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Doing Well By Doing Real Good

When entrepreneurs turn their innovative thinking outward, rather than inward, humanity in need can truly benefit.

All too often we read or hear about the latest achievements by self-serving thought leaders and “innovators.” It was heartening therefore to see real leadership in action at a recent presentation made to the Chicago MIT Enterprise Forum by David Ormesher, CEO of Closerlook.

David’s remarkable journey into the world of social responsibility began and continues through his volunteer work with the Global Relief and Development Partners (GRDP). This organization connects accomplished entrepreneurs from the United States to their counterparts in Rwanda, a small eastern African country ravaged by a tragic past.  

One such story of where GRDP is making a real difference is that of Gahaya Links, a small business with great ambitions formed by two sisters, Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana. Gahaya Links employs over 4,000 rural women who weave intricate baskets. Basket weaving has a long tradition in Rwanda. Randy Rollinson, a strategy consultant and CEO of LBL Strategies, became an executive mentor to Joy and Janet. He works closely with Gahaya Links to audit and make recommendations on their financial model.

Woven baskets from Gahaya Links are on the shelves of Macy's in New York City.

The outcome from these one-on-one mentoring relationships is not only uplifting impoverished lives, it’s showing that another real currency of value is in play: The transfer of innovative thinking and processes is valued by the Rwanda entrepreneurs who have the innovative capacity within themselves to build something from their investment in shared learning and insight.

And this global currency of value is a fair trade.

As David related, the lives of entrepreneurs from the U.S. have been transformed forever. For many, making a meaningful difference in lives has trumped building the valuations of their own companies.

When social entrepreneurship can provide sustainable solutions to overcome the challenges of a small basket weaving company, it can make a world of difference.

Image Source: Riccardo Gangale for The New York Times

Crossing To A Dream

The life of Philippe Petit and how he crossed the World Trade Center’s twin towers on a high wire is a remarkable story. The documentary film, Man On Wire, recounts how Petit overcame insurmountable odds to achieve his ultimate artistic dream. His feat serves as a timeless metaphor to setting a goal and taking the necessary action steps to plan, train and focus on undeniable success.

What’s truly amazing is the fact that Petit spent over 45 minutes crisscrossing between the towers. He waved at the waiting police. He laid down on the razor thin wire smiling face up at heaven. He propped up on one knee, and looked below to the gathering crowd. He wasn’t about to let his years of intense training and focus end with just one crossing. Given where he was, Petit lived a lifetime in the ultimate moment of Now.

So it was timely I came across a post by Liz Strauss today about living in self doubt. That dark place where it’s easier to sell ourselves short. Easier to use situations as the scapegoat for our own escape. Liz makes a profound point that it’s easy to disconnect when your familiar world suddenly changes. You fall into a black hole where your star no longer shines. If anything, it’s in these moments when we need to connect to our higher selves. In turn, we join the flow of life that propels us to our next artistic feat.

The last thing Petit was going to do was become disconnected from his high wire.

In his own words,

“Life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to rules. To refuse your own success. To refuse to repeat yourself. To see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. And then you are going to live your life on a tight rope.”

As I watched Man On Wire, I kept thinking that the twin towers are no longer there. Perhaps being in the center of our own high wire is where we find balance between new pillars. Whatever they become.

Image Source: Jean Louis Bondeau | Polaris

The Value of Emotion Is The Message

When you put your nose up to the window, be sure your value touches the glass first. 

Some time back I led a strategic messaging workshop for ZS Associates based in Chicago. ZS is a global management consulting firm with expertise in go-to-market and sales force strategies. The human resources folks at ZS wanted to improve the strike rate of their recruitment marketing effort. Seems they were spending a lot of money and resources taking the wrong graduate school candidates down the interview trail.

ZS needed to better define and convey their value so both employer and recruit could assess early on whether there was a fit. You see, ZS does a lot of on-campus job recruiting at graduate schools, and on the web. So this is where they needed to employ value filters to convey what they are, and more importantly, what they are not.   

So I led a half day workshop with the ZS human resources group to map key ZS features and benefits to emotive keywords. Keywords that could be used in copy points to tell the ZS value story. But first I needed to devise a plan to light their creative fires. So I donned my best Tony Robbins impersonation (albeit toned down) and challenged the HR people to get real about their offer. Why they joined. From this high octane exchange, the emotive keywords sprang forth to write the script itself.

The keywords and phrases from this workshop were captured and grouped in value/attribute relationship sets. In turn, these sets were segmented and tiered into three primary buckets: Emotive. Qualify. Pay off. This tiering then became the framework for a new content architecture: a new immersion experience into both the collateral and digital forms of ZS recruitment marketing.

The real magic in messaging development happens when the value needed to be conveyed is shaped by the emotive power of natural language. An intellectual exercise will never create communication effectiveness.

The Emotionomics of Change

Real change happens when those who have to row the boat help redesign the oars.

So often the breakdown in implementing change within an organization is forced down from up high. The disconnect comes when the ones who have to execute the change have no stake in the outcome. For them, the failure of success is not emotional. Not personal.

While process change is often focused on streamlining the action of tasks to improve efficiencies, what’s often overlooked is the emotional receptivity of those that must accept, deploy and improve on those new processes over time. So while ergonomic redesign is applied to tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems, real change becomes a reality when the ergonomics of emotional receptivity are compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people.

The ones who row the boat.

Success in any organization is traditionally the result of developing a sound strategy, setting goals and leading a team to achieve a vision. And hopefully, a shared one. 

A case in point is Living Lands and Waters, America’s only industrial strength river clean-up organization.  It’s founder and president Chad Pregracke created a unique business with an eye on cleaning up a bit of our Earth. Because failure was not an option, Chad set clear objectives and maintained his leadership position – even in the shadow of adversity.  What’s more, he got his people who work the fleet of barges and shores to share in the process. Their input in the ergonomic design of the process gave them a personal stake in turning our rivers back to blue.

So whether you’re planning a new organization, or improving an existing one, get those using the oars to help design them. Because in deep water, we’re all in the same boat together.

Image source: David Blades | Flickr

Only The Best Bridges Are In View

In these times, those who focus on what they do best get on the procurement list.

In these times, those who focus on what they do best get on the procurement list.

The other day I was talking with a client about their current strategic market positioning statement. That fancy name for a slogan. The client’s current mantra is fairly beige. No proactive voice staking a claim. A diluted message working overtime to be the solution to everything, without being The Answer to anything.

To illustrate my point, I took the client up to the homepage of their website. The homepage is a telling place to see how well a company knows it’s core value, and can sell it in three seconds. In this case, both the content and creative execution failed to acknowledge my pain. Or how their expertise could make my job description more bearable. No single focus on a clear solution.

When I peer into a client’s business, I look for their best bridge. The one that will give their customers a solid crossing to a solution. I find that bridge in an engaging exercise that gets my clients to talk naturally about their business. In turn, I capture their passion. What they’re willing to put on the line. What gets them out of bed in the morning. In turn, their marketing communication writes itself. In real words. In an authentic voice that will connect with their customers.

That sells well.

In the new economy, business will maintain their current investments. And in doing so, they’ll partner with the “best in class” who can build on those investments.

Procurement will see only the best bridges. Those that are clearly in their view.

Image source foxy mcslick | flickr

Your Market Knows The Real Influencers. Ask Them.

A unique, and multiple peer nomination process is an objective way to identify and rank the real influencers.

All too often "influence" is based on assumptions that a prolific book writer or eloquent speech maker influences others. While this certainly may be the case, it's risky to base critical decisions, like strategic product development, on feedback recruited from a hypothesis.

Or worse yet, a popularity contest.

Peer nominations is a sure way to identify the real influencers. This process maps peers to those who influence them within an objective "sphere of influence" that lives inside, and outside, the online popularity bubble. This is particularly valuable when identifying influencers in industry sectors other than technology and social media.

The value of a peer-nominated influencer is defined through a highly-disciplined process anchored in primary and secondary research. There's nothing jazzy about it. Just a lot of heavy lifting to ensure objective data insight that identifies the real influencers you'll want to engage.

Success On The Wings of A Process

image source mike segar | reuters

The big story of US Airways flight 1549 was how two separate entities came together to save 155 lives. Each had their own processes and safety procedures that meshed on the Hudson for a positive outcome.

What the US Airways crew and first responders from the New York Waterway ferry service shared in common were good regulations, good training and ready-to-go safety equipment. This allowed both to move with speed and intelligence. Proactive.  

What’s more, both processes gave clear information to the passengers. Directions anchored in common purpose.

This event reinforces the fact that all disaster preparedness and response are local. And funding needs to go for those programs where the real action happens. Efforts like the Citizen Corps are making a real difference (with very little funding) in disaster preparedness at the local level.

The miracle on The Hudson is a stark reminder that investing in our processes and backbone can be the razor thin margin of success.

Beef Sweet, Spoon The Juice

image source: rainesmaker | twitpic

It's a cold January day in Chicago and Johnnie's brand is lined up outside. It's about 28 degrees. But here, real brand loyalty can weather anything.

I think Johnnie's makes the best Italian beef in the city. That's because it's owned by Greeks who know how to marinate the meat. And how to keep things simple. Johnnie's has had the same menu for over 30 years. There's just a few things on it. But no one makes those few things better.

On any given day you can stand in line and strike up a conversation with the other hungry brand loyalists. People share what they like. Some ask questions. The line at Johnnie's is social community in action. And the conversation is all about the beef. Sometimes it even goes viral to the folks way in the back.

I first started coming to Johnnie's back in the early 1990's as a transplant from LA. Now in LA we had the Original Tommy's Burger at Rampart and Beverly. Tommy's is like Johnnie's, but their vice is a double chili cheese burger. A real gut bomb.

I distinctly remember my first visit to Johnnie's. Still fresh and tan, I strutted up to the counter wearing my Tommy's veteran badge of gluttony. No problem here I thought. Boy was I schooled.

"I'll have an Italian Beef Sandwich," I proclaimed.

"You want peppers with that?" Mario piped.

"Peppers?" I was California perplexed.

"Yeah, sweet or hot giardinare." Mario barked.

(Someone in my new found social community chimed in and suggested the sweet peppers. And to have Mario spoon the beef juice rather than dip the sandwich. Too soggy otherwise.)

"And please spoon the beef juice on the sandwich," I added.

"You want fries and a drink with that?" Mario's bark got gruffer.

"Yes please, fries and a water. And I'll take it to go."

"Okay, fries with a Lake Michigan and legs," Mario corrected.

I had the semantics and the phatics all wrong. Just like any community, Johnnie's has it's own unique language. Nuance. But what Johnnie's and Tommy's do share is a passionate community around a brand. A community that includes all socioeconomic classes. Limos and the less fortunate lined up side by side. With a product kept simple to keep the quality focus. And both are owned by Greeks.

So now, after 15 years, I've got this lingo down like the meme, whuffie and avatar:

"Beef sweet. Spoon the juice."

If you're ever in Chicago and driving down North Avenue, you'll notice Johnnie's by their line outside.

It's their long tail.

Aligning Thought Leaders to the Product Lifecycle

lure artists: amy crehore / freckled bumblecat  becky harbine / wieny man  steve lodefink / tasty frog prince  | crankbait

Engaging the right Thought Leaders to help direct your product lifecycle development is either a strategic or tactical recruitment.

Knowing where you are in lifecycle phased development will tell you the type of individuals to lure. You may need highly strategic insight from Thought Leaders who can be respondents in early product concept testing. Or, you may need Key Influencers to help with your new product launch. Those who can speak or blog about your product's new whiz bang features.

Whatever your need, there's a big ocean of Thought Leaders out there. Knowing how you want to use them will tell you where to cast your lure.

Markets, Merchants and Confidants

Heddon Bayou Boogie and 34 Chrome Blue  |  landbigfish

It's diet time. I suspect social networks will be going on a low fat diet, seeking more meaning, utility and value.

Suppose you could segment your ever-expanding social network into a more digestible subset of social influence? Imagine if a subset of your peer influence network could reconstitute for very specific reasons.

Now what if you could survey this unique subset to get their rapid response on a specific subject. Or maybe this subset dynamically generates into a unique social graph based on the context of the site you're currently visiting. Taking it one step further, what if you could instant message your subset right from the third party site to tap into their influence you trust most at the point of purchase. Pretty interesting. Powerful. More valued I think.

A recent post by Alisa Leonard-Hansen on data portability got me thinking about all this. Alisa notes how sending my social graph to a third party site, say Amazon, turns Amazon into a social brand. So if I could instantly tap into my unique subset of peer influence for a book recommendation, it’s good for me and good for Amazon. Seller of books. Alisa talks further about this on the Mashable blog and how Facebook Connect is working it. Or not. Alisa contends, and I agree, that Facebook needs to see that their real bounty is stacked high in the rich user data they cultivate from being a communications platform. And not a content site. So if I allow Facebook to send my info over to Amazon, every one wins on the shared revenue deal. Even me. Amazon gives me reward credits for letting them use my peer influence.

So I was giving more thought on how the people I connect with, at any level of the relationship, could help me make a decision if they're aligned with me right.

For starters, my social network is the tapestry of people I weave into it. Some are "A-Listers" whom I already benefit from their heavy lifting aggregation of stuff. Then there's other people who are just really smart in certain things, like how to hack my blog to expand the graphic header. And, of course, my genuine Tweetup beer friends. The point being, if a relevant subset of my social influencers could help inform a specific action task, I just might buy the right dooshersnoozle.

"Bumbleswine" by lure artist mark frauenfelder |  Crankbait

I kind of look at this whole thing like an ever-flowing open bazaar of marketers, merchants and people you really, really trust. Each has a unique offer:

For starters, there are the mass Markets of social influence. I let this market flow of ideas, books and interesting stuff wash over me. Keep me soaked with what's happening. If I see some of them show up on my "network of friends" on Amazon, I could be influenced by their book recommendations.

Then there are the Merchants of Authority. These are the "go to" experts you talk to about hacking your blog. You might even give them money. In a recent post on the /message blog, Stowe Boyd chimes in on influence authority. Stowe points out that all too often celebrity is mistaken for authority in the hierarchical socialsphere. Authority in any subject, irregardless of celebrity. Simple math: celebrities have a fan base. It's quantifiable. Niche experts don’t have the congregation. But if I’m looking to buy a boat, I want to hear from someone I trust and who knows that a Jib is not half of the JibJab.

115 Tennessee Shad and 34 Chrome Blue  |  landbigfish

And finally there's the refuge of Confidants. People you trust. Your local Tweetup crew. This is the emotional pinnacle of social influence. The level where you risk, and gain, the most. Where the heart is. I'm going to explore some of that contextual text scanning stuff that recognizes the nuance that segments "I like that advice." with the Merchant influencers while, "Are you okay man?" moves into the much revered Confidants slot. So if I want the bags removed from below my eyes, I’m going trust my Confidants for that surgeon purchase.

Kate Niederhoffer over on the Abacus Social blog asked a diverse group of researchers to share their thoughts on the future of measurement. A key consensus among the group was "the need to substantially advance our understanding of individuals and the meaningful connections they have."

I'm going to check out some of the things that will make data portability meaningful. After all, data portability is merely the vehicle. What rides in it is where the real value hits the road.

I'll be lured to where my world graphs to where its traveling. This is the valued currency of social capital. Or soon will be.