The Great Balancing Act...

"Life is like riding a bicycle... in order to mainain your balance... you must keep moving forward."

~ Albert Einstein

I was just about to leave the office Monday night when my phone rang.

"Hey Jim... this is Mark... I was wondering if I could meet with you for a cup of coffee sometime this week..."

Mark was an old fraternity brother from college.  He works for a large defense contractor in some sort of financial capacity. 
I asked Mark what prompted his call and he said that he had a new idea that he wanted to talk about.

I told Mark that I’d love to get together... so we set a date for later in the week.

Mark and I met at a small coffee shop near my office.  After some catching up, I asked Mark pointedly, "So what was this new idea that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Mark went on to explain that he had thought of a new revolutionary product idea about a year ago but he needed my help to bring it to market. I sat there as he described in broad terms, his new invention.

In general, I liked his idea.  It did potentially fill a need, which is the first step in bringing a new product to market.

After Mark had finished his product outline, I proceeded to ask him several questions...

"Is there anyone else who is offering this product already in the market (or something similar)?... who is your end customer?... what size is the market for your product?... have you produced a working prototype to validate the design and see if the idea actually works?... have you done a patent search?"

All of Mark’s answers to my questions were either "no", "I don’t know", or "not yet"...

Finally in desperation I asked Mark, "so what have you done so far?"

He quickly replied, "I called you and set up a meeting... I know that you’ve created several new products and I was hoping that you’d take my idea and bring it to market... I know that it can make us a lot of money if we can just get it into the hands of the people who need it".

Finally I told Mark, "Look you’re a friend of mine so I’m saying this with kindness... you don’t have anything but a seed of an idea... it sounds like it could be a good idea... but in reality... I really don’t know... your product idea serves a need in a market very far away from mine so I have no way to know if this is a good idea or not".

"Remember... R&D is made up of two components... research and development... you need to send a lot more time on the research part and less time on the development part at this point in time."

I could see from his face that I had taken the wind from Mark sail...

He was truly hoping that I would take his "fantastic idea"... develop it into a product ... sell it to millions of people... and allow him to comfortably retire on fat royalty checks.

Unfortunately that’s not quite the way it works...

After throwing the cold water of reality into Mark’s face, I went on to explain that he shouldn’t despair.  His idea was potentially a good one... however it needed a lot more work before he could even think about bringing it to market.

Ideas require action in order for them to have a chance to succeed...

Mark and I spent the remaining time together creating an action list that he needed to complete before our next meeting. 

It required a lot of time (and some money) on his part in order to do the proper research needed to go to the next phase of the project development.

I left the meeting thinking to myself that it was unlikely that Mark will complete the items on the action list and that his idea will most likely die a premature death.

In order for an idea to succeed, two essential elements are required - innovation and management.

In his groundbreaking best-selling book, Free the Idea Monkey, innovative branding expert, Mike Maddock explains that in a classic sense, there are three vital ingredients to innovation:

1.  Find a problem that needs a solution (insight).

2.  Find an idea that solves the problem... whether it’s a product, a service, or an improvement in an existing product.

3.  Find a way to communicate to the world (or at least to your potential customers) that you have found a solution.

Notice that the first step is not finding a solution... but rather finding a problem... the bigger the problem... the larger potential for success.

In order for innovation to truly work... all three of the above conditions need to be satisfied... not one of three... not two of three... but three of three!!!

Unless you are incredibly talented and skilled... it is highly unlikely that you have the ability to accomplish all three of the innovation conditions on your own...

The late Steve Jobs was brilliant at identifying problems (item 1) and communicating Apple’s innovation to the world (item 3).

...but he wasn’t so good at actually creating solutions - he did however assemble a team of incredibly talented engineers to find solutions to the problems that he helped to identify...

Still... he had mastered 2 out of 3... not too bad...

True innovation generally requires a team approach.  Each person on the team is responsible for bringing certain skills that will help the team to accomplish all three innovation fundamentals.

If innovation is the Yin... sound management is the Yang.

A launching of a new idea requires resources.  It takes time... it takes financial resources... it takes logistical expertise, and it take focus.   

Steve Jobs was a great idea man.  He was not necessarily a great business man.  Each time that he attempted to involve himself into the management of Apple, the company faltered. 

I don’t watch much television but I do have one or two favorite shows that I record on a regular basis and watch when I have some downtime.

One of the shows I do watch is Mad Men.  Mad Men is a period show set in the 1960’s that chronicles the world of Madison Ave. advertising. 

When I first began watching the show, I knew nothing of the business of advertising.  As the seasons continued, I learned that an advertising agency team has two distinct areas of expertise and responsibility:

·   Operations - the people who manage the business side of the agency

·   Creatives - the people who create ideas (ads, jingles, campaigns)

Both sides of the business are essential to the overall success of the business as a whole. If one department fails at doing its job, it jeopardizes the success of the entire company.

It’s also important to note that the experts in their respective departments are left alone to do their jobs.  Account managers don’t attempt to develop or pitch ad campaigns.  That’s not their expertise.  Conversely, the creatives are not expected to find new clients, manage existing client relationships, or developing pricing strategies.

Any business... large or small... needs to find a way to continue to innovate... developing new ideas that lead to new products and/or services that solve problems.  It also needs strong management and sound business practices to ensure that the company remains focused and profitable.

It’s a delicate yet important balance... giving us the ability to move forward...

Thank you very much for your support of OptiFuse where we will continuously search for new ideas to solve your problems.

Questions and Answers...

A few weeks ago I was in attendance at one of my good friend’s daughter’s high school graduation party.

Rather than sitting around listening to parents gripe about college tuition, I decided to instead, join a conversation with several young adults in the other room.

We talked a bit about their plans for the upcoming summer... where they were headed to in the fall... and what they hoped to achieve in their near future.

I listened to them as they discussed their recent achievements, their excitement about leaving home and going off to college, and perhaps a bit of arrogance when discussing how their lives will undoubtedly improve when they no longer had their parents and teachers around telling them what to do.

At eighteen, most kids think that they have all the answers to life.  Although they are very intelligent, there is still a great deal of learning that comes from life experiences and practical knowledge.

One young man boasted that he scored a 760 on the math portion of his SAT test.  He was planning to study mathematics at UCLA.

So I asked him, "Are you really good at adding numbers in your head?"

He replied, "Of course... I’m a numbers guy."

So I asked him if he wanted to take a little test to determine if indeed he was good at quickly adding numbers up in his head...

He agreed to take my challenge.

So I started out... you’re a bus driver...

When you leave the bus depot, there are no riders on the bus...

At the first stop you pick up five riders... at the next stop you drop off one rider and pick up four riders... at the next stop you drop off two riders and pick up three riders... at the next stop you pick up 5 riders and no one gets off...

With each stop the pace of my on/off numbers increases speed...

...at the next stop you add only one rider but three get off... at the next stop four riders get on and one gets off... at the next stop two riders get on and two riders get off... at the final stop four riders get off...

At that point I looked at the young man, "did you get all that?"...

He looked at me confidently and replied, "yep... I have the answer... it’s eleven"...

I then asked him, "What’s eleven?"

He replied, "That’s how many riders are still on the bus."

To which I countered, "that may be so... but that’s not the question... the question is... how many stops did the bus make?"

"um... seven", he looked at me guessing.

"No... the answer is eight", I corrected him.

"You tricked me" he retorted.

"Okay then... I have another question for you... what is the color of the bus driver’s hair and his eyes?"...

He said in a frustrated voice, "I don’t know... you never told me!".

"Oh yes I did but you didn’t listen", I replied, "the bus driver’s hair and eyes are both brown... remember... I said that you were the bus driver".

My experience with this young man reminds me of just how often I am confronted with sales people who immediately start to spout off product specs, prices, and/or delivery information before they even learn what I want or need.  They have all the right answers I suppose... but simply to the wrong questions.

I don’t want to be sold... rather I want someone to assist me to help make an informed buying decision.

If I am in the market to purchase an automobile and power and performance are my "hot buttons" and the salesperson who greets me on the lot starts to immediately tell me about the great mileage and resale value of the car that I’m interested in buying, then I’m  going to lose interest very quickly.

My friend, Jack Daly, the very best sales trainer that I have ever had the opportunity to hear, has the absolute best advice in order for a sales person to increase their effectiveness in front of a client or prospect... simply ask questions and listen!!

Yes... it’s sounds easy... but most salespeople rarely do this... they sit down in front of their customer or prospect and start rattling off about their company’s service, inventory levels, pricing, bells and whistles, features and benefits and why they should be doing business with you and your company ad nauseam...

It’s basically... "hi... how’s it going... good?... well enough about you... now let’s talk about me"...

Being a remarkable sales person isn’t about having all the right answers... it’s about asking a lot of questions... the right questions.  By doing so, you’ll uncover what it is that your customer really wants (in my example... a car that has power and performance).

Asking questions and listening isn’t only for salespeople... it’s equally good for improving any type of relationship, be it with a friend, a spouse, your children or parents, and/or colleagues and managers.

Asking a lot of quality questions and active listening helps to avoid communication gaps between people.

Many times I think I know the answer to a problem but later determine that I didn’t ask enough questions to accurately understand the full scope of the issue at hand.

I often find myself delivering partial solutions to problems because I didn’t ask enough clarify questions to begin with.

The young man thought he knew the answer I was looking for... but that wasn’t the case... I was looking for a completely different answer... he might have avoided failure by simply asking me the objective of the mental exercise... before we started...

In a very famous study... people were asked to watch a video and count how many times the basketball was passed between a group of people... here is a link to the video...

Did you accurately count the total times the basketball was passed?...

I didn’t... in fact... I lost track completely... for reasons plainly obvious to some people and perhaps not so obvious to others...

However I did completely miss the second part of the experiment... I was more focused at that point on something else (I don’t want to give away the answer in case you want to do the experiment yourself)...

If you watch the above video a second time... there is no way to miss the obvious...

The key to successful communication (and potentially increased sales) is having the awareness to ask good questions and listening intently to the answers you receive...

...only then will you have an idea of what the other person really wants.

Thank you very much for your support of OptiFuse... where we hope to be aware of how to fulfill your needs...        

A Lasting Memory...

"People hear what they see"   ~Bobby Darin

Summer is a time to gather with friends to celebrate the extra hours of sunshine and warm weather. 

Every so often during the summer months, Susan and I find ourselves hosts of an intimate outdoor dinner party with friends to share good food and wine... to tell tall tales beside the warmth of an outdoor adobe fireplace... and to engage in laughter still felt in our midsection the following morning...

This particular evening, we served grilled dill crusted salmon, wasabi mashed potatoes, and vine ripened cherry tomatoes with a splash of balsamic vinegar.  It’s a dish that I’ve been preparing since college when I wanted so badly to impress my date with a phenomenal home-cooked meal.

Truth be told, for most of my life I have only been able to cook three memorable meals:  Grilled dill salmon, a red meat sauce spooned over a variety of pastas, and a layered lasagna.  With just three signature recipes, I now have a undeserved reputation among my friends that I can actually cook.

This is what I like to call "The Power of Three".

Many years ago while I was still in high school, I read a book (whose title / author have been long forgotten) whereas the author offered a hypothesis that a person needs to only be able to know or perform three things of a single subject... albeit extremely well... in order for others to perceive that you are an "expert" in that particular field.

At first I didn’t really believe such nonsense... people are much smarter than that, but after years of testing this theory, I have come to the conclusion that it is indeed true.

If you want someone to believe that you play the guitar or piano well... then you only need to know how to play three popular songs... very well though...

If you want someone to believe that you know a lot about astronomy, then you need to be able to correctly identify three different constellations (other than Orion, the big dipper and/or Cassiopeia).  To add to your body of knowledge, perhaps you can point out the major stars within those constellations... 

Become extremely knowable about three cities (where to eat... where to stay... where to go... what to do...).  Make sure they are big cities with lots of history and/or neighborhood charm such as New York, London, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Washington, DC or Rome.

If you offer up one or two examples... then people believe that you are possibly a "one-trick-pony"... go beyond three things... then you are perceived to be a bore or a "know-it-all" type... but three seems to be the magic number...

The "Power of Three" also plays an important role in business... specifically as it pertains to marketing and branding (branding is really nothing more than your reputation in the market).

On a macroscopic level, a company should be known for doing three things better than any of its competitors. 

If you’re a pizza company... then perhaps it’s fast delivery, great tasting pizza, and natural ingredients...

If you’re a bank... then maybe it’s longer teller hours, no-fees, and more accessible ATMs...

If you’re an airline then it might be no baggage fees, low fares, and fully refundable tickets...

Some companies have just one explicit brand promise... "when it positively has to be there over-night" (FedEx)... "better ingredients... better pizza" (Papa John’s)... "the ultimate driving machine" (BMW)... but behind their one big thing are typically two others...

They will tell you that a BMW is a fun car to drive ("ultimate driving machine")... but they will also implicitly tell you about the quality of "German engineering" (reliability) and their high resale prices (value)... three things...

By trying to be more than three things, you’ll just end up confusing your customer base and they won’t remember what it is that you have to offer.

Building your brand centers around doing just three things... but you need to do them incredibly well...

Doing them incredibly well is the key...

Mediocrity has no place in the "power of three" theory... make whatever you do memorable.  

If you can only make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, scrambled eggs, and hot dogs then you will never gain the reputation of a great cook... rather your reputation will be that of a horrible cook... but learn to cook only three gourmet meals... and you will forever be known as an extraordinary chef.

Be it right or wrong, people believe in your reputation rather than who you truly are.  Persona of what you project is what people see... and what they believe to be true about you... just ask any Hollywood celebrity.

If your customers perceive that you offer low prices, great service or high quality products, then that becomes their reality and they will buy from you... even if you truly don’t have the lowest prices, the best service, or the highest quality products every time...

Changing people’s perception is extremely difficult once it’s been established... that’s why making a good  first impression is so important... doing it right the first time...

Look for ways to create something remarkable... something significant... something exceptional... this should always be the goal...

...the goal to become a lasting memory...

Thank you for your support of OptiFuse where we hope to create great memories together.