Seth Godin is providing an opportunity for a small group of people to have a 6 month internship with him. If selected, you will get to work for, with and learn from one of the best marketing minds of our time.

The internship will be unpaid, in New York, and starting in January, but if you are a marketing nerd who can swing something like that, you better apply.

Get all the details here, and let me know if you get a spot in the program (so I can live vicariously through you).

Posted by James at 05:05 PM | Permalink

As someone who works in the internet world, I like to hear internet success stories. Stories of cool ideas becoming game changing products and big money keep me going and give me hope for what I'm working on. To me, the Googles, Facebooks and Amazons of the world are something to be studied, appreciated and mimicked. Their stories are my textbooks, and like most internet folks, I soak up every drop of knowledge I can from them.

But when it comes to the companies that don't make it, well, I don't spend too much time on those.

I think this is partially because it hurts us to see the downside of this hyper-fast, flavor-of-the-week, often random business environment that is the web. And hey, it's a bit scary to look at the failures - and even scarier to imagine being part of one.

But beyond that, I don't really focus on the failures because the entrepreneurs from the companies that fail often want to move on, not dwell, and try something new as soon as possible. Get back on the horse, etc.

In short, the stories don't get told, they get buried, shrugged off, and not shared. And hey, who's gonna publish a book about a failed small business anyway?

Today I ran across a blog post that changed my mind - and in truth - the story of failure gave me more insight into making a start-up successful then the pile of success story books sitting behind me gathering dust.

Take some time to read the lessons learned from the failure of the promising internet company Monitor110 - as seen through the eyes of Monitor110's co-founder Roger Ehrenberg.

Because as British scientist Sir Humphry Davy observed, "The most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by my failures."

Posted by James at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday I happily ran across a documentary on the Sundance Channel called Garbage Warrior - the story of radical architect Michael Reynolds, creator of the Earthship. The story follows the history of the eco-architect and the opportunities, inventions and obstacles that stood in his was as he tried to develop and explore the world of completely sustainable housing design.

Whether you're an eco-minded person or not, the story demonstrates realities that innovators of all kinds face. They are:

1. During times of comfort or relative prosperity, innovative thought is not valued as highly because true innovative thought will force change and most people, by nature, fear change and will aim to keep the status quo wherever possible. Right or wrong.
2. In times of crisis, innovation is welcomed with open arms. Once comfort, security or prosperity is removed from the picture, making changes is almost effortless.

I'll let you watch the film for yourself to hear Michael's story, because it's something that will leave an impression on you.

From a business perspective, I wonder where the point of balance is. How do you push a culturally entrenched organization to open itself to innovation after the start-up excitement wears off and before the company is in crisis. Because let's face it, sometimes when the crisis hits, it might be too late to innovate.

Posted by James at 07:27 PM | Permalink

I'm uploading some more shots from my trip to Barcelona, and I ran across three things I've been meaning to blog about. Each represent innovative thought, two solve common problems and one is just outright cool. Check them out:

1. The Dyson Airblade:
I think we all know that one of the worst designed and most annoying products out there is the bathroom hand dryer. They never get your hands dry, and they leave you longing for effective, yet not environmentally friendly, paper towels. In Spain, as I've mentioned before, paper towels are rare, and pretty much non-existent in public restrooms.

So James Dyson, the guy who makes those Dyson vacuum cleaners, decided to solve the hand dryer issue by creating the Dyson Airblade. The Airblade uses two "blades" of high-speed air to pull the air off of your hands. In 10 seconds, your hands are perfectly dry. It works so well, I got my hands wet again just so I could use it twice.

Continue reading "Innovation Sighting in Barcelona" »

Posted by James at 07:20 PM | Permalink

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, knows a thing or two about innovation. Maybe a thing or three.

With Jeff pushing to open up Amazon's computing "cloud" to anyone who is willing to pay a little money for it, he has not only created an innovative product, but enabled anyone with an innovative idea the computing power to make they idea a reality.

In BusinessWeek's most recent innovation issues, Jeff is interviewed about innovation and how it manifests itself at Amazon.

Read the article here, and think of what Amazon's approach to innovation could do for you and your business.

Posted by James at 07:53 PM | Permalink

I have a feeling that Seth Godin is doing alright financially. As an author of a multitude of best selling books on marketing, and a history starting tech companies, chances are his bank balance is nothing to be scoffed at.

But Seth knows he could have been richer...he could be a billionaire. Instead he ended up with a life lesson and a t-shirt.

Read why agenda, assests, and assumptions may have cost Seth billions here.

Posted by James at 07:42 PM | Permalink

I don't know what it is, but for someone who used to care very little about food, I'm now terribly interested in it. Maybe it has something to do with Kristi showing me that vegetarian food can be interesting and tasty, or maybe it's just part of getting older and yearning for a potbelly.

As I've mentioned before, I've become a bit of a fan of the chef/writer/TV guy Anthony Bourdain. Even though the guy loves eating pigs more than having sex, his passion for food is inspiring.

Last night I was reading Anthony's most recent book "The Nasty Bits," and he mentioned a chef whom I've heard mentioned by other famous chefs on multiple occasions - a man named Ferran Adrià. Ferran is known for his scientific approach to cooking and his restaurant, El Bulli, which is always at the top of the best restaurant in the world list.

The other day I checked out the El Bulli site and was excited to see that the site is like a catalog of the strange/tasty/mind bending cuisine Ferran has cooked up.

If you're a fan of food, or just want to see some pretty pictures of strange culinary concoctions, check out the El Bulli food catalog photos. Click around and see what the mad doctor of food has cooked up in the past, and be inspired by the his non-traditional approach to a very traditional profession.

Posted by James at 07:36 PM | Permalink

You have to check out JibJab's new "Starring You" feature so you can make one of these...

Posted by James at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Read about the study here.

Seriously, with 3 years on a trading desk in my past, juxtaposed with my current squeaky clean workplace, I gotta give points to being able to express your emotions through colorful language. Don't get me wrong, there are pluses and minuses to both ways to run an office, but nothing helps people blow off steam like the occasional well placed f-bomb.

Just sayin'...

Posted by James at 08:32 PM | Permalink

I wrote about this at work today, but I thought it could be useful to the people who read this blog as well. The topic, the MindMeister mind mapping web application.

Mind maps are a great way to get your thoughts together and get them out of your head and on paper. MindMeister is a free application you can use to make collaborative, shareable and exportable mind maps.

Check out MindMeister here, and learn more about mind maps here.

Posted by James at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Or maybe it’s an un-conference. Either way, when I dream of being an Uber-Geek, I dream that I’ve been invited to go to O’Reilly’s Foo Camp. This video from Laughing Squid kind of explains the whole thing, but beware, it’s 15-minutes long and big old chunk of geek porn.

Posted by James at 06:32 PM | Permalink

I’ve been hearing about this guy who has a blender that blends up pretty much anything. I never checked it out until last night, and if you haven’t seen Will It Blend yet, consider it my gift to you.

I suggest watching:

iphone
Bic Lighters and
Glowsticks

And for the record – Tom Dickson is a total pimp.

Posted by James at 09:36 PM | Permalink

Quote of the day comes from one of Seth Godin's blog posts:

In our rush to scale, sometimes we forget something essential: if it doesn't work when you've got one, it's extremely unlikely to work when you have dozens.

The little guys on the project who deal with the daily frustrations often realize this, the people who are disconnected from the project may not. Talk to the little folks to get the real story, etc.

Posted by James at 09:02 PM | Permalink

One week after ordering them, I received my mini-cards from Moo all the way from London. As advertised, they are awesome. Here’s a picture of some of them; I used pictures that I took with my Holga camera…

Seriously, if you need cards, get ‘em from Moo…they’re my new best friends.

Posted by James at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Business 2.0’s Gear section featured these little PicoPads in its most recent issue. Basically, PicoPads are little pads of sticky-note paper, with a small pen, in a small sleeve that is small enough to fit into a credit card slot in your wallet. Awesome idea. Awesome execution. And if the $4 price is too much for you, I bet you could make your own version for even cheaper (especially if you steal the sticky notes and pen from work.)

Check out PicoPads here.

Posted by James at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I’d been seeing mentions of Justin.tv all over the place but just kind of ignored it, but today I read this article to get up to speed (you should too). In short, Justin.tv is a real-time broadcast of Justin Kan’s life. Word around the campfire is that Justin.tv is wildly boring and wildly addictive.

But feel free to make the decision for yourself…here’s Justin.tv:

Posted by James at 07:16 PM | Permalink

From the forefront of graffiti – laser tagging. Check it:

Posted by James at 07:59 PM | Permalink

The thing I love about reading blogs is finding other people’s blog posts that express your thoughts in a way you would never be capable of. Seth Godin pulled this off with his recent post, Creativity. Since it is so short, I figured I would repost it here. Check it…

99% of the time, in my experience, the hard part about creativity isn't coming up with something no one has ever thought of before. The hard part is actually executing the thing you've thought of.

The devil doesn't need an advocate. The brave need supporters, not critics.

Posted by James at 08:14 PM | Permalink

I’m not sure how it happened, but creativity has become part of my profession. An interesting turn of events, especially for someone who thought he would spend his life bullshitting people over the phone to get control of their cash.

Thank god that didn’t work out.

But as I become more involved in creative activities, I also realize that being creative all the time ain’t exactly easy. Which brings me to the link for tonight - Hugh MacLeod’s “How To Be Creative.” I think I have posted it before, but recently Guy Kawasaki linked to a fancy PDF version of the essay that I have never seen before.

Fancy or not, I think “How To Be Creative” is one of those things that is worth revisiting.

And yeah, that is a wall of gum...

Posted by James at 08:34 PM | Permalink

So I figure there are one billion blog posts today that talk about the iPhone, but this might be the only one that will be optimized for searches containing iPhone, sex, guns, and/or porn. Way to go me.

The iPhone is pretty amazing though. I think everyone who carries a cell phone and an iPod around in their pocket all day (like me) will really appreciate having their phone and iPod all in one. Of course, that brings me to my two concerns about the iPhone.

Number one, the damn thing might not fit in my pocket. I am not totally sure how big the thing is (actually I do - 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches), but based on the photos next to a hand, the damn thing looks big. And I am not a fan of carrying a phone holster (it looks bad with my…well, everything) – and no matter how cool something is, I don’t want to wear a holster for it…unless it is a firearm.

Number two, the iPhone looks like one giant screen…and since the first thing I did with my iPod Nano was protect the screen with an aftermarket screen protector, I don’t have a whole lot of faith in Apple’s ability to build a durable screen. And even if I do manage to shoehorn the damn thing into my pocket, I will have to make sure I have lined my pockets with super-soft microfiber from Switzerland (they have the best microfiber) so I don’t tear up the damn screen. Or I will have to put it in a big old protective case…and that means a holster. Which brings me back to number one.

Maybe Apple should add a derringer to the iPhone…then I would be happy to strap it to my belt.

Oh yeah, one more thing – why the hell do I have to switch to Cingular to use an iPhone? That sucks.

So will I buy an iPhone when they come out in June? No. Am I excited to see what the iPhone turns into in the next three or four years? Yes. Do I feel sorry for the R&D teams of all of the major cell phone producers? You bet your ass.

And if those Scandinavians at Nokia come out with a phone/music player/revolver, I’m going to sue.

Posted by James at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I am really loving BusinessWeek lately (thanks for the subscription Grandpa).

This week they take a look at an emerging revolution in the corporate culture at Best Buy. Imagine this – no schedule, no required meetings, no need to even go to work. Imagine a job where you are only judged by work performance, not hours in your chair. Pretty hard to imagine, eh?

Well, that’s how they are rolling in some departments at Best Buy corporate…and they are seeing some amazing results, including huge gains in productivity, reduction in voluntary turnover and increases in job satisfaction.

Best of all, this all happened subversively within the organization. The two HR masterminds behind this program (known as ROWE), decided their experiment would never work if they tried to get permission first, decided not to. Now the program is picking up steam and has gotten the support of many of its biggest critics... and even the CEO.

Not surprisingly, all of this makes Tom Peters squeal like a little schoolgirl.

Sorry Tom…don’t kick my ass.

Posted by James at 07:36 PM | Permalink

Don’t worry...this isn’t what it sounds like.

I'm talking about cell phones - or the devices we currently know as cell phones. You really need to read this article called Upward Mobility from BusinessWeek. It’ll give you an idea of what your cell phone will be when it lives up to its full potential.

Amazing stuff.

Posted by James at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I was going to start by saying that I am a big old business geek for being so excited about this – but then I realized that anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I’m a geek, so never mind. The good news is that geek is the new cool, or so I am told (by geeks).

I digress.

I am really excited tonight because BusinessWeek’s Inside Innovation issue is out, and I think you should be excited too, because it rules. Actually, you should be so excited about it you go out and buy a copy for $4.95 right now. Of course, if you don’t want to do that, you can check some of it out for free over at the BW Online site.

You better believe if I find articles in the magazine that are blog-worthy, I will hook you up with a link.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some geekin’ to do.

Posted by James at 08:18 PM | Permalink

I ran across an article in this month’s BusinessWeek that talks about the cool things IBM is doing in Second Life. From making their CEO a snazzy avatar, to rebuilding the Chinese Forbidden City, to holding meetings and brainstorms on Second Life islands – IBM is making a commitment to virtual worlds. A $100,000,000 commitment.

Read the article here (don’t be scared, it’s short) and check out the virtual CEO slideshow.

Posted by James at 08:10 PM | Permalink

Mz. Pocket pointed me to Kevin Briody’s great post on f**king cool and Kathy Sierra expansion on the f**king cool post.

I can’t add much, except that f**king cool is really f**king hard and really f**king necessary.

Props to everyone who was f**king involved in the f**king cool discourse.

Have a great f**king night.

Posted by James at 07:54 PM | Permalink

I promised myself that as soon as I get done with the two business books I am reading right now I would read a book that has nothing to do with business. I was thinking about reading “On the Road” again…it has been a while.

But after reading Guy K’s Ten Questions with Polly LaBarre, co-author of the new book Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win, I almost went back on my promise…almost.

The point I am trying to make here is that the interview is really good – so please read it.

Posted by James at 07:20 PM | Permalink

If you know me you know I love business innovation and I love my BMW (wow, that sounded like a yuppie country song). So I was very excited when I saw the recent BusinessWeek article called BMW’s Dream Factory. The article explores how BMW has managed to remain a highly profitable, high quality and much envied auto manufacturer in a very competitive market. The conclusion, BMW is built to innovate. Find out how by reading the article.

Also, check out the interview with BMW chief-brand-designer Adrian van Hooydonk

Posted by James at 07:30 PM | Permalink

From Tom Peters in Re-imagine!:

New Business, New Mandate

New times call for … a New Mandate. Shake free of the past - including past successes – and re-imagine your entire way of doing business. The point is not to “push the envelope” or to “think outside the box.” The point is … to rip up the envelope and burn the box.

My problem with both traditional phrases (other than their overuse): They suggest that there is an intact envelope or sturdy box from whose known borders we can simply step out. But the envelope is torn and crumpled, and the box has been run over by a careening 16-wheel truck.

Posted by James at 08:06 PM | Permalink

Good luck to you Alan Mulally, you’re gonna need it.

Thanks to Hugh for capturing the moment.

[And a special couple links for my Boss Man, who has never seen Jackass the Movie - Golf Carts, old men and alligator tightrope.]

Posted by James at 07:34 PM | Permalink

I love IDEO – and I love reading about IDEO. IDEO makes me go crazy. So I was quite excited about U.S. News and World Report article on IDEO that came out this week. Take the time to read it if you don’t know about IDEO – and when you do think of how design thinking can apply to your business.

And while we are talking about design thinking, BusinessWeek has a report on the top design schools. Good articles there – and it talks about how top businesses are looking for design thinkers more than ever. Not a bad career path for you youngsters out there.

And on a totally unrelated note, the Carbon Black Rally has started. If you like high end cars, check it out and follow the rally.

Posted by James at 07:32 PM | Permalink

I am starting to really like Tom Peters. I have been reading his book Re-Imagine! on and off for the last month-and-a-half. I think I like Tom because he is a bit of a tyrant, he is willing to challenge the “system,” whatever system it might be, and he writes like he is speaking to you…scratch that…like he is yelling at you.

A lot of what Tom talks about in Re-Imagine, which was written in 2003, really resonates today. Actually, I have been living in that strange Twilight Zone where a lot of the things I am reading/hearing about seem to come back to a common themes – and most of those themes are discussed in Re-Imagine.

One of those themes is the assimilation of Generation Y into the workplace and how Gen Y is looking for careers that are more than pure capitalism (read: $). BusinessWeek recently wrote about the challenge that companies face when trying to recruit talent from Gen Y and how the generation is more focused on quality of life and making a difference.

And making a difference is (or at least should be) important to every generation. I was talking with a co-worker (who is not a Gen Y) the other day and she said how our company is really cool because you can actually make a noticeable impact if you actually try to. This was an opportunity that she really didn’t have in any of her previous careers, and by being able to make an impact, you better believe she does her best to make one.

We all should be so lucky to work in an organization full of people who know they can make an impact and that challenge themselves to make a difference in the workplace. I believe I work in a place where the possibility to make an impact is there – but when you walk around the office you can really tell the difference between the people who believe they can do great things and those who don’t. It is sad, really.

To break those individuals out of that corporate funk and get them engaged is a monumental challenge for every manager. (Unless you are a manager that wants drone workers with broken spirits – then you should get the hell off this blog.) This is where Tom Peter’s and his WOW Project concept come in. Here is a section out of the book that describes a WOW project. Read it a couple of times and think about what it would be like to work in a company where everything you do is a WOW project.

Continue reading "Make Your Projects WOW Projects, Every Time" »

Posted by James at 07:47 PM | Permalink

As you may have figured out with my love for artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy, I am a big fan of remarkable graffiti art (no, crappy tagging is not included in that category). And so much to my delight, I saw an article in Wired magazine on the Graffiti Research Labs.

It seems that the Graffiti Research Labs are looking into new forms of graffiti that leverage today’s technology to go beyond the spray paint world. And my personal favorite form is in LED throwies. What is an LED throwie? Well check out the videos below to find out (and make sure you watch them all).

The First LED Throwie
LED Throwies
LED Throwies II (you gotta love the soundtrack on this one)
Night Writers

Really interesting stuff – I gotta go to Radio Shack…

Posted by James at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Seth Godin’s new book is titled Small is the New Big and it is basically a collection of his blog posts over the last few years. I read the original post when he first published it, and I read it when I read his book. And now I think that it is your time to read it my friends. :)

One of my favorite parts, which is reflected in Tom Peter’s book Re-imagine:

Small means that you will outsource the boring, low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping and billing and packing to others, while you keep the power because you invent the remarkable and tell stories to people who want to hear them.

Like Seth says - "it is time to act small and think big." I think that will be the key to our business’s success, and I have a feeling it is the key to your business’s success as well.

Posted by James at 07:28 PM | Permalink

Robert Scoble writes an interesting post on the Web 2.0 bubble that is forming in Silicon Valley. Please give it a read.

I would agree that there is a bubble (the excitement is always going to wear out), and I like how Scoble describes it as a frothy bubble…maybe just because I like the word “froth.”

I also like this Gapingvoid cartoon that Scoble inspired with his post.

One thing I would add is that the logic behind the Web 2.0 concept is still something to learn from (bubble or not). Companies like the one I work for are inspired and benefiting from the spirit of Web 2.0 – even if the inspiration leads to businesses that are not 100% Web 2.0. No, we are not going to give our service away for free (our company still likes money), but we are going to start giving people more of what they want in ways that they want it.

While the financial side of Web 2.0 might dry up when the bubble pops, I think the legacy of Web 2.0 will live on after the fervor goes away. I have a hard time believing that the lessons of Web 2.0 are going to disappear just because VC interest does. And sure, companies will disappear, but for the companies that can do it right there is still plenty of opportunity out there.

Posted by James at 08:05 PM | Permalink

I had a great experience at work today.

I found out that I was on a team where all of the members are passionate, truly engaged, and looking to make a positive difference for all of the people we work with. The group explores ways of bringing innovation to our organization and how to promote and foster an environment of innovation.

During our weekly meeting our team came to the realization that we would be willing to do what we are doing as a team whether or not it was on company time. We believe in what we are doing so much that we would do it during lunch, after work, whatever. I’m not too old, but I think that kind of thing is pretty rare and very special.

It is easy for us to do the things we do at work because we know we are getting paid – and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I would challenge you to ask yourself, what part of your day-to-day work would you still want to do if you had to do it on your own time? What would you be willing to do to help your coworkers or your company outside of your regular 9 to 5 schedule?

Is there anything? If so, you may have found a passion of your own. If not, you might want to look for something that can get you that passionate – it is a really cool feeling.

I dunno, it’s just a thought. I consider myself fairly lucky to be able to do what I do and enjoy it so much. And I know a lot of people don’t have that opportunity.

I guess that, in itself, is something I am passionate about – helping other people find their opportunity to be passionate about something.

Now if I could just figure out how to do that…

Posted by James at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[Note to readers – I am not an early adopter, especially among the early adopters set. So yes, I am just getting into Digg (and you can too), and yes, The Bregar can laugh at me now.]

Digg is flippin’ cool. I added it to this blog last night and I added it to the four blogs I administrate at work today. I even got 3 Diggs on a post I put up at work. How cool (I am easy to please, OK?)

But that is not the point of this post.

As I prepare to give a speech to a room full of people about using blogs for business, I have been wondering how I could effectively demonstrate the power of social networks and help avoid the “isn’t blogging just a fad” question that I know I am going to get.

After attending the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose last week, I was feeling pretty good about blogs/viral/social networking and the like. A great deal of time was spent discussing these topics and I think in every session, no matter what the topic, blogs and blogging was mentioned at least once. Possibly more importantly, influential search marketing types (all of who are bloggers in one way or another) attended the social search/viral sessions. I would argue that these people know what is going on in the online world and their presence was validation to social search/Web 2.0 in some small way.

So after the conference I was feeling pretty good about all of this Web 2.0 type stuff, but I still couldn’t pull up a killer example of how powerful this “social” thing really is. But today I found it:

Digg Swarm

Digg Swarm shows you people “Digging” stuff - real-time - and shows the relationships between the things people are digging. Aside from the mesmerizing graphical representation – Swarm shows us what is really happening in the social tagging community…and it is pretty amazing.

Now when I showed this to my boss he asked me – “why are all of these people doing this?” (My boss is an accountant by trade – show me the money, etc.) The amazing thing is the only reason I could give him that was not metaphysical Web 2.0 mumbo jumbo was that it helps people keep track of things they like. Not that I think that really has much to do with why people are digging away at an amazing rate.

To me, it seems like people are out there digging to be a part of something bigger than themselves. To join a club. To make their opinion heard. To help share information in a way that you can’t with a search engine. To create, as a group, a new Internet built on the passions of the Internet’s most passionate users.

And that, folks, is the shit.

So I think I found my example of how/why I think the blogging/social search/viral world is going to survive and continue to grow.

What do you think? Is this social search thing for real, or will it be the next big bust? And if you are a Digg user, why do you Digg?

Posted by James at 07:48 PM | Permalink

Just wanted to take a second and point out a great post on the Creating Passionate User blog. The post is called Ignore the Competition and it talks about stopping yourself from adding too many features to your product and chasing the competition. Good food for thought.

Posted by James at 08:27 PM | Permalink

Almost every creative professional knows very well that true creativity is not the result of inspiration, but instead comes from hard work and focus. I’ve authored or co-authored 44 books, and not one of them has come from a moment of inspiration.

If I waited for that flash of inspiration, I’d still be laboring over page one of my first book. The idea is to be able to create by reaching deep into yourself and not to wait for a bright light to flash inside your head. If you do opt for that bright light, you’re in for a long dark wait.

---Jay Conrad Levinson, from the article “The Importance of Being Creative” in Revenue Magazine May/June 2006

Listen to Jay…

Posted by James at 07:58 PM | Permalink

Adrants points us to John Palumbo’s BigHeads agency – an agency that was created with the idea that hiring interesting people, not agency people, would make for a better agency.

An interesting concept, especially since BigHeads has hired over 300 people with backgrounds like a reality show producer, a tattoo artist, a Harlem Club owner and even strippers to work for the company.

I kinda like the way they are thinking here – tapping into creative and experienced people who may not be marketers, but can lend a great deal of insight and direction.

A fresh set of eyes can be a very good thing.

Make sure you check out the BigHeads site learn more. You might even be inspired to find a fresh set of eyes yourself. :)

Posted by James at 06:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I caught a Frontline/World last night and it had a segment on the “Play Pump.” Please take the time to watch it here.

The play pump is a great example of social innovation and entrepreneurship – a field that I would love to be more involved in.

Make sure you check out the playpump.org website to see how you can help Africans get access to a lifetime of clean water.

Posted by James at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I can’t believe I actually read this. I heard something about it on TV, thought I was hallucinating, and moved on with my life. But then I saw this article and it was confirmed – Phillips, the electronic company, has lost its flipping mind.

It seems that their wildly profitable quest to design products that no one would ever use, Phillips has patented technology that makes it impossible to change the channel when a commercial comes on your TV.

No, I’m serious. That is what they patented. Son of a bitch.

It hurts my brain to think that somewhere, someone was thinking, “you know what would be a hit? If we made it so you had to watch commercials.”

I guess my only solace lies in the fact that this “innovation” came out of Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. Maybe the inventor spent too much time in the smartshop munching mushrooms or something. Who knows.

AAARG! I mean, seriously, did someone just invent that? I think my brain is bleeding.

Keep an eye out for the next innovation from Phillips – the TV with just two colors. They are going to call it “White and Black TV.”

I should patent that – it’ll be a hit. Then maybe I can afford to be in the Gumball officially and not just be a tag along…

Posted by James at 06:07 PM | Permalink

To start off, I want to say that I don’t like text messages. I am annoyed every time I get one – mainly because I don’t see why someone wouldn’t just call me if they wanted to tell me something. Also, I have a pretty basic phone plan, so it costs me money to respond to the texts (which I rarely do).

With that said, I am a big fan of market disruption, and a little company called Hotxt is about to start disrupting the market big time.

In this week’s Economist, Hotxt is profiled as the new Skype for the text messaging market.

How does it work? All a user has to do is download the Hotxt software to their handset, sign up for an account, and pay $1.75 per week. Once this is done, Hotxt users can send text messages to other Hotxt users for only about a penny – a lot less than traditional text messaging.

Text messaging accounts for 20% of a typical mobile operators revenues – and texting has margins in excess of 90%. So it will be interesting to see what mobile phone operators will do to keep a hold on the texting market.

The really cool thing with a product like Hotxt is the potential of it going viral. Texting is all about communication and community. If you are able to get enough people using Hotxt to reach the tipping point, the growth of the product will be exponential.

Hotxt is only available in the UK at this point, but the company is looking to expand into other countries soon. I am sure it will find a happy following in the US.

So, will something like Hotxt make me more likely to start texting? I doubt it – but then again, I am not Hotxt’s target market, am I?

Posted by James at 07:33 PM | Permalink

Here is an important section from Seth Godin’s “Free Prize Inside”:

Most successes, though, are actually the result of what I’ll call soft innovation. Stuff like fast lube shops, cell phone pricing plans and purple ketchup.

What really works? No surprise, it’s the soft stuff. The common sense, creative stuff that requires initiative and curiosity, not an advanced degree, to do.

The reason soft innovation works is that all breakthroughs (big and small) require quantum leaps. It’s much easier, of course to take a quantum leap with style or insight or guts (a nontechnical breakthrough) than it is by toying with the rules of physics or jumping Moore’s curve.

For all of my coworkers and bosses who keep an eye on this blog – soft innovation is what we need to be looking at.

It is easy to think that we need to change the world with our next big idea to be truly innovative. But I think that by not recognizing the importance of the soft stuff, we could be missing out on some great innovative potential.

Posted by James at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Necessary viewing – Seth Godin speaking at Google.

Nothing like a Seth explaining to a bunch of technologists that the reason that Google is so successful has little to do with their technology. He says it has to do with marketing (however inadvertent).

Take the 48 minutes to watch this. There is a reason why the entire blogoshpere is linking to this video.

Posted by James at 08:05 PM | Permalink

I thought it would be a good night to check out the latest progress on my two favorite Million Dollar Homepage knock-offs – Web20MillionDollarHomepage.com and SmashMyViper.com.

First off, SmashMyViper.

I just checked out the most recent damage video from SmashMyViper – they drilled holes in the hood (again) and the dashboard and made various key marks on the car. During the video the mentioned that the replacement cost of the hood was $17,000 – and the hood has a few holes in it already.

So, with all of this damage, what is the total amount of money raised? $5,900. Ouch. And strangely the SmashMyViper girls were not in the latest damage video – I hope that doesn’t mean the boys are running out of money :)

Pixel orders at SMV seem to be slowing, and a loss of momentum is not a good thing in a buzz driven market.

Which brings me to my homeboy Srinivasan and the Web20MillionDollarHomepage.

Now remember, I like Srinivasan, not for his idea but because he seems like a generally nice guy with a dream and I respect him for that. He also was nice enough to post follow-up comments after the blog comment campaign he ran to get the site off the ground.

But with all of that work, how much has the Web20MillionDollarHomepage made so far? Sadly, $300 – the same amount he had made when he originally posted on this blog. That means that the page never even got the enough buzz to get off of the ground. Not good.

So what’s up Srinivasan? What is your theory on your lack of success so far? And how are you going to make this work?

Oh, but to Srinivasan credit, he did get a reply from Guy Kawasaki regarding their thoughts on the new “focused curiosity advertising” landscape…I just wish he would have posted the entire reply, not just the part that makes him look good.

So, what can we get out of all of this? I would say that it shows us that a) the million dollar concept was a one off, and b) the market for pixel ads is not showing the growth that pixel ad sites would like to see, oh yeah, and c) pixel ad sites should try the real Web 2.0 version of their idea – the $0 homepage.

You might laugh at the idea, but if you gave away space on your site for free, but allowed people to pay you if they want, I bet you would make more than you are making now. Seriously – a Google PageRank 4 or 5 inbound link can be worth some cash to a text link ad buyer these days. You have the PageRank, now why don’t you make some money from that?

Also, if done right, you can get a buzz going from the companies that you are targeting in the first place. Who wouldn't want a link if they were free? And if you could pay a little more for a bigger pixel ad, on a site that has a good amount of buzz traffic, why wouldn't you spend a few bucks? Think about it, it might save your business.

Srinivasan, are you listening? That one was for free bud. :)

Posted by James at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Over at the Gumball 3000 Rally blog there is a great post with a review of the Koenigsegg CC8S from British car show Top Gear. The car is Swedish, so it has a great Scandinavian design aura about it. The doors themselves are something to behold.

Did I mention it is ridiculously fast? Try 0-60 in 3 seconds.

This car makes me go crazy.

Posted by James at 07:36 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

I want to start this post by saying that I like everyone I have ever met from Yahoo!. They are professional, interesting and fun individuals. I appreciate the things they do for me at work and I enjoy interacting with them socially as well.

With that said, a recent dinner with a Yahoo! Search Marketing rep has caused me to be very disappointed with the vision of Yahoo!'s executives, or the lack there of.

Not long after Yahoo! stated that they are happy with being #2 in the search business (a statement they quickly retracted), Yahoo! seems to have thrown in the towel in the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) world as well. It seems that Yahoo! Search Marketing (Y!SM) has decided to copy every aspect of Google AdWords.

We all know that Y!SM has started to truncate ad length, from 190 characters to 70 characters. Basically, this increases click-through-rate (money in Yahoo’s pocket) and reduces conversion after those clicks (less money in advertiser’s pockets). This change was a blatant attempt to increase clicks and dollars for Yahoo!. No cool, but I was willing to eat it and not get pissy about the change.

But this was not the end of the changes at Y!SM. It seems that Google envy has gotten the best of them – and some more changes are in the way.

Continue reading "Yahoo! Get’s Greed (er) and More Misguided" »

Posted by James at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The ad agency super orgy of spending is over. All of the commercials have been shown. The good (FedEx), the bad (Burger King), and the absolute shite (Diet Pepsi).

It seems that the clueless people over at GM have found an even more clueless ad agency to waste their $2 million this year. Yes ladies and gents, it seems that the target market for the Cadillac Escalade are people who enjoy fashion shows, and liquid metal people (just like T2!). Not really sure what the point of the ad is, but it does take me to my next point.

Now I have said multiple times that one of the biggest problems GM and Ford have is their total lack of taste when it comes to vehicle design. While there may be a few gems that come out of their Detroit offices, generally speaking, they produce cars that lack taste and passion. The cars are just unexciting and their trucks look like trucks.

So, I have always said that if I were a GM or Ford designer I would do what Hyundai has decided to do, copy the hell out of successful cars from respected manufacturers. Hyundai’s cars look like Honda Accords and Jaguars (which I think are butt ugly cars, but I digress). The decision to copy successful styling cues from other manufacturers seems to have reinvigorated Hyundai’s sales – and I thought it might help out American manufacturers.

I think I was wrong. Or maybe just misguided.

Continue reading "GM Misses the Mark…Again and Again" »

Posted by James at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I think that Srinivasan and I will agree to disagree on the potential benifits of creating yet another Million Dollar Homepage - but I do appreciate his side of things and I hope he makes a bundle of cash. I also thank him for taking the time to post a couple of well thought out comments on this blog.

While I won't be buying a link on his page, I am more than happy to put up a link to him now. Since the search engines love anchor text - I though this might do our friend Srinivasan some good:

THE GREATEST WEB 2.0 MILLION DOLLAR HOMEPAGE ON THE INTERNET!

Now you can rank high on the net like the Bregar does for a term like "The Greatest Site on the Entire Intarweb" on Google.

Alright Srinivasan, knock 'em dead. I will help follow your progress here at Marketing Punk.

Over and out!

[Bonus Links - Seth Godin's Small is the New Big as pointed out today by Hugh McLeod along with one of Hugh's best cartoons.]

Posted by James at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Alright, this was going to be a reply to a comment, but the reply got a bit long, so I am going to make it a post. Hey, I think a rant is worth a post of its own, ok?

Before you read on, check out the comments on this post about the Million Dollar Homepage and the hordes of imitators.

Alright, now that you have done that, here is the reply:

Thanks for the comments Srinivasan and Fantast. Sorry it has taken so long for me to post a reply.

Obviously, I tend to agree with Fantast on this one. I visited your site Srinivasan, and I must admit that I find it hard to agree with your assertion that the Million Dollar Homepage is a trend that will continue to grow and thrive – your page is a great example of this. I see that you have sold 3 pixel blocks – only 9,997 to go, eh?

I am curious to know what makes your Web site stand out from the clutter out there? What makes it better than the thousand of other sites just like yours? Is the “Web 2.0” thing? Do you think that name will take you further than all of the other imitators out there? I am curious, what makes your site so special?

The biggest challenge that marketers have right now is breaking through the all of the marketing clutter that they created. How do you make a remarkable TV ad, billboard, or print ad? It happens, but rarely. Your chance of success is low with traditional media, and oddly, traditional media keeps charging more and more for their diminishing returns.

Traditional media is clutter most of the time. I think the same thing can be said for all of the Million Dollar Homepages out there – all but the original is just clutter.

If that is the case, how did the original Million Dollar Homepage become such a success? I mean, isn’t it just a page of clutter? Yes, but the ads have nothing to do with the success of the page.

Continue reading "A Reply to My Buddy Srinivasan" »

Posted by James at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Seth finally comments on the Million Dollar Homepage after Tom Peters posts his own comment.

Main point - Alex Tew’s Million Dollar Homepage business model is a great business model - for Alex Tew. The page has little value for advertisers, no chance of making a long-term difference in anyone’s world (except Alex Tew), and no chance of being repeatable (sorry SmashMyViper, looks like the experts are against you too).

Check out the posts – have a great day.

Posted by James at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I was in a meeting today discussing some design changes to my company’s Web site and one of our Web designers said something that made me feel a little divided.

Our company is trying to move in a more “Web 2.0” direction with our business model. Basically, this means we are trying to give our customers what they want, not what is going to make us the most money in the short term.

So, as we were discussing the first phase of testing for our home page, our designer said that once someone had arrived on a keyword specific landing page from a pay-per-click advertisement we should not give them any unnecessary options and focus on shoving them through our monitization process.

“Whoa!” I thought, that is not very consumer friendly at all! I mean, if we are doing the “Web 2.0” thing we can’t be pushing anyone through the process. We have to let them go wherever they want on our site and give them such a great experience that they just beg us to monitze them…right?

Actually, maybe not.

Continue reading "Shoving Our Customers Through The Funnel" »

Posted by James at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well is it?

“When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.” -Jack Welch

“In the 1970s, managers expanded the frame in which they evaluate costs to include a product’s lifetime. In the 1980’s, they expander their view of quality to include the customer. Now it’s time to expand our concept of efficiency to include the costs of adaptation to changing business conditions – and the risks of failing to adapt.” -From The Big Moo

“Giving up the illusion that you can predict the future is a very liberating moment. All you can do is give yourself the capacity to respond…the creation of that capacity is the purpose of strategy.” -Lord John Browne

Being ready to adapt is essential in business today. Think of all of the major food companies that produced low carb foods for the Atkins diet craze. Many of those companies were only able to get their low carb products into stores just as the Atkins fad started to fade away.

Where was the strategy and foresight there? Why didn’t they see the Atkin’s coming sooner? Why didn’t they see that Atkin’s was just a fad anyway?

The reason is that the food companies cannot see into the future. That’s life.

The real question is why they didn’t get their products out faster? Why couldn’t they adapt to any fad and then recover back to business as usual once it was over?

Where does your company stand when it comes to change? Can you roll with the punches and capitalize on them? Does your company fear change or embrace it?

"Adaptation isn’t just organizational strategy – it’s a business strategy." -From The Big Moo

And the final quote of the night-

"It’s all about thriving in markets that are smarter and faster than you are. It’s all about being utterly fucked if you don’t know what I am talking about." -Hugh McLeod

Over and out.

Posted by James at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For some reason I have run across two separate blog posts about the 1999 Cluetrain Manifesto today. Looks like today’s forecast did call for cluetRain.

Ha ha. What? Not Funny?

Anyway, Hugh has a great post that talks about what comes after Cluetrain. It always amazes me when I think how relevant the Cluetrain Manifesto still is after 7 years – and how few companies are actually hopping on the ‘train.

It also looks like Hugh is starting to reconsider his earlier assumption that corporate blogging was going to catch on like wildfire.

I can see why it wouldn’t. Big companies like to have control. Blogs, the Cluetrain and the Web 2.0 concept all rely on people, relationships and communities, not directives, manuals and divisions.

From the perspective of a corporate employee who heads up a corporate blogging effort, I have to say that I am blessed to be working for a company that is both personable and just over 50 employees. Just today I was in a room with the CEO, CFO, Marketing Director, a customer service representative, a copywriter and two affiliate marketing managers – and we were all there to talk about blogging.

I am guessing that kind of a meeting doesn’t happen in most Fortune 500 companies. But it probably should.

Posted by James at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You may or may not remember the commotion around Dean Kamen’s “It” back in the late 90’s (maybe early 2000s). For those who don’t, renowned inventor Dean Kamen started a buzz about an invention he made that was going to “change the way we live” when it was unveiled. The speculation about what “It” was got a bit out of hand. I remember speculation that “It” was a personal jetpack, a levitation device, or maybe even a hover car.

When the day came to unveil “It” the world let out a collective “aw crap” when they saw that “It” was the Segway Scooter. It turns out that the Segway has changed the way that it’s owners live because it has kept all of them un-laid since they plunked down five thousands bucks to have one. That’s right – the “It” was a over-hyped birth control device.

(I do still think it is funny that George W. Bush ate it on a Segway, even though it is billed as nearly impossible to crash. But I digress.)

Anyway, our boy Dean has come out with his next great invention, the Centaur. And aside from being named like a gay bar, it actually looks pretty cool! Even though the site says they do not plan on producing the Centaur for sale, you have to figure they will eventually. Hopefully they will be able to crank these things out without a $10,000 price tag.

I have to thank Mr. Kamen for not over hyping this invention. God knows, if the Segway “changed the way we live,” then I am sure the Centaur will give every man, woman, and child a reason to live, shelter, and a lifetime supply of hot pockets.

Posted by James at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here is a quote from a chapter in The Big Moo called “What, Exactly, Are You Afraid Of:”

Here’s the big news: If your strategy is to lie low, do your job, follow instructions, and hope that nobody notices you, (a) nobody will ever notice you, and (b) you’re actually increasing the chances of something bad happening.

If, on the other hand, you develop a reputation as the person who is always pushing the envelope, challenging the organization to go to the next level, and using your influence to get good stuff done, you’ve got the world’s best job security. If you never pretend to know all the answers, nobody will hate you when you say. “I don’t know.” And if you surround yourself with a team that depends on you to lead them to the next big thing, you all benefit.

You can’t shrink your way to greatness.

Posted by James at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My Seth Godin book binge continues with “The Big Moo,” a book written by The Group of 33 (“33 of the world’s best business thinkers”) and edited by Seth Godin.

As I go through the book, I am writing down quotes that I enjoy in my Moleskine – because quotes look better when they are in a hipster journal.

Anyway, here is one of my favorite quotes so far from a passage named “Real Artists Ship” –

It’s awfully tempting to embrace the role of the impatient outsider. It’s fun to be the big thinker who is always dueling with the bureaucracy, bitter that your best ideas always get turned down or ruined by management. After all, you can’t be criticized for ideas that never see the light of day. You can remain the secret genius you think you are.

Food for thought. In 2006, we should not only be thinking big but executing big as well.

Executing big as in following through…not like Texas executing big...

Posted by James at 07:03 PM | Permalink

Seth Godin has a great interview with e-consultancy discussing the future of online marketing. Some of my favorite questions and answers are:

Q. About 7 years ago you suggested that banner ads would be finished by 2000. Well, we're still seeing them, but paid-search is now king. Is there a place on the web for display advertising?

A. I was awfully close to being right, my friend. The value of online banner ads is close to zero. The best display ads are contextual, relevant and interesting. And not banner shaped.

Q. I guess that the majority of online marketers still perceive the web as an acquisition channel, rather than a customer relationship channel. Would you agree?

A. I would agree that they perceive it that way, and of course, they'd be expensively and dangerously wrong

I also found his explanation of his current project, Squidoo, very interesting:

Continue reading "Seth Godin, The Future of Online and Squidoo" »

Posted by James at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Holy crap! That guy left his coffee on top of his car! I better tell him!

That, ladies and gentlemen is what Starbucks wants you to do.

Reports have surfaced of a man driving around San Francisco with a Starbuck's cup permanently attached to his roof. When concerned citizens frantically try to tell him that he has a coffee cup on his roof, the man says "I know, Happy Holidays from Starbucks!"

So will this sell more double-half-caf-carmel-apple-strudel-machiado-capi-spressos? Who the hell cares. That crap is funny.

Hmmm...I wonder why they don't do that here in Denver...oh yeah, because it is -7 degrees outside. Oh so very cold.

Posted by James at 07:07 PM | Permalink

Microsofter Kevin Briody kicks some traditional marketing ass with his post called “Great marketing doesn’t always start with marketers.”

Rock on Kevin. You hit the nail on the head!

Posted by James at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Bregar found this post entitled “The NEW music business model… people actually pay for free stuff!” It seems that a musician named Jane Siberry has turned her Web site into a place where people can come and either download her music for free, or pay for it. The surprising thing, people are paying for the music!

When you go to the music store there are four options to get a song:

1. free (gift from Jane)


2. self-determined (pay now)


3. self-determined (pay later so you are truly educated in your decision)


4. standard (today's going rate is about .99)

Based on the numbers from the Jane Siberry music store, 52% of the people who have downloaded the songs have decided to pay for them. The breakdown of paying people goes something like this:

• Paid Below Suggested Price – 9%


• Paid At Suggested Price – 83%


• Paid Above Suggested – 8%


• Paying Later – 32%

Definitely check out the post from Acland though, it is a really good one.

Posted by James at 07:46 PM | Permalink

It is always nice when someone else is able to diagnose your illnesses.

Back in March, Hugh McLoed over at gapingvoid coined the term “Business Porn.”

What is Business Porn?

Business Porn is just like Ordinary Porn or Real Estate Porn, except instead of it being about the women we wished we could sleep with, or the houses we wish we owned, it's about all those cool, lucrative, exciting jobs and businesses that we wish we had, instead of the normal, tedious, schleppy crap most of us end up doing to pay the bills.

So for all of my peeps who spend their time reading Fast Company, dreaming about the exotic jobs in the back of The Economist, and pouring over stories of entrepreneurs who are blazing trails in the real and virtual world, feel blessed. For today my brothers and sister, your horrible affliction has been given a name.

Now take the next step. Stop dreaming, go fourth, and make your own Business Porn.

Posted by James at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I ran across a post from Seth Godin about telemarketing “Human Battering Rams.” Sadly, many companies still think it is ok to unleash script monkeys who, as Seth points out, are “willing to ignore social convention” when selling a product.

I know it is hard to find good sales people out there, but if you are still sending people out there with nothing but a script and list of phone numbers you are not doing your company any favors.

It reminds me of a great scene in the film Boiler Room (a personal favorite since I was a broker in a boiler room during the .com boom). In the scene Seth, the young stockbroker, gets a call from a newspaper salesman who gives him a scripted sales pitch. When Seth says he is not interested, the newspaper salesman thanks Seth for his time and starts to hang up. Seth stops the salesman and asks him if that is his entire sales pitch. When the salesman says it is, Seth proceeds to give him a fast lesson in selling. I can’t do it much justice here, but let me tell you it’s a great scene if you have ever been in sales.

With that, I must admit that I am very glad to not be selling things as a career these days. As a bonus, now I get a lot of sales calls from people who are trying to sell me things. Come to think of it, I am not sure if that is really a bonus, but I do find it educational and at times amusing.

So, based only on the sales calls I received today, let me give you a list of tips if you are selling things over the phone for a living:

• If I tell you my first name is James, do not call me Mr. James


• Learn a bit about my company before you call me, it is your job


• Never tell me that your product will get me the number one result in Google, MSN and Yahoo for a low monthly fee


• If I ask you if the product mentioned above requires a download, do not respond by saying “come to my Web site and I will show you how it works”


• If I know more about your product than you do, you will not be selling me anything


• If you make facts up, you are going to get caught


• If your product costs $10,000 and I tell you it is worth $100 to my company, thank me for my time and move on


• If I tell you to send over a sample contract, send a sample contract, not an email that says “we do not have a contract, you can cancel anytime!”


• If the conversation starts with 5 minutes of you talking and I do not make any noise at all, I have the phone on mute and I am either doing something else or laughing at you


• If your sales pitch sounds like you are trying to convince yourself your product is good, I am never going to think it is good


• If your innovative product is a touch tone phone menu and a phone dialer, I suggest you spend more time on Monster.com

So good luck to all of you phone jocks out there. I have been there. I feel your pain.

Posted by James at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ok, so I am sick. I blame Las Vegas. Something about the Vegas schedule of little sleep and a lot of fun makes you pay at the end. Whatever, totally worth it.

I only bring this up because it got me thinking about corporate “immune systems” in values based organizations. If you are not familiar with the concept, here we go.

First, the values based organization. The concept is something that is attributed, I think, to Ken Blanchard who wrote the book Managing By Values. In a nutshell, all of your organization’s decisions are dictated by a strong set of core values that fit the personality of your company.

Now for the “corporate immune system.” Basically, your corporate immune system is the process that will naturally remove employees (meaning they quit) who do not fit into your values system. This happens because they do not feel a part of the corporate culture and they know that the organization is not a good fit.

So this makes sense to me. If I get a cold, I know that my body will almost always be able to fight off the illness, and after some bad days, things will be good and back to normal again. Similarly, I have witnessed companies that have employees that are “bad seeds” who leave because they do not fit well into a company’s values system.

So I am on board, sign me up for the values, and let the people who don’t fit fall out. Totally cool.

But then I started thinking a bit more…

Continue reading "Corporate Immune Systems Facing Cancer" »

Posted by James at 09:04 PM | Permalink

I saw the title of the book "Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market--And How to Successfully Transform Them" and had a good laugh.

I'm sure there are many people out there who are working for organizations who tout their "built to last" principals; but the "built to last" mentality, taken the wrong way, can be the undoing of a good company. This is even more pronounced in the Internet space where constant positive change and development does not guarantee success, but is required just to stay on the playing field.

I think some people tend to draw a literal interpretation of the words “built to last,” and see it as the need to over plan, over design, and over build in order to not ever have to change a product once it is “done.” And many times this approach will take so long that if you ever do get to “done” you are already behind in your market.

I have seen "built to last" go the wrong direction when employees understand the principal as having to build a Web site, application, product, etc. that will never need to change and will always stand the test of time. It is like putting an end date on your product's development - like saying "on December 4th our product will be done." If you take this attitude into your business you never achieve the full potential.

So here is my challenge to those of you who manage in a “built to last” environment. Make sure your employees know what that this means "building to last." Make sure they know that your product will never be perfect and it is their role to make continuous improvements to it. Make sure that they know that there is no end date for innovation and improvement in your business.

When your employees know these things, they will approach their job in a more innovative and proactive way and help drive your organization to its full potential – and full potential is good.

Posted by James at 07:08 PM | Permalink

After yesterday's post on the future of product marketing, I thought this Q&A from the Fortune Innovation Blog was appropriate.

The interview is with Scott Allen and it focuses on the benefits of big companies joining the "online conversation."

Posted by James at 10:52 AM | Permalink

Another post from Seth Godin on getting to "Big Max." Something I really liked was this -

"... you can take the cash and the momentum you get from being at Local Max and invest a fraction of it to let a new team, a smaller team, a team without traditional constraints to go ahead and launch something new."

Call it R&D, call it your Business Development Team, call it whatever. The point is this - if your whole company is not focused on innovation and disruption of your market, you sure as hell better let your best and brightest get together and innovate and disrupt. Without this, you might as well polish up your resume.

Over and out.

Posted by James at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Seth Godin has a great post on his blog talking about taking your business from “Local Max,” the point at which your company is comfortably profitable, to “Big Max” the ultra-profitable place you get through innovation.

The thing that really hit it home for me is that you have to go through a scary, unfamiliar territory to make it from “local” to “big.” (point C on the chart). There will not be successful innovation without insecurity and risk.

Enjoy the post. Innovate your way to “Big Max.” But at all cost, avoid “Super Max.”

Posted by James at 01:00 PM | Permalink

A couple of months back I read something about how MIT is in the process of designing a $100 laptop that will be distributed to children in less developed countries. I was reminded of this today while having a conversation about bringing e-commerce to countries in Africa with a Ugandan friend of mine.

One thing I found very intriguing about Africa while I was there at the beginning of this year was the widespread use of cell phones by people in Ghana. Cell phones gave many entrepreneurial-minded Ghanaians the ability to open their own business with just a phone and a small wooden stand. These business, usually called "Space to Space" were on almost every corner of Accra and seemed to get regular use by those not fortunate enough to own their own phone.

The really great part about cell phone adoption in Africa is that it requires a lot less investment in infrastructure than landlines, so the proliferation of the technology was not limited by hard to build/fund infrastructure.

Bringing this methodology to Internet connectivity, it is easy to see how Africa's connection to the Internet in the future will likely be something more along the lines of the Verizon wireless broadband network rather than cable internet or dial-up.

From talking with children and teenagers in Ghana, I discovered that many of them had an interest in computers. Even more interestingly, many kids had aspirations of being programmers or computer repairmen or women – even if they had never used a computer at all. This demonstrates to me that young people in urban Africa feel that computer will somehow improve their lives and take them places – an important thing in a land of little socioeconomic opportunity.

So the seed is planted with the youth - computers are something that they want and want to be involved with.

And this brings me back to $100 computers. If the millions of children in Africa are going to be raised with laptops, it is not hard to see that demand for Internet access will be growing in the years to come.

So the question of the day is - Who will take a chance on Africa and lay the foundations for African e-commerce?

Posted by James at 06:55 PM | Permalink

Innovation is an extremely important part of business success and has been since the "beginning of all known time" (thanks to WebTrends for the great terminology). A lot of companies embrace innovation as one of their oh so important "values." The big question is - is innovation really being lived out by an organization or is it just a dusty motivational poster on the wall. I believe that if innovation is truly accepted into a company's culture they will have an edge up on their competition (or they will at least be able to keep up.)

I have been trying to pay more attention to innovative trends in the world and I have been searching for a good blog to keep an eye on.

Recently Fortune Magazine has jumped into the innovation blog world with their new Business Innovation Blog. While I prefer personal blogger’s sites, I do like the thought that it is some one's job to seek out great innovation information and put it on the Web.

So check it out. If anything you will find links to other great innovation blogs.

Posted by James at 07:34 PM | Permalink