the person who is in charge of the site in failing to keep the site up to date and relevant.  That shows a huge disrespect for your audience and yourself, in my opinion.  Most content management systems have some sort of start and end date for every piece of content – it’s not all that difficult to be sure that time-sensitive materials change at an appropriate time.  More importantly, why would you make yourself and the company you represent look stupid, insensitive, out of touch – you can pick any of a hundred words.

The second failure was by the person overseeing all of the sites.  He neglected to set standards and see that they were met.  He also neglected to step in to correct the situation as best he could (more about that in a second) by explaining to the site manager that out of date materials turn off readers and might cause them to go elsewhere for more timely information.  He also didn’t go to her direct management for help (she reports locally, he is a divisional person).  Lastly, he didn’t turn to his management and alert them to a problem.

The third failure was by the top management.  They never empowered the fellow overseeing the sites properly.  The gave him responsibility without authority, which I believe is a recipe for failure.  They also didn’t make his mission 100% clear to him either – he thought his role was more advisory than supervisory (hey – what are you – a consultant?!?!).

It’s good this happened before we make a major upgrade in their sites and do quite a bit to grow their traffic.  The lines of authority (and responsibility – equally as important) are clear now.  Materials will change on time and people understand the standards.  And we all had good weekends!

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July 31, 2008 · 8:26 am

Get Real

One of my favorite movies is Barry Levinson’s Tin Men.  Made in 1987 about 1963, it’s the second in his trilogy about Baltimore (Diner and Avalon are the bookends) and it’s my favorite of the three, though all are terrific.  Great cast, great music, great cars!

Given that it’s all about sales and integrity, there are dozens of business lessons (I’m sure that was exactly what Mr. Levinson had in mind) in this picture.  One of my favorites comes as Tilley (played by Danny DeVito) and Sam (the inimitable Jackie Gayle) are driving around and Sam speaks of an epiphany he had:

Sam: You know when I saw ‘Bonanza’ the other day, something occurred to me.
Ernest Tilley: Eh?
Sam: Ya got these four guys living on the Ponderosa and ya never hear them say anything about wanting to get laid.
Ernest Tilley: Huh.
Sam: They don’t talk about broads – nothing. Ya never hear Little Joe say, “Hey, Hoss, I went to Virginia City and I saw a girl with the greatest ass I’ve ever seen in my life.” They just walk around the Ponderosa: “Yes, Pa, where’s Little Joe?” Nothin’ about broads. I don’t think I’m being too picky. But, if at least once, they talked about getting horny. I don’t care if you live on the Ponderosa or right here in Baltimore, guys talk about getting laid. I’m beginning to think that show doesn’t have too much realism.

What Sam is really talking about is the need to be authentic.  Every business needs to resonate with its consumers.  In Authentic Leadership, Bill George defined the concept as understanding your purpose, practicing solid values, leading with your heart, establishing connected relationships, and demonstrating self-discipline. In other words, not presenting a false corporate image or trying to emulate the leadership style or characteristics of others.  I think of it as passing the BS-sniffer test that our readers, fans, consumers, or clients put us through.

Get Sam in your head – is your ranch real?

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