Archive - April, 2010

Embracing Customer Disloyalty

April 19, 2010 in Books, Linchpin, Thinking Outside The Box with 4 Comments

I heard Seth Godin mention this when I heard him speak last month in Toronto and I thought it was worth sharing with you.

Seth pointed us to coffee store owner and World Barista Champion, Gwilym Davies, who created the “dis-loyalty card.”

You all know about loyalty cards. I’m sure any of us could open our wallets or purses and find a variety of them at any given moment.

“Visit us 10 times, and you’re 11th purchase will be free!”

Gwilm Davies flipped it. He said, “Here’s the deal. Go to our competitors, drink their coffee and come back and I’ll give you a free one.”

The catch is … , I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably thinking that Gwilm wanted to show how inferior his competitors products were to his own.

In reality, there wasn’t any negative intent to his actions at all.

He wasn’t trying to do any harm to his competitors. Instead, he was promoting them.

Gwilm wanted people to drink high quality coffee, plain and simple. He wanted his customers to support his competitors who also make a high quality product.

He’s basically saying, “If I was to buy a coffee, it would be from one of these eight places! Check em out!”

Gwilm loves coffee so much that he’s willing to give business away so that people don’t have to drink bad coffee. It’s brilliant.

We tend to focus too much energy on beating the living daylights out of our competition. We’ve been taught that business always has to be cut throat. “Business is  WAR!” they said. Yet, here’s an example that flips that traditional business mentality on it’s head.

I can see this same concept working in so many different industries.

Think of small town restaurants trying to do  battle against the easy and convenient fast food giants. They could come together and present a similar concept.

“Eat at all six of these local restaurants and you’ll be given a $25 gift card to use at one of the six locations.”

The gift card could be picked randomly so that all participating businesses get their share.

Just because the business schools and marketing textbooks like to show us the way things have been done for the past 50 years, doesn’t mean it’s the only way to do them now.

The original story can be found  here.

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What Should I Do with My Life?

April 16, 2010 in Books with 2 Comments

Just a quick book review today.

The next book on the list of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, that I’ve been reading from, is titled “What Should I Do with My Life?” by author Po Bronson.

Bronson.gifFunny… I go from being a reading maniac to taking almost two weeks to get through a book called “What Should I Do with My Life?”

What does that tell ya about me?

Bronson found himself in a position many people find themselves in these days, unemployed and at a crossroads of  life. He was at a point in his own life when he was asking himself the same question, “What Should I Do with My Life?”

Po decided that he would look for others who were asking or had asked that question, at some point in their lives, and share those stories with us.

Bronson interviewed over 900 people. The book provides the stories of about 50 of those people who were wondering what they should do with their lives.

The book is interesting because it’s a collection of the types of stories we hear about, but never believe could apply to us.

Stories like a PR executive, on the verge of doubling her salary, leaving her well-paid career to work outside and do low-paid landscaping.

Or a professor with tenure who decided to leave and pursue a new career in law, at 70 years old.

The book offers us both a glimpse and an understanding that we actually do have a choice in life to follow our passion, and a glimpse at those who actually took the plunge and followed it.

Bronson profiled about 50 different people in the book. What I enjoyed about the book is that not every story has a happy ending. It wasn’t always what you expected. Some people made the jump, but then realized it was just another step in the road. They had to keep looking.

It was a great book.

If you’re still wondering, “what should I do with my life?”, this is a great read. At the very least, it will show you that you’re not alone. Millions of us ponder the question at various stages in our lives. This book will give you a look at what happened when people tried to find the answer.

I recommend you read it.

No time for that.

April 15, 2010 in Misc with 6 Comments

In December  I went up to Toronto to hear Gary Vaynerchuk speak. He said something that’s really stuck with me.

Gary was knee deep into his keynote; maybe it was more like a rant. Gary’s extremely passionate, and he doesn’t hold back when giving a talk.

Gary’s Crush It pitch in a nutshell: Follow your passion. Life is too short not to follow your passion. If you crush it – you can make a living from your passion.

Then Gary addressed some questions:

“But Gary, I work from 9-5 to support my wife and kids. I don’t get home until 6:30, and by that time I’m exhausted. How on earth would I have time to create a business around bass fishing?”

Gary’s response was stark and to the point. “Turn off the next 20 episodes of Mad Men – stop voting on American Idol – put your head down, get to work and shut the &^%$ up.”

He explained:

“Yes, you’re going to be tired if the only hours to work on you are between 9pm and 2am.

Yes, it’s going to suck.

Yes, it’s going to require patience.

But you know what, if you want it badly enough, you can find the time.”

However, it’s all about where we put your time and energy. TMZ and Perez Hilton may need to wait. The Biggest Loser will always have severely overweight people to help.

I understand that Gary was making a generalization that TV may be the main culprit for most people’s lack of time, but I think that’s exactly what it was, a generalization. We can all find a bit of extra time to do things that matter to us.

I found it interesting to see the same concept show up recently in  “Rework.”  (another must buy, book  if you haven’t read it already, is - my review here)

Jason and David write:

“The most common excuse people give: “There’s not enough time.” They claim they’d love to start a company, learn an instrument, market an invention, write a book…but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Come on. There’s always enough time if you spend it right, instead of watching TV or playing World of Warcraft. Work on your idea…The truth is, most people don’t want it badly enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of no time. It’s entirely your responsibility to make your dreams come true.“

I’ve used the excuse before, but have now realized that I was just making excuses.

For example, I used to say, “I didn’t have time to read”, but in December I flicked off my TV, and now I’ve read over 35 books in four months.

No time for that, are you sure?

Business or Real?

April 14, 2010 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing with 6 Comments

A sales rep stops by your office and you instantly know that well, he’s a sales rep.

The phone rings and, within first 10 seconds, you know it’s a business call. They don’t care about you, they care about the sale.

A real estate agent tells you about a house the same way he writes the ad for the newspaper - 2 bedroom, 2 bath, new fireplace, granite countertops, fenced yard.

He’s just going through the motions; hammer the sign into the lawn, write the ad, open house on Sunday.

A car salesman walks, talks, acts like the stereotypical car salesman. He’s always got to “present” your offer to the manager. You think you’re negotiating a major deal – he’s laughing at you in the next room.

Did you really believe you saved three grand on that new SUV because of your super negotiating skills?

You walk into the furniture shop, and you’re swarmed by commission-ready vampires.

You think they care if you buy the flower print ottoman? Do you really believe that it’s actually on sale – and he’s “willing” to do even better on the price?


It’s all business.

We knew it all along, but we chose to accept it. We have stereotyped these people because we believed there was nothing else we could do about it. Therefore, we cope by making light of the situation.

All of a sudden, these tools exist, and we choose not to accept it anymore. All of a sudden, we’ve lost our sense of humour.

Lie to us and we tell our 400 friends on Facebook. Please understand that 400 friends on Facebook can snowball into thousands of people in seconds.

Provide horrible service at your restaurant, and instantly we can Tweet to 2500 people about it.

Tell us the house is a great deal, even though you know it isn’t, by hiding the fact that it needs 20k in repairs. People will retaliate by starting a blog exposing the lies.

Here’s the flip-side. Actually, I’d be willing to say rather than this being the flip-side, this is the only side that matters, going forward.

Be real.

Be honest and truthful with us and we’ll tell our 400 friends on Facebook. Please understand that 400 friends on Facebook can snowball into thousands of people in seconds.

Provide amazing service at your restaurant, and instantly we can Tweet 2500 people about it.

Tell us honestly that you believe a house is a great deal, but warn us it’s going to need 20k in repairs, and we’ll start a blog to share our great experience.

Get it?

Why Blog?

April 13, 2010 in Linchpin, Misc, Success with 4 Comments

Since January or so, I’ve made a conscious decision to blog more often. I’ve had this blog since 2006 and sometimes would go four or five months without making a single entry.

I gained much motivation from my father-in-law who writes an excellent blog called Quoteflections.com. He started his blog around the beginning of 2008 and has not missed a single day. In fact, he’s occasionally blogged more than once a day.

In 2008, he blogged 370 times. In 2009, he blogged 378 times. In 2010, he’s already blogged 115 times. His slow and un-rushed process has earned him a steady group of followers in his tribe.

In January I ramped up to blogging every few days.

In February I started blogging three times a week.

In March I started blogging every day, Monday to Friday, with a goal of writing around 500 words per day.

Occasionally,  I’ll miss a few days if I’ve gone away, but I’m pretty much hitting my target.

It’s not always as easy as it looks, and the frequency of posting really has nothing to do with the quality of a blog.

Sometimes I have nothing to say.

Sometimes I need motivation.

Sometimes I go looking for inspiration.

Sometimes it’s a pain in the ass, but I do it anyway.

A friend of mine asked today, “Do you get anything out of blogging beyond self-fulfillment? I don’t see any ads on your website.”

Here’s why I’m doing it and what I’m getting out of it.

First, Gavin was right. There are no ads on my blog. I don’t make any money directly from blogging.

The blog acts as a tool for me to express myself and my ideas. That’s it in a nutshell. If people want to read it, I’m honoured, but I’ll keep writing it regardless of traffic stats. If my blog triggers any type of positive response in a single person, then I’ve achieved something. I’m proud of that.

This is a slow and steady race.

I have no motivation to rush here as that won’t get me anywhere.

The blog is also my resume and personal branding tool. I don’t have a resume nor am I looking for a job. If you want to learn about me, or work with me, it’s all here.

When you go looking for a job, you can be sure your potential employers are “googling” you. Why not be in control of what they see?

Ever written or kept a journal? Same idea. This blog is allowing my thoughts and opinions to develop and my voice to gain volume. It’s an extremely gratifying part of my daily routine.

Since setting up my blog to syndicate all my posts on Facebook, I’ve heard from friends who never really had a clue what I was up to,  and now many are reading and digging what I have to say. That makes it worthwhile.

I was told by one friend that my posts were some of the driving motivation for her to start her own first  business. That’s a little like dumping fuel on a fire.

I encourage you to start your own blog. After Gavin and I talked about it, he mentioned, “500 words a day keeps the doctor away!” It’s so true.

If you need help or advice on starting your own blog, shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to offer some assistance.

In The Zone

April 12, 2010 in Fun Stuff with 4 Comments

I grew up a basketball fanatic. I played most of my pre-adult life on various teams until around the time I finished high school.

One of the things you’ve probably heard before is the phrase that someone is “in the zone!”

After Michael Jordan hit his third or fourth three pointer, the announcers would often exclaim, “he’s in the zone!”

I remember the zone. It was an odd feeling that happened only every so often. I’m sure for pro athletes and superstars, it happens far more often.

This is what the zone feels like (if I can explain it…even though I’m sure you’ve all been there at least once in your life)

You launch a three pointer, and just as the ball leaves your hands, you know it’s in basket. There was no way it was going to miss. I remember the feeling clearly.

Many times after the ball left your hands, you’d start to turn around and make your way back to play defense.

Yesterday, we saw Phil Mickleson in the zone. He knew as soon as he hit certain shots or tapped certain putts, they were going in. There was no question about it.

Tiger couldn’t find the zone yesterday. And if he could have found it, he might have won.

I’ve started to notice, after playing basketball for close to 18 years, that the zone isn’t just a sports’ thing.

Often, we’ll find ourselves in the zone in our personal lives, or our careers, or with whatever we’re doing.

The key to the zone is knowing when you’re there and capitalizing on the moment. It’s at times like these you need to take more shots and more risks.

It’s the job interview you knew you nailed – you knew you had the job before you shook hands to leave.

It’s the business call you knew was a success before hanging up the phone.

It’s those moments when you don’t just feel like everything is going your way, you know it is.

Of course, the zone can also trick us.

Back during basketball games, I remember the times when we wanted to force the zone. We would take bad shots while in a false sense of the zone. We can easily fool ourselves into believing we’re in the zone, or, we attempt to rush it and try to force ourselves into that special place.

The zone can’t be faked.

It’s a natural phenomenon that happens by itself. You need to recognize the moments you’re TRULY there and it’s at those moments you pounce! The zone doesn’t last forever. It’s short and sweet and powerful.

You can’t force the zone. The only way to get there is by taking a risk to begin with.

Jordan would often find the zone by first missing a handful of shots and then nailing the next six. Suddenly he was there. Nobody could stop Jordan when he found the zone.

Notice Jordan never gave up after missing the first bunch. He kept going and then the magic happened.

The same goes for you. Find the zone and you’ll be unstoppable.

Positive Thinking = Good Things Magnet?

April 9, 2010 in Life, Success with 2 Comments

How many of you know someone that’s totally over optimistic about everything in life?

Everything is always great! They’re always smiling and, sometimes, when things aren’t going our way, they are still smiling, and thus we want to just rip that silly grin right off their face! STOP SMILING!

Compare that to the opposite type of person. The person who’s always thinking about the worst-case scenario. The person who’s always thinking that the world is working against them to ensure they live miserably. I know far too many people who live with this type of mentality.

Of course, we’ve also got ordinary everyday people who sit somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.

The other day, I was flying home from Augusta, GA and I read a story about Cynthia Stafford.

Cynthia believed deeply in the law of attraction. The idea behind the law of attraction is that our thoughts and desires actually influence our lives and the world we live in. Through our thoughts, it’s believed that we can manifest and create the world in which we live.

If you believe you’re going to be successful, there’s a good chance you will be.

If you believe you’re going to end up broke and unhappy, well, chances are you’ll end up broke and unhappy.

Most people believe the concept to be rather hokey. Others, like Tony Robbins, believe that our lives are almost entirely governed by our attitudes and the law of attraction.

Cynthia’s story takes it to the extreme though.

Cynthia was a single mother of five. She became a strong believer of the law of attraction. She wholeheartedly believed that she could manifest her ideal life.

She started to visualize winning the lottery… Who doesn’t, right?
OK, bear with me – It’s a crazy story.

She actually started to visualize winning a very specific amount of money. The number was $112 Million Dollars. The number just kept popping into her head. She wrote the number down. She meditated on the number. She focused on the number. She believed in the number. She thought about what she would do with the money.

She became obsessed with it. For over four months, it dominated her thoughts.

On May 2007, Cynthia won the Mega Millions lottery. The amount?

Exactly  $112 million dollars.

The reason for the article was that Cynthia has given away a considerable amount of her winnings, far more than most lottery winners ever give away. She’s been donating large sums of money left and right to people and organizations in need.

I’m not saying that if you focus on winning the lottery for months, you’re going to win millions of dollars; but if you’re always focusing on the negative things going on in your life and always believing things are going to end negatively, it’s going to be that much harder to get ahead.

Optimism and positive thinking have never been overrated.

Finding your “thing”

April 8, 2010 in Entrepreneurship, Life, Success with 5 Comments

I’m 29 years old, and I’m not sure I’ve found my “thing” yet.

I write this blog, I consult with businesses, and  I help them make more money. I show businesses how to use the internet to grow their business and make more money. I do a little of this and a bit of that.

However, I’m not sure I’ve found the “thing” yet.

You know the “thing” right? The “thing” that wakes you up every morning with a burning desire to go out there and get-em. You’ve got it right?

If you go to bed Sunday night and simply can’t wait for the five days ahead, then you’ve found your “thing.”

I was never able to say in my earlier years, “this is what I want to do when I grow up.”

Here I am all grown up, and I still can’t say exactly what that is.

Guidance counselors, teachers, and peers used to make me feel like this was inadequate. After all, most people had it all figured out. They would go off and become teachers, police officer, accountants, advertisers, bankers, restaurant managers etc…

I remember being told that eventually you just had to “decide and pick something.”

I’ve never been able to “just decide and pick” my life, and it used to scare the pants off me.

The nice thing is that I’m not bothered by it anymore.

It used to scare me that I couldn’t just decide.

It used to scare me how easily I could jump between hobbies and try new things.

It used to scare me how I could so easily attempt new business ventures by moving from one extreme to another.

But it doesn’t scare me anymore. It excites me now.

It excites me because I’ve learned that I don’t need to be looking for the “thing.”

What excites me about it isn’t that I can’t settle down,  I’m excited because there is something not allowing me to settle down.

Am I looking for a “thing” or is some-”thing” looking for me?

Either way, in my mind, it’s way more exciting than the alternative.

Lighting your Spark

April 1, 2010 in Life with 3 Comments

This is my final post regarding The Art of Possibility. You can look back at the posts from this week starting on Monday, March 29th to review all 12 steps toward living a life of unlimited possibility.

Here are the links, if you want to go back to the beginning.

A Life of Unlimited Possibility

I give you an A+

Lighten Up – Seriously

Practice Number Nine – Light a Spark

This practice revolves around enrollment which is the art of generating a spark of possibility for others. The goal is to understand that others are looking to live a life of abundant possibilities as well, but they are waiting to catch the spark. They are hoping for a “light.”

Carry that spark with you and be willing to share it whenever the opportunity is presented.

At the same time, be like kindling and be prepared to receive the spark from others. Your openness to receive and be “lit up” is a key to the art of possibility.

Practice Ten – Being the Board

Being the board is one of the most difficult practices suggested in the book. It’s about looking at things that happen in life and rather than asking “Why Me?,” you ask “How?”

Being the board is about giving up the desire to place blame or find fault when negative things happen in life.

The authors state that practice starts with stating, “I am the framework for everything that happens in my life.” We don’t think of ourselves as a game piece on the game-board of life, rather we’re the entire board where life is played out.

The authors give the extreme example of being rear-ended by a drunk driver at a stop light. We can place blame and want justice against the driver. But we can also accept the framework of the situation in that every time we drive, we’re taking a risk. There is a a high statistical probability that something like this can and will happen.

Laying blame and finding fault are protective instincts from our calculating self.

What can we learn from being the board?

Practice Eleven – Creating Frameworks for Possibilities

Creating a framework for possibilities is about formulating a vision.

People in general seem to latch on to negativity and downward spirals.

The authors tell a story of a young elementary school girl who underwent chemotherapy and lost all of her hair. On her first day back at school, she was ridiculed. The girl left school sobbing.

The next day the students arrived at school and when their teacher entered the room, she removed her hat and, to the students surprise, she had shaved her head bald. The students who had previously engaged in the downward spiral  went home that evening and begged their own parents to allow them to shave their heads. And they all did.

The teacher created a new framework of possibilities. One that hadn’t previously existed for the children.

Practice Twelve – Telling the WE Story

Life and many of its conflicts are based on us vs them, or, me vs you. The goal of this practice is to remove ME, ME, ME and replacing it with WE.

When you fight with your spouse, it’s not about what she or he can do differently. It’s about what WE can do differently to create new possibilities.

I hope you enjoyed the past few days and my journey through this book. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s got the ability to drastically change your life.

Cheers!

Noah

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