It was terrifying to leave the “safety” of the Dilbert Cube. I couldn’t help but remember all the times before, when I was attempting to sell and recruit. Back then I would *always* miss my monthly goals.
Yes, my new post-Dilbert Cube life was much more promising. Still I had to overcome my old Fear Of Failure. It was sooooo easy to imagine my post-Dilbert Cube life being the same as before.
Plus this was right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and nobody was spending money on anything then.
A lot of folks are struggling to orient themselves. Clarity, focus and courage have never been more prized than they are at this moment.
Welcome to the tunnel of chaos.
For this reason I’ve arranged to have corporate turnaround expert John Paul Mendocha join me on a teleseminar Thursday July 29 at 3:00pm London UK Time.
80 years ago, Kurt Gödel toppled empires of mathematical philosophy with his famous Incompleteness Theorems.
I’m every bit as interested in science, philosophy and engineering as I am in business. Gödel’s theorem has profound implications for how we understand the world.
For 2 years, the buzz about social media was like your neighbor running his chainsaw on Sunday morning. Things are different now:
Imagine this: You’ve dominated the world market for centuries. Leaders in your business enjoy secure incomes and workers earn admirable wages. You’ve created a tradition of dignity, respect and superiority.
Then, unexpected foreign competition swarms in like carrion fowl. Within 24 months they crater your market share, destroy your margins and drive the major players into bankruptcy. Morale plummets, panic ensues. Wholesale economic destruction is imminent.
What will you do now? The future dangles delicately in the balance.
My wife Laura is is by no means a “Marketing Maniac,” but she’s learned a thing or two from years of sleeping with a guy who is.
Laura is heavily involved with relief agencies that serve the poorest of the poor in India and Africa. Last winter she went to a conference in St. Louis where hundreds of charities were recruiting workers and raising funds.
Her comment to me upon arriving home:
“It’s incredibly depressing that the same people who are doing some of the most important work in the entire world are the most abysmally horrible marketers.” And she plunks down a stack of brochures to prove the point.
There’s nothing harder to obtain – or more valuable to possess – than a few minutes of your prospect’s exclusive focus.
To get it, you don’t have to shout or be annoying or obnoxious. All you need is ONE clever idea, one arresting hook. Then suddenly she is listening to you intently.
On Thursday July 22 I’m doing a teleseminar on how to make that happen.
Yesterday I heard from a very reliable source that Facebook has triggered a sea change in the nursing home industry. This comes from a client of one of my business mentors.
The #1 reason people die is their friends have died or been dispersed to the four winds; their family doesn’t visit them anymore, and they have no more reason to get up in the morning. I’m sure all of us have visited long-term care facilities and seen the blank stares and hopelessness of aged people living out their last days.
Facebook has changed that.
When I was getting started in marketing, my favorite part was all the “unbelievably cool super flashy” stuff that I saw the masters do. Riveting headlines, ballsy copy, daring offers.
The problem was, when I tried to do the same thing with my customers it just didn’t sound right. It was almost like trying to stick a fancy drum solo in the middle of a country music song.
Us marketers have a real interesting relationship with bean counters: We use them the wrong way. In 2 areas:
