Why You?

I read an article on RainToday this morning that struck a chord in me and has had me walking around ever sense trying to come up with the answer to a question posed in the article, which was......."Why, given all the competitive alternatives in the marketplace, should anyone buy from you?" Wow! What a question! Do you have an answer?

The article (which can be found on wwww.raintoday.com was written Kevin Dervin, the owner of KPD Marketing and creator of the ABCD Growth Marketing System (no, I don't have a clue either) and is one of many interesting articles that can be found on RainToday. If you're interested in lead generation and demand marketing, it is a treasure chest of information and insight.

Okay, so back to the question. I've been walking around the office asking various associates how they would answer if asked and the range of answers is pretty interesting. They include some fairly traditional responses, none of which really differentiate the firm, and one or two unique twists; e.g.: one sales person responded that he was the reason they should buy from us. Funny as it may seem, I don't think he was far off the mark with his response. Given a set of reasonably equal capabilities, what does differentiate Company A from Company B? The answer is often the people, the attention to detail, the sense of confidence that is created during the sales process and the execution of the delivery. Human beings are instrumental in all these areas and human beings relating to other human beings are most often the compelling reason for doing business with one company or another.

Allow me to give you an example. This past Monday evening I went to Phillips Arena to watch the Hawks play the Washington Wizards. I invited Traci Fenton to be my guest. You may remember that I mentioned her in an earlier post. You can find everything you need to know about Traci at www.worldblu.com. She is a very bright young woman and I thought that since she recently moved here from D.C. she would enjoy a chance to watch the Wizards play our Atlanta Hawks. Anyway, Brad Hamacher, the senior sales executive with the Atlanta Spirit who stayed on my case and got me to renew my season tickets, met us at the door and escorted us to the Club so we could grab a quick bite before the game. He later visited us just after half-time and brought a cap (Hawks of course) for Traci and explained to her that now she is living in Atlanta she needs to be a Hawks fan. Traci loved it and she certainly had a delightful time. Now, would she have had just as good a time if Brad had not met us and gone to that extra effort? Probably. But she is going to remember that he made the effort and she will have that hat hanging somewhere in her condo reminding her of how much fun she had at the game and I'm guessing she will go to another game or two or three this season on her own or with friends. Brad made the difference that night and so when my sales guy tells me that he is the difference, I think he is right. A professional services company has to live or die on its delivery and its delivery is based on the skills, attitudes and knowledge of its associates. It seems intuitive when you think about it, but he was the only one who made that point.

Anyway, a great game won by the Hawks in the final seconds (102 - 99) and they are now 6 & 1 in preseason with one game remaining. Looking good! By the way, that good looking guy with the white hair in the blue shirt looking some worried (the game was real close) is none other than yours truly and this shot actually made the Hawks home page. Cool, as Ellie would say!

The Power of One

I had the pleasure of hosting a table at the Excaliber Awards on Wednesday morning at the Intercontinental Hotel. It was a wonderful event, chaired by Brian Shield, the CIO at the Weather Channel. Having chaired a couple of these events I know all too well the potential challenges that can occur during the event, especially the ones surrounding timing. Brian and his planning committee along with Frank Baia and Susan Stottlemeyer did an absolutely stunning job in this area. The event started on time and finished bang on schedule almost to the second.

The winners were Sequoyah Regional Library System in the small company category, Solid Source Realty in the mid-size company category, Southern Company in the large company space and the Georgia Aquarium in the creative category. Congratulations to all the winners, and to all the companies that did not win, but made the list of finalists.

For me, the most special part of yesterday's event was the chance to listen to Debora Wilson, the President of the Weather Channel, speak about the journey that the Weather Channel has been on for the past 25 years. The Weather Channel began as an idea hatched in the head of television weather reporter and presented to Landmark Communications, Inc., a privately held media company. Today, it is one one of the most admired firms in the United States. Debora spoke about how technology and the Weather Channel had grown together and the role that technology has played in allowing the vision to become reality. But perhaps the most striking part of Debora's presentation was her comments regarding the "power of one", the power of one person to make a difference. She was clearly very passionate about her belief in this concept because she had witnessed it in her tenure with the Weather Channel. She spoke very fondly about one individual that she believed had driven significant growth through his personal commitment to the success of the business. It is, in my humble opinion, the most important concept for every person entering any field of endeavor to grasp. Why? Because when you wake up every morning believing that you personally can make a difference, then the world has endless possibilities. More importantly, you can make a difference. I tell folks here at Tescom USA that each of us must contribute more than just our presence to make the business successful. We must commit to "being the difference that makes a difference" as my good friend Charle Gottenkieny always used to tell me. It's an incredibly powerful perspective for an individual to hold. Just imagine. Everyone associated with your business believes that they have the potential to create a positive impact on each and every day. Wow! How incredible would that be? Google operates on that principle and so should every firm in America. But it starts with you believing in you! Debora Wilson reminded me how important the "power of one" can be and that evening during our all-hands meeting I referenced her presentation during my comments to the team. In fact, I referenced her comments to introduce our Associate of the Quarter Award and talked about how the winner embraced all the tenets of self-belief and empowerment. Thanks Debora for sharing your vision with all of us.

A Rite of Passage

I sat there thinking about the young man who recently walked into his high school and shot four of his classmates before turning the handgun on himself and ending his life. How many times have we heard that news flash in this country over the past decade?

Yet, there I was with Troop 370 of the Boy Scouts of America, watching the children work towards their shotgun merit badge. We were tucked away deeply in the woods of central Georgia on a private reservation of about 7,000 acres. Our kids, ranging in age from 11 years old to about 16 years of age, were shooting clay pigeon targets using various gauges of shotguns provided by the parents, almost all Dad's, many of whom had served in the Armed Forces over the past 30 years.

Safety was the rule of the day and there was no nonsense in the approach to this exercise. Carelessness has tragic consequences when guns are involved and no one wanted a tragedy to occur during their watch. There was also a fair amount of teaching happening as well. Americans do pride themselves of how well we shoot, and no where is this more evident than in the Southeastern States. We grow up with, and around guns. We are taught to respect the potential damage guns can inflict. We own them, collect and trade them, and even sell them in a huge private market.

So why are we so fascinated with guns? Is it merely our early heritage as some would have us believe? You know.....you've heard the stories......early settlers fighting for survival......patriots fighting for freedom......the plot being essentially that guns have made us the independent nation that we are today and cannot be restricted less we restrict those freedoms so hard won.

But why do private citizens have to own guns? Shouldn't a standing Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, not to mention the Guard and Reserve, be sufficient to to make us all sleep safe at night? And how many of us are truly required to own guns for self protection? Indeed, I know lots of folks who own guns, but I've never known anyone who ever needed to defend themselves with a gun, and that includes some fairly tough neighborhoods in D.C. So, do we purchase and own guns just because we can? Do we think of guns the same way we do fine china or rare stamps?

My Katie is British and the whole gun thing is completely beyond her. The British banned handguns years ago and while shotguns may be owned, they are almost always kept at a gun club instead of the home. Katie would argue that the UK has not gone to hell in a hand basket since the ban, and statistics would seem to support this assertion. Street crime did not rise significantly, nor did home break-in's. Folks just don't seem to be concerned that they are without the "fundamental right to own and/or bear arms".

Anyway, my Joseph took his turn, firing about 2 rounds after about ten minutes of instruction. He then decided that he did not want to continue. A combination of too much instruction/coaching coupled with the recoil from the 20 gauge banging into his shoulder. Oh well, I'm sure his Mom was pleased and since I gave up guns a long time ago (9 years in the Marines and a tour in Vietnam gave me all the experience I'll ever need (or wanted), there was no pressure from Dad to go out and shoot his quota (50 rounds per lad if they wanted to go the distance). Now, for the sake of clarity, we do own a pellet pistol for rodents and snakes and Joseph has a BB gun that he uses for target practice, but we don't own any "real" guns nor is there any likelihood that we will going forward.

I suppose there is no conclusion here. The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves. The parents also enjoyed the day and all in all, there were probably about 2,000 rounds fired. No one was hurt and a number of the lads won their shotgun badges. We had a fun evening and sped away away yesterday morning early so we could get back in time for the Hawks/Portland game.

Still, I think about that child walking into that school and spraying the place with bullets and I wonder about the gun argument and ask myself if we are having the right argument. Perhaps we should have a fundamental right to own and bear firearms. Perhaps it is a tradition that we need to hold on to to ensure a proper perspective on liberty. I can deal with that and I can agree that we don't need to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what our Founding Fathers really meant when they wrote the Bill of Rights. What I cannot abide is this total disregard for the fact that lives are being taken everyday with handguns procured by kids far too young to own guns. Perhaps it is time to re-craft the discussion to include some fundamental safeguards to go with the fundamental rights! The NRA has directed the Boy Scouts of America to no longer label guns as weapons. They are now to be labeled firearms, as if weapons hurt people and firearms don't......stupid distinction if you ask me.

Why can't we draft a set of laws that allow for gun ownership, but require some fairly heavy gun registration requirements; e.g.: having to appear personally at your local police station and having your fingerprints run against the national register.........having the serial number of the gun registered........having the police visit your home and give you some tips on protecting the security of your firearms......and finally, anyone who wants to purchase a firearm of any description must attend a mandatory firearms safety course for a least 10 to 15 hours including some range work to help one understand how to fire the weapon safely. Does any of these requirements impose a undue burden on any law abiding citizen? I don't think so and I think it is about time we got serious about sorting how the gun problem in this country.

Tent Frames & The Hawks

I dropped by REI late this morning on my way back from our Georgia Technology Planning Committee Meeting to see if they could help me sort out the frame for my 2 person tent (purchased from Dick's Sporting Goods about 18 months ago and never actually used). I managed to break a pole right at the seam of a joint and was hoping the folks at REI could help. Unfortunately, it is just one of those breaks that can't be easily fixed and will most likely require my purchasing a new frame for the tent. That's a bugger because Joe and I are heading off for another venture with the Scouts this weekend and we need a two person tent. So, I purchased a new one from REI and got a really good price plus my REI membership discount and the comfort in knowing that REI stands behind all of their products for the life of the product; all of which is great, but why can't I buy a kit to repair the bloody thing? That is the key question for me and it doesn't seem to matter whether I buy it from Dick's or REI because the nature of the construction of the frame lends itself to irreparable damage and there just doesn't seem to be anything one can do to change the situation. In other words, the product has a fundamental flaw in it and no one seems to mind all that much. Andy at REI (a super young man who is most helpful and genuinely interested in helping you make the right purchase decisions) doesn't seem to be all that bothered and Dick's doesn't seem to be all that bothered even though they sold me the product. It's just disturbing and given the cost of camping equipment these days (when I was a kid we went to the army surplus store and got everything you'd ever need for under $50........and it lasted) I'm upset that there isn't a replacement plan for every tent frame and at least spares on hand for the most popular models. Hell, give me the option of buying a spare and save me from all this anguish. Please!

On another completely different note, I attended the first home preseason game last night between my Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Bobcats and I'm happy to report that the Hawks are now 3 & 0 with wins over the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat and last night's victory. Dare I say anything positive about this team after all the negative observations I had last season? I suppose that given I renewed my season tickets I've demonstrated some level of confidence in this year's playoff potential Moreover, after last night's performance (Josh Smith's pouty behavior aside) I even find myself believing the drivel I used to convince myself to purchase season tickets again. It was a strong performance by a remarkably young team with Al Horford and Acie Law showing that they intend to make a difference this year. Joe Johnson was back and in great form with 25 points including a few 3 pointers from downtown. Now, if only we could get Coach Woodson to sit down for ten minutes and actually let them play an up and down game, we just might find out how good they really are...........Go Hawks!

Exceptional Selling

"Exceptional Selling, How the Best Connect and Win in High Stakes Sales" is a wonderful book by Jeff Thull, Author of "Mastering the Complex Sale". I had an opportunity to revisit his book this morning when I was trying to articulate a point to a colleague about "good enough" versus "remarkable" We all know that Seth Godin constantly stresses the importance of being "remarkable", but do we really incorporate that concept into our daily management focus? I mean, do we look at what we produce in the context of "is that remarkable", or do we just allow the pace and urgency of our daily work lives to influence us to allow "good enough" to pass us by and get released, posted on our web site, sent to our customers, printed as a brochure, etc. Why isn't "good enough" good enough? Why does everything have to be "remarkable"? After all, remarkable is darn hard and if one is pressed with a commitment to produce/release by X date, then isn't "good enough" going to get us there and we can always do "remarkable" the next time?

I guess I'm old fashioned - or perhaps new fashioned........I'm not really certain. I just know instinctively that "good enough" isn't going to win in today's market and that while being "remarkable" is indeed difficult and it is unlikely that you will achieve it every time, striving for "remarkable" should always be the target and that you should never accept less from anyone including yourself.

Okay, that was my one key thought for the day. Now go back to work and have fun!

Performance is Reality

One of my earliest "management" hero's was Harold Geneen, the CEO of International Telephone & Telegraph from 1960 to 1977. During that period, Hal led the growth of ITT and took it from a $750M dollar firm to a $16 billion dollar firm while net earnings grew from $29 million to $560 earnings, a compounded annual growth rate of more than 20%. Net earnings grew at least 11% in 15 of those 17 years and ITT acquired 350 firms and created over 200 new profit centers. When Hal retired in 1977, ITT was the ninth largest industrial company in America.

So what was his secret? In one of the books that he co-authored in the late 80's called Managing, he noted that the best way to manage a business was from back to front; i.e.: you started with the end goal in mind and then worked backwards through all the steps required to achieve that goal. In his mind, the goal wasn't a target or an objective. It was in fact a commitment and everyone in his organization worked towards that commitment because achieving anything less than the commitment was failure in his eyes. He held people accountable and he did not accept excuses. In fact, he is well know for having said that, "I think it is an immutable law of business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises-but only performance is reality." I've always remembered reading that quote and I've repeated it over the years to more folks than I can remember. I think that is one of the reasons technology got into such a rut in the late 90's and early 2000's. We stopped forgetting that performance is reality and everything else is essentially noise. Harold Geneen was a tough leader and he was relentless in his pursuit of the commitments established for the firm each year. He accepted responsibility for delivering against those commitments and he expected his management team to do the same, and if they couldn't deliver, then he found managers that could and he found them quickly.

As we begin the process of building our 2008 business plan, I am reminded of the lessons I learned from Harold Geneen all those years ago and I'm filled with an energy that comes from both optimism and resolve. Moreover, I'm filled with a sense of purpose and commitment. I think it is the only mindset that you can have if you are going to be successful. Resolve to be successful. Resolve to achieve the commitment. Resolve to be relentless in your pursuit of the commitment. Lead the team and remember that "performance is reality" and forget everything else!

Web 2.0 & Maggiano's in the Morning

So what on earth could he be talking about? Maggiano's in the morning and Web 2.0 sounds like a strange combination unless of course you were attending the panel discussion this morning sponsored by Pink Magazine, Melia Design Group, Nimbus Software and Interface Guru and wanted to understand how you could leverage Web 2.0 to create successful on-line business strategies. Moderated by Daryn Kagan (darynkagan.com), the panel discussion was interesting, fun and certainly informative. I never knew "usability" was a discipline until someone asked what characteristics they should be looking for in a potential "usability" employee. Did Cia Romano (CEO and Founder of Interface Guru) actually say to look for an anthropologist? Hmmmmmm. That's a twist I hadn't considered before, but it makes absolute sense when you think about what a "usability" expert contributes to the business. Brad Fallon, CEO of Smart Marketing, Inc. may have pulled the biggest smiles when he noted that the three great discoveries of mankind were fire, the wheel and affiliate marketing. Genevieve Bos, the co-founder and publisher of PINK magazine dazzled the audience with her iPhone and crackberry (do you really need two form factors Genevieve?)and her insights on understanding not only who your users are, but how they want to engage content and what content do they want to engage. Finally, Paul Arne from Morris, Manning and Martin gave an interesting brief on some of the liability issues that on-line media companies face in today's environment. As noted during the recent Georgia Tech Security Conference, Web 2.0 has "created numerous new attack vectors" and we all have to be vigilant in safeguarding access to our personal data.

I met some very interesting new folks this morning, which is always a treat. Traci Fento, Founder & CEO of WorldBlu, Inc. (www.worldblu.com) is a new transplant to Atlanta from Washington, D.C. Her firm helps companies to create democratic work environments and I was really intrigued with our conversation. I also met Zenobia A. Godschalk of ZAG Communications and had a delightful chat about Web 2.0 security issues as well as the lack of VC funding in Atlanta at the moment. Kevin Howarth from TechLinks and I sat together and it was fun catching-up with him this morning as well. All in all, a good solid networking event with some great content. Great location and well executed.

Finally, my sincere apologies to all for failing to post for such a long time. As some of you know, I have been working as a consultant for Tescom USA for the past several months. But what many of you may not know is that I recently accepted the position of VP of U.S. Operations for Tescom and I'm now focusing all of my efforts on building Tescom's brand and reputation in the Southeast. It is a great firm and I'm delighted to have been asked to join the global management team. I'm off to Tel Aviv shortly for my first global sales conference and I know it is going to be fun meeting the international team and learning what is working across the globe with their operations.

I will sincerely try to post more often now that I have my feet firmly planted at Tescom. Meanwhile, hope everyone has a delightful day.