Hashtag: #myteams

Started a new hashtag on Twitter this morning. #myteams

First tweet is here > #myteams

Let me add a few more teams below. These are not teams in the traditional sense of sports. They are more like areas of participation. By joining the conversation, one can share ideas with other users on how to create more value from group interaction. The sharing of IDEAS and adjusting them to make them better and better is powerful. This is like continuous improvement [see also Kaizen]. Everything can be made better. There are no limits on human imagination that we do not set for ourselves.

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What are your Teams?

Godin on the Five Pillars of Succcess

Seath Godin often has some great blog posts. Relevant, succinct and on the money.

Today is no different except that it sparked something unknown.

The five pillars of success

1. See (really see) what's possible
   
2. Know specifically what you want to achieve
   
3. Make good decisions
   
4. Understand the tactics to get things done and to change minds
   
5. Earn the trust and respect of the people around you
   

It sure seems like we spend all our time on #4.

Thoughts:

1. You have to go do something and give 100% effort to getting it done. Too many people see failure as the only possible destination for what is possible. It is not so. If you believe so strongly in your IDEA, product or service you owe it to yourself to "make it happen."
2. The focus on what the goal is needs to be precise. Get a cocktail napkin and if you can get create a business plan on a 5" by 5" napkin you likely have a specific goal. You have to cut all the fluff when you only have 25 square inches of space.
3. Good decisions are critical, maybe more important than that is making them fast and sticking with them. Think about US Airways Flight 1549. The captain was told to go to a nearby airport. He made a decision for a water landing and did so immediately. Good decisions are good for you just as they were for all the passengers on captain Sullenberger's plane that day.
4. All the tools and technology for how to get things done. Communicating with people, influencing them that such and such product or service is best for them...
5. Trust and respect are values you need to earn. They are not gained overnight either. This is a measure of Patience, persistence, and authenticity. If you are trustworthy and respectable over time the skeptics are won over. 

Read the original Seth Godin post on The five pillars of success and write out your perspective and thoughts.

Comments?

SETH GODIN GOOGLE PRESENTATION

This is really good content from Seth Godin. 

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TAKEAWAY

The Purple Cow: Be Remarkable

What are your thoughts after viewing the video?

BUSINESS BLOGS: THINKING AND ANALYSIS

Management, Marketing and Leadership

Currently there are 188 feeds in Google Reader. The ones listed below are very good to excellent resources. 

Check them out for yourself. They may challenge your thinking. If they do, you will have to sharpen your analysis; in the process your position will either change or become better defended as you find better information.

Carpe Diem

The Big Picture

The Tom Peters Weblog

Blog Maverick

Seth Godin

Guy Kawasaki

...

What business blogs do you read, share and use as a resource?

UNHAPPY WITH TACO BELL

This guy had a very bad experience with Taco Bell. They didn't make it easy for him even though he cared enough to tell them how to improve.

Now he is very angry.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL; RIGHT OR WRONG?

Premium products should be available through a channel that has an upscale or premium image. Brands spend a considerable amount of time and money creating an image [a story] for consumers.

When a firm gets the items below to align, there will be synergies for lack of a better word.

• Right product
• Right place
• Right promotion
  
• Right price
  
• Right image
• Right positioning
• Right consumers

When a firm gets these right they are hitting on all cylinders. Sales can reach their potential and perhaps even surpass them. How is that possible you ask. People outside the target market will see what a remarkable [Purple Cow] thing you have and they will be drawn to it.

The reason for this post is what arrived in the mail today [See picture nearby]. You get them too, sales promotion fliers and coupons. The one that jumped off the page was for Sanders Desert Topping. Here in Michigan, Sanders has been around almost forever. It is positioning to be a premium product and brand.

The problem comes from the retail channel. The ad [see page 4] was for ACO Hardware. ACO has super deals on food products in their ads. Regular price is $5.99 and the sale price is $3.99, a $2 savings. ACO and Sanders will probably move a lot of product with this coupon. The inclusion of an expiration date also adds to the consumers sense of urgency for fear of missing out on a good deal.

Upscale says limited availability, unique, quality, [fill in the blank]. There can be wide distribution and upscale. A good example is Burt's Bees products. They have [or have had] solo displays in CVS, Borders and other stores.

It appears that Sanders is purposely pursuing this channel. To get in the ad the manufacturer generally has to pay in some way. Price discounts for bulk buying for example [discounts devalue brands]. This reduces margins while at the same time increases the velocity of product movement. Short run profit may increase but adversely affect brand strength. Sanders would be better off not distributing in this channel.

What are your thoughts on branding and distribution channels?