Entrepreneurs and Politics: Get Real, Get Informed and Get Involved
What Can We Agree On?
As online professionals, (those who look to online business as a full-time profession, expecting it to make a profit), we are told to agree on one thing, if nothing else.
Never discuss religion or politics.
From a purely business point-of-view, they are roads to nowhere, or so the popular entrepreneurial wisdom would warn.
From a completely non-ideological perspective, however, it seems logical to me that standing on the sidelines benefits no one.
So, what can we agree on?
“People get the government they deserve.”
Most of us have heard the expression: “People get the government they deserve.”
That thought seems nearly axiomatic to me, but I doubt that we could even agree on who said it.
Many would suggest that it was the observation of Alexis de Tocqueville in his famous and highly complimentary book about American Democracy in the early 1800′s.
But I have also heard it said with authority that it should be attributed to Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare and even Hunter S. Thompson. Another likely candidate is the French-speaking philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat, Joseph de Maistre.
I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Whoever said it, it strikes me as a truism — whether heard on the streets of Washington D.C. or Mainstreet USA , if not Cairo, or Kabul.
Uniformly, we get the government we deserve.
So again, what can we agree on?
Get Real, Get Informed and Get Involved
Here’s a thought: We should get real, get informed and get involved.
Get Real. With jobs, economic uncertainty and the welfare of the middle class, (that would be us), taking a paramount position in the forthcoming presidential election, can we afford the luxury of having no opinion?
Can we aspire to positions of so-called thought leadership without taking a stand?
Can we ignore being placed on center-stage in perhaps the most significant economic-political discussion in modern history?
Isn’t it time for us to get real?
Whatever our individual positions, it seems to me that we should at least get real.
We need to face the extant realities of our situation.
If we don’t create jobs in America, who should?
If we don’t care, who might?
If we ignore our central role, who loses? I guess we all will.
Get informed. We live in very complex times, especially economically.
We are confronted with myriad issues that require us to be knowledgeable.
Take for example, the national financial crisis that came to a head not too long ago.
We have heard a great deal about it, but what do we really know?
We know that we are concerned about the economy. We know that hiring workers is more than a little frightening in uncertain times. We know that there is a lot of finger pointing about who should share the blame. The answers are elusive, whatever our politics.
So, what should we do? What is our basic obligation in a free society?
One argument that makes sense to me as a baseline, is that we should all get informed.
We watch the news, listen to commentary and attend the occasional cocktail party where these things are being discussed. But what do we know intellectually?
We have heard about the Dodd-Frank Bill, but what does it provide? Is it good for middle America or not? Is it good for business or destructive?
In fact, how many of us know positively who Senators Dodd and Frank are? Why and how did they get involved in the first place?
And while we’re at it, who is Henry Merritt “Hank” Paulson, Jr., Timothy Franz Geithner, and why should we care?
We all know of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, but who is Brooksley Born?
We all know of the Federal Reserve Bank, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but what is the CFTC?
If you’re scratching your head a bit, perhaps I have made my point. We should all get informed.
Get involved. Whatever our political persuasion, getting involved and taking a stand for our beliefs seems to me a mandatory step.
If we don’t get involved, shame on us.
If we remain on the sidelines, then we should expect to be sidelined in the future.
If we do not have the courage of our own convictions, who will?
235 years ago last month, after signing the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin purportedly said, “Gentlemen, we must all hang together or we shall most assuredly all hang separately.”
Those were much different times and clarity of purpose was a simpler idea then perhaps, but Franklin’s message is still clear.
We must all hang together.
Whether Democrat, Republican or Independent — whether businessman or politician — whether interested and committed or disinterested and searching — we all have an obligation to get and stay involved.
What Do You Think?
This has been my first and only political comment in twenty years online.
It may be an unpopular and ill-advised step.
But I hope and trust, for all our sakes, that it was the right thing to do.
What do you think?
Trajectory Chapter 10. SUPER Motivation – The Desire to Feed Our Families
(This is Chapter 3 of Trajectory, the forthcoming book by Michael R.H. Stewart)
CHAPTER 10: SUPER MOTIVATION
There is an overarching objective in today’s unpredictable world economy — as the owner, manager or employee in a small business – and that is the desire to feed our families.
There can be no shame in that.
Of course, under ideal circumstances this should not be at the very top of the entrepreneurial list.
As Guy Kawasaki is famous for insisting, if your primary goal is to make meaning – rather than to make money — all else will fall naturally into place.
Steve Jobs is famous for similar beliefs. His desire was to change the world, not to own it.
I agree with both men entirely.
Current research suggests that we are making headway. We entrepreneurs can take pride in the fact that in recent research being conducted by the Startup Genome Project it was found that: ”Most successful founders are driven by impact rather than money.”
However, this book is intended for the overburdened entrepreneur, not the successful founder. This book is intended for individuals deeply involved in the search for accomplishment, not for those who have already achieved it.
So how do we accomplish the necessary, while aspiring toward the exceptional?
Make an Impact While Facing Reality
To completely ignore the present realities – to insist that we should be eleemosynary to the elimination of our basic obligations to those who depend upon us – is at best naivete and at worst the height of irresponsibility. We must absolutely make an impact, but we must face reality too.
Let’s call this dual approach SUPER Motivation.
Having proclaimed a strong desire to get back to the salad days of Guy Kawasaki’s thinking before the world economy started to slide, let me say that for now at least, feeding our families should be a major concern of everyone involved in business.
Bear with me on this, because what I have to say in this chapter – however it is framed – may be the most important advice in this book.
In order to feed our families, it is first necessary to learn the mechanics of motivating people – encouraging them to do what needs to be done – to buy our products and services.
But equally important is the notion that in Social Media we should soft-pedal the sales message. It should be decidedly in the back seat as we drive toward our objectives.
It is the great conundrum of business – how to motivate people, and in today’s world we must do so unobtrusively.
In this chapter, I will share the simple secret for getting this done.
Take the Money and Run
Remember Virgil Starkwell? Probably not, I suppose.
Let me refresh your memory.
In the 1969 movie comedy, Take the Money and Run, Woody Allen played a hapless hero bent upon a life of crime.
He was not very good at it.
He tried to rob a bank by handing a too-hastily handwritten note to the bank teller at window #9.
The note was supposed to say:
“Please put $50 thousand into this bag. Act natural. I am pointing a gun at you.”
Sadly, the teller could not read his illegible note.
The teller asked, “I can’t read this. What is this? Abt natural“?
Virgil responded, somewhat annoyed, “No it just reads, ‘Please put $50 thousand into this bag. Act natural. I am pointing a gun at you.’”
“Does it say, ‘Act natural’?” the teller asked.
Virgil responded, getting more than a little frustrated, “I, uh, am pointing a gun at you.”
“That looks like ‘gub’”, the teller responded. “It doesn’t look like ‘gun’.”
Virgil was nonplussed.
The teller asked her manager to come review the note, saying “George, would you step over here a moment please. What does this say?”
Now the manager was reading the note. “”Please put $50 thousand into this bag and… abt? What’s ‘abt’?”
(You can see where this was going, even if you don’t remember the movie).
“It says “Act,” Virgil insisted again.
Then the teller asked her manager “Does this look like “gub” or “gun“?
Virgil made one final attempt, repeating, “Please put $50 thousand into this bag. Act natural. I am pointing a gun at you.”
Finally, both the teller and the manager saw the light.
“Oh, I see, this is a hold up,” the manager exclaimed.
“Yes!” Virgil said with victory in his voice.
“Well, you’ll have to have this note initialized by one of our vice-presidents before I can give you any money.”
Virgil got arrested and served his time, regretting that he had not stood his ground with the teller and manager. He became very highly motivated not to repeat that blunder.
What’s the Point?
The point of retelling this story is not Virgil’s embarrassing plight.
Rather, it is to lay the groundwork for a later scene in which Virgil, now a convict on a prison chain gang for another crime, has become very highly motivated to prove his courage and resolve and not to cave in to the prison warden.
The movie narrator describes Virgil’s chain gang experience this way:
“The time drags by an endless grind of backbreaking labor. Brutal discipline is common under the hot sun. The men aren’t even permitted to faint without written permission.”
“Virgil complains and he is severely tortured.”
This is where the key to motivating people is described.
The narrator continues:
“For several days Virgil is locked inside a sweatbox … (a deep pit in the exercise yard, topped by a steel lid) … with an insurance salesman.”
“Hi, I’m Joe Green, I represent Ajax and Widget Insurance Company,” the insurance salesman begins. “I’d like to talk to you about a little insurance… You’re about 30, right?”
Virgil screams under his breath, barely maintaining his resolve.
“I think the best thing to do is get straight life then a little term… and… how about dental and medical?”
Virgil’s resolve begins to dissolve.
“We got a great deal on dental,” the persistent salesman concludes.
Virgil finally loses it.
He has lost his motivation completely, and the warden has won.
Fade to black.
A Pleasant Surprise
Having spent many years as a senior executive for one of the largest insurance companies on earth, this scene has always made me cringe a little. But there was no denying that this torture seemed to work.
Is this the answer to motivating people? To make the alternative too unbearable to contemplate? Well, no, but it puts the subject in stark relief.
Motivating the prospective buyer has always been a necessary evil, whatever the means.
The debate has always been how to motivate the buyer, without permanently destroying the rapport between buyer and seller.
Of course, there are answers to this marketing conundrum. Marketing texts are full of them. Business schools delight in explaining theories and possible approaches.
But here’s the pleasant surprise, provided by the miracle of Social Media.
Here is the punch line – the advice I promised you before telling the story of Virgil Starkwell.
Because in Social Media you have the gift of very large potential numbers, it is no longer necessary to motivate people.
The secret is simple and powerful.
Instead of motivating people … find people who are already motivated.
Do this, and you will no longer have to drag your potential buyers up the steep cliff to where your products reside — they will scramble to the top themselves. Give them what they want and need and they will do the difficult climbing mostly without you.
The New Motivation Model
What can we learn from Virgil Starkwell and his unfortunate hold-up note?
What can we learn from the pit in Virgil’s exercise yard?
What can we learn from typical marketing approaches that attempt to motivate our potential buyers, even when that approach seems not to work?
The simple answer is this – motivating buyers is a thankless, ineffective and inefficient process – so don’t do it.
Don’t do it? How else are we to progress in our businesses? No one enjoys the process, but isn’t it essential?
Ask yourself this important question: Is traditional marketing still relevant in today’s world?
Let’s take a step backwards in time to see where this motivational process came from – and let’s check it for reasonableness in today’s world.
In 1890, American transportation was in a state of flux. There were over 13,000 businesses that sold various accessories for the “carriage industry.” A famous example was the buggy whip manufacturer.
One of the stalwarts in the buggy whip trade was William Durant — who ultimately founded both General Motors and Chevrolet. He worked for a carriage maker, and was one who spoke out against cars as being “smelly, noisy and dangerous.” But when he realized that the world was moving towards them, and that his current company wouldn’t be able to adapt due to preconceived notions about product, he jumped ship to Buick.
Before this important choice, he could have taken two approaches. He could have ignored the fact that the American transportation industry was changing fundamentally, as he continued to beat a dead horse with his buggy whips. He could have continually upgraded his buggy whip, his marketing material, his sales force and his motivational techniques. He didn’t. He chose to adapt instead.
There have been many examples in our history of choices similar to this one.
The steamship and railroad companies — successful for decades when they had a virtual monopoly on moving the public from one place to another — when faced with the advent of the commercial airplane could have easily clung to the status quo as they sailed and steamed away from reality and into obscurity. Some did, but many did not. They chose to adapt instead.
The software and computer industry — having not existed at all a few decades before — when faced with the advent of the DOS operating system, Windows and Microsoft, could have easily clung to the status quo as they clicked and whirred away from reality and into obscurity. Some did, but many did not. They chose to adapt instead.
These were monumental paradigm shifts in buyer preferences, but did we learn from them? In some ways we did, but in important ways we did not.
We still believed, and we continued to teach in our colleges and universities, that motivating the unwilling buyer was still the key to successful marketing.
We believed that marketing was a push technique. If you continued to bombard your buyer with the reasons to buy your product, irrespective of his wishes, you would eventually prevail.
It was just a matter of modifying the sales pitch, we stubbornly believed – we just needed to be sure our brochure said “gun” instead of “gub”.
It was a continual unwelcome message, but like placing the buyer in a pit with an insurance salesman, we believed that he would eventually give in. The alternative – staying in the pit listening to an unwanted sales pitch – would eventually wear the buyer down.
The dominant sales thinking was simply, never accept “no” for an answer.
Today we have seen a paradigm shift that makes the aforementioned market changes seem trivial by comparison.
That shift is Social Media.
Importantly, we suddenly have the luxury of a virtually unlimited source of motivated buyers from around the world. We need not motivate a small group of potential buyers, because we can accumulate motivated buyers in large quantities simply by casting a much larger net. They are out there waiting, eager to buy our products and services; we just need to find them.
Marketing in today’s Social Media world, is or should be a pull technique. If we simply learn to listen to our potential buyers – if we learn to give them what they want instead of what we want to sell them – motivating the buyer will no longer be necessary.
Social Media Has Changed Everything
Products and services change, economic environments improve or get worse, but it is a rare event indeed when everything changes at once.
Social Media is one of those events.
Social Media is neither a tool nor a vocation, as it is often mischaracterized. It is a complete paradigm shift — if ever that term was appropriate.
Old solutions have become obsolete. Old approaches have become irrelevant. Old methods — even those memorialized by the passage of time — have lost their effectiveness and efficiency.
Social Media requires a new mindset — new principles — new ways of doing things.
Most important among these changes is the fact that motivation of the buyer has become less of a nightmare and more of a blessing. It is no longer necessary to cajole and convince. It is only necessary to locate and inspire.
25 Secrets For Solving BIG Problems In Your Business
How To Solve Your BIG Problems
Some problems you face in business are small ones that can easily be solved. You’ve seen them before and you have ready-made solutions that require little or no thought.
For example, suppose you have a temporary cash flow problem. From past experience you realize that there are two obvious solutions:
- Sell more.
- Improve the way you handle receivables.
But suppose you encounter a large and unwieldy problem that you have never struggled with before.
Suppose none of the obvious solutions seem to fit?
What should you do? What’s the secret?
The simple answer — the secret to solving your BIG business problems — is simply this: Use your intellect.
When you are faced with a problem that’s too big to handle, you must marshal all your intellectual resources — the resources that got you this far already — and craft a new problem-solving regimen.
Sounds simple, right? Well it isn’t.
Using your intellect to solve problems does not mean just thinking about them. It’s an intellectual process. It’s using your mind creatively, to place you in an intellectual environment where the BIG problems can be solved.
Win Wenger, PhD, of the Renaissance Project, has developed an intellectual problem-solving process that I find useful. Here it is, with my embellishments.
(Note: Wenger’s comments are in bold below — my embellishments are in normal type.)
25 Secrets: Solving BIG Problems In Your Business
In order to solve BIG problems you must:
- Want to solve the problem. Sounds obvious? Well it isn’t. Before you tackle a major problem, you must first be sure that you really want to. Many entrepreneurs continue the fight for their business when the truth is: It’s no longer viable. Deep in their hearts they know, or suspect, but habit forces them forward. Sometimes it is better to admit that the business, or the market, or the product was a mistake — and start over. Thomas Edison failed over 900 times before he commercialized the light bulb. If you persevere, while at the same time adjusting your approach, you will succeed eventually.
- Have wide-ranging interests, and feed them. Many businesses fail in the long term due to a lack of innovation. To innovate in the 21st century you must have a wide-ranging intellect. Far too many entrepreneurs become so obsessed with their businesses that they ignore everything else. That is a serious mistake. Develop your mind in other ways: Art, music, history, literature and mathematics, to name a few, can be well-springs of creative energy and problem-solving power. Use them. And as you develop other interests, feed them by taking the time to involve yourself.
- Entertain ideas and inspirations from outside the box. I don’t mean merely thinking outside the box. I mean removing yourself from the box entirely. Leave your comfort zone. Get out into the real world, not your business niche. Listen to others less accomplished than yourself, it’s remarkable what you can learn. Inspiration, the fuel that will keep your enterprise going, often springs from the most unexpected of sources.
- Learn from any and every source. Wenger puts it this way: “Anyone can learn from someone wise….it takes someone pretty wise to be able to learn even from fools.“ Personally, my faith tells me that there are no coincidences. People from all walks of life and all levels of intellect, cross my path every day. And yes, some of them will turn out to be fools. But I believe that every single one of them is there for a reason. There is a quote from Corrie Ten Boom, the Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II, that makes this point well: “Every experience God gives us, every person he puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future than only He can see.” Whether spiritual guidance or pure pragmatism is directing your problem-solving, be sure you pay attention and learn from any and every source.
- Keep coming back to the problem from different directions. Some entrepreneurs are myopic. Their nearsightedness causes them to look at their problems from one point-of-view. To be adroit at solving problems, you must view them diligently from every angle. Give it your best, then stop. Now approach the problem again from a completely different place and give it your best again. Keep this up until you arrive at the solution.
- Let go of it between times, and deal with other matters. Not taking a break from the problem-solving process can be debilitating. It can sound the death-knell for your business. Build some variety into your business life. And if you can’t find another business requirement to occupy yourself, heed Wenger’s advice:
- Tend the garden
- Wash the dishes
- Meditate
- Experience or ‘do’ in the arts
- Take inordinate pleasure in little things—sometimes that’s all you’ll have, sometimes those become big worthy things.
- Keep or build your stamina and follow-through. This is a tough one for many entrepreneurs. How many times have you heard yourself saying, “I know I should take better care of myself, but I don’t have the time?” Certainly it requires discipline to build up your stamina, but without doing so it is likely that you will be too tired to follow-through effectively. This is a crucial business requirement, not a luxury.
- Keep your health. Similar to number 7 above, this secret to solving BIG problems is difficult for many entrepreneurs. Difficult or not, it is also a crucial business requirement, not a luxury. Remember, that when you eventually solve the problem that is nagging you, you’re going to want a bit of celebration. And if health problems make that impossible, you have stolen one of the priceless benefits of being an entrepreneur. Stay well and prosper.
- “Keep your day job.” This secret can be twofold. If your business cannot support you financially, that is a much bigger problem than the current problem you are trying to solve. If you need to keep it, keep it. On the other hand, if your business can support you, never lose sight of the day job that got you there. Think of it as an intellectual fall-back position. If you know that there is another secure job waiting for you if the business fails, not only will that provide encouragement when things get tough, but it will make failure less likely. Problem-solving is always easier if you know it is not a matter of life or death.
- Keep your sense of humor. This is sage advice. It’s hard to lose your positive attitude if you belly-laugh once in a while. You can always find something to chuckle about, even when enduring BIG problems. Smile. Laugh. Share your sense of humor with someone else. You will feel better — and you will do better.
- Be fully creative, then fully critical, then fully creative. You can’t be both creative and critical at the same time. But they are both important. Give the full force of your intellect to both creativity and sensible criticism, but alternate them. You will find that you can do both with effectiveness and efficiency. Try it. You’ll find it works amazingly well.
- Raise and keep up your level of ongoing tinkering. Tinkering is a very useful intellectual exercise. It is restful by contrast to full-fledged intellectual activity. Tinker with your problem by tossing it mentally up in the air. It won’t seem as heavy. It might even float back to your mind resolved. Tinker with your ideas as well. Take them apart and put them back together again. See how they fit together. You’ll be surprised at the positive result.
- Be opportunistic. This is huge. Solutions can flit in and out of your mind like butterflies, hardly making a sound. Watch for them, listen for them, and grab them. Solutions are often targets of opportunity and need to be treated as unexpected gifts you need to take immediate advantage of. You don’t need a water-proof voice recorder for use in the shower, but you do need to develop the mental discipline necessary to be constantly vigilant.
- Fiddle in other creative activities, keeping those further resources of yours in the picture. Engaging in other creative activities, and bringing all of your other talents into the effort, can yield a very positive result. Steve Jobs once attended a calligraphy class at Reed College, and became very involved in the artistry of the various fonts. Later in his business career he fiddled with fonts quite often. The result was the innovative fonts used in the MAC computer. Now all computers utilize sans serif fonts and proportional spacing
- Work in creative bursts; don’t 9-to-5 it. This is an exceptional idea, that sadly, I have not been able to execute myself. I will do better. I will convince myself with this argument: If you are only 75% effective, let’s say, after working 9 to 5 without a break – but you are 95% effective after working 9 to 5 with three twenty minute breaks to stimulate creativity, you gain almost an hour more of effectiveness when you work in creative bursts than when you make yourself an indentured servant to your computer.
- Fly on inspiration as fast as possible before the pattern dissipates. Inspiration can be gossamer thin, like the wings of a butterfly. It comes rarely and disappears quickly. So when it does make an appearance, embrace it, and fly on it.
- Fly fast on inspiration as long as possible, then climb right back on and go up again. Despite the fact that inspiration is fleeting, it will return if you welcome it. When it does, take advantage of your luck. Climb aboard. And fly as long as possible. Never give up the reins unless you must. If you fall off, or if inspiration disappears, get up and get back on. Inspiration is far too precious to waste.
- Be willing to dog-plod some of the task, on some sort of scheduled regular basis of production, but do as much as possible inspired. We have all done our share of dog-plodding, regular or otherwise. And we will undoubtedly do more. But it is infinitely better, more palatable, if we are doing it inspired. If you are short on inspiration at the moment, at least turn on Pandora and listen to music while you work.
- Don’t wait for inspiration, find it. Waiting for inspiration is a fool’s errand. It’s like waiting for a winning lottery ticket: It’s theoretically possible, but highly unlikely. We were given our intellects for a reason beyond simple self-preservation. It seems unlikely that we were given intelligence just so that we could recognize an unresolvable problem to worry about. It seems more plausible that we were made sentient beings so that we would have a power within us to search out and capture inspiration. We should appeal to the “better angels of our nature,” as President Lincoln said it his First Inaugural Address in 1861. Whatever we call it: Inner Self, Karma or Divine Guidance from God — few would dispute the fact that in the small hours of the night, inspiration often comes. Stay alert and pay attention.
- Build high self-esteem. If we have little respect for ourselves, it is axiomatic that others will have little respect for us. We have all been endowed with intrinsic worth, so we should build upon it.
- Reinforce your confidence by being self-critical from time to time. Only a fool listens to his own judgement exclusively. We all make mistakes and fall short of our highest capabilities. There can be no shame in that. Being self-critical is not a short-coming, it is a basic human advantage.
- Search hard for everything that might be wrong with your idea-theory-discovery-invention, then: “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!” If we don’t root around in the closets of our mind, seeking to find our own inadequacies, then someone less sympathetic surely will. It is infinitely better to find our own flaws and correct them than to wait for others to fill in our intellectual vacuum. We should be scrupulously honest with ourselves, find what’s wrong and fix it — and with this accomplished, start anew.
- Do your homework, keep on getting better informed in the context. There is no substitute for hard intellectual effort. Learn, learn, learn — and when you’re through, learn some more. We live in a business world, that to use Bill Gates’ words, changes at “the speed of thought.” We cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions. Don’t waste your time trying. And remember that in the Internet Information Age, there is a solution out there somewhere, to even the most intractable problem.
- Pat yourself on the back on some of those many occasions when no one is going to do that for you. Just as surely as you must be your own worst critic, you should also be your own most ardent evangelist. The simple fact that you are reading this article, indicates that you care about what you are doing — and that by itself is a laudable trait. Congratulate yourself. Pat yourself on the back. Look back over your business and personal life and contemplate your past successes. Sadly, unless you are a philanthropist showering charitable causes with your largess, or you find yourself on the cover of Fortune Magazine, there will never be a line forming to praise you. Do something praiseworthy — and then praise yourself.
- Find others also doing something worthwhile and pat them on the back. A small but definite percentage will reciprocate. Our’s is a big world — and if you are alert you will find countless others searching for meaning by benefiting others. Like you, they deserve an occasional pat on the back. Reward good works with unselfish admiration and respect. Give to others and they will give to you.
Albert Einstein once famously remarked, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Since most of our BIG problems are self-created, we need to take Mr. Einstein’s advice and change our thinking.
Steve Jobs – The Quintessential Entrepreneur (Pt.3)
The Wisdom of Steve Jobs
This article is — unashamedly — a tribute to the wisdom of Steve Jobs.
His is not the kind of ephemeral wisdom you learn at Harvard, Yale or MIT. It is the wisdom you learn by living your life, paying attention and setting your priorities in the best possible way.
His wisdom is not merely business acumen, it is a far more rare commodity indeed: Human understanding, concern and unselfishness.
His wisdom is not founded on the ideas of others, it is based upon his life-long quest to follow his innate curiosity and intuition.
His wisdom is not based upon following business principles, it is based upon doing what you love — and surrounding yourself with people who love you. It is about returning that love with extravagance.
In His Own Words
On June 12th, 2005, Steve Jobs, (perhaps the most famous college drop-out of all time), delivered the Commencement address at Stanford University. At the time he was the CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios.
Imagine how proud and thrilled the graduates would have been had his speech been delivered today. Imagine their excitement to hear in his own words how Steve Jobs had built the largest company on earth.
But in 2005, no one — especially Steve Jobs — could see into the future.
He famously remarked, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward.”
A lesser man might have taken the opportunity to chronicle his business successes, but not Steve Jobs. Instead he chronicled his life in three very personal stories.
He began with characteristic humility: “I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.”
Well, it was a very big deal. In fact, I would opine that if every entrepreneur took these three simple stories to heart our world would be a much better place.
His First Story Was About Connecting the Dots
Here it is, in his own words:
“I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
What’s Important About This Story?
It may seem somewhat out of place in a business article, but the central theme surrounding this story, and the two that follow – the part that makes them human and quintessentially Steve Jobs – is love.
When you are trying to connect the dots in your life, it is essential to place love at the center.
What about career, success and money?
If Steve Jobs is any example, connecting the dots in this way with love at the center — surrounded by concern, trust, unselfishness, sacrifice and belief — is the path to true fulfillment.
If you follow this path you will have no regrets.
And the added benefit is that the money, in abundance beyond your dreams, is likely to follow. It did for Steve Jobs, and it can for you too.
His Second Story Was About Love And Loss
Again, in his own words:
“I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
What’s Important About This Story?
When you place love at the center — love for your business, love for your family, love for your fellow man and, importantly, love for yourself — the inevitable trials you will face in your life will be manageable, even surmountable.
Connecting the dots in your life does not guarantee a smooth road ahead.
It does, however, guarantee equanimity under pressure.
It guarantees inner strength.
And when you inevitably slip and fall, it guarantees that those who love you will be there when you need them most.
Defeat, failure, loss, business reversals and outright mistakes will undoubtedly occur. But you will be ready. You will be resilient. You will be determined. And with love as your core principle, you will rise above them.
His Third Story Was About Death
Finally, in his own words:
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
What’s Important About This Story?
Given Steve Jobs’ resignation for reasons of health, this is a personally difficult way to close this article.
But to ignore the last section of his speech at Stanford would be to dismiss his courage and resolve.
It would diminish the magnificent way he has conducted his life.
It would leave his message unrepeated at a time when he wishes it to be remembered.
He would hope now, as he did so many years ago at Stanford, that we all might embrace his wisdom when it was most clear.
Death is inevitable. It is unavoidable. But fear is neither.
In fact, the inescapable nature of death can be inspiring, illuminating and transcendent.
It can foster intellectual renewal.
It can encourage better choices.
And it can invoke fearlessness — if love is at the center.
A Conclusion For Now, But Not An Ending
This is not the final story for Steve Jobs.
I wish him a complete recovery and a continuing distinguished career — as I’m sure we all do.
His life continues to inspire me.
I will leave it to this truly remarkable man — a man who personifies boundless character and depth of human feeling — to continue his personal narrative, in his own words, far into the future.
If you would like to see a video of Steve Jobs’ speech, click here.
Steve Jobs – The Quintessential Entrepreneur (Pt.2)
IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE
This is Part 2 in a brief story of Steve Jobs — a truly remarkable man.
There can be no doubt that he has had a material impact on our world — perhaps more than any other businessman in modern history.
He has revolutionized the computer industry; changed forever the way we communicate; and with the iPhone, iPod and iPad he has brought a spark of genius to technology that makes all of us proud and improved.
But his lasting impact will not be on the way we communicate with one another, but rather on how we impact each other and the human family.
He has redefined excellence — by making it a human quality not merely a business practice.
Few men enjoy the power and insight necessary to find true excellence. Steve Jobs is one of those men.
He has also redefined leadership.
For more than two hundred years before Steve Jobs’ brilliance lit up the technology sky, the classic definition of leadership was getting others to do what you wanted them to do. And primarily that objective was to make money.
Through his unique form of leadership he was able to change that definition.
Today, many of his friends and employees see a much larger objective. They see leadership as getting others to WANT to do what you want them to do. And primarily that objective is to change the world.
Perhaps no one exemplifies the best qualities of Steve Jobs better than his original company evangelist Guy Kawasaki. A writer, speaker and renown thought-leader in his own right, Kawasaki moves his audiences with his view that making money is not nearly as important as making meaning.
This approach to business is vintage Steve Jobs, and it redirects our ambitions toward what is truly important.
In a recent lecture Kawasaki explains:
WHAT ELSE CAN WE LEARN FROM STEVE JOBS?
Steve Jobs’ career is not black and white.
He doesn’t fit the traditional mold.
To learn from him, you must look closely at his entrepreneurial DNA — his best qualities that have made him so unique.
If you examine his life and career, there are many more important but obscure lessons we can learn. Here are just a few:
- Striving for excellence is not a one-time event. It is an approach to life. In 1986 Steve Jobs had already made his mark. But he wasn’t through. He was still looking to expand his horizons. He purchased Pixar from George Lucas for $10 million. Of course this was a very good business idea at the time, but it was much more than that. Jobs explained it this way: “We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life…Life is brief, and then you die, you know?”
- If you strive to change the world, the money will come later. And it will come in abundance. In 1995, Jobs became a billionaire after Toy Story was released, and Pixar went public. “I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money,” Jobs famously said.
- In pursuit of a worthwhile objective, you should first work hard — and then get others to work hard with you. In 2000, when Jobs became Apple’s permanent CEO, (a position he has held for over a decade), he said this: “My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”
- Adversity can make you stronger and more focused. In 2004, Steve Jobs ran into major adversity. He was diagnosed, and underwent surgery for Pancreatic Cancer. It’s hard to imagine adversity with more sting. But he remained strong and focused. By concentrating his will on the next challenge and by encouraging his people to execute his vision, his most amazing accomplishments were still in front of him. He has said of this period, “So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get people talking about it, argue with people about it, get ideas moving among that group of 100 people, get different people together to explore different aspects of it quietly, and, you know–just explore things.”
- Charting new territory will lead to occasional mistakes — that’s a certainty. But when you persevere, future successes — and bigger ones — are also a certainty. There were a few serious bumps along the way for Steve Jobs, both professional and personal. But he never gave up. He never stopped innovating. And in 2010, he gave birth to the iPad, a remarkable device that is truly changing the world. In medicine, education, and the restaurant industry its impact is already being felt. In the truest sense, Jobs’ latest innovation is changing the world. And as promised, when you search for meaning money will follow. In less than two years, nearly 30 million units have been sold. “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes,” Jobs has said. “It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.” Steve Jobs, with modest beginnings and little formal education, built his company to the largest on the face of the Earth.
- Endings can become new beginnings. In January of this year, Jobs took a leave of absence from Apple citing health issues. All of us who admire him were shocked and dismayed. He resigned this month from Apple, but will remain chairman of the board. He has faced this ending with dignity and integrity. He told us: “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”
Like countless others, I can truly say that Steve Jobs — through his brilliance, innovation, excellence and leadership — has had a permanent impact on my life and business. I am proud of his accomplishments and grateful for his incredible contributions. I will pray that this current ending will become a new beginning, for Steve Jobs and his magnificent company.
Steve Jobs – The Quintessential Entrepreneur (Pt.1)
The Perfect Example
An enormous amount of digital ink has covered the Internet in the last few days — about Steve Jobs.
It is rare that one individual garners the attention of so many.
It is richly deserved.
Far too much has been written about the future of Apple without Jobs at the helm. Unless you are deeply invested in Apple stock, these discussions are mostly irrelevant.
I am much more interested in Steve Jobs the man and the entrepreneur — and what we can learn from him.
Quintessential is defined as the perfect example — and to my mind, Steve Jobs exemplifies perfection of the entrepreneurial spirit, vision and innovation.
What Can We Learn From Steve Jobs?
Steve Jobs’ career is not black and white.
He doesn’t fit the traditional mold.
To learn from him, you must look closely at his entrepreneurial DNA.
If you examine his life and career, there are many important but obscure lessons we can learn. Here are just a few:
- True entrepreneurs often spring from modest beginnings. In his youth, Steve Jobs was decidedly not an elitist. He wasn’t born with a guarantee. He didn’t attend an expensive prep school in New York, Connecticut or Massachusetts. He didn’t have an illustrious family. His parents were not endowed with the wealth, or position, or promise that anticipates wild success. In fact, this man who would one day lead the largest corporation on earth, was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a machinist and an accountant, in Mountain View, California.
- A quality education is not a prerequisite. Steve jobs is not a PhD. He is not a masters degree recipient. He didn’t graduate from MIT, or Harvard or Yale. In fact, after one semester at Reed College, he dropped out of school altogether. He went to work at Atari as his first job, but left soon afterward and traveled through India. During his short educational stint he didn’t set Reed College on fire. He set no records, didn’t write a book, didn’t learn much science or business practice. But he does recall a calligraphy class that would have an impact on his later innovation at Apple. In his words: “If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts,” he has said.
- The role of Angel Investors was — and is — crucial to entrepreneurial success. Were it not for Mike Markkula, an angel investor who cashed in stock options from his tenure at Fairchild Semiconductor, we wouldn’t have the iPhone, iPod and iPad today. Markkula invested $250,000, (a princely sum in 1976), in Steve Jobs’ and Steve Wozniak’s fledgling idea — and Apple Computer was born.
- The perceived competition is often arrogant and myopic. In those days, Hewlett-Packard and Atari were the perceived competition. Like so many dedicated, but youthful entrepreneurs looking to pee in the tall grass with the Big Dogs, Jobs and Wozniak went calling on Atari first, and later HP. The lackluster response they received from the titans of technology was underwhelming. With remarkable self-absorption and nearsightedness, Atari dismissed the future technology wizards. Jobs explains: “So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’“ Atari responded with an emphatic “No.” Undaunted, the future billionaires went to Hewlett-Packard. In an act of arrogance and myopia that HP most assuredly regrets today, HP belittled the young entrepreneurs saying famously: “Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.”
- The fertile mind of a quintessential entrepreneur often states the obvious — but with a spark of genius. Seven years later, in 1983, a still youthful Steve Jobs was looking for senior executive talent to bolster Apple’s ranks. He set his sites on John Sculley, a powerhouse Vice President at PepsiCo. Their conversation is legendary in the annals of American business. Jobs was no doubt a little apprehensive as he looked for a solid argument to convince Sculley to leave his secure and lucrative position at one of the world’s most famous companies. Sculley was no doubt dubious of this young man, despite his obvious success. In a spark of genius, that has made the pages of many marketing books and countless speeches, Steve Jobs stated the obvious: “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?” The real spark of genius was not the clever question — it was the fact that in his entrepreneurial soul, Jobs knew that his company would do just that.
Please join me tomorrow for Part 2.
Trajectory Now Available!
CLICK HERE FOR THE INTRODUCTION
What’s in it for you?
My 504-page Guide (8MB download) will teach you everything you need to know to build
an engaged Twitter following of 75,000 individuals — and more.
You will learn CEO-level strategy, management, execution, marketing and
sales – basically everything a professional Social Media strategist or entrepreneur needs to be successful.
Most importantly, you will get results.
Want a free preview? Download the first chapter.
The paperback version will be available on Amazon soon.
ABOUT THE BOOK
FOR WHOM IS THIS BOOK INTENDED
This book is intended for anyone who wants to know the secrets of Social Media success, particularly with Twitter — and anyone who wants to know how to achieve significant, sustainable and lasting results.
WHAT IS TRAJECTORY?
The term trajectory represents the powerful and predictable upward path of Social Media results — when strategy, execution and management are joined in the perfect combination – and at the perfect time.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | PAGE |
| Copyright | ii |
| Dedication | iii |
| INTRODUCTION | iv |
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | xii |
| PART 1 – OVERVIEW | 33 |
| Chapter 1 – The Perfect Trajectory | 34 |
| From Propulsion to Profits | 35 |
| For Whom is “Trajectory” Intended? | 36 |
| Entrepreneurs: This Guide is for You | 37 |
| Social Media Strategists: This Guide is for You | 38 |
| CEOs: This Guide is for You | 39 |
| Why Should You Listen to Me? | 40 |
| Why Twitter? | 42 |
| The Real Question: How? Not Why? | 43 |
| The Results are Incredible | 44 |
| ROI and ROE | 46 |
| Real-World Success Stories | 47 |
| Virgin Airlines (317,281 Twitter Followers) | 47 |
| Paramount Pictures (189,317 Twitter Followers) | 47 |
| Volkswagen (64,206 Twitter Followers) | 48 |
| Twitter for Business is Simple – But It Isn’t Easy | 50 |
| Twitter Results | 51 |
| A Cautionary Note about Twitter Followers | 52 |
| What You Will Learn by Reading “Trajectory” | 53 |
| “Trajectory” is Not “Twitter for Dummies.” | 53 |
| The E13 Social Media Strategy | 54 |
| The Trajectory Formula | 54 |
| Demonstrable Value | 56 |
| The Eight Steps in the Trajectory Process | 58 |
| How Does the Trajectory Process Work? | 58 |
| The New Social Media Marketing Model | 60 |
| This is What Success Will Look Like | 62 |
| Chapter 2 – Working Together | 63 |
| Let’s Come Together | 65 |
| Who I Am Personally | 67 |
| Who I Am Professionally | 68 |
| Change is Never Easy | 69 |
| Social Media is a Mountaintop Experience | 69 |
| What’s Changed? | 71 |
| 1. Costs Have Come Down | 71 |
| 2. It’s a Much Bigger World | 71 |
| 3. We Can Cast a Larger Net | 72 |
| 4. Marketing Methods Have Radically Changed | 73 |
| 5. Demonstrated Value is Replacing Artificial Price | 75 |
| What is My Perspective? | 76 |
| Developing Perspective | 76 |
| Perspective Will Change | 77 |
| Where I Choose to Live | 78 |
| A Man’s Best Friend | 79 |
| A Need to Help Others | 80 |
| Pride in America | 81 |
| Gratitude to God | 81 |
| Chapter 3 – Twitter is Serious Business | 83 |
| The Evolution of Twitter | 83 |
| Get Beyond the Initial Discomfort | 84 |
| Twitter is for Grownups | 85 |
| My Advice for the Early Adopters | 87 |
| Chapter 4 – 31 Reasons for Choosing Twitter | 88 |
| Reasons for Choosing Twitter | 89 |
| Hidden Value | 90 |
| The Value of a Marketing Shangri-La | 90 |
| 1. You Can Share in the Mystique | 91 |
| 2. A Substantial Twitter Following is a Badge of Honor | 92 |
| 3. A Substantial Twitter Following Creates its Own Marketing Niche | 93 |
| 4. A Substantial Twitter Following is an Investor Magnet | 94 |
| 5. A Substantial Twitter Following is Extremely Profitable | 95 |
| 6. A Substantial Twitter Following Will Grow Exponentially | 96 |
| 7. A Substantial Twitter Following Will Increase Earnings | 97 |
| 8. A Substantial Twitter Following Will Increase Your Company’s Valuation | 98 |
| Kinetic Energy | 99 |
| 9. Twitter is Simple | 101 |
| 10. Twitter is Malleable When Change is Necessary | 103 |
| 11. Twitter has Longevity | 104 |
| 12. Twitter Encourages Creativity | 105 |
| 13. Twitter Allows for Large Homogeneous Groups | 105 |
| 14. Twitter is Sustainable | 106 |
| Remarkability | 107 |
| 15. Twitter Encourages Change | 108 |
| 16. Twitter Enables You to Find Your Own Category of Distinction | 109 |
| 17. To Be Successful at Twitter You Must Be Authentic | 109 |
| 18. Twitter Enables You to Become a Trend-Setter | 109 |
| 19. Twitter Allows You to Revive, Reinvent and Refresh Yourself. | 110 |
| Appurtenances | 111 |
| 20. Boundless Opportunities | 111 |
| 21. Cost Efficiency | 112 |
| 22. Self-Perpetuation | 112 |
| 23. Multipurpose | 113 |
| 24. Multitasking | 113 |
| 25. Creative Innovation | 114 |
| 26. Effectiveness | 114 |
| 27. Efficiency | 114 |
| 28. Knowledge Growth | 115 |
| 29. Engagement Opportunities | 115 |
| 30. Profitability | 115 |
| 31. Preparation for the Future | 116 |
| Chapter 5 – Starkwell School of Marketing | 117 |
| The Three Marketing Fundamentals | 118 |
| Who is Virgil Starkwell? | 118 |
| Motivating Buyers | 120 |
| The History of Traditional Motivation | 121 |
| Adapt or Die | 122 |
| Social Media Has Changed Everything | 125 |
| Chapter 6 – Two Keys to Unlocking Success | 127 |
| Helping Others | 128 |
| Collaboration | 130 |
| 1. Unwillingness to Partner | 130 |
| 2. Unfamiliarity with Joint Ventures | 132 |
| Chapter 7 – All Hat and No Cattle | 134 |
| A Little Research | 135 |
| How Did Their Clients Do? | 137 |
| True Experts (as of April 23, 2012) | 139 |
| Not Sour Grapes, Just Confusion | 139 |
| My Justification | 140 |
| Final Thoughts | 141 |
| Quantity vs. Quality | 141 |
| One Last Thought | 142 |
| PART 2 – STRATEGY | 143 |
| Chapter 8 – Building a Sizable Following | 144 |
| Starting from Zero | 144 |
| Creativity is Crucial | 146 |
| Steps to Build a Twitter Strategy | 147 |
| Look at the Competition with Fresh Eyes | 147 |
| Recognize that the World is Changing | 149 |
| Understand that a New Approach is Necessary | 149 |
| Stop Listening to the Naysayers | 150 |
| Be a Leader not a Follower | 151 |
| Never Give Up | 151 |
| Demand Results | 152 |
| Proving Credibility | 152 |
| The Single Entrepreneur | 153 |
| What Was Accomplished | 154 |
| Chapter 9 – The Trajectory Formula | 156 |
| Trajectory | 157 |
| Critical Mass | 159 |
| What is Critical Mass? | 160 |
| Amorphous Marketing | 161 |
| Escape Velocity | 163 |
| Trajectory Selling | 164 |
| Escape Velocity for Your Business | 165 |
| Not Your Father’s Bottle-Rocket | 166 |
| Online Requirements | 167 |
| Web Presence | 168 |
| Twitter Page | 168 |
| Outposts | 168 |
| Influence Centers | 169 |
| World-Class Multitasking | 169 |
| The Six Ignition Keys | 170 |
| Theory vs. Experience | 172 |
| Chapter 10 – The E13 Social Media Strategy | 175 |
| Change is Good | 175 |
| Digital Nervous System | 176 |
| The 13 Core Concepts | 177 |
| 1. Economics | 177 |
| 2. Exponentiation | 178 |
| 3. Empathy | 178 |
| 4. Expertise | 179 |
| 5. Exclusivity | 179 |
| 6. Empowerment | 180 |
| 7. Evaluation | 180 |
| 8. Execution | 181 |
| 9. Engagement | 181 |
| 10. Effectiveness | 182 |
| 11. Efficiency | 182 |
| 12. Emotion | 183 |
| 13. Enthusiasm | 184 |
| As a Narrative | 184 |
| Chapter 11 – Critical Mass: The Secret Sauce | 186 |
| Strategic Problems Solved | 188 |
| Seven Essential Ingredients in Critical Mass | 189 |
| 10,000 Followers | 190 |
| Sustainable Growth | 190 |
| Highly Targeted Followers | 191 |
| High Follower Activity | 191 |
| High Follow Ratio | 192 |
| Precise List Targeting | 193 |
| High Active User Count | 194 |
| Hypothetical Income Example | 195 |
| Chapter 12 – Escape Velocity | 197 |
| The Five Stages of Escape Velocity | 198 |
| Stage One – Zero Followers | 198 |
| Stage Two – 1 to 2,000 Followers | 200 |
| Stage Three – 2001 to 10,000 Followers | 202 |
| Stage Four – 10,001 – 50,000 | 203 |
| Stage Five – 50,001 to 70,000+ | 203 |
| Chapter 13 – Amorphous Marketing | 205 |
| Time to Learn the Simple Lessons | 205 |
| Person-to-Person Interaction | 208 |
| Blog Content is also a Product | 209 |
| Your Customers Are the Story | 210 |
| Empathize, Empathize, Empathize | 210 |
| Marketing Begins With Listening | 211 |
| One Approach is Never Enough | 212 |
| PART 3 – EXECUTION | 213 |
| Chapter 14 – How to Be Successful in 33 Steps | 214 |
| General Recommendations | 214 |
| 33 Required Steps | 215 |
| 1. Social Media-Enabled Website/Blog | 215 |
| 2. Don’t Advertise | 216 |
| 3. Use WordPress for Your Website | 216 |
| 4. Compelling Web Presences | 216 |
| 5. Alltop.com | 217 |
| 6. Tweepi.com | 217 |
| 7. BufferApp.com | 217 |
| 8. Hootsuite.com | 217 |
| 9. StumbleUpon.com | 218 |
| 10. Evernote.com | 218 |
| 11. Tumblr | 218 |
| 12. Google Plus | 219 |
| 13. Crowdbooster | 219 |
| 14. Credibility | 219 |
| 15. Twitter Page | 220 |
| 16. Never Buy Followers | 220 |
| 17. Strategy | 221 |
| 18. Klout | 221 |
| 19. PeerIndex | 221 |
| 20. ReTweetRank | 221 |
| 21. Twitter Grader | 222 |
| 22. Target Market | 222 |
| 23. Don’t Sell | 223 |
| 24. Early Links | 223 |
| 25. Daily Activity | 224 |
| 26. Retweets | 224 |
| 27. Chrome Add-ons and Extensions | 224 |
| 28. Retweets, @mentions and DMs | 225 |
| 29. Follow Back | 225 |
| 30. Twitter Rules | 225 |
| 31. Daily Execution Cycle | 226 |
| 32. Be Respectful | 226 |
| 33. Expand Your Knowledge | 226 |
| Chapter 15 – The 7 Links to Twitter Success | 227 |
| 1. Tweet Substance, Not Sales | 228 |
| 2. Tweet on Target | 228 |
| 3. Tweet Copiously | 229 |
| 4. Tweet Deferentially | 229 |
| 5. Tweet Consistently | 230 |
| 6. Tweet Systematically | 230 |
| 7. Tweet Tirelessly | 231 |
| Chapter 16 – Consistency | 232 |
| Stay in the Game | 233 |
| Stay on Target | 235 |
| Chapter 17 – 14 Vital Websites & Software | 236 |
| Horsepower | 236 |
| Websites and Software | 237 |
| 1. Company Website | 237 |
| 2. Company Twitter Page | 237 |
| 3. Tweepi.com | 238 |
| 4. BufferApp.com | 238 |
| 5. Alltop.com | 239 |
| 6. Evernote | 239 |
| 7. Windows 7 | 239 |
| 8. Google Reader | 240 |
| 9. Google Analytics | 240 |
| 10. Visual Thesaurus | 240 |
| 11 Chrome Browser | 241 |
| 12. Crowdbooster | 241 |
| 13. Tweriod | 241 |
| 14. SocialBro | 241 |
| Chapter 18 – Anatomy of a Twitter Account | 243 |
| Chapter 19 – Four Ways to Engage Followers | 245 |
| 1. Learn to Work the Room | 245 |
| 2. Use Your Advantages | 246 |
| 3. Be Engaging | 248 |
| 4. Express Yourself and Take Command | 248 |
| Chapter 20 – Finding Motivated Followers | 250 |
| Motivated Twitter Followers | 251 |
| From Humble Beginnings | 252 |
| What Is A Motivated Follower? | 254 |
| The Winnowing Process | 255 |
| What Is Your Target Market? | 256 |
| How to Accumulate Motivated Followers | 257 |
| What You Will Need | 257 |
| What You Must Do | 259 |
| Chapter 21 – The Daily Execution Cycle | 264 |
| 1. Plan | 265 |
| 2. Purge | 266 |
| 3. Pursue | 267 |
| 4. Provide | 269 |
| 5. Please | 270 |
| 6. Position | 270 |
| 7. Promote | 271 |
| PART 4 – MANAGEMENT | 272 |
| Chapter 22 – Brain Mapping | 273 |
| The Brain Map | 274 |
| Who is Right? | 275 |
| Left-Brainers and Right-Brainers | 276 |
| Left-Brainers Defined | 276 |
| Right-Brainers Defined | 277 |
| What’s the Real Solution? | 278 |
| In Social Media, Women May Have the Advantage. | 281 |
| The Six Advantages | 282 |
| 1. Emotional Connection | 282 |
| 2. Creative Problem-Solving Through Emotional Communication | 283 |
| 3. Quantitative Skills vs. Conceptual Skills | 283 |
| 4. Hormonal Differences and Stress Reactions | 284 |
| 5. Language Skills | 284 |
| 6. Emotions | 285 |
| Women and Soft Power | 286 |
| What is Soft Power? | 287 |
| The Glass Ceiling | 288 |
| What Are the Implications for Social Media | 290 |
| Historical Barriers to Women in Business | 290 |
| Nine Important Conclusions | 291 |
| 1. Women Have the Requisite Skills. | 291 |
| 2. Women Do Not Belong in Support Roles Exclusively. | 291 |
| 3. Lack of Mentoring is No Longer a Problem. | 292 |
| 4. Lack of Opportunities is No Longer an Issue. | 292 |
| 5. High Visibility Positions are Available. | 293 |
| 6. Women’s Performance is Improved by Diversity. | 293 |
| 7. Women are Now Graded by the Same Criteria as Men. | 294 |
| 8. Women Have Access to Informal Networks of Communication. | 294 |
| 9. Harassment by Colleagues is Now Practically Non-Existent. | 295 |
| Chapter 23 – The Third Billion | 296 |
| More Good News | 298 |
| Women as Entrepreneurs | 299 |
| “If it fits, it ships.” | 300 |
| Prime Movers and Risk Takers | 300 |
| 2012 Will Be the Year of the Woman | 301 |
| Chapter 24 – Demonstrable Value | 302 |
| What is Demonstrable Value? | 303 |
| Why is Traditional ROI so Elusive? | 304 |
| Who is right? | 305 |
| Context is Crucial | 305 |
| What Entrepreneurs Expect | 306 |
| During the Stages of Escape Velocity | 306 |
| Twitter Followers Have Demonstrable Value | 307 |
| The Importance of Strategy to ROI | 308 |
| Chapter 25 – Aggregate Positive Exposure | 310 |
| Return on Involvement | 310 |
| Understanding APEX | 311 |
| Two Cautionary Notes | 313 |
| The Crucial Difference — APEX by the Numbers | 314 |
| Social Media is Transformative | 316 |
| Chapter 26 – Get It Right and Never Give Up | 318 |
| One Last Time: It’s Simple but It Isn’t Easy | 318 |
| 1. Get It Right 51 percent of the Time | 319 |
| 2. Get It Right Once | 321 |
| 3. Above All, Never Give Up | 322 |
| Let’s March Forward Together | 324 |
| PART 5 – SALES | 325 |
| Chapter 27 – Trajectory Selling | 326 |
| Chapter 28 – The Three Whats | 329 |
| What? | 330 |
| So What? | 330 |
| Now What? | 331 |
| Chapter 29 – Outrunning the Competition | 332 |
| My First Failure | 332 |
| Crossing the Finish Line | 333 |
| Running Smart | 334 |
| 1. Sometimes Careful is Better than Fast | 334 |
| 2. Don’t Beat Everybody, Just Your Competition | 335 |
| No One Ascends Alone | 336 |
| Just Think About the Customer | 337 |
| Zero Moment of Truth | 338 |
| Chapter 30 – The New Social Media Consumer | 341 |
| Fundamentally Changed or Finally Unleashed | 341 |
| What’s Changed? | 342 |
| Packaging & Positioning | 343 |
| What Do Consumers Want to Know? | 345 |
| Keep Your Head Out of the Sand | 347 |
| The Online Product Review Process | 349 |
| Three Vital Truths | 349 |
| Most Reviews Are Good | 350 |
| Bad Reviews Aren’t All Bad | 351 |
| The Conversation is Already Going On | 351 |
| Chapter 31 – How to Compete | 353 |
| How to Compete in Seven Words | 354 |
| 1. Compelling | 354 |
| 2. Organized | 354 |
| 3. Market | 355 |
| 4. Professional | 355 |
| 5. Engaging | 356 |
| 6. Transformational | 357 |
| 7. Exclusivity | 358 |
| Chapter 32 – How to Devour the Competition | 359 |
| A Benevolent Great White Shark | 359 |
| Background | 361 |
| The One Big Idea | 362 |
| Make the Competition Disappear | 363 |
| Just One Example | 364 |
| How You Can Use the Same Big Idea | 366 |
| What Should You Do? | 367 |
| Chapter 33 – Value vs. Price | 368 |
| Success Means Being an “A” Player | 369 |
| Demonstrated Value | 370 |
| Artificial Price | 371 |
| Chapter 34 – 12 Steps for Creating Customers | 372 |
| 12 Steps for Creating Customers | 373 |
| 1. The Golden Rule of Online Business | 374 |
| 2. Involvement | 374 |
| 3. Listening | 375 |
| 4. Authenticity | 375 |
| 5. Generosity | 376 |
| 6. Backbone | 377 |
| 7. Aggregate Positive Exposure | 378 |
| 8. Minimum Targeted Tweet Production | 378 |
| 9. Critical Mass Maximization | 379 |
| 10. Global Stats | 379 |
| 11. Seven Elements of Critical Mass | 379 |
| 12. Second-by-Second Activity | 380 |
| Use All of What You’ve Learned | 380 |
| Chapter 35 –Your Following is Valuable | 381 |
| Frequency | 382 |
| Early Lifecycle | 383 |
| Selective and Loyal | 384 |
| Increasing in Value | 385 |
| Youthful Market | 386 |
| Reliable | 387 |
| Predictable | 389 |
| Attentive | 390 |
| Referrals | 391 |
| Buyer Affinity | 392 |
| Chapter 36 – The 14 Secrets of Selling | 394 |
| The Science of Selling with Twitter | 394 |
| The 14 Secrets of Twitter Selling | 395 |
| 1. Size Matters | 395 |
| 2. The Axioms of Marketing – Sales Penetration | 396 |
| 3. 10,000 Followers | 396 |
| 4. Intelligence Gathering: Real-time Analytics & Best Time to Tweet | 397 |
| 5. Insights | 397 |
| 6. Lists | 400 |
| 7. Hashtag, Biography & Location Monitoring | 400 |
| 8. Competitors | 400 |
| 9. Content, Content, Content | 401 |
| 10. Improved Technology, Software and Websites | 402 |
| 11. Monitor Channels for Effectiveness | 402 |
| 12. Fish Where the Fish Swim | 403 |
| 13. Don’t Make Me Think | 403 |
| 14. Audience Churn & Other Crucial Considerations | 404 |
| Sales from New Customers | 404 |
| Evangelists | 404 |
| All-Important Audience Churn | 405 |
| The Exciting Mathematics of Audience Churn | 406 |
| Chapter 37 – How to Make Sales Happen | 408 |
| Astonishingly Simple | 410 |
| Don’t Try to Sell Too Soon | 410 |
| Make it a Party, Not a Trip to the Dentist | 411 |
| It’s Much Better to Be the Host than a Guest | 412 |
| Don’t Make Your Guest Think Too Hard | 412 |
| Work the Room | 413 |
| Follow the Rule of Seven | 414 |
| Understand What Motivates Your Followers | 415 |
| Follower Behavior and Preferences | 416 |
| Ad Age Study – March, 2012 | 417 |
| Entrepreneurial Tools and Techniques | 418 |
| Best Time to Tweet – SocialBro | 418 |
| SocialBro | 419 |
| Types of Trajectory Selling | 421 |
| 1. Passive | 422 |
| 2. Active | 423 |
| Targets of Opportunity | 424 |
| Instant Discount | 425 |
| PhraseExpress | 425 |
| Deep Market Segmentation | 426 |
| Your Followers & Potential Customers | 427 |
| What Are They Like? | 427 |
| Customers are Connected | 428 |
| Customers Expect and Appreciate the Opinions of Others | 428 |
| Customers Do Their Research Online | 429 |
| Customers Are Not Shy | 429 |
| Customers Expect You to Engage with Them | 429 |
| Customers Now Control the Sales Process | 429 |
| How Can We Best Sell to Them | 430 |
| Offer Discounts | 430 |
| Offer Exclusivity | 430 |
| Offer Referral Programs | 431 |
| How Should We Treat Them | 431 |
| Amazing Customer Support | 431 |
| We Should Be Grateful | 431 |
| We Should Ask for Comments | 432 |
| We Should Engage with Them | 432 |
| We Should Encourage Evangelism | 432 |
| We Should Be Personal, Professional and Proud | 432 |
| The Final Stage is Set | 433 |
| Chapter 38 – The Quiet of Space | 434 |
| A Discovery for All of Us | 436 |
| Conclusion | 438 |
| EPILOG | 440 |
| World and National Politics | 441 |
| Disaster Relief and Emergencies | 443 |
| 26 Charities and Non-Profits that are Winning on Twitter | 445 |
| About the Author | 455 |
| Social Media Glossary | 457 |
| Index | 487 |
| Endnotes | 504 |
Economic Storm Clouds Ahead – Finding Opportunity
Ad Utrumque Paratus
As we struggle through these incredibly turbulent economic times, only two outcomes are possible:
- Either things will get better
- Or they will get worse.
In either case, as entrepreneurs there is one cardinal rule: We must face the future ad utrumque paratus. (Latin: “ready for either alternative”).
Despite the fact that there are obvious storm clouds ahead, an entrepreneur’s road is a very long one — and we must adopt the long view.
With the right attitude and a period of sustained effort, we can transform even the most menacing clouds into clouds of opportunity.
Listen to the Right Experts
We can listen interminably to the profits of doom, or we can take the advice of web savvy experts who are champions of doing the difficult.
In her enlightening book, True Happiness, Pema Chodron has this to say:
“One day of anything might not seem like a big deal, but it all adds up. One day of worry often turns into 365 days of worry and a stronger habit of worry. One day of focusing your attention on the steps you need to take to build the business and life you really want for yourself can turn into 365 days of consistent steps taken.”
Carla Fried of CBS MoneyWatch.com wrote recently: “Warren Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders is the year’s most anticipated financial update. It’s certainly the only such document that could be considered required reading. This year’s letter, which Buffett released on Saturday, puts the Oracle in the role of cheerleader-in-chief for America, positing that our history provides ample reason to believe our best days lie ahead. It’s worth reading for its anti-depressant value alone.”
Warren Buffett, a lifelong proponent of taking the long view, told his shareholders:
“Throughout my lifetime, politicians and pundits have constantly moaned about terrifying problems facing America. Yet our citizens now live an astonishing six times better than when I was born. The prophets of doom have overlooked the all-important factor that is certain: Human potential is far from exhausted, and the American system for unleashing that potential – a system that has worked wonders for over two centuries despite frequent interruptions for recessions and even a Civil War – remains alive and effective.”
Finding Opportunity – Street Signs Along The Way
The road to opportunity, even in perilous times, is clearly marked. As an entrepreneur there are several street signs along the way to guide you;
- Know Where You’re Starting From. A careful analysis of your current situation is crucial to making informed decisions. As an entrepreneur you must ask yourself tough questions: Where am I? Where am I going? How do I plan to get there? What are the impediments to progress? And, most importantly, do I really believe in my business? If you answer all of these questions with certainty, particularly the last one, you are on the right track.
- I Believe in My Business, What then? If you believe in your business, invest in it. It’s really that simple. Remember, as an online entrepreneur you have distinct advantages. You probably have little invested in brick-and-mortar. That makes you agile. It allows you to take immediate action, inexpensively.
- Seek Guidance. If you’re not sure how to execute your ideas, seek advice. Since you are positioned to make mid-course corrections if need be, don’t cling to implementation methods that aren’t working. Try something new.
- Take As Many Short-Cuts As Possible. You can work hard, or you can work smart. If you are spending too much on traditional advertising, with little positive impact, you should invest your time and resources in Social Media. Properly managed and executed, Social Media can be a very powerful tool. Use it.
- Take Advantage of the Economic Slowdown. While your traditional competitors are hoarding cash and remaining stagnant, trust in the power of Social Media to get you through. You can out-maneuver your competition, inexpensively and under-the-radar. Build a substantial and engaged Twitter following, for example. It’s better to have it and not need it — than to need it and not have it.
Conclusion
Stop worrying about the economic ups-and-downs. See past them by adopting a longer view.
Prepare yourself for whatever happens, keep the right attitude and commit to a period of sustained effort.
Focus your attention on the steps you need to take to build the business and life you really want for yourself.
Trust in America — and Americans.
Invest in your business, not the stock market. Remember that all outside investment opportunities are controlled by others. Only you have control of your business.
As an entrepreneur, your road is a long one. But opportunities can be found all along the way, if you just look for them.
Searching For Opportunity
If you are an entrepreneur searching for opportunity, or you know someone who is, I am very easy to get in touch with and I am eager to help. Simply call the number below. During normal business hours, (8 AM – 5 PM Scottsdale, Arizona time), it is my direct line. Otherwise, just leave a message. If you would prefer to exchange email I would love to here from you. Just email michaelstewart@jerichotechnology.com or click the email badge below. I promise I will get back to you within 24 hours.
Gabby Giffords – A Miracle Within A Miracle
Like so many other Americans, I sat transfixed over the weekend watching democracy in action as our elected representatives began confronting our national debt.
By itself, that seemed miraculous.
I expected political theater — mixed with progress, hopefully: What I got was a miracle within a miracle.
As an Arizonan and as a politically involved American, my heart swelled with pride and a tear or two fell to my cheeks, as I watched Gabby Giffords cast her vote.
Her courageous comeback from senseless violence says so many important things about America and Americans. We are resilient, intensely loyal to our country, capable of great accomplishment and, most importantly, we never give up.
I am very proud of Gabby Giffords. She makes me proud to be an American. She makes me proud to be a member of the human family. And she reminds me to believe in miracles.
Powerful Women Entrepreneurs – Lisa Bruckner
A Powerful Army of Women
There is a veritable army of powerful women, who have chosen entrepreneurship and Social Media to further their ambitions and their reach.
They come from all walks of life, all professions and diverse backgrounds. And the qualities they have in common make them perfectly suited for Social Media success — even in an unpredictable economy. 
They are the leaders, explorers and prime-movers in a shock-wave that will alter the course of American business. Never before have businesswomen marshaled such incredible force and kinetic energy, and Social Media is the platform from which their stories can best be told.
Their power is soft, but durable. Their dogged determination assures their success and their choice of Social Media makes their businesses sustainable.
And beneath each of their images is a compelling story. A story worth telling. Over the next few months, I will highlight their individual stories, monitor their progress and advance their message.
New and Valuable Skill Sets
For over twenty years I have been advising entrepreneurs on every aspect of their online businesses — strategy, tactics, marketing, execution and management — but mostly men I am somewhat embarrassed to admit.
For some time now I have been, in my very small way, attempting to correct that mistake by recognizing women who have proven to be innovative, industrious, and courageous in ways that are hugely valuable to our economy and to business in general.
And ironically, in this particular case I am proud to introduce my friends and followers to a woman entrepreneur who is especially adroit in new and valuable skill sets that mostly benefit her male counterparts.
Such is the fascinating story of Lisa Bruckner, co-founder of Hendricks Park.
So Who Is Lisa Bruckner?
Traveling often gave Lisa a greater perspective on society, culture and service standards — invaluable skills in today’s global marketplace.
An independent child, since the age of ten she has been honing her entrepreneurial skills — often without realizing it. At 5’10” in 8th grade, she was recruited for modeling and while she didn’t particularly enjoy the profession, she did enjoy the fabulous world of fashion. This led to a lifelong obsession with style, shopping, and shoes.
She graduated with an honors degree in Psychology and pursued a career in research, (the antithesis of style, she admits). She remained restless, however, and felt a calling to do something completely different.
Right before the birth of her third child, she left her career in research to be a stay at home mom. After a year, she realized this wasn’t the best career choice for her.
After all, her own mother was one of the first female electrical engineers in the 70’s and was fiercely career minded. Lisa’s parenting role model was a career-mom and she recognized she should embrace it rather than run from it.
She agonized over what she wanted to do. How could she start a new career in her mid-thirties with three young children? Being an entrepreneur never entered her mind.
Then came the epiphany: Her husband, a Tech Executive, left the house wearing a pink Everybody Poops T-shirt. She cringed and nagged him to change. Jokingly, he told her to be a men’s style expert, and the entrepreneurial vision took hold. In a moment of clarity, genius and courage she decided it was time to start her own business — Hendricks Park — naming the business after the historical park next to her home.
The rest is sartorial history in the making. Or as her website proclaims, “Dressing Well Made Easy.”
A Word About Her Market
As a starting place, let me explain this remarkable company and its founder by personalizing the experience as a potential client.
Throughout my online business career, and before that my years as a Senior Officer of a worldwide company, I have spent 18 hours per day consumed with generating profitable sales, negotiating contracts, and managing personnel — often dismissing a hugely important aspect of every man’s career — image.
Rushing through airports, attending countless meetings and speaking engagements, and striving endlessly toward success in my field — the way I looked while on the journey always seemed secondary. As an executive on-the-rise, my appearance was crucial to my career and lifestyle but the time and effort to coordinate it all was elusive.
Twice per year I would dart into Brooks Brothers near my downtown New York office, or into a local mall near my home, and purchase a new suit — always black or gray — and if I was lucky the shopkeeper would suggest several new ties and shirts.
In short, I always looked like the business drones in the crowds on the subways and walkways of the financial capital of the world. I could certainly have afforded to do better, but there was simply not enough time.
Had Hendricks Park existed at the time I would have been a frequent, delighted and grateful client.
Mashable and Microsoft Took Notice
In June of this year, Mashable highlighted Hendricks Park as part of Microsoft’s The Spark of Genius Series. In the article, entitled Men Can Skip the Mall With Skype-Based Concierge Clothing Service, they announced what they called a “Genius Idea.”
Mashable went on to explain: “Hendricks Park is a concierge clothing service for men with neither the time nor inclination to shop. The one-year-old startup, founded by CEO Lisa Bruckner, a former model, offers style consultations and shopping services primarily over Skype.
After filling out an application online, a client meets his free personal Style Expert for a brief Discovery session on video chat to enable the stylist to see and understand his individual style and clothing needs.
After he receives his first box, the client will review all of his options with his Style Expert over Skype, get recommendations for styling and tailoring, and return whatever he doesn’t like using a pre-paid shipping label.
Every time a client is looking for new clothes — or perhaps needs advice about what to wear for an event, or what kind of razor to buy — he is invited to get in touch with his Style Expert, free of charge.”
What A Remarkable Idea
Every modern entrepreneur realizes that to be successful he or she must have a remarkable idea.
It need not be a world-changing technology, requiring millions of dollars of Research and Development, but it simply must cause the new customer to say “Wow, this is terrific!”
Even a cursory review of the Hendricks Park testimonials reveal a company that has captured that elusive quality.
With that as a starting place, the next pivotal step is to understand your market. Lisa Bruckner has targeted her market niche with laser-like precision, even though her market is still developing.
The Mashable article continues, “Bruckner is the first to admit the service isn’t for everyone — Hendricks Park doesn’t offer discount pricing or products, for one thing. ‘We focus more on quality, and unique brands and products, particularly those with an environmentally responsible edge,’ she says.”
Style and environmental responsibility. Wow! Sign me up!
She also readily admits that the service might be ahead of its time. “People aren’t necessarily comfortable buying clothes over Skype [yet],” she says, but she believes “the increasing prevalence of webcams and applications such as Skype will make Hendricks Park viable to the mainstream.”
The Reluctant Male Shopper
It is axiomatic in retail marketing that we male buyers are very specific, and idiosyncratic potential customers.
We shop only under compulsion, enter the store furtively and usually grab the first item the store presents to us.
In the retailers lexicon we are called, deservedly and euphemistically, “reluctant male shoppers.”
If we are lucky and persuasive, we wait outside the store — on one of those benches we men somehow know intuitively were placed there just for our benefit — while our wives or girlfriends do the shopping.
Personally, I hate those benches. Because every woman who saunters by knows that I don’t have the courage or skill to do the shopping myself.
Imagine successful executives, who battle the business world like Titans of Industry every day, afraid that some store clerk will ask them about their style preferences. “I like black or gray,” was my common and humiliating thought, which I always kept to myself. Instead I would say. “What do you think?”
Therein lies the fatal flaw in men’s shopping ability. If the shopkeeper looks like your father on a bad day, you are in very big trouble. Even worse, if she looks like your aging grandmother, an imminent and expensive crisis is in store.
So What’s The Solution
I suppose there are two:
- Become so wealthy and powerful that you can afford a full-time personal assistant to shop for you — a demeaning task that is rightly criticized and financially wasteful.
- Join Hendricks Park’s loyal and passionately devoted clients, an alternative I strongly recommend.
Sartorial Splendor
According to Lisa Bruckner, the ingredients for her success have been plain old hard work, perseverance, luck, a great team and not knowing ahead of time something couldn’t be done.
“Simply do the best with what you have,” she says determinedly, “and create a picture in your mind of what you want.”
Sage advice.
“Stick with it”, Lisa continues, “believe in it, and don’t give up. I truly believe the best rewards are saved for those who can endure the tests of hardship to show they are worthy of earning the big prize: Happiness and success.”
Well, I certainly wish Lisa Bruckner and her team the happiness and success they so richly deserve.
They will greatly assist hapless executives who yearn for, but seldom achieve, sartorial splendor. It’s about time.
Twitter is Not for Twits!
Twitter is Not Monkey Business
My mother, God rest her soul, is now just a memory. But an amusing one.
Occasionally, like for example when the meatloaf burned or the dog had an accident on the rug, she would launch into a raving fit — screaming and thrashing her arms in the air — and then when she realized how pointless her tirade was she would stop and apologize. She called it a “having a twit”.
It was silly and dumb.
John Mayer, the prominent singer and moron, once told E-Online that Twitter is “inherently silly and it’s inherently dumb.” At the One Splendid Evening benefit for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation he continued, “If you really think that Twitter is the pathway to spiritual enlightenment, well…It’s one step away from sending pictures of your poop.”
Now, to continue in the tradition of using Twitter as a meaningless waste of time and trouble, Congressman Anthony Weiner has distributed pathetic pictures of himself and destroyed a promising political career. He then apologized as well. I suppose we should be grateful that he didn’t tweet pictures of his poop.
Well, enough already! Twitter is not for twits!
I have spent more than a year building a highly engaged Twitter following of more than 43,000 followers. I respect them. I have never thought it a waste of time or trouble. And I have sent over 12,000 tweets, hopefully of an uplifting and useful business nature — and as I recall, none of them have been pathetic or lurid.
It’s bad enough that we must periodically defend Twitter as being much more than monkey business. None of us that take Twitter seriously need prominent celebrities and politicians making us look like chimpanzees.
So much for my twit. But I’m entitled, don’t you think?
TRAJECTORY IS COMING SOON.
My new book, Trajectory, will be published in December, 2011. If you found this article useful, you will love the book. You may read the first chapter, Overview, by clicking here.
PREVIEW TRAJECTORY: To preview the complete Mind View, (conceptual diagram), of the new book Trajectory, click here for a free download.
Trajectory Information
Anticipated Final Publish Date: December 13, 2011.
Anticipated Price: $24.95
AVAILABLE ONLINE: In addition to the book itself, buyers will receive a password to the Client Login section of this website at no additional cost, where they can view the book in its entirety online, read supplementary materials and use expanded tutorials. Importantly, as the Social Media landscape changes, additional material not available at the time of publication will be available here.
Any questions? I am here to help.
If you are a businessperson searching for answers, or you know someone who is, I am very easy to get in touch with and I am eager to help.
Don’t be shy, be effective instead. Take action.
Simply call the number below. During normal business hours, (8 AM – 5 PM Scottsdale, Arizona time), it is my direct line.
If I am unavailable, just leave a message.
If you would prefer to exchange email I would love to here from you. Just email michaelstewart@jerichotechnology.com or click the email badge below. I promise I will get back to you within 24 hours.
If you believe your company can benefit from a robust and highly professional Social Media Campaign, complete the following form for no-obligation information and an application.
Will the Web Rule the World?
A New Chapter Begins
No sentient human would argue that the Web has not changed the world.
In the 22 years since Tim Berners-Lee invented the World-Wide Web while at CERN, in Switzerland, every aspect of world society has felt its omnipresent impact.
But on June 9th, 2011, the 59th annual Bilderberg Meeting began in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and with it a fascinating new chapter in the web’s dominance.
The Bilderberg Group
According to Wikipedia, the Bilderberg Group is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 140 guests, most of whom are people of influence in the fields of politics, banking, business, the military and news media.
The names of attendees are made available to the press, but the conferences are closed to the public and the media, and no press releases are issued.
Because of its exclusivity and privacy, the Bilderberg Group is frequently accused by conspiracy theorists from both extremes of the political spectrum of being an all-powerful secret society fixing the fate of the world behind closed doors.
The purpose of this article is not to weigh in on the controversy, but rather to note the highly unusual nature of this year’s meeting: The Guest List.
The Guest List
In years past, the guest list has read like a Who’s Who of the powerful, rich and famous.
Presidents, kings, queens, princes and prime ministers — titans of industry and banking — generals and tycoons — Harvard professors and Wall Street lawyers — all have been invited at one point or another. Ex-Presidents Clinton and Ford made the list once each. Ex-Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, a perennial favorite, has attended on nine separate occasions including this year. Even Bill Gates was given an invite in 2010.
But what I find fascinating, is that of the twenty-nine United States attendees in 2011, five are from the Web.
At least according to the Bilderberg committee, 17% of the most powerful and influential Americans — those most likely to change the world — make their livings from an industry that didn’t even exist three decades ago.
Take a look at who is representing the Best and the Brightest of American business this year:
- Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com
- Reid Hoffman, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn
- Chris R. Hughes, Co-founder of Facebook
- Craig J. Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer of Microsoft
- Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google
Perhaps by this time next year, Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter will be invited. Let’s hope so.
Jot this down and place it in your briefcase. I certainly will. So that the next time a business owner suggests that what we do for a living is inconsequential or irrelevant, we can show conclusively — that the Web will one day rule the world.
Powerful Women Entrepreneurs – Liz Strauss
A Powerful Army of Women
There is a veritable army of powerful women, who have chosen entrepreneurship and Twitter to further their ambitions and their reach.
They come from all walks of life, all professions and diverse backgrounds. And the qualities they have in common make them perfectly suited for Social Media success — even in an unpredictable economy.
They are the leaders, explorers and prime-movers in a shock-wave that will alter the course of American business. Never before have businesswomen marshaled such incredible force and kinetic energy, and Social Media is the platform from which their stories can best be told.
Their power is soft, but durable. Their dogged determination assures their success and their choice of Twitter makes their businesses sustainable.
And beneath each of their images is a compelling story. A story worth telling.
Over the next few months, I will highlight their individual stories, monitor their progress and advance their message.
Stories Worth Telling – Liz Strauss
What can be more irresistible than, well … being irresistible?
Sounds like a simple concept, doesn’t it? But of course, it isn’t. In fact it is the core idea behind every successful blog, and for that matter behind every successful business.
Being irresistible is an elusive quality. In the context of online business, it means creating an atmosphere where the customer is immersed in an experience he finds hugely compelling, comfortable and productive.
Liz defines irresistible businesses as those with great relationships who constantly
* Remove what customers don’t want.
* Enhance what customers love.
* Add something unexpected customers would die for.
While most bloggers struggle with finding the formula for success, Liz has boiled it down, synthesized it, and expressed it in less than twenty-five words.
The Extraordinary, Made Simple
From Einstein on down through the years, the mark of a true thought-leader has been the ability to take a revolutionary idea and make it accessible to the rest of us.
Liz Strauss has made a career out of that notion, on her blog and on the speaking circuit. But more important than that, she has created a space online where new ideas are born. More than a thought-leader, she is a thought-provoker.
Far too often, the blogosphere becomes awash with the same messages, simply repeated in slightly different language. Liz Strauss has the kind of fertile mind that consistently adds something new and important to the conversation.
Conclusion
Liz Strauss is a very accomplished woman, with a diverse background, a string of successes behind her and a very impressive pedigree. But that alone does not set her apart in my mind. What does, is her intellectual fervor and creativity. In short, I admire the way her mind works.
There is nothing quite so powerful as a new idea. Liz Strauss understands that nurturing new ideas — and then giving them wings — is the most important contribution she can make. It is for this reason that her’s is a story worth telling.
Watch for the next article in this series about Laura Fitton, author of Twitter for Dummies.
Laura Fitton
Getting in touch with me is very easy
If you or your company are wishing to harness the power of Social Media I am very easy to get in touch with and I am eager to help. Simply call the number below. During normal business hours, (8 AM – 5 PM Scottsdale, Arizona time), it is my direct line. Otherwise, just leave a message. If you would prefer to exchange email I would love to here from you. Just email michaelstewart@jerichotechnology.com or click the email badge below. I promise I will get back to you within 24 hours.
Hidden Keys To Ultimate Success – That Most Entrepreneurs Miss
The Struggle To The Top
Countless articles have been written about the entrepreneurial climb to success.
What have we learned, exactly?
The climb is steep and arduous. The footing is precarious. The packs are heavy. The mountain tops are often beyond our reach, and we often stumble. And sadly, more of us fall than make it to the summit.
The Fortunate Few
This article, however, is written for the fortunate few who actually make it.
Against all odds, we climb and climb. Our muscles strain, our hearts quicken, and then all at once we breathlessly reach the top. Blessed victory!
But then something unexpected happens.
We stand and cast our gaze out over the surrounding vistas — our prize for accomplishment — only to discover that we are surrounded by endless new mountains, stretching off toward the horizon, some even higher and more dangerous than the one we just conquered.
It begs the question: Should we stop and treasure this one success, or continue climbing until we reach the pinnacle — the highest mountain we all strive for?
What’s Missing?
To get this far has taken all of our strength and resources. Deep down, we know that to continue we must find the hidden keys to ultimate success that we so far have missed. What are they? Who do we ask?
Unfortunately, these are questions unanswered by education, ignored by those who fail and closely guarded by those who succeed. I guess we’re on our own? So let’s consider these questions for a moment and see if any lights go on. Let’s be creative, and give serious thought to what’s missing.
Two Hidden Keys
There exist many obvious possibilities for the missing keys to our ultimate success, but two less obvious ones come immediately to my mind.
The first key is this:
The climb to the top is more rapid and sustainable — if you help someone else.
This is a very important lesson, lost for decades by traditional business, but reemerging as a core principle of Social Media. When before it was all about selling – the focus of Social Media has changed the landscape — now it is all about serving.
To be ultimately successful, it is imperative that you put the needs of others — your customers and potential customers, employees and stakeholders — ahead of your own.
This does not mean that you must sacrifice your own success, it merely means that you should be cognizant of the needs of others as a key starting place. When you meet those needs first, your needs will be correspondingly met.
This key success factor seems obvious, but business has long held that products and services, whatever they are, must be sold. Even if that sales process does not meet the actual needs of the consumer.
The founder of the Ford Motor Company once said of his first automobile. “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.” That sales process was obviously successful, but in today’s world, Ford’s management has materially improved upon that approach. Today they ask, “What do you want in your new Ford automobile?” Through remarkably agile Social Media campaigns, led by Ford’s masterful Social Media Director, Scott Monty, Ford is gradually reinventing itself. They have begun climbing their ultimate mountain, and when they reach that pinnacle they will be the masters of all they see.
For entrepreneurs, that same ultimate key to success applies. For those unfamiliar with Social Media, their first reaction is to sell, and sell, and sell. They flood their Twitter streams will sales language, thinking that the old rules still apply. They don’t.
We now live in an era where buying patters have changed. They are diametrically opposite to those of only a few years ago. The imperative now is service, not selling. For those entrepreneurs wishing to scale their last mountain, helping others is the new key to success. 
The second key is this:
Collaboration with others is the new path to the top.
For those of us who make a living in Social Media, for example, I have a question by way of explanation: Why is it that no Social Media company has captured the lion’s share of the market? When you mention donuts, Dunkin’ Donuts comes immediately to mind. When you mention coffee, Starbucks pops into your head. Why is there no one Social Media company taking the leadership role? There are two reasons for this, I believe. They both have to do with collaboration.
1. Unwillingness to Partner. Even the biggest money makers in Social Media are apparently unwilling or unable to collaborate with other professionals where their skills might be useful. Take Twitter for example. The top ten agencies in the field, who daily advise entrepreneurial businesses on how to amass a large, engaged Twitter following, have a total of only 14,350 Twitter followers between them, (as of 5/9/11). The most skilled agency has less than 5,000 followers.
Is it that they are understaffed? Not likely, as they have hundreds of employees. Is it that they don’t care, or possibly feel it is unnecessary since they are doing millions of dollars in business? Perhaps. But how is that credible with their potential customers?
I don’t wish to be critical, as all of these companies are highly professional, well-respected and hugely profitable, but if you are expecting other businesses to take your Twitter guidance seriously, should you not have a substantial Twitter following yourself?
Before I undertook to advise others on Twitter, I spent a year building a 41,000 person Twitter following. And knowing that my customers tend to be smaller entrepreneurial firms, I did 100% of the work myself to illustrate that it could be done by one person.
The point of all this, is that companies of all sizes should collaborate for mutual success. There is no reason for smaller companies to avoid integrating, formally or informally, into a larger whole. The resulting organization could be formidable.
We now live in an open world, and there should be no reason for the dog-eat-dog competitiveness of years past. Certainly, all of us that make the Twitter-sphere our home, should be open to partnering with fellow Twitter travelers. It best serves our needs, but more importantly the needs of our customers.
2. Unfamiliarity with the Joint Venture as an Engine for Growth. The corollary to the above unwillingness to partner, is the unfamiliarity with the joint venture as an engine for growth.
Imagine the Social Media behemoth that could be created, if the top practitioners or companies in the 14 separate Social Media disciplines — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, WordPress, web programming, graphic design, sales, marketing, cloud computing, public relations, strategy, execution and management — were to combine their skills in a mutually beneficial joint venture. There would be no overlap, no wasted energy or resources, and enhanced profits for everyone.
Similarly, and a more powerful key to success, would be joint ventures between Social Media practitioners and other companies that share the same market segment. Traditional advertising agencies, with no Social Media expertise, joining forces with Twitter experts, for example.
With a little creativity, customer-centric joint ventures of all types could be created.
Conclusion
Whatever your product or service, marketplace, or skills — failure to adopt these hidden keys to success would be a real shame. For those of us who care about achieving more than a modicum of success, these hidden keys have the power to unlock unprecedented accomplishment. If we don’t energize around these opportunities we have only ourselves to blame.
Getting in touch with me is very easy
If you or your company are wishing to harness the power of Social Media, or if you feel a joint venture possibility exists, I am very easy to get in touch with and I am eager to help. Simply call the number below. During normal business hours, (8 AM – 5 PM Scottsdale, Arizona time), it is my direct line. Otherwise, just leave a message. If you would prefer to exchange email I would love to here from you. Just email michaelstewart@jerichotechnology.com or click the email badge below. I promise I will get back to you within 24 hours.
Powerful Women Entrepreneurs – Alexandra Levit
A Powerful Army of Women
There is a veritable army of powerful women, who have chosen entrepreneurship and Twitter to further their ambitions and their reach.
They come from all walks of life, all professions and diverse backgrounds. And the qualities they have in common make them perfectly suited for Social Media success — even in an unpredictable economy.
They are the leaders, explorers and prime-movers in a shock-wave that will alter the course of American business. Never before have businesswomen marshaled such incredible force and kinetic energy, and Social Media is the platform from which their stories can best be told.
Their power is soft, but durable. Their dogged determination assures their success and their choice of Twitter makes their businesses sustainable.
And beneath each of their images is a compelling story. A story worth telling.
Over the next few months, I will highlight their individual stories, monitor their progress and advance their message.
Stories Worth Telling – Alexandra Levit
In this economy, what can be more important than finding a meaningful job — quickly and simply — and then succeeding beyond measure once you get there? The short answer is: Nothing.
This is Alexandra Levit’s cause célèbre. It is her ambition, her forte and her promise to those she helps.
A prominent author and syndicated columnist, Alexandra Levit has shared her best entrepreneurial thinking in the New York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio, ABC News, Fox News, CNBC, the Associated Press, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan.
In 2010, she was named Money Magazine’s Online Career Expert of the Year and the author of one of Forbes’ best websites for women.
And when Alexandra speaks, people listen: Including the Obama Administration, the American Society for Training and Development, Campbell’s Soup, McDonalds, Whirlpool, Beyond Credentials, DeVry University, Intuit, and Microsoft.
Notably, in addition to her many books, magazine articles, and presentations to clients, she has also amassed a very significant Twitter following. As of today she is followed by more than 134,000 individuals.
Her tireless efforts, while balancing her time with her husband and family, makes Alexandra Levit a Powerful Woman Entrepreneur.
She is the quintessential ambassador of Soft Power for Women, and we will be watching her career with enthusiasm and expectation.
The story of Alexandra Levit is a story worth telling.
Conclusion
By placing soft power in women’s hands, American business will achieve a level of accomplishment like never before. Women have shown particular skill in the uses of proper strategy, execution and management in Social Media. And while it requires an investment of time and resources, that investment can and will pay dramatic dividends.
The barriers to women in business have become the new springboards to acclaim.
Getting in touch with me is very easy
If you or your company are wishing to harness the power of Social Media I am very easy to get in touch with and I am eager to help. Simply call the number below. During normal business hours, (8 AM – 5 PM Scottsdale, Arizona time), it is my direct line. Otherwise, just leave a message. If you would prefer to exchange email I would love to here from you. Just email michaelstewart@jerichotechnology.com or click the email badge below. I promise I will get back to you within 24 hours.
