Connecting the dots

If you haven't gotten the memo yet, (I'm pretty sure you have) here's a reminder: today, business as usual is steadily dying.

In just one corner of the market, the newspaper industry, is a shining example of the old guard passing away . Just to put a nail in the coffin, Warren Buffet mentioned in an article yesterday that the reeling industry may never recover because it lacks a sustainable business model. He further went on to say "For most newspapers in the United States, we would not buy them at any price," "They have the possibility of nearly unending losses. I do not see anything on the horizon that sees that erosion coming to an end." Ouch.

For those who 'understand', no big deal. We  got it. Get creative, innovate and keep it moving. But for many, they still just don't get it.

I was recently in a conversation with a friend of mine who saw a video spoof on Twitter (showing how silly twitter can be). Afterwards her comment about it was "This is exactly why I don't twitter and think the whole concept is pretty dumb", "I just don't see the point and wonder why it was ever created."

Wow. . . and I thought I was a harsh critic.

Now I am no Twitter fanatic but I do have an account and do use it. I am not on it posting hundreds of tweets like many are  but at the end of the day I 'get it'. Delving into twittering means you are exploring and trying to understand the next iteration of social media - which is only going to continue to grow and expand.  Now whether Twitter continues to thrive or goes down in flames is irrelevant.  The reality is that, at a minimum, it's an important experiment noteworthy of being investigated and paid attention to. 

The downfall of newspapers, the rise of blogs, the impact of Facebook and the birth of twitter are all interrelated. When you look at all four of these ideas and understand how they relate to each other and how they are impacting other aspects of the market, the light bulb should go off in your head. It'll become clearer how the dots connect and then, possibly, you'll see how twitter may not be so "dumb" after all.

Now I'm not saying become a twitter fanatic  or go promote it like its the best thing since sliced bread but supporting the other extreme and saying it's "pointless". . . hmmm not sure that's a valuable outlook either.

People bash or sing super high praises of twitter.  I say people are missing the point.  Don't miss the forest by looking at the trees.

Opening acts and . . .

Seth Godin drops another gem. . .

The opening act has the toughest gig in town. The audience isn't here to listen to you. They're restless. Perhaps you'll get a few seconds to earn their attention, but not much. Your gimmicks will fall flat and you might even get booed off stage.

The rock star, on the other hand, has the crowd chanting for him before he shows up. He starts a song and people applaud. They sing along. They finish his lyrics for him.

Most marketers are opening acts. The ad or blog post or tweet is a desperate attempt at attention, at keeping people from switching it off or booing. The posture of the marketer who is an opening act is unstable and a little sad.

Some marketers are rock stars.

How'd that happen?

I'd argue that the two keys to becoming a rock star marketer are:
1. settle for a tiny audience that views you as a star, not an opening act. Then grow that audience.
and
2. Be really good.

I just went to see Keller Williams in concert. Without a doubt, he's a genius and a rock star. If he tried to pull this stuff as an opening act for someone else, he'd be booed off the stage. But he doesn't. Because he's a rock star. If he was selling something, I'd buy it.

The Lizard Brain

In today's marketplace the role of creativity and creative problem solving are more imperative than ever before. The inability to re-imagine the possibilities could very much be your first steps in the direction of irrelevance.  And the last time I checked nobody wants that.  

What is interesting though, is why some individuals, organizations or businesses in times of upheavel and change soar to new heights when others simply sputter and go nowhere.

In some form or fashion they've figured out how to move beyond their 'lizard brain'.

So now the question begs, "what is the lizard brain?"

The lizard brain is concerned only with survival. Not creative thinking, not thoughtful musings, or imaginative contemplation. Located at the base of our skull and right above our spine, it's our old brain which focuses only on eat, attack, runaway or mate. That's it.  It's our own 'personal' counselor for social survival.  It remembers when we 'crashed and burned' in a social situation. It remembers when we were laughed at in the classroom for giving the wrong answer.  It remembers when we offered that new idea during the last office meeting that the director shot down and everyone else agreed it was 'bad idea' (note to self: NEVER do that again). It conditions us to not take risks and do what is only absolutely necessary. The lizard brain keeps our fear in tact, and as was mentioned before, is focuses only on insuring our survival.

The ability to recognize when the lizard brain, both within ourselves and in others, gets turned on and begins operating, is vitally important. Our neo-cortex (which lower species don't have) or the part of our brain responsible for intelligence, is where we sift through data, draw on experience, or conjure new possibilities. This is the brain we need. Yet, again, it is so often that many (for whatever reason) won't/can't use it.

As you look around and see new ideas emerging, change happening, and restructuring taking place the question becomes "how long do you really want your lizard brain to have a grip on how you think?"

Your answer to that question could ultimately determine your destiny.

What are you afraid of?

You've been invited to a social event by a good friend of yours. You're inside by the lobby where you're suppose to meet her, but she's nowhere in sight.  A couple of minutes later you get a text from her saying she got held up by a couple of phone calls and is running late by about forty minutes. Now you were very much interested in attending this event but not alone. You thought you would be able to go inside mingle with your friend for a bit and then at some point chat it up with some of the other attendees, but now she's running late. What do you do?

A. Stay outside in the lobby area and loiter around for 40 minutes (at least) and wait for your friend to arrive.

B. Go inside, be a wall flower and people watch.

C. Head over to the bar grab a drink and hang around there until your friend comes.

D. Tell your friend that you are going home and you'll see her on the next go around.

E. Go inside and start mingling with the other attendees.

How many picked E?

If you are a social butterfly then the choice was a no-brainer, but many people are not and a scenario such as this strikes fear in the heart of many. Why?  Walking into a room full of strangers is unsettling.  It means trying something new, leaving your comfort zone and opening yourself up to new experiences.  And as crazy as it sounds most people would strongly prefer NOT to do any of these three things.

Fear, fear, fear. . .

This four letter word is probably single-handedly why ideas never happen, businesses stagnate, and why brands don't grow.

As the above scenario lays out, when something happens which wasn't planned, (the friend not showing up) often, instead of adapting to the situation the typical reaction is to shrink away from the new challenge (going into a room full strangers by yourself) and simply go back to what you were doing in the first place (chillin' at home watching TV and/or hanging out with friends you already know).

At the end of the day the more resistance you put up to placing yourself in new situations or scenarios the more likely your ability to adapt to new circumstances becomes that much harder.  And In today's market where old ideas are deteriorating daily and new ones are emerging anyone's decision to not open themselves to new experiences will ultimately put them between a rock and a hard place.  Somewhere most people would prefer not to be.

So what are you afraid of when you don't want to try something new?  That is only a question that you can answer for yourself.

Thriving in today's environment means trying something you've never done before. Squelching that little voice inside of you that says "don't do it, we'll try this another day." Getting past this is difficult but the rewards are potentially astronomical. So conquering your fear could mean conquering the world. . .

Hmmm, now that's an idea to think about.

Making ideas happen, DC style!

Just this past Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I attended the phenomenal 99% conference in New York, hosted by Behance and Coolhunting - two companies that have, in their own ways, developed creative ways to share their ideas with the world.

The title, inspired by Thomas Edison's famous quote "genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration," was picked to represent the theme and purpose of the conference - which was not to focus on ideas (which 99% of conferences do) but to focus on how to make ideas happen.  Entrepreneurs, artists, photographers, designers, and innovators from Brooklyn to Singapore gathered at the New York Times Building in Manhattan and schemed on how to take ideas and successfully execute them.

So now it is only appropriate to shout out (in a big way) those who are making ideas happen - in my neck of the woods. Just a quick plane, bus, or train ride away, west of the the Big Apple.

CreativesDC is an online/offline social network of creatives, entrepreneurs and free-agents who too, are about making ideas happen. Created by Neil Takemoto of Cooltown Beta Communities and Philippa P.B. Hughes of The Pink Line Project, their goal for this initiative is to create a 'hub' for creatives and economic producers to mix and mingle and explore ways to marry cultural ideas/products to commercial opportunities in the DC metropolitan area.  A member myself since July of '08, I've personally found that it's one of the few 'networking' events that gets it in terms leveraging new ideas of the creative economy (i.e social media, crowdsourcing, triple-bottom line) to help build sustainable enterprises.  Check out the site when you get a chance.  With about 500 members, events taking place every other month and over 15 projects in the works, you may just want to keep your eye out for these folks. Some great ideas are on the verge. . .