What would the finished result look like if a snapshot were taken every 10 seconds of each day at your enterprise and then edited together?
Innovative Concepts
Where Are You?
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| Map of Toledo, Spain etched into the street |
Sometimes it is not easy to give directions. There are not always street signs or landmarks that distinguishes the path from the other options. It may be easier if you post enough clues to allow visitors to find their own way.
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| Gold pin to mark current location |
You Must See…
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| Font màgica de Montjuïc |
When guests come to visit, what sight do you take them to first? When a friend asks for a recommendation for a restaurant, what is the one place you know will not disappoint? If you were throwing a dinner party, who is the one person you would invite to make it perfect evening? Asked for recommendations, we are converging our personal reputation with that of an enterprise or place. How passionately are your fans recommending your cause? How often are new visitors telling you that a friend or colleague insisted they visit. Do you have a marketing plan that is more powerful than a personal recommendation and word of mouth? Upon reflection, dedicating some resources to those who recommend us might be the most powerful investment.
Standing Out
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| Barcelona Bus Turistic (Image) |
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| Barcelona City Tour (Image) |
Can you see the difference between these two city tour bus services? They have the same price structure, run the same routes (in different directions), make the same stops, supply the same audio options, provide the same hop-on-off service, and each has an automatic canopy to cover the top deck when it rains. Which one would you choose?
I would suggest this is a classic example where people matter. When I rode one of these lines, the greeter was inattentive about our request for ear buds, the driver stopped twice for a smoke break, and we were all told to disembark at 8:00 PM, apparently closing time. Maybe both services hire from the exact same group of candidates. But I would argue that these individuals are clearly fluent in at least four languages and skilled providing customer service (or avoiding it). In a country where unemployment is reaching 20% a job is not easy to find. If one of these bus services created a culture of fun, empowerment, and appreciation for its team members it would swamp the other with the limiting factor being the number of seat available. People matter. These two bus services have proved that it is easy to copy features but more difficult to foster a community.
Scale
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| McDonald’s Restaurant US Store Locations |
If you think you can win on price or location, make sure you are measuring the right competition. McDonald’s restaurant chain has better national coverage than most mobile phone providers. If you are getting into the fast food business it is best to understand scale. If you are so unique that people will come to your location then scale is significantly less important. Think how Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream got its start.
Your Purpose
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| CosmoCaixa |
Seth Godin got it right in his post. We each have a purpose and sometimes it take the right problem to bring the clarity we need to start applying our best ideas.
Good Day for Writing
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| Rainy Day |
Authenticity By Lobbyist
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law | ||||
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American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association defeated a bill that promoted their collective core values. They lobbied against what they teach. Being able to promote their self-interest appeared more important that the health of those they are entrusted to serve. Trust, authenticity, and organizational purpose are lost when belief and action do not intersect.
Trust Me?
Professionals for Nonprofits released a study about the status of nonprofit employment in New York, New Jersey, and Washington DC. The report released the Top Ten Essentials for nonprofit employees which suggests some interesting priorities. Number one and two are intangible qualities. Trust is a feeling. There is no accreditation process to measure outright trust. The Better Business Bureaus, Charity Navigator, and other certification organizations review past operational behavior but do not award a merit based on trust. Mission statements come in second on the Top Ten list. These narratives provide each organization with the opportunity to define its purpose. Both trust and mission statements speak to the importance of an enterprise being able to articulate what it believes and then acting in accordance with their stated beliefs. Even the trust formulas I offered last month are based on intangible attributes. If you want engaged employees, volunteers, donors, and fans the importance of defining purpose and developing trust cannot be overlooked.
What is Inside Matters
The Business Traveler’s News released its 2011 ranking of major US hotels. In reviewing the report, it is interesting to see that curb appeal does not always equate to the highest overall ranking. Hyatt Place leads the way on physical appearance but finishes fourth in the overall ratings. It provides a reminder that some of the best work is being done by those who built their enterprises from the inside out. If there is a clarity of purpose then the exterior is a reflection (and result) of the core.
What-if-concepts 