Business reading: Being Strategic

I'm pleased to welcome Erika Andersen to Brand Mix today. She's here on the first stop on the Post2Post Virtual Book Tour to talk about her new book Being Strategic, subtitled Plan for Success, Out-think your competitors, Stay ahead of change. Without further ado, here are Erika's answers to my questions.

Question One: You define being strategic as: “Consistently making those core directional choices that will best move you toward your hoped-for future.” It sounds easy when you say it like that! But what’s the toughest part of being strategic?

I’d say that word “consistently” is what most often trips people up. Often, I notice that even if a leader – or a group of leaders – creates an inspiring and achievable vision, and clearly defines the strategic and tactical plan for getting there…it’s all too easy to get knocked off track by whatever comes along: from day-to-day crises to a global recession!

But there are huge rewards to be reaped by those who can stay the course. I was just working with a group last week – a non-profit industry association with which we’ve worked for a number of years. They were coming in for a vision and strategy “reboot” – the yearly update we recommend our clients undertake to keep their thinking fresh and accurate – and they were pretty freaked out. Some in the group wanted to scrap the agenda and just figure out how to react tactically to some big and scary changes they were facing. I was able to persuade them that they could more comprehensively address their challenges by continuing to “consistently make those core directional choices…” etc. They re-created their plan to include addressing the current challenges, and were very pleased with the outcome – they ended feeling far clearer, more aligned and hopeful than when they came in.

Question Two: As you say in the book: “If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s hard to know how to get there.” I’m interested in your idea of “reasonable aspiration,” something that’s in between ignoring reality and setting the bar too low and contrasting that with the idea of a really big vision or “holy grail” (meaning an ultimate, perhaps even impossible, end-point). Do you think that there are times when it’s better to set the ambition bar higher or lower? Does it have something to do with resources available (e.g. a large company vs. an individual)?

I think it makes sense to align your setting of the “ambition bar” (I like that phrase!) with your current reality and your obstacles. Which is what using this approach is designed to help you to do. For instance, if your current reality includes a truly passionate and skilled workforce, adequate resources, and a market niche just waiting to be filled by your newest product, and there aren’t any significant or un-addressable obstacles – then you can set your bar pretty high. On the other hand, if your current reality includes a number of important weaknesses or deficiencies relative to you challenge and/or there are major “trolls” – obstacles – blocking your path to the future, you probably need to rein in your ambitions, at least in the short term, and focus on creating a better starting point. That’s why I call it “reasonable aspiration”: “reasonable” relative to where you’re starting from and what might be in the way, and “aspiration” implying that you’re hoping for and intending something more than you have right now – something that’s meaningful and inspiring to you.

Question Three: I notice from the book and from your blog that you place strong emphasis on simplicity. As Da Vinci said: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” but I’ve also seen it used as an excuse to dumb things down and avoid putting in the work. How do you make sure that you keep things simple without letting them become simplistic?

That’s exactly why I’m so fond of the idea of “the simplest thing that works.” It’s one of the core premises of all the work we do with our clients at Proteus, my company. When you get on a roll of simplifying something, you can easily over-simplify it to the point where it doesn’t really work anymore – that’s when it’s “simplistic. But if you focus on simplifying just to the point where the thing (approach, explanation, system, etc.) is as simple as it can be while still accomplishing the goal, voila! – the ultimate sophistication (another absolutely wonderful phrase).

Question Four: As a brand strategist, I typically use brand positioning as a framework for evaluating what we look at and how we look at it. I’d be interested in your thoughts about brand. Has this be a help or an obstacle to strategy development in your experience?

I’ve found that having clarity about brand is an essential part of being strategic. A clear and compelling brand is – one would hope – an intrinsic part of any company’s hoped-for future. I guess the only time it might become an obstacle would be if a company thought that brand clarity, by itself, was enough – if they didn’t pull back the camera from that to look at the other essential components of the future they want to create. Or if they weren’t willing to let the brand evolve – along with the rest of the vision – in response to changing conditions. Disney might be an example of that – I’d say they are sometimes in danger of being strategically hamstrung by an over-focus on a tightly controlled brand.

Question Five: Pitch time! There are lots of strategy books on the market. Why should people buy yours?

The main reason I wrote the book was to de-mystify the idea of being strategic; to define it simply and clearly and then to offer skills and a model for making it practical. I wanted make this powerful capability available to as many people as possible. One of our clients, Nancy Tellem, the President of CBS, has said that, “Erika is to strategy as Suze Orman is to personal finance.” I found that extraordinarily flattering, and I hope it’s true – as Suze has helped people to see that they can have control over their finances and not be intimidated by the subject, I hope to offer people the same sense of capability and clarity around being strategic; giving them the tools they need to create the businesses, the careers, or the lives they want.

Thanks to Erika for visiting and answering my questions. Here are the rest of the tour stops:

Tuesday, July 28th: Leader Business (Thomas H. Magness)
Wednesday, July 29th: Slacker Manager (Phil Gerbyshak)
Thursday, July 30th: The Essential Orange (Karin Koonings)
Friday, Jul 31st: Life Beyond Code (Rajesh Setty)

SOTB: Authenticity edition

A foggy week in San Francisco. A great for sweat shirt sales and digging out Mark Twain quotes. Also a week for questions about authenticity:

1) CEO Letter: Zappos.com
Big news of the week-- Zappos was acquired by Amazon. Tony Hsieh, he of the 1 million or so Twitter followers, of course announced the deal on Twitter but also sent a letter to his employees explaining that: "We plan to continue to run Zappos the way we have always run Zappos -- continuing to do what we believe is best for our brand, our culture, and our business." Some bloggers were positive, some negative about the deal (one more).

2) Swimming Bans High-Tech Suits, Ending an Era: New York Times
"By an overwhelming vote Friday at its general congress, FINA officials decided to ban the high-tech swimsuits that have been likened to doping on a hanger," reports the New York Times. Since Speedo's LZR suit and its competitors offerings were introduced 17 months ago, more than 130 records have fallen. Not a great day for Speedo that had used its development of these suits to dominate the marketplace. Now that the suits are banned, expect a world record drought for the next few years. Some people estimate that more than 3/4 of the recent records were achieved only because of the suits.

3) Auto-Tune the News #6: Michael Jackson. drugs. Palin. schmoyoho (via brandflakesforbreakfast)
Congress and commentators as you've never heard them before:



4) Foreign Policy: Jay-Z Schools Us In U.S. Hegemony: npr
Earlier in the week, I'd heard something else about auto-tuning in this NPR story about what Jay-Z can teach us about foreign policy (yes, really). Buried in the 11th paragraph, the story tells us that Jay-Z has been campaigning for authenticity and against auto-tuning as a, perhaps misguided, way to protect his dominance of the rapping world.

5) Recession pushes Christmas into July: JWT Anxiety Index
Yes. It's Christmas in July. Leading the guilty retailers who should be punished in some awful way are: Sears, Kmart and Toys "R" Us.

6) Dancing down the aisles: The Kheinz
A YouTube hit of the week for those that missed it.



That's it! See you here on the blog or on Twitter (@martinjbishop) for more stories from the world of brand strategy.

Post2Post Virtual Book Tour stops by Brand Mix next Monday

The Post2Post Virtual Book tour returns to Brand Mix next Monday (July 27th). The author on this visit is Erika Andersen and we'll be talking about her new book: Being Strategic. I enjoyed reading the book and I'll be asking questions about some of its main themes: Finding the simplest thing that works, de-mystifying the idea of being strategic and setting reasonable aspirations

After visiting Brand Mix, Erika will move on to four other web sites. Her itinerary for the week is:

Monday, July 27: Brand Mix
Tuesday, July 28th: Leader Business (Thomas H. Magness)
Wednesday, July 29th: Slacker Manager (Phil Gerbyshak)
Thursday, July 30th: The Essential Orange (Karin Koonings)
Friday, Jul 31st: Life Beyond Code (Rajesh Setty)

Thanks to Paul Williams (Idea Sandbox) for inviting me to participate.

(For a recap of Seth Godin's Post2Post Book Tour Visit to Brand Mix talking about his book Meatball Sundae, start here.)

The Year of Big Sampling: Starbucks turn

Photo: Esparta Flickr CC

Just a sniff, the merest hint of free food in our office is enough to cause a stampede into the kitchen. And, before you get all holier than thou, I'm sure it's the same in your office and everywhere else. We crave free food, whether it be leftover pizza or the latest microwaved something that Costco is handing out.

This year, it seems, has become the year where marketers have latched on to our hunger for free to create mega events. First, there was Denny's who set a tough-to beat standard with its free Grand Slam breakfast. Well executed and supported by a Superbowl ad. Then there was KFC that completely screwed up its own giveaway setting off a Twitter firestorm when it stopped honoring its free coupons.

Today it was Starbucks offering free pastries with the purchase of a beverage. The interesting thing about the Starbucks event was that it leveraged its already strong roots in social media to generate interest and attention. As Adam Ostrow reports on Mashable, Starbucks was the top trending topic on Twitter and had almost 600,000 confirmed "attendees" on its Facebook event page. Much more like the quickly circulating rumors of free food downstairs.

SOTB: Heroes and villains edition?

Who are the heroes, who are the villains in this topsy turvy world?

1) Wal-Mart’s Eco-Labels: the New Face of Capitalism, or Just Lipstick on a Pig? Big Think
One of the big stories of the week and a significant moment in the history of the sustainability movement came with Wal-Mart's announcement of its latest eco-initiative. It's launching a new program to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves and let consumers know via a new labeling system. As this post from Andrew Seidler quotes it's: “one small move for Wal-Mart and one giant leap for Planet Earth” (and one almighty pain in the neck for its suppliers). Anyone who has been following Wal-Mart's green initiatives over the last few years will know that this is far from "lipstick on a pig." It's the real thing but it's still leaving some activists with a queezy feeling. Wasn't Wal-Mart supposed to the bad guy? Many other posts on this subject: (1, 2, 3, 4)

2) Robert Lutz and marketing malpractice: Grant McCracken
Grant launches an attack on Bob Lutz, newly unretired marketing head for newly non-bankrupt GM, for saying, among other things, that: "It's uncool to drive an import." As Grant points out what the consumer thinks is what matters and rather than call them "lemmings," Mr Lutz might be better served to figure out how to use good marketing, manufacture and design to start changing perceptions.

3) Once-Trendy Crocs Could Be on Their Last Legs: Washington Post
I wrote about fast-fading Crocs a few months ago but now it seems that the end may be in sight. Quoted in this Post article, investment fund manager, Damon Vickers says: "The company's toast. They're zombie-ish. They're dead and they don't know it." More specifically the company has until September to pay off a mountain of debt. Some people will be sad, perhaps more will be delighted.

4) China bans electric shock therapy for internet addicts: Daily Telegraph
In perhaps another eco-initiative, China has decided to outlaw electric shock therapy for internet addicted kids. No parents had actually complained even though some kids had suffered "painful burns."

5) We choose to go to the moon: JFK (via TED)


It's the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon "one small step for man..." This is President John F. Kennedy’s speech about the necessity of space exploration, given at Rice University in 1962 that set the vision and ambition that allowed that mission to take place seven years later. This week also saw the death of Walter Cronkite who led the CBS coverage of the mission and the lunar landing.

6) Chipotle's Hot Spot: The Vulnerability of Authenticity: Andrea Learned
In what must win the title of unexpected distribution deal of the week, the Chipotle restaurant chain just announced that it will sponsor free screenings of the newly released documentary film, Food Inc. For those who don't know, Food Inc. has a big beef with the food industry but Chipotle founder Steve Ellis believes that the more his consumers know about the facts, the more they will appreciate his company's efforts. Brave but maybe a little bit crazy too.

That's it! See you here on the blog or on Twitter (@martinjbishop) for more stories from the world of brand strategy.

Introducing the Willis Tower (fka Sears Tower)

Photo: egvvnd (Flickr CC)

Much to the irritation of Chicagoans, The Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building and best-known city landmark, officially becomes the Willis Tower today.

Joseph Plumeri, chairman of Willis Group Holdings and the guy who negotiated the name change even though he occupies less than 5% of the office space in the building, is unapologetic and says that Chicago should be celebrating his company's visibility and local commitment.

A Willis spokesperson acknowledged that: “Old habits die hard" but feels that "ultimately people will come to embrace the Willis name.” We'll see. I'm not sure that the best way to strike up a relationship with a community is by trying to change the name of one of its best known, best loved symbols.

Prius solar panels: A cool idea not quite baked

Photo: Toyota.com PR

I can imagine excited conversations over the last few months in the halls of the Toyota organization about how much they should or should not say about the solar panels available on the 2010 Prius. Such great potential for headline generation and such a fantastic proof point for the car on the one hand, so far from being fully realized on the other.

If indeed such conversations took place, voices of moderation have won out. As you can see in the official press release, talk about the new moonroof solar panels is relegated to low key inclusion on a list of features. (Even with this soft-pedaling, several stories about the new Prius (like this one) focused on this angle showing its potential news value.)

The problem for Toyota is that it hasn't fully solved the technical challenges that would make this more than a symbolic effort. According to this post, the original intention was to use the panels to charge the battery of the vehicle but this idea was scrapped for now because R&D has not been able to work out how to protect the battery from repeated charging. Instead, the solar panels are only being used to keep the car at ambient temperature while it's not occupied. It's something, but it's not enough of a thing to make a big deal about.

So, kudos to Toyota for resisting the temptation to hype this feature. No doubt the R&D team will figure out the technical challenges and then there'll be another opportunity to make hay when the sun shines.

SOTB: Yogurt and Baloney edition

Michael and Farrah are gone. So are Oscar and Daniel. But, before we get to them, let's start with United Airlines:

1) United Breaks Guitars – “My God, They’re Throwing Guitars Out There": brandeo

Having had my own recent misadventure with United (Flight 123 from Chicago to LA: Rudeness/ arbitrary rule-setting. Thanks Joe!), I was more than ready to appreciate this video. Dave Carroll watched his guitar get smashed by baggage handlers from the window of the plane and tried unsuccessfully to get compensation before resorting to this novel approach. So now we know how to get United's attention--just record a song that gets YouTube traction (1.5 million views and almost 10,000 comments). (Mr Carroll politely told them to give the money they offered to charity.) What was I thinking just registering my own complaint with a single tweet and filling in the standard online form? Clearly not response-worthy.

2) Evian’s hip-hop roller babies: Responsible or not? The Responsible Marketing Blog

Undeniably cute video but responsible? Not if you agree with the Sierra Club and others waging war against bottled water. I've written about bottled water a few times on this blog but the industry's troubles continue. Just this last week, a town in Australia voted to ban bottled water sales and Congress was questioning its safety.

3) maybe you could do this with some free time and an olympus camera: Brandflakesforbreakfast

60,000 pictures, 9,600 prints. No post production! Olympus camera promotion inspired by Takeuchi Taijin.

4) Oscar Mayer dead! Huffington Post
Oscar Mayer died at age 95. Over in France, Daniel Carasso also died. He was 103 and the creator of Danone yogurt. The longevity of both gentlemen a good endorsement of their very different products.

5) Strongbow cider tells bankers to “sod off”: JWT Anxiety Index

Everyone loves to beat up on bankers so here's Strongbow telling them to "sod off." A populist sentiment but, as one comment points out: "“Hahahaha, right? Sod off, bankers! Yeah! Let’s buy some cider, because clearly this is a company that understands the working class. Oh, except: Scottish and Newcastle, brewers of Strongbow, was just recently purchased by Heineken, a public company, in a transaction supported by Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Fortis, HSBC, ING, and JPMorgan Chase. So actually, the joke’s on the working class after all."

6) When it rains, it bleeds: brandflakesforbreakfast

Yikes! This new billboard in NZ definitely gets the message across. When it rains, the billboard gushes blood to remind people of the dangers of driving too fast in the conditions. Wouldn't work in the UK unless there was someone refilling the storage containers every few hours.

That's it! See you here on the blog or on Twitter (@martinjbishop) for more stories from the world of brand strategy.

Summer reading: Watching the English

If you 1) Are English and wonder why you act the way you do or 2) Have spent time with English people and wonder why they act the way they do, this book provides some answers. I'm English and my wife's American so, now that I've read the book, I'm going to give it to her so that she can see that whatever irritating English things that I still do, even though I've lived in America for 20 years, are NOT MY FAULT.

Just three things that this book reveals:

1) The weather: English people do not talk about the weather all the time because they are interested in the weather. They talk about the weather because it's a convenient form of ritual greeting used as an ice breaker to overcome our social disabilities. Important note to the non-English: Whatever an English person says about the weather, however wrong it might be, etiquette requires you to agree. (Five years in LA "cured" me of this particular ritual because, in LA, there's no weather to talk about.)

2) Humor: The English person's basic antidote to our social "dis-ease" is humor which we use all the time, even in times and places that other cultures would find inappropriate. Humor is, as author Kate Fox says, "our default mode," a "reflex, a knee-jerk response" used to combat awkwardness or from taking ourselves too seriously. (I'm still deeply afflicted with this condition. Even my daughter (6) knows this and asks after most of the things I say: "Are you kidding?" And usually I am.)

3) Eeyorishness: Defined as: "More than just incessant moaning... it is utterly ineffectual: we never complain to or confront the source of our discontent, but only whinge endlessly to each other, and proposing practical solutions is forbidden by the moaning rules." A condition exemplified by the national catchphrase "Typical" or "Better make the most of it." (I'm partially cured after prolonged exposure to the very different American attitude.)

Overall, a highly recommended book although at 400+ pages of small type, it takes some time to get through.

Other reviews of this book:
1) The anthropology of contemporary culture: Grant McCracken
2) The English and the magical properties of tea: Mind Hacks