Sidebar Thoughts | Wendistry

"Thoughts for the Day" Friday

2008

Some things to ponder as we move into a holiday weekend…

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” NIELS BOHR, Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner

“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” JOHN F. KENNEDY, thirty-fifth President of the United States

“Named must your fear be before banish it you can.” YODA, from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

“I can’t give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE, American editor and journalist; first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize

Happy Easter everyone!

Filed Under: Sidebar Thoughts

The Buyer’s Journey

2008

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Together Sales and Marketing must find ways to move their buyers through their whole buying journey, end-to-end. This means choosing tactics for every stage. Forget about what you want to do to your buyers, and think instead about what decisions they face, and how you can help them make each small step.

1. Untroubled and unaware
2. Acknowledge pain
3. Define need
4. Receive offers
5. Rationalize options
6. Select first choice
7. Engage

If you hold Marketing accountable for brand awareness, you get a market that knows who you are (but doesn’t necessarily buy). If you hold Marketing accountable for leads (only), you’ll get leads (but not necessarily customers). If you hold Marketing accountable for setting meetings, you’ll get leads that convert into “shoppers” (but, again, not necessarily decision-makers). However, if you hold Marketing accountable for creating buying decisions, you’ll get leads that convert to sales.

TOTALLY UNRELATED… just to get us through the rest of the week, you REALLY should click the link below:
scott is my name: Free Hugs#links#links

Filed Under: Revenue Generation, Sidebar Thoughts

Disney Down-time

2008

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I am leaving on a 6am flight tomorrow morning for sunny Florida and DisneyWorld. Which got me thinking about the Disney company.

This past year, Disney began taking out multi-page ads in magazines like Vanity Fair, Town & Country, and Vogue to promote its “Year of a Million Dreams.” With all the photographs by Annie Leibovitz, the images are stunningly beautiful and star big name celebrities, sports figures, models, and actors. Disney is definitely encouraging all adults to take some down-time and become a kid again.

Here I come!

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"Yes, I’m BACK IN BLACK!"

2008

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Okay, forgive the harkening back to one of the most awesome AC/DC songs ever, but I just got my new Dell today and she is BEAUTIFUL!!! Solid black and faster than any computer I’ve ever had before… like a Jaguar. Hmmm… sexy.

Next week, the normal blogs and actual business thoughts will return with gusto!
Everyone have a great weekend

Filed Under: Sidebar Thoughts

Thought-for-the-Day Wednesday

2008

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Day 5, no computer: I feel eerily calm today after a fitfull night of sleep (or no sleep as the case was).

A colleague referred me to an article by Katsukok Shimizu and Michael A. Hitt, two distinguished professorst at Texas A&M University.

“Companies want to grow… so they implement A LOT of structure. But the extreme
structure causes us to be less smart, less creative, less flexible.”

Use structure, step out and be flexible, then step back into some structure. Be able
to shift in and out easily. There is a definite sweet spot.

Filed Under: Corporate Management, Sidebar Thoughts, Strategy

Perfectionists are Losers!

2008

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Okay, so I’m getting my car washed at Park Place Lexus today, and that’s how I’m blogging. (No computer, Day 4… STILL “jones-ing)

Read this yesterday, so I just had to pass it on.
From Pamela Slim at EscapeFromCubicleNation…

“So I asked Ramit Sethi a question that I have heard from many young people who want to work for themselves:
“What if people won’t want to hire me because I am too young?”
“Give me a break,” he said. “Perfectionists are losers.”
I laughed out-loud at his bluntness, but immediately got what he was saying.”

If you have a tendency to let perfectionism overrun your world, check out how to overcome it.

Filed Under: Sidebar Thoughts, Strategy

Computers: They Love Me… They Love Me Not

2008

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I’m violating my “working on Sunday” rule and posting today because I’ve suffered a major loss in my life this weekend. Yes, I’m wearing all black and I’m prone to fits of crying because the screen (or the graphics chip… whatever, don’t care) on my loyal laptop died on Saturday morning.

All of my files, data, emails… basically my life is trapped on this now worthless piece of metal and plastic. Ugh. The pain of it all. And yet, (sunshine emerges… birds singing) goody goody gumdrops, the joy of shopping for a new machine.

As a nod to my absolutely wonderful Creative Director, James, I seriously seriously seriously gave thought to and deeply investigated converting to a Mac. I really wanted to switch, but it doesn’t support two of my “I’ve gotta have ‘em” applications… OneNote and MindManager. (Actually, Mac does support MindManager, but I’d have to buy the software all over again.) Can’t break the addiction.

So, ordered a Dell and it should be here Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, my posts will be hit or miss this next week, so please be patient with me as my access to PCs has now resorted to wandering around like a homeless person with a portable hard drive begging for a screen. “Buddy, can ya spare a display?”

Filed Under: Sidebar Thoughts

Success = Power + Responsibility

2008

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From Indexed…

Why do we have “C-level” executives in companies? Why are we so enamored with the word “Chief?” The Chief has greater work to do, yet the Chief only has two hands just like all of us. Similarly, he/she is limited to 24 hours in the day… as is every human on the planet.

With greater power comes greater responsibility and the key to a successful business is delegation. When employees feel they’re being given an opportunity to learn new skills, they gain more knowledge and feel more connected to the organization. If you manage your people well, your people will manage the rest well and your company will prosper with both financial rewards and productivity increases.

According to John Adams, society’s demand for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. A similar tenet holds that the more you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have with others.

You are always responsible for what you do, what you don’t do, what you say, and how you say it. In the end, power is about the ability to make choices, and that reponsibility requires a benevolent “Chief” to consider the impact of decisions on all those involved.

Filed Under: Corporate Management, Sidebar Thoughts, Strategy

Decisions… Decisions… oh, What to Do

2008

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In light of a major decision I made (and acted upon!) yesterday, I offer the following FRIDAY FUNNY:

Filed Under: Corporate Management, Sidebar Thoughts, Strategy

Interrrupting Your Currently Scheduled Programming…

2008

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I know I said yesterday that I would bring “Mandatory Marketing for 2008, Part 2″ today, but there’s been a change of schedule. I took my own Content Strategy advice and updated some of my web site’s language last night. Check it out!

http://wendistry.com/Services_Services.aspx
http://wendistry.com/Services_MarketPlan.aspx

And, there’s more to come! Notice the next to the last bullet point…
I’m putting the final touches on my newest service, “GPA: Geek Personal Agent.” Next Monday, look for a hyperlink to the pdf that fully explains this latest offering.

Okay, back to the promised programming tomorrow… Part 2

Filed Under: Branding, Sidebar Thoughts