Begin with the end in mind

We have a new client, who has been reminding us of the Covey ideaology of Begining with the end in mind. It got me to thinking about a lot of these business and personal plans and methods to achieve success. There is a lot of value in them, but I think like everything else, you need to look at them for their nuggets. Not everything will work for everyone, but if you can pull the nuggets that will help you and apply them, you've got something.

For me this covey principle is two-fold. Know what you want going in, or you won't know when you've got it, nor will you be able to make adjustments along the way. And, stay focused by continually taking a pulse check. That way you can make adjustments to your plan as circumstances require.

Customer Experience Extends Beyond the Sale

I know what you thinking about the title: No kidding. Basic marketing.

So why does it seem that more and more retailers are forgetting that my entire experience, including leaving the store, is wrapped up in whether I return and continue being a customer.

I got to thinking about this because I have to go Home Depot at lunch. The Home Depot near my office has a guard at the exit who wants to check receipts on the way out. Ugh, it is one the most annoying and insulting processes to force customers through. I do not steal. Why would you assume that because I visited your cashier and am leaving with a bag that I stole? Wouldn't it make more sense to check everyone who has not visited a cashier? Not only does it take time--there is usually a line of people--but what does it serve. I'm walking from the cash register to the door, when did I have a chance to steal?

I've been told that they are really checking up on the cashiers. That means they assume their cashiers are incompetent or dishonest. Maybe; but either way its not my problem, so why am I forced to suffer.

Personally, I don't suffer any more. I shop at Lowes, which in my opinion is beating Home Depot on every front (except there is not one near my office). And, when I am forced to go to this Home Depot, I typically ignore the guard, safe in my cocoon of honesty--after all I know I paid for my products.

Seth continues to deliver

Probably one of my favorite Bloggers, Seth Godin rarely disappoints. This one is no exception, lots of great nuggets.

National tell-a-friend-about-blogs week

According to Seth Godin, it's national tell-a-friend-about-blogs week.

Think he made it up?

Probably. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea. So get out there and tell your friends--I'm telling my friends.

Nuggets of Knowledge

I like nuggets of information. Small bite-sized bits of knowledge that can be used now or stored way for use later. I read a new blog earlier where the author hoped to be able to deliver nuggets to us, his readers. I immediately decided to read his blog regularly, mostly because I like the way he thinks--so far.

While at a conference a while back I sat in on a presentation about marketing and creativity. On the way out, a colleague asked me what I thought of the speech. I said I liked it and thought it was well worth my time. She was appalled: "But, but, but...the guy was flake. Half of what he said was nonsense." True enough; she was right. But, as I told her, within the other half, the half that wasn't nonsense, I found some really good nuggets of knowledge. Some stuff I applied-with modification-to my life and work immediately and still use today.

I believe nuggets of knowledge are crucial for today's fast-paced, information-overloaded, technology-driven, blog-enabled world. The irony is they are harder to find, more difficult to recognize and more important than ever.

Like this one

This looks like a fun blog, love his sense and sense of humor . . . and perhaps we'll find some useful nuggets.

Experiment revisited

This is a cool experiment. When I started this blog, I knew almost nothing about blogs, blogging or the blogshere. Today, I know alot more, but still consider myself a newbie. I've been reading bunch of blogs about marketing, branding, communications, etc for some time and am creating a mini best practices for myself. Nothing formal or even written down; just things I like and dislike.

I was also thrilled to see that almost nothing in the recent BusinessWeek article surprised me or came as news. Woo Hoo, I know more about blogs than the mainstream press.

I still have a lot to learn, though. I don't update my blog nearly enough and most importantly, I don't think I really have a voice yet. I'm not sure what I want to write about, so my blog meanders. I do know that I don't want to simple pass on stuff everyone else is saying--I must have seen the BW article mentioned in 10 blogs that I read, alone.

So, my point; the experiment continues, but now with more of a focus. Job 1: find my voice. Job 2: use it...