Independent Thinking » Seth Godin

Books, Velcro, and Celebrating Success

Daria Steigman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:03:21 +0000

How do you measure success?

There’s a lot of conversation around business success, what it means, and how to measure it. (And we probably talk even more sometimes about lazy metrics and poor measurement.)

I’m not going to talk about measurement at all today. Just success. Because sometimes you need to celebrate the small victories.

One of my 2011 goals was to read more business books. I set two goals: (1) to read at least one book a month about business, entrepreneurship, and/or marketing communications; and (2) to review a book a month.

Velcro helps.

Velcro was one of my three little words for 2011. In a blog post to start the year, I wrote:

I’m good at coming up with ideas, but sometimes I need more focus to see them come to fruition… I need to keep the velcro handy to keep me locked in.

It worked. I started the year thinking about how 21st century businesses are putting the power of collaboration and openness to work. I also read about what makes a good entrepreneur and how to tap into your entrepreneurial DNA, received tips on how businesses can leverage social media to thrive, and ended the year thinking about being weird.

12 Books for 12 Months

Here’s what was on my 2011 reading list:

As for 2012? I have four books in the queue, including Mastering Uncertainty and The Introvert’s Guide to Business. Stay tuned.

What successes are you celebrating as 2011 draws to a close?

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt (Flickr).

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Why We Are All Weird

Daria Steigman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:03:53 +0000

Write a book. Call it a manifesto. Give people a choice between Wonder Bread and funkiness. And then, when you get to the end, tell your readers that you’ve both wasted your time if you think you’ve got it figured out.

Seth Godin is a brilliant marketer.

We Are All Weird posits the end of mass–production, politics, retailing, education. Those still focused on mass are missing the point, says Godin:

“[The mass marketer] is busy looking for giant clumps instead of organizing to service and work with smaller tribes.”

And later he says:

“It is true that we want to be a part of a tribe. What’s not true is that it must be some uber tribe, the one and only mass tribe, the center of the curve. Our own little circle is in fact what we really want.”

While I might not use the word “weird” to describe myself (I prefer “independent”), what I like about We Are All Weird is that Godin taps into the fact that people want to be free to express themselves. Maybe it’s your choice of jeans, or cars, or hotels, or coffee. Choice means we get to choose.

Changing means of production, of distribution, and of marketing, meanwhile, mean that you can have a smaller, more spread-out market for your product but still have a market.

Godin’s tribe is filled with marketers, but that doesn’t mean his book shouldn’t also resonate with entrepreneurs and other business owners. Because at the end of the day it’s really about understanding who your core audience (tribe) is. If you’re still trying to be everything to everyone, you’re probably going to lose your market to people with better product or service differentiation.

It’s not about niches. Maybe.

At the conclusion of his book, Godin writes:

“If you’ve made it to the end of this manifesto and come to the conclusion that you need to spend more time going after niche markets, I fear we have both failed.”

It’s not about niches if you think of a niche as a broad market segment. As in the Hispanic market, the gay market, or the veterans market. Because that’s just another way of mass marketing, albeit to a slightly more sliced-and-diced demographic.

But, let’s face it, tribes are niches–just organized and defined by the people themselves rather than imposed from “outside.” And that’s a difference well-worth both understanding and embracing.

We Are All Weird is a quick read, and it’s a good reminder that good marketing doesn’t have to be mass, boring, or normal.

Are you marketing to the weird?

Special thanks to Christina Pappas, who sent me her copy of We Are All Weird after I got intrigued by her book review.

Photo by peregrine blue (Flickr).

How To Build a Thriving Corporate Culture

Daria Steigman — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:59:44 +0000

Zappos has nothing on the Corner Parking Lot in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Just watch The Parking Lot Movie, a funny, fascinating documentary that debuted at SXSW 2010. It has everything: class-ism, culture, hiring people you trust, empowering your employees, “corporate” culture, and building your tribe.

Seriously: Find it. Watch it. It’s an instructive look at a lot of workplace concepts we talk about a lot but don’t see much in action.

Photo Credit: Attendant Corey Gross with Parking Gates, by Jon-Philip Sheridan and Alexandra Miller.

Insights from Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki

Daria Steigman — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:55:00 +0000

As some of you may know, I joined MarketingProfs last fall. There are two great values about the company/online resource: (1) community and (2) professional development. As a pro member, I have access to a vast store of case studies, reports, how-to articles, and live (and playback on-demand) Webinars. Which brings me to the point of this post.

One of my goals for this year is to participate in more Webinars–and then to pass on what I learn to you, my readers. Yesterday’s Webinar featured a conversation with Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki about doing business in 2010. Here are a few takeaways:

Everything Is Not Free–Godin pointed out that lots of things (including personal connections) aren’t free. What is free: ideas, because the middlemen are dying out.
Marketing–Kawasaki pointed out that the days of marketing to that one influential voice (think New York Times reviewer) are over. Instead, he stressed the importance of seeding your products as far and wide as possible to “build a critical mass of nobodies.” Godin added that companies must “initiate or die.”
Portable Tribes–Godin noted that people are increasingly living their lives in public, and that true communities “will follow us in our digital world.” Kawasaki countered that he really wasn’t that interested or influenced by what his friends were buying or liked. (I tend to agree with Kawasaki, but one participant raised a good point, as a marketer, about the value of that awareness.)
Customer Service–Godin called customer service “a form of marketing far more powerful than advertising.” He added that, if you can delight someone, they’ll tell others. Referring to Comcast and Best Buy‘s Twitter strategies, Kawasaki suggested that “customer service is a weapon, and the social aspect of customer service is the leading edge of the weapon.”
Passion–Godin pointed out that people are now both workers and owners (i.e., we can create and build), and he suggested that this would be the dividing line between what was and what will be. Kawasaki added that “the time to start innovating is before the recession ends.”

As a labor relations specialist before I was a business owner and communications strategist, I’m fascinated by this concept that we are both workers and owners. Chris Anderson used a similar analogy in remarks a few months ago, and I’m still trying to figure out how I can apply this concept better in my business.

Godin and Kawasaki offered some really good food for thought. Anything here inspire you?

Photo by billjacobus1 (Flickr).