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January 31, 2007
You're a Leader. Now What?
Congratulations....you got the promotion into a position of leadership.... Now what?
You’ve gone from being managed to doing the managing without a “how to” book (and no...manuals tell you the bare minimum. It's the intangibles, intuitive power of a born leader or one with extensive experience that really make it 'work'). As an executive coach I'm sure you expect me to say that experience beats any book. I know I'll get flack from that one. I'll concede and say the most powerful combination of all are books and experience. Doing beats reading about it any day!
So how do you make that transition? People are often catapulted into positions of leadership they're nowhere near ready for. They end up being overwhelmed and under-qualified when it comes to leading. It’s not that these individuals aren't capable. That's not it at all. It’s just that they’ve been put into positions without the proper training and told to “just do it” or "figure it out".
Posted by Donna Karlin at 8:28 PM
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Lighting for Digital Video
How you light your video is one of the most important aspects of a shoot. This is especially true if the end result is going to be a compressed and encoded video to be shown on computers or the internet or even recorded back onto tape for broadcast.
Continue reading "Lighting for Digital Video"Posted by Bill Cammack at 10:00 AM
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Leadership 24-style
A terrorist group has just exploded a nuclear “suitcase” bomb in a suburb of Los Angeles. A continent away advisors seated at a conference table are offering advice to the president. Thankfully this scenario is fiction; it is taken from the scene in the popular Fox series, 24. Plot twists and geo political nightmares aside, this recent episode, Hour 5, was a tutorial on leadership behavior during times of crisis. The president, Wayne Palmer, brother of a slain president from earlier seasons of 24, is calm, decisive, and in control.
Typically watching television is escape from reality, but we can learn a few things about behaving like a leader from the example of this fictional TV president. These include.
Authority. Palmer radiates authority. Around the conference table, generals and civilians argue. The president listens, but remains above the fray. He is in control and he knows it. Such authority comes from the position the leader holds. On 24, he is the president. In a corporation, she may be the CEO or a front line manager. Whatever the leadership role, authority is essential. It is the outward display of responsibility.
Posted by John Baldoni at 9:14 AM
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January 30, 2007
Being Creative In a Box
Over the years I've learned to love creative constraints. It's not that I love tight deadlines or small budgets or off-the-wall executive requests, but that's the world we live in. The sooner we uncover the driving factor behind those constraints, the sooner we'll be successful as professional marketers.
The nature of client/agency relationship is naturally built around constraints. It always surprises me that few people like to talk about budgets or deadlines up front. Especially considering that these two very real constraints drive 99% of all marketing projects. After all who is going to pay an agency to work forever with no defined goals and/or an undetermined invoice amount? The client doesn't want to give away his or her budget amount because they feel it gives the agency too much power or insider information. But without that knowledge, the agency cannot effectively assign resources or understand the scope of what's possible. The best way is to work together to determine an appropriate budget based on business objectives - the client tells the agency what they'd like to accomplish and the agency tells the client the best way to accomplish those goals and how much it will cost. I know this is a little over-simplified, but after all you are paying the agency because they're the experts, right? A lot of businesses have trouble letting go enough to generate new ideas. Not giving an agency the right amount of information, the right type of information, and enough freedom to come up with something new can turn into very damaging constraints of your project.
The true genius of a creative person is finding the best solution available within the project constraints. It’s not unreasonable to renegotiate project deliverables to fit within constraints - and that goes for client expectations as well as agency desires to produce top notch materials on every engagement.
It’s hard to fault a designer for wanting to do the best job possible on each and every assignment. Unfortunately the business world is one of realities more so than possibilities. The trick is doing the best job possible under the deadline and budget restrictions. That’s hard for a lot of creative directors and producers to wrap their heads around. You have to make conscious design decisions early in the project that meet the project/brand goals while staying on time and budget.
As an agency, we have to set client expectations up front about what is possible within given project constraints. With margins thinning, it’s a fine line to walk between customer satisfaction and agency profitability. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. The days of multi-year take-over-my-business retainer relationships are gone. I’ve heard a lot of mega-agency people talk about retainers as if they are an open bucket of money without defined deliverables or deadlines. In reality, retainers are just multi-project engagements under contract with one agency. You still have the same constraints as one-off project work; you’re just not fighting off other firms for each job which frees up resources to put into the work.
We have to learn to embrace constraints. Use the constraints as fuel to kick-start creative thinking. Great work comes from finding unique solutions while meeting all goals (project objectives, client satisfaction, time frame, budget, agency goals and designer expectations - probably in that order). Budget and time frame should determine level of effort on a sliding scale. A seasoned design professional will know what is possible when they understand the constraints. After that it’s a matter of aligning client & agency expectations with those constraints and everyone involved making purposeful decisions to stay on target.
Nick Rice • Lexington, Ky • nick@cre8tivegroup.com • www.cre8tivegroup.com
Posted by Nick Rice at 8:52 AM
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January 29, 2007
Houston, We Have A Challenge
Sounds funny, doesn't it? The original statement, "Houston, we've had a problem," was uttered by Jack Swigert, an astronaut on the Apollo 13 mission which, as many people know, became a monumental struggle for survival. Today, the statement is part of the lexicon as "Houston, we have a problem" and is used humorously to announce any type of problem.
Of course, the Apollo 13 crew was facing a life or death situation. Imagine if they had substituted the word "challenge" for the word "problem." The entire meaning of the statement would have changed to become something less threatening, more benign.
Today in business, there are no problems; there are only "challenges." No weaknesses, only "areas for improvement." No jobs are cut, they get "downsized." Wall Street has taken things much further. Stockholders don't sell, they "take profits." Stocks don't plummet, they "correct."
Continue reading "Houston, We Have A Challenge"Posted by Ruth Sherman at 6:49 PM
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Leading Ideas: Surface your difficult issues
"Most people are unaware of the degree to which they're not trusting and open, of the extent to which their conversations don't reflect what they actually think and feel." -- Paraphrased from an interview with Chris Argyris, Harvard Business School Professor
Consider This:
Most of us are adept at hiding our thoughts and feelings when we need to. We're often so skilled at it that we don't even realize we're doing it. A thought can cross our mind - be deemed unwise to share - and get squashed in a split second. It happens outside of our consciousness. We just notice something feels off. Over time, these mini self-censorships take a toll. They drain our energy slowly, but continually.
One way to understand where you might be censoring yourself is to use the Left Hand Column exercise developed by Chris Argyris & Donald Schon (described below). In it, you consider both what you're saying and not saying in a given conversation. "It's been eye-opening to pay attention to how many things I don't bring up," a client of mine recently commented. "Using the exercise, I've noticed how reluctant I am to surface potentially challenging issues with my management team. Interestingly, I'm starting to see patterns in the issues I tend to avoid. And more and more I'm finding ways to get these issues on the table for discussion."
Try This:
Left Hand Column Exercise - developed by Chris Argyris & Donald Schon
1. Pick an important conversation you've recently had.
2. Draw a line down the center of a sheet of paper.
3. In the right column reconstruct the conversation to the best of your ability - e.g. I said this, then he said this, then I said this etc.
4. In the left column jot down what you were thinking and feeling at the moment that each thing was being said.
5. Review both columns
6. Are there differences between your external dialogue and internal thoughts & feelings?
7. If so, how can you begin to productively raise some of your left hand column thoughts?
Doug Sundheim • Executive Coach • New York, NY • dms@clarityconsulting.com • www.clarityconsulting.com
Posted by Doug Sundheim at 4:03 PM
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January 26, 2007
The Man Behind the Culture Code
While anthropologist, Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, is out there preaching the gospel of indelible cultural imprints, some critics argue that his methods stereotype cultures. In this in-depth interview, we uncover the culture code as well as some of its criticisms.
While it seems we're living in a time of homogenized cultures -- a Gapified, Starbuckian world of creepy familiarity -- Dr. Clotaire Rapaille is out there preaching the gospel of indelible cultural imprints. Rapaille, a French-born anthropologist, believes that culture is destiny, and that we are conditioned by early archetypes that shape and sculpt our "reference systems." So a French child and an American child see the world through vastly different optics -- such as Barbie versus Brie. And they always will. So why in the world would a company's marketing plan target them in the same way?
Rapaile's new book The Culture Code demonstrates how code can explain national behavior, and the marketing consequences that spiral out of it.
Continue reading "The Man Behind the Culture Code"Posted by Adam Hanft at 4:37 PM
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Interview with GameFly Co-Founder Sean Spector
Often referred to as the “Netflix of video games,” the GameFly online video game rental service allows users rent a game, play it as much as they want, and then send it back in a postpaid envelope. As soon as GameFly receives the package, it sends the user the next game on his wish list. Subscribers can keep one game at home for $14.95/month, or two games for $21.95/month. I interviewed GameFly co-founder Sean Spector on Friday January 26 about his company and overall trends in the video game business.
Q: The fourth quarter of 2006 was a big period for sales of game consoles, both new and old. What trends are you seeing from your vantage point, and did the Q4 console sales figures contain any surprises?
A) We see all of the systems looking healthy at the moment...360 is surely leading the charge with our members. The Wii and the PS3 are showing a high level of popularity with our member base as well. No big surprises in Q4 other than the lack of the new consoles compared to the demand.
Q) Which consoles were in shortest supply? Do you think some of these lost sales resulted in the consumer buying a different console, or are consumers waiting patiently for their console of choice?
A) During Q4 both new consoles were hard to find, although Nintendo had more units in the marketplace than Sony. Not sure if they lost sales to other hardware, but they lost sales. In Q1 Sony has done a better job of getting their PS3 hardware out to consumers, but the Wii is still difficult to get one's hands on. This coming holiday season will be an important indicator. All three platforms will be out in full force and there will be a broad array of games.
Continue reading "Interview with GameFly Co-Founder Sean Spector"Posted by Greg Spotts at 3:41 PM
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The NY Video 2.0 Group
Last night, I attended the NY Video 2.0 Group "meetup". The focus of the event wasn't the _making_ of digital video, but the business surrounding putting video on the internet. I found the presentations to be interesting as well as informative.
The host was Yaron Samid, Founder, Pando.com.
The presenters were (in order of appearance):
1. dotSUB - Michael Smolens, Founder
http://www.dotsub.com
2. Network2 - Jeff Pulver, Founder (www.pulver.com)
http://www.network2.tv
3. NBBC.com - Marc Siry, VP, NBC Universal
http://www.nbbc.com
4. YouAre.TV - David Dundas, Founder
http://www.youare.tv
5. Bolt.com - Aaron Cohen, Founder
http://www.bolt.com
Also, Chris Brogan, Community Developer for network2.tv had special information for the NY Video 2.0 Group about the upcoming Video on the Net conference in San Jose, California.
Continue reading "The NY Video 2.0 Group"Posted by Bill Cammack at 2:00 PM
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Social Responsibility and Media Reform
As the cliché goes, "perception is reality". And whether or not you subscribe to this jaded outlook, it is reasonable to assume that our perceptions and perspectives as Americans are significantly influenced by our conscious and unconscious consumption of messages produced by mainstream media.
These messages are in myriad forms, given the ever-expanding landscape of what now constitutes the media landscape, e.g. TV, radio, film, print, web, etc.
And in a massive marketplace where the vast majority of what we consume is owned by one of eight media conglomerates, we must ask ourselves what does social responsiblity in media look like? Is it merely catchy PSAs and animated interstitials co-branded with a pink ribbon or [red] merchandise? Or must it go deeper than this? And if so, just how deep are we as a nation committed to delving at the expense of the choke-hold corporate media has on our TVs, radios, print publications, computers and glut of shiny, digital spam gadgets (to which I am tragically addicted)?
Is it merely broader, more democratic and diverse ownership of media that America deserves? Certainly no small feat to achieve at present. Is it what type and range of "content" media outlets produce in terms of the accuracy and representativeness of the information and imagery of the subject matter conveyed? Is it a matter of systemic inclusiveness on all levels in the media field? Or could it be a mix of all of these issues?
Continue reading "Social Responsibility and Media Reform"Posted by Chris Rabb at 1:43 AM
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January 25, 2007
Nightclub Wristband Marketing Goes National
Though finding new places to put ads is not my favorite marketing game, I'm very interested in Billboard Bands' nightclub wristbands advertising network. I've certainly seen branding placements on wristbands before, usually for alcohol, but I have not encountered news of a national network before now.
Billboard Bands' surprisingly useful recent press release, if taken at face value, reveals that the company has "struck exclusive, long-term commitments with over 150 trendy nightspots in the top 20 markets, offering a reach of over one million branded bands per month" including such spots as NY's Webster Hall and LA's Knitting Factory.
Of great importance for their longterm dominance of this space is the claim that "all nightclubs have signed contracts as their exclusive distribution partner." Though they're focusing on wristbands, once the network of clubs is established, they'll have strong lines of communication for related efforts.
The wristbands have flexible uses according to the release:
Billboard Bands provides advertisers with the opportunity for numerous promotional and transactional overlays, such as sequential numbering, promotion codes, tear-off coupons, drive-to-web sweepstakes and even scratch-and-win and scratch-and-sniff applications. We also offer our clients a 3-week lead-time on delivery of their final creative, and the opportunity to target their buys based on geography and flight requirements.
They're also reaching an important demographic, based on a recent survey of club-goers that surprised me with the info that 29% of respondents say they don't remove the bands till the next day.
There's something about the notion of wristbands becoming a crucial marketing platform that really appeals to me, much more so than the eggvertising platform.
Clyde Smith • ProHipHop • clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com
Posted by Clyde Smith at 9:25 PM
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Zombie Conference Calls
I was sitting in on a client's quarterly conference call. The call consisted of 3 members of this public company's top management team sitting at a conference table reading aloud into a speakerphone. The CFO went through the financials, the COO gave an update on operations and the CEO gave what passed for a pep talk about the company's quarter and year so far and prospects for 2007.
As these smart, confident, charming individuals went about their business, I was thinking "If I was on the other end of this call, listening to these boring, droning, disembodied voices, would I be paying attention or would I be playing solitaire on my PDA?" Solitaire, definitely. Maybe that makes me unfit to participate in such a call and I suppose if I was going to slack off, I could fill the time with another, more productive task. I suspect however, that my reaction is not that unusual. I can easily imagine all kinds of things going on at the other end of the phone that have nothing to do with the call.
This scares me and I'll tell you why. The analysts and financial managers who listen to these calls are supposed to be getting important information about the companies whose stock they include in their portfolios and that they that they recommend to their clients. They are also supposed to ask questions of the management team and listen to questions asked by others. If they are not focused or tuning in and out, they may miss something important. This can have devastating results for business and individual stockholders. I believe that much of the corporate malfeasance we have seen in recent years may be due in large part to people who should be listening carefully to such calls, but who are not.
Continue reading "Zombie Conference Calls"Posted by Ruth Sherman at 1:23 PM
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Leave 'em Laughing
“Hello, I’m Art Buchwald, and I just died.” How’s that for an exit line? It opened his video obituary for the New York Times . Buchwald, who has been amusing and charming Americans with his humorous insights, often at the expense of the nation’s political elites, prepared for his death the way he lived his life with wit, grace, and plenty of laughs. His passing serves not only as a reminder that we have lost a great American writer, but that death (at least for folks past a certain age) need not always be feared. Or if it is feared, perhaps talking about it, will make it seem less intimidating.
And that’s what Buchwald had been busy doing. For the past year of his life, he said he had been given a kind of reprieve. Suffering from kidney failure doctors gave him only weeks to live; ultimately those weeks stretched to nearly a year. That gave Buchwald time to hold open court to say good-bye to his many friends and admirers. He also wrote another book, Too Soon to Say Goodbye .
An exercise in leadership development programs is to ask participants to write their obituary, or better yet, their eulogy. The former may list accomplishments; the later is how you want to be remembered. For perspective the eulogy is the better because it challenges us to look inside ourselves, but more especially to look at the impact (or lack of it) we are having on colleagues, friends and family. And that’s why Buchwald’s passing is memorable. He epitomized the phrase “a life worth living” to which we can add “with plenty of laughs.” So, here’s what else we can learn from the maestro of humor.
Continue reading "Leave 'em Laughing"Posted by John Baldoni at 1:13 PM
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HELLO, my name is...
Don't we all love those ubiquitous name tags they give out at networking events? Anyway, I'm Nick Rice, the latest expert blogger for Fast Company. I wanted to put out a short post to introduce myself and give you some background on me.
I started professional life as a graphic designer for my alma mater and after a few years realized that my talents fell more on the business side of design. I moved from a university setting to a Fortune 500 global manufacturing firm. There I spent ten years in various marketing management roles in both a B2C and B2B capacity. While there, I was able to explore the consultative side of marketing with companies like Adobe, Dell, Farmers Insurance, and IBM. After a decade of success, my entrepreneurial spirit took over and I jumped at the opportunity to work in a small business environment.
I am currently responsible for Account Strategy and New Business Development for Cre8tive Group, a firm that specializes in marketing and branding strategies for socially aware organizations. I am passionate about helping people improve through better communications and marketing efforts. I've been actively involved in the blogosphere for over a year and keep an increasingly popular personal/professional blog entitled Strategic Design.
I'm very excited about joining the Fast Company team. Like you, I've loved the magazine for years and I cannot wait to begin contributing to the website. Don't hesitate to ask me a question or post a comment - after all that's what social media is all about. The conversations are the best part. Look for more posts on marketing, branding, design and new media.
Nick Rice • Lexington, Ky • nick@cre8tivegroup.com • www.cre8tivegroup.com
Posted by Nick Rice at 9:31 AM
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Can’t Buy me Love
I remember learning about the most comprehensive book of rules you can imagine in one of my marketing classes many years ago. I’m talking about the brand identity dos and don’ts as spelled out in a corporate binder that truly transmitted the culture of the company it was written for: AT&T. This is a conversation on what money can’t buy.
When I first came to the US more than 18 years ago, well I was practically a baby, I worked in an international medical center where long distance calls where the order of the day. I was used to dealing with AT&T operators to call collect in some countries when necessary, as the center was a nonprofit entity. I was used to it so much that I never even thought of shopping around for a long distance provider at home – AT&T it was.
Along with so many others, I had become a captive audience, yet when things started to go wrong with the service and other providers became more aggressive in getting the message out, I began to consider switching. The reasons will become apparent in a moment.
Continue reading "Can’t Buy me Love"Posted by Valeria Maltoni at 8:49 AM
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January 24, 2007
Oscars Go Global - Boston Globe Does Not
The irony is inescapable. The teaser headline at the top of today’s Boston Globe boldly declares: “Oscar Goes Global.” Unfortunately, the Globe is heading in the opposite direction. Buried several sections deep is a story symbolic of the state of US media: “Globe to close last three foreign bureaus.” This ends more than three decades of reporting from Globe journalists overseas.
Of course, both stories are about money. The Globe’s is cost-cutting – closing the bureaus in Berlin, Bogota, and Jerusalem is intended to avoid further staff cuts here at home. Oscar’s larger worldview is about market expansion – the nominations for Academy Awards this year contain what the Globe called “a glut of offerings with a global point of view.”
How unfortunate that as “American entertainers are increasingly looking past the nation’s borders,” the Boston Globe - running counter to its own name - has eliminated its global point of view. Swapping award-winning analysis and on-the-ground journalistic insight for Hollywood’s version of global events hardly seems like an even trade to me.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/?p1=Header_TodaysPaper
Josef Blumenfeld • Boston, MA • jblumenfeld@tradewindstrategies.com • www.tradewindstrategies.com
Posted by Josef Blumenfeld at 10:34 AM
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Scheduled to Death?
My clients used to work 10 hour days. They left work at the end of a very long day exhausted, with the feeling they hadn’t accomplished a fraction of what they’d set out to do. And that was before the era of handheld devices. Now, many of them are working a minimum of 12 – 14 hour days, when you take into consideration the hours they put in at home weekdays and weekends. Now incorporate handhelds, i.e. BlackBerries, and even when they are off, they’re ‘on’. They are scheduled to death and when they aren't scheduled for a meeting, they are interrupted more times than one can count.
They feel they have absolutely no control of their days, are scheduled beyond what’s humanly possible to sustain, and the powers that be expect them to maintain that lifestyle (or lack of) indefinitely. How can you lead an organization if you’re killing your people one jam-packed day at a time?
A question for organizational leadership, what in the world do you think would motivate your staff to want to sustain a life like that? Or should I say lack of private life altogether? I hear all the excuses in the book from “We have a responsibility to the shareholders” to “Competition in our market is fierce and we have stay 10 steps ahead of them”. etc
One has to set personal boundaries. If you’re in an organization that won’t let you, time to rethink the kind of life you’re buying into. The point of building a career used to be to create a life you love, a day that challenged yet energized and let you build a lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of. This scenario describes a life with no lifestyle, no personal time….no life. Money without time (or subsequently health) to spend it isn’t a life.
Posted by Donna Karlin at 10:23 AM
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Digital Video Data Rate
First of all, I'd like to thank Lynne D. Johnson for the opportunity to blog as a Fast Company Expert.
There are many reasons a particular digital video might not run well, or at all, on your computer. You might not have enough processor speed. Your video card might not be able to handle the task. You may not have the necessary codec installed. If you can see and hear the video, but it doesn't run smoothly, your best bet is to lower the data rate. It might seem that the answer lies in decreasing the frame size. A smaller video should run more smoothly than a larger video, right?
Posted by Bill Cammack at 8:00 AM
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January 23, 2007
The Tipping Point for Companies That Fail
I've been reading a great book, Ego Check: Why Executive Hubris is Wrecking Companies and Careers, by Mathew Hayward (Kaplan, 2007), which seemed to make its way to me at an opportune time. As a small business owner I constantly grapple with the magic combination of skepticism and confidence necessary to make smart business decisions. I'm convinced that company leaders with no confidence won't make it; there's simply too much competition for leaders who doubt themselves to prevail. On the other hand, as a "survivor" of the Web 1.0 irrational exuberance in Silicon Valley I also have to wonder, could a little bit of humility do a company good?
Continue reading "The Tipping Point for Companies That Fail"Posted by Jory Des Jardins at 8:38 PM
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India Reported
During a recent week-long business trip of South-East Asia, one of the things I looked forward to was to see how the local media reports on India. Naturally, I expected Indian IT and outsourcing to hog most of the limelight. I would have bet on the booming Indian retail and mobile phone sectors getting some column centimeters. Outside of business, I thought India’s role in international politics and the nuke deal with the US will get some mindshare. I couldn’t be farther from the truth, as I discovered in due course of time.
Continue reading "India Reported"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 5:16 AM
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January 22, 2007
Marketing High School Musical, Pt. 2: The Concert
Zac Attack: An Unauthorized Biography
High School Musical: The Concert [not to be confused with the stage show] takes the cross-marketing universe of High School Musical [the tv movie] on the road in a collection of songs from the movie plus cameos for the show's stars who are also building their solo careers.
Reviewers of the concert noted the abundant merchandise as one entered, about which I've seen few complaints, not surprising given that such merchandising is now a norm. The concerns about the concert most often relate to the cameos or "showcases", what one writer terms a "crafty Disneyexec’s euphemism for a bombardment of product placements promoting the cast’s solo albums and upcoming movies."
Continue reading "Marketing High School Musical, Pt. 2: The Concert"Posted by Clyde Smith at 5:28 PM
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Hillary's New Video
On Saturday, Hillary Clinton (finally) announced that she was running for president. In a video posted to her website, Senator Clinton, sitting in what looked like her living room, officially entered the '08 race. I always love to watch political candidates and analyze their communication styles mainly because they provide so much fodder. I believe that at the presidential level, the better communicator will win the election. Going back as far as Ronald Reagan, this has been true. By the way, the candidate does not have to be great (some of you may remember the first Bush v. Dukakis), just better.
So, how'd she do? Pretty well, I think. It was a performance that I, for one, had never seen from her. She has always had an issue with her public persona, coming across as cold and hard-edged, charisma sorely lacking, making it difficult for her to connect. For those reasons and because she has a reputation for being polarizing and is despised by many, I have been telling anyone who would listen that she didn't have much of a chance of winning a primary, no less a general election.
Continue reading "Hillary's New Video"Posted by Ruth Sherman at 12:49 PM
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January 18, 2007
Squeezing the Joost!
DigiMedia everywhere are ecstatic for Joost the new IPTV P2P ap launched Thursday, January 17, from the guys behind Skype.
Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström are perhaps the hottest Nordic exports since, oh, Garbo and Nokia. And Joost may just be the trifecta following the successful launch of music sharing system Kazaa, and, of course, Skype, whose $2.6 billion sale to eBay allegedly funded Joost.
Europe’s EE Times gives the straight tell, describing Joost as a secure P2P streamer allowing users to subscribe to TV quality video that is neither a file-sharing application, nor a download service. The broadband player has a DVR function allowing users to rewind and pause as well, and subscribers will fund it until enough advertisers can kick in. Other social features include user ratings, IM and other plugins.
Meanwhile, AppScout, PCMag’s newest blog, got close up with Joost CEO Fredrik de Wahl
Wired News suggests—unlike that unlike the traditional internet, which has been drawing viewers away from their Lazy Boys for years—“Joost is good for TV.”
Meanwhile, inquiring minds could have been fortified with their Joost weeks ago when it was still known as the Venice Project. Beta testers leaked. and subsequently raved about the product—previously known as The Venice Project. Ironically, you can experience the beta on YouTube.
But as New Media will discover from Old Media very quickly, today’s Cameron Diaz could be quickly replaced by tomorrow’s Jessica Biel. And even in the area of IPTV—as NewTeeVee writer Jackson Witter suggests with the launch of new IPTV product Babelgum—there’s always another younger, perhaps prettier version waiting in the wings. But where Babelgum is concerned, could the name be any worse? If we say its name three times does it simply go away? Any Babelgum-beta testers willing to come to its defense???
Time will tell if the major league content players will embrace the offering and join the revolution. If not, then expect hyper growth of user generated masterpieces...
Posted by Peter Fasano at 4:03 PM
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Conflict Brewing
“Myth: Most conflicts resolve themselves over time.”
Uh-huh! And pigs can fly, too! Put another way, “Unlike fine wine, conflicts that are left alone rarely improve with age.” So write Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura in When Conflict Happens . Conflicts are the bane of every organization, every team, every quartet -- even dual acts (like marriages) -- can break up over issues that go unresolved.
Conflicts, like brewing coffee, have a particular odor. Overpowering to some; acrid to others. Tell tale signs include wayward glances, walking away from others, or the always reliable shouting behind closed doors. When managers sense a conflict brewing they must act quickly and decisively.
Put your ear to the ground. What’s happening? Who’s saying what to whom? And most important, what’s all the fuss about? These are questions that you as a manager need to know first and before you can take further action. Get the facts by asking questions of all parties involved, and even by standers if need be. Most important, listen to what people are saying, as well as not saying. Pay attention to eye contact and body language; those will be indicators of the severity of the conflict.
Posted by John Baldoni at 2:39 PM
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Bad News Bearers
Several years ago, I was meeting with directors at an international investment bank the day after the stock market had taken a very serious plunge. The bank coincidentally had just finished rolling out a series of sales training programs for investment bankers. During our meeting, the directors began to get feedback on a key portion of the program—contacting clients when there is bad news. This sudden decline in the market filled that bill.
In the past, the bankers would wait for clients to contact them. The clients usually would be upset, many yelling and making gratuitous comments, so you can imagine the trepidation of the bankers at the prospect of taking the initiative to contact these angry clients first, portfolio managers who were holding stocks and funds the bankers had recommended and sold to them—stocks and funds that had lost a significant percentage of their value in just a few short hours. Calling clients at that moment felt like asking for trouble. The temptation was very strong to hold off on making first contact. Things were bad enough without pouring salt on this wound. No one wanted to risk being beat up any further.
Continue reading "Bad News Bearers"Posted by Ruth Sherman at 12:12 PM
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Do You Have a Minute?
“What is this in regards to?” I ask after answering the phone.
“I’m a third party researcher and am conducting a customer survey for our newly merged company,” says the lady at the other end of the phone.
“Well, in that case,” I respond, “I don’t have a minute. But I’m willing to give you 15 if you’ll have a conversation with me in addition to going through your questions.”
That seemed unusual, but she quickly agreed. Maybe she was timing her calls and needed to keep things going. In a very pleasant and rehearsed tone, she then proceeded to go through a list of questions representative of areas in which my vendor operates as part of our contract. The answers ranged from degrees of “agree” to degrees of “disagree”.
Continue reading "Do You Have a Minute?"Posted by Valeria Maltoni at 8:18 AM
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Leading Ideas: Don't Rush
"He who rushes ahead doesn't go far." -- Lao-Tzu (~500 B.C.E), Tao Te Ching
A distinction I use with my clients is rushing vs. moving quickly. When someone rushes, they shortchange processes. When someone moves quickly, they follow processes - with speed. On the surface, they may look similar. However when you dig deeper you find different values driving each approach. With rushing, speed is valued over quality. With moving quickly, quality is valued over speed. In the latter, if you have to slow down to ensure quality, you'll do it.
Continue reading "Leading Ideas: Don't Rush"Posted by Doug Sundheim at 5:00 AM
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January 17, 2007
Marketing High School Musical, Pt. 1: The Movie
High School Musical Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the Disney Channel's made-for-tweens tv movie High School Musical was the top selling album of 2006 and the dvd did ok too. Just about everyone that writes about High School Musical, whether the movie or the concert, frames such success as a marketing coup.
Continue reading "Marketing High School Musical, Pt. 1: The Movie"Posted by Clyde Smith at 7:59 PM
Digital Music Sales top $2B in 2006
Today the IFPI released 2006 figures for the global music industry, demonstrating the continued growth of downloadable songs, ringtones, and other digital music services. Here are a few numbers from the report:
Worldwide Digital Music Sales, in Dollars
2004: $380 million
2005: $1.1 billion (5% of total industry revenues)
2006: $2.0 billion (10% of total industry revenues)
Single Track Downloads, in units
2005: 420 million worldwide
2006: 795 million worldwide (of which 582 million were sold in US, and 53 million in UK)
Albums Downloaded, in units
2005: 16 million in US
2006: 33 million in US
The impressive growth in digital sales was not enough to replace the lost revenue from the declining market for physical CD's. Worldwide, the total dollar value of music sold in all physical and digital formats declined by 3%.
In the US, the five year sales decline of physical CD's continues unabated. In 2006, only 588.2 million CD albums were sold, down from 618.9 million in 2005. This week's number one top selling album, the Dreamgirls soundtrack, moved just 60,000 units, the lowest weekly sales for a #1 album since Soundscan began tracking weekly sales in 1991.
Could these weak numbers pave the way for EU approval of a Warner-EMI merger this year, reducing the number of major music companies from 4 to 3?
Greg Spotts is Creative Director of the Shortlist Music Prize, and rocks the Digital Media beat for Fast Company.
Posted by Greg Spotts at 3:43 PM
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Global Voices - Listen to the Global Marketplace
Many Americans are at a disadvantage when it comes to the global marketplace. The US is increasingly insular – even when something looks “international,” it was often created with us in mind (usually by other Americans). Opportunities to learn about the rest of the world are not in ready supply. Access to a non-American perspective is too rare for many of us.
One organization, Global Voices, is changing that. Asking the provocative question, “The world is talking. Are you listening?” Global Voices intentionally maintains “a focus on countries and communities outside the U.S. and Western Europe…that will help all voices everywhere to be heard.” Indexed by country and topic, Global Voices provides unfiltered articles, blogs, editorials, podcasts, business stories, and the like from all corners of the globe.
Posted by Josef Blumenfeld at 2:53 PM
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You Do What You Are
"You do what you are...You're born with a gift. If not that, then you get good at something along the way. And what you’re good at you don’t take for granted." - Morgan Freeman
Most people equate themselves with what they do for a living. How many times have you asked someone "Tell me about yourself" only to hear volumes about their work and nothing else? And in the scheme of things, how many are living their passions and doing what they are? Living and working in alignment with their talents? How many have unique talents and never get a chance to use them?
That is taking your gifts for granted. True leaders who lead with passion are living their dreams, their passions and have limitless energy in doing so. They can't wait to jump into the deep end of every day and see what unfolds. I tell many clients "If at first you don't succeed, try something you've already been successful at and build on it".
Continue reading "You Do What You Are"Posted by Donna Karlin at 2:45 AM
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January 16, 2007
Climbing the Career Lattice: The New Way We're Achieving at Work
I've gotten quite a kick out of watching the HBO series Entourage. The main characters include a young, hot actor who' climbing his way to Hollywood stardom and his best friends, all of whom are finanically and socially supported by the actor in exchange for their undying loyalty.
The brilliance of Entourage is that it provides a telling illustration of the underlying culture, values, pecking order, and definitions of success behind a unique society. In this world, expensive cars and multi-million-dollar pay is a given. Expensive artwork, lavish fetes, and $2,000 courtside tickets to Lakers games are mere writeoffs--costs of doing business.
I'm sure that many enjoy the show because they marvel at the extravagance of it all. I marvel at it for very different reasons: I think, "If this is what it means to be successful in Hollywood, thank goodness I'm not an actor."
Continue reading "Climbing the Career Lattice: The New Way We're Achieving at Work"Posted by Jory Des Jardins at 10:32 PM
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January 15, 2007
Once More With Feeling
At the urging of Rob Blackadar, Director of Government Sales for United Rentals, I logged onto MacWorld's website to watch Steve Jobs's 2007 keynote. I had never seen Jobs present before, though I had certainly heard of his legendary status as a speaker among the Mac faithful.
Going in, I expected something truly extraordinary. What I saw was a presentation that was pretty good, but not astounding. The presentation was long -- nearly 2 hours -- much of the time taken up with a tutorial for the product of the day, the so-called iPhone. Jobs's voice is nothing special, though it's fairly expressive. His stage presence is very good; he doesn't stand behind anything and he walks around the stage with a very open posture and broad gestures. I will say that the slide presentation that supports him is fabulous – very simple and graphic. (See one of my recent posts for more on slides.) But he's not especially funny or entertaining, though the product demo certainly is fun to watch. So what's going on with Jobs who seems to have developed this reputation of genius when it comes to presentation skills?
Continue reading "Once More With Feeling"Posted by Ruth Sherman at 12:14 PM
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January 12, 2007
Is Increasing the Minimum Wage the Answer to the Right Question?
On Wednesday, Congress passed a bill 315-116 which would increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in just over a two-year time frame. This, of course, assumes that the U.S. Senate can pass a similar bill that ultimately President Bush will not veto (or can muster a 2/3 vote to overturn a likely veto).
That said, in the off chance that such a bill does become law, it would be the first federal wage increase since 1997 for America's working poor, a worker constituency composed of largely youth, single parents and people of color.
Continue reading "Is Increasing the Minimum Wage the Answer to the Right Question?"Posted by Chris Rabb at 10:52 AM
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January 11, 2007
A Reintroduction: From Experiential to Entertainment Marketing
Way back last year I introduced myself as the new Experiential Marketing blogger at Fast Company. Though I'm fascinated by the topic, I also found this approach taking me in an overly academic direction as I attempted follow-up posts. Great concept, wrong blog topic.
So I'm relaunching my presence at Fast Company with The Show Must Be Marketed focused on Entertainment Marketing. I'll be particularly concerned with new developments in entertainment marketing both on and offline as well as outstanding examples of marketing approaches that successfully address current challenges in a difficult media environment.
Examples of what The Show Must Be Marketed will cover include the complex marketing campaign for Jay-Z's rap album Kingdom Come that combined new and old elements on a grand scale.
I'll also be looking at moments when the marketing became the entertainment, as in the incredible activity leading up to the release of Snakes on a Plane, that also offer fascinating examples of marketing innovation.
Practical lessons learned by entertainment marketers, such as the issues faced in Cirque du Soleil's email marketing and other ongoing online marketing activities, will also be considered.
While the examples given above mostly emphasize the Internet, The Show Must Be Marketed will include new approaches to offline activity as well as the use of well-established approaches in response to emerging challenges.
Many thanks to Lynne d Johnson and the rest of the folks at Fast Company for responding positively to my rocky start. See you early next week.
Clyde Smith • ProHipHop • clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com
Posted by Clyde Smith at 10:38 PM
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Managing with a Leadership Edge
“We’re all becoming managers now.”
So read the headline reporting the findings of a new study conducted by The Work Foundation in Britain and reported by Nic Patton of Management Issues News
The study concludes that managerial jobs for men have grown by 12% and professional jobs by 8% in the decade between 1995 and 2005. Gains for women have been even stronger, 30% for managerial positions and 15% for professional positions respectively.
While this study did not survey workers in the United States, I suspect -- given U.S. companies’ penchant for de layering and de-centralizing -- the trend is equally valid. And not without some discomfort, either. “Economic change is never painless,” says Ian Brinkley, a foundation director. “However, a more knowledge intensive world of work, where people work with their heads more than their hands, appears… to be a relatively benign development for workers.”
Posted by John Baldoni at 8:26 PM
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From 0 to 60 at the Speed of Liking
It was early in the year 2000. Our computers had not shut us out and there was still an atmosphere of cautious optimism in the air about commerce, especially of the new economy type; the focus of my favorite magazine, Fast Company. Everything was going well, except that my company was being bought and my job eliminated.
Wait a moment, you might say; this is a story about customer service, isn’t it? Indeed it is exactly that.
For someone working in corporate America with a deep love of learning and passion for making things happen for people, this magazine had been a lifesaver. Packed with ideas, stories from the place where products and services meet needs and wants, and interesting new products reviews, my monthly subscription sat dog-eared and utterly used up a few days after it hit my mailbox.
I had many connections through professional associations, networking groups, and work-related projects. Many of the experiences at those events left me with a sense of disconnect; while people remained business-like and most kind, I was getting nowhere fast. So to take my career to the next level, I turned to the only place I considered smart enough to get it: Fast Company.
Continue reading "From 0 to 60 at the Speed of Liking"Posted by Valeria Maltoni at 12:01 PM
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Can Apple Disrupt the Mobile Phone Industry?
It's official: Apple has announced the iPhone handset, featuring a gorgeous design and a sparkling, innovative user interface. Will Apple function as a mere handset vendor, or a disruptor/transformer of the mobile phone industry?
Let's review Apple's five year foray into the music business for some clues about what might happen in the phone business. Apple introduced the first iPod music player in October 2001, bringing style and simplicity to the MP3 player category. Yet the masterstroke occurred seventeen months later, when Apple launched the iTunes Music Store. Apple had sold less than one million iPods when the iTunes Music Store was launched.
The combination of 99 cent pricing, full participation by the major labels, reliable performance and ease-of-use made the iTunes store into the Amazon of downloadable music. Industry observers hailed Apple, and the record companies finally started to get paid on at least some of the music files flowing around the Internet.
Flash forward to January 2006, when Apple announced cumulative sales of 42 million iPods and 850 million songs. That's a mere twenty songs per iPod.
Continue reading "Can Apple Disrupt the Mobile Phone Industry?"Posted by Greg Spotts at 11:00 AM
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January 10, 2007
Real and True
"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are" - Anais Nin
That's where a Shadow Coach™ comes into play. We don't work with you based on your interpretation; we work with you based on what's real and true. If you can't find the truth right now, right where you are, then where in the world are you going to find it?
People see things through filters, through their past history, cultural background, 'programming' and experience. They rarely see things are they are and once they are interpreted, they fit these experiences into the context of their past history, not experience them for what they are as the moments unfold.
Posted by Donna Karlin at 3:57 AM
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January 9, 2007
Leading Ideas: Start Before You Know Where to Start
"When one has finished building one's house, one suddenly realizes that in the process one has learned something that one really needed to know in the worst way - before one began." -- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German philosopher and critic
One of the reasons people don't risk doing new things (that they really want to do) is because they never get past the conceptual stage. A close friend was stuck in this place regarding a novel he wanted to write. One day I asked him, "If you were going to start the book, what's the first thing you'd do?" He said, "I don't know." I said, "Think harder." He said, "Well I'd probably write a brief overview of the storyline. Is that a good place to start?" I said, "I have no idea, I've never written fiction. Do you know anyone who has?" He answered, "No." "Could you find someone?" I asked. "I don't know." "Think harder." "Well, I could talk to..." To make a long story short he took the ball and ran with this clarification process. It's now 12 months later and he just finished his first draft.
Consider This:
You don't get to know how to do something until you've done it. On one hand this is obvious. However, on the other hand it's easy to forget. It's easy to find yourself wishing new endeavors weren't so difficult, confusing, or awkward. But they are. In fact, they're unbearable at times. But that's good. Some of the greatest moments in your life will come from not knowing what to do, feeling the sheer terror of your ignorance, and acting anyways.
Try this:
1. To start something new, move beyond the conceptual idea in your head
2. Even if you have no idea what you're doing, write out the 5-10 steps you'd take to move it forward.
3. Find someo