Words to live by from the dawn of technology

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I’ve been thinking of all those pithy sayings about living our lives, like the Chinese “May you live in interesting times” and “Be careful what you wish for…”

And I have found my new message.

So, I am only about 50 pages into the nearly 600 pages of Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, and I have already found my favorite part – that new message.

Mind, I have been in the technology business nearly as long as Steve Jobs, although not as long as Atari-founder Nolan Bushnell, with whom I worked some many years later, after Atari.

But there were Nolan’s words for me to live by, on page 44 of the book, revealing the simplicity of his approach to technology and design: the instructions for Atari’s Star Trek game:

1.  Insert quarter.    2. Avoid Klingons.

 

Marketing Checklist to Measure Your Brand’s Personality by Terry Corbell

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  Marketing Checklist to Measure Your Brand’s Personality by Terry Corbell

Here are two key questions about your marketing: 1. How much have you invested in your brand and personality? 2. How’s it working?

These are important questions. However, many companies – large, medium and small – can’t accurately answer the questions. That’s especially true regarding their return on investment. Yet, ROI is critical to measure.

New research shows how to gauge your brand’s personality appeal – if it’s suitable to yield sales.

“We developed this means of measuring brand personality appeal (BPA) so companies can figure out how favorably their brand personality is viewed by consumers – and what they can do to enhance that personality’s appeal to their market,” says Dr. David Henard, an associate professor of business management at North Carolina State, in a press release.

The paper, “Brand personality appeal: conceptualization and empirical validation,” was co-authored by Henard; Dr. Traci Freling, of the University of Texas-Arlington; and Dr. Jody Crosno, of West Virginia University. The paper was published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.  (For purchase:  http://www.springerlink.com/content/mm753j27h285511v/ )

“Until now, researchers have only been able to determine whether a company has a brand personality,” Henard says. “The only existing scale was Aaker’s Brand Personality Scale, which could determine whether a brand personality is rugged, sophisticated, competent, exciting or sincere.

“What we’ve done here is develop a system that digs deeper to help companies link brand personality to concrete outcomes. For example, does the brand personality actually make people want to buy their product?”

The study lists 16 questions to ask about your brand in three variables: Favorability, originality and clarity.

The press release explains: “Favorability is how positively a brand personality is viewed by consumers. Originality is how distinct the brand personality is from other brands. Clarity is how clearly the brand personality is perceived by consumers.”

The press release offers more explanation about the three variables.

“For example, a company may find that its brand personality has a moderate rating on favorability, but is viewed as highly original and clearly defined. High marks for originality and clarity make the brand personality more appealing than the moderate favorability rating might indicate. It also tells a company that it needs to focus its efforts on improving its favorability rating, rather than distinguishing itself from competitors, in order to boost the brand personality’s overall appeal.”

The 16 questions:

  1. This brand’s personality is unapparent…apparent
  2. This brand’s personality is distinct…indistinct
  3. This brand’s personality is satisfactory…unsatisfactory
  4. This brand’s personality is obvious…not obvious
  5. This brand’s personality is unpleasant…pleasant
  6. This brand’s personality is common…distinctive
  7. This brand’s personality is attractive…unattractive
  8. This brand’s personality is ordinary…novel
  9. This brand’s personality is positive…negative
  10. This brand’s personality is bad…good
  11. This brand’s personality is vague…well-defined
  12. This brand’s personality is poor…excellent
  13. This brand’s personality is undesirable…desirable
  14. This brand’s personality is predictable…surprising
  15. This brand’s personality is routine…fresh
  16. This brand’s personality is unclear…clear

The study provides interesting food for thought, right? Munch away.

“What”s a brand? A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect.”  - Al Ries

 

Terry Corbell, my close colleague and friend, is Seattle’s “Biz Coach.” He is a business-performance consultant and profit professional.   I wanted to share his article with you, and refer you to his site, where you will find hundreds of interviews and articles (http://www.bizcoachinfo.com), and where you can contact him for a complimentary chat about your business.

Offshoring, the new economics and the American middle class – a detailed look at Apple & Asia in the New York Times

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Earlier this week, on Monday, I was out to dinner with friends at one of our local Santa Monica hang-outs, a rather funky neighborhood place with good food and lots of room, and quiet.

At 7:30, in an orderly assembly, 45 Asian teenagers arrived and filled the big booths with 6 kids each, both boys and girls.  Half the large restaurant was filled with these charming kids, about 14 years old.  Their leader was a dapper Asian gentleman around 50, who quietly (nearly silently) directed them to arrange themselves in their booths, and then left them to join 3 other adults at a separate table.  The kids ordered, ate, talked among themselves.  The adults had their dinner and did not interfere with them even once.

And the restaurant was as quiet as if they were not there.  The kids had a good time and enjoyed their food.  This was clearly a celebratory outing for them all.  I realized it was the Chinese New Year (Monday, January 23rd, 2012), the first evening of the year of the dragon, and that was the celebration.

And they in no way disturbed any of the other folks in the restaurant.  No acting out, no food fights, no discipline of any kind was required.  Upon our finishing our meal and leaving, my husband approached the leader, bowed slightly and complimented him on the exemplary behavior of his young charges.  The man was delighted, came over to the other 3 of us, bowed and shook our hands, beaming and saying thank you.

Now, I tell you this story because that morning I had read, online at the New York Times, about the economics of off-shoring manufacturing and logistics in Asia, by Apple and most other consumer electronics companies.  This article seems, at first, to be an indictment against Apple and others, but in fact quite clearly explains the cost/benefit realities of the Asian vs. the American workforce — the flexibility, the speed, the low cost, and the results achieved by off-shoring, when it is well-managed by Apple or others… and the lack of appropriate skilled workers at the required levels and the lack of training for such jobs within the U.S. workforce.

I have built a company in China, so I have some experience about both its changing economy and the working life of the Chinese, as well as the challenges its government faces in feeding 1.3 billion citizens.  I have been an entrepreneur in the U.S. for 25 years, so I know something about building businesses here too.

This article filled me with both excitement about the global marketplace, and with some dread for the U.S. workforce (at least in the short term).  My optimism about our resilience and flexibility, and the opportunities seen at other end of this period of major change, remains undaunted.

It is a long article, and worth reading every word.  The world has indeed flattened, and the realities of that change begin with this information.

 

Strategies for winning funding in 2012 from the venture capital panel at the Consumer Electronics Show

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Recently I chaired the Venture Capital panel at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), hosting a stellar cast of investors, who offered savvy advice on winning investment capital in the current funding environment.

They offered key strategies and tactics for rising above the noise of so many early stage companies competing for the few positions available in each Fund.

Number of new deals planned for 2012: 4-5 per early stage investment firm

Consistent with last year’s panel (2011), each early stage Fund planned to invest in a Series A for four or five new early stage companies during this year.  No more than that.  In the case of Jerusalem Venture Partners, Yoav Tzruya reported that this number represents no more than 1% of the 600 companies JVP reviews each year for its early stage fund.  Kevin Spain of Emergence Capital which has a focus on B2B applications, and Chris Petrovic of GameStop Digital which is a strategic investor/acquirer of game companies, as well as Habib Kairouz of Rho Capital agreed with the plan for 4-5 new deals this year.

Current market competition is significantly increased

We are in a boom period again, this time for the number of early stage companies in play in the market.  The continuing trend that allows for new technologies and applications to be built with many off-the-shelf tools, using world-wide technical expertise, for much less capital, has created many new companies competing for the funding resources available.  The new trend of incubating companies in accelerators has added some seed capital to these concept-companies to get them through their initial product development.  But then these companies need to get some traction in the market, hopefully to significant revenue, before they can hope to move from seed capital to Series A.

Alternative strategies if you cannot get from Seed to Series A, or from Series A to Series B funding: ways to create a stronger offering

Looking at these market conditions, some on the panel offered an interesting perspective for rising above the noise: consider early stage strategic alliances/mergers to strengthen your position to attract funding.

Early stage companies not attracting that critical Series A or Series B funding should consider connecting strategically or through acquisition or merger with other similar-stage companies to create a stronger offering for funding.  Aligning with other early companies that would enhance your market position or extend your product offerings or brand, you might attract that essential next stage of funding.

I found this “investment banking” approach fascinating for early stage companies, but of course in the hour we had, we didn’t delve into and examples or the terms of such deals.

Kevin Spain added a new point, that he sees a strong emerging trend in B2B and enterprise applications using the new technologies that are mostly focused on the consumer market now.  He advised companies to look for those B2B market opportunities for their current B2C products and applications.  A doubling of your target markets, which rise and fall under different economic conditions, may present a strong offering to investors.

Strategic approaches to sourcing capital

We did move on to speak about strategic corporate capital, as both Scott English from Hearst and Chris Petrovic of GameStop approach their investments as strategic additions to their portfolios, rather than as pure venture investments –even though each has a different priority for these investments.

The first point made was to conduct your due diligence about how strategic investors value their target companies.  Hearst, for example, is a later stage investor focused on financial ROI to Hearst first, and strategic value to the portfolio second.  GameStop, focused on early stage game companies, values its acquisition targets first as an operational addition to its portfolio plan (does the company add to GameStop’s infrastructure, product mix, learning about new markets, or strategy) before financial and ROI considerations.

The lesson here, as offered often in these pages, is to ~

  1. do your homework about your company’s “fit” with what an investment group might be seeking,
  2. talk with other companies in the investor’s portfolio, and
  3. narrow down your list and your efforts to those investors that prefer your company’s stage, market sector, and your possible enhancement of their portfolio’s current companies.
  4. Some strategic and corporate investors function very much like venture capitalists, and others have different priorities.  So, after your due diligence, and as you enter discussions, read the deal’s restrictions and the detailed legal conditions before negotiating or accepting any investment.

Critical factors for winning investment above the competition

The panel was particularly savvy about the profile of companies who would receive their funding:

Norm Fogelsong of Institutional Venture Partners, a later-stage venture fund, insisted that your company’s vision must be big, very big, to attract the rounds of capital needed to become a major player.

The panelists agreed that they are very focused on execution, in particular execution on market penetration.   After you have been funded on your product’s unique value, it is time to turn your attention to your market, especially your customer acquisition and retention strategies, tactics and results.

Yoav related that he looked for CEOs with deep market savvy, a founder who knows his or her product and its market realities, and has a strong go-to-market strategy.

Sharon Wienbar of Scale Venture Partners, a later stage investor, said that she looks for the CEO to “de-risk” Scale’s investment with the following factors:

  • Proof of market responsiveness:  does your customer commit to your vision of your product’s value, price and use?
  • A business model that prioritizes customer acquisition and retention:  do you have a plan that acquires each new customer quickly and for less and less cost of acquisition?
  • Compelling metrics:  are your projections for market penetration, growth and profitability backed up by proven metrics?

So, amid the growing competition for capital we are seeing this year, particularly in the consumer market, investors’ focus seems to move quickly from unique technologies and applications to strong execution.  Early stage companies need strategies to present compelling offerings to investors, and an increasing focus on market execution that leads to growing a big company and taking significant market share.

 

Punk Rock Circa 2012 by Megan Lisa Jones

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Or, why iterative changes matter more than disruptive ones.

maine 224x300 Punk Rock Circa 2012 by Megan Lisa Jones

Punk rock erupted in 1974 as a response to the excesses of the mainstream 1970s rock world (big bands, big shows and big hair; more focused on business than music/audience; arrogance; bad music). Punk music was hard, fast paced and raw, with shorter songs and less instrumentation. Oftentimes a political or anti-establishment message was worked in. Audiences loved the authenticy and accessibility. And what is rock music if not rebellious (corporate wasn’t cutting it)? These artists struggled in the real world like we did. A subculture developed. The movement spread.

Remind you of YouTube and the Arab Spring?

The online content world (today) is exciting, original and creative. It’s raw and funny, inappropriate and not subject to committee. It’s fun and not (as) interrupted by commerciasl. And it’s engaging, at a personal level. My son’s YouTube favorite, Nice Peter (and his partner Epic Lloyd) comment on the related YouTube videos made by their fans, even those with little traffic. How cool is that!

Online content can be produced at such inexpensive levels (my own Captive related videos were shot on a Flip and edited with iMovie). It’s also audience focused with a lot of online content driven in response to viewer feedback and suggestions. My son discusses the viewer suggestions for future Epic Rap Battles of History with great excitement. Best of all, the cost structure allows it to avoid a generic “mass” audience appeal; creators can afford to make mistakes and take related risks. Spared star salaries and expensive marketing, content can be posted quickly and doesn’t have to look perfect to justify a $15 movie ticket or $1.29 download.

Those new rules hold true for video, music and books (education, too, btw).

Watching my children I see how they personalize and customize their content. They don’t watch anything on a pre-set schedule. They multi-media. And my kids prefer YouTube to television or movies (they like television and movies too; but as I’ve already commented here, my daughter at nine had already stated that movie sequels were made to trick children). They read both paper books and Kindle books, choosing based on convenience and availability (those instant downloads are a huge selling point).

Taking over from my (fired) publisher, I’ve learned how easy book distribution can be (marketing is very, very hard). Online, it’s also inexpensive and price points can change at will. I’m pondering all sorts of possibilities in the book world and find the options more empowering than limiting. I’m not alone as online content continues to explode. My costs to play around with business models are nominal to the extent that I’m even pondering starting an online publishing house (interested writers?).

Media is tough because the market is so cluttered that building a loyal audience can be a challenge. But people succeed; in all industries. For a writer, the large publishers offering digital books at $16 plus dollars is insanity. Is that book sixteen times better than one at $.99? What about the free one? Do you want people to test the alternative waters to make that decision?

I grew up in and out of Silicon Valley and love to watch an evolving industry. My one conclusion to this post is to point out that iterative destruction is more potentially damaging that is creative destruction. People can figure out how to watch a video online (an iteration combining the internet and television). They may not embrace bigger and more disruptive changes so readily. The creation of the Internet didn’t damage the traditional media business; people incorporating it into their lives over time did. No laws can limit digital content consumption.

My close colleague Megan Lisa Jones is an investment banker who works primarily with companies in the digital media, technology, gaming and other emerging industries (formerly with Lazard Freres, Needham & Company and Merrill Lynch). Her investment banking blog is at www.ibla.us and check out her first novel, Captive, at www.meganlisajones.com.

Unlimited paid vacation days — a new concept in managing grownups

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One of my Millennial clients, happy about her recent promotion, reported back to me last week that her new compensation plan included unlimited vacation days, along with the other usual benefits (health & dental coverage, etc.). “Paid vacation?” I texted. “Yes,” she responded, “as long as we get our work done and arrange coverage while we are away, we get unlimited days off.”

Then I saw this article on Inc.com, posted by Joe Reynolds, and wanted to share it with you. It’s a fine explanation of a great new trend that treats employees like grownups. Reprinted here, or online.

Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Days

Will it improve company culture? Sure. But can giving workers all the time off they want also increase their productivity?
By Joe Reynolds | @RedFrogEvents | Jan 5, 2012

Unlimited paid vacation days a new concept in managing grownups

The 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. workplace is almost dead. Throw your preconceived notions about vacation out the window and give your employees the no-strings-attached, unlimited vacation days they deserve or you’ll soon be a dinosaur.

With an unparalleled culture in which our people actually enjoy coming to work (see Your Employees Need a Treehouse and Let Your Employees Choose Their Titles) as the foundation, every last Red Frog employee is unflinchingly focused and devoted to our mission. Producing vast amounts of quality work is the norm, so we reward them with unlimited vacation and they, in return, reward Red Frog with outstanding work that blows me away every single day.

Taking vacation at Red Frog is encouraged (and even celebrated). And it’s not abused. Ever. By anyone. Simply make sure your work is getting done and make sure you’re covered while you’re away and that’s it—no questions asked.

The pessimists and naysayers have said this policy would either be abused or that it’s not entirely real—that our employees feel pressured to never take off. I assure you they’re underestimating a positive work culture and are simply wrong. Also, I feel sorry for their workplace.

Through building a company on accountability, mutual respect, and teamwork, we’ve seen our unlimited vacation day policy have tremendous results for our employees’ personal development and for productivity. There. I said it. I think Red Frog is more productive by giving unlimited vacation days. Here’s why:

  1. It treats employees like the adults they are. If they’re incapable of handling the responsibility that comes along with having unlimited vacation days, they’re probably incapable of handling other responsibilities too, so don’t hire them.
  2. It reduces costs by not having to track vacation time. Tracking and accounting for vacation days can be cumbersome work. This policy eliminates those headaches.
  3. It shows appreciation. Your employees will need unexpected time off and some need more vacation than others. By giving them what they need when they need it, you show your employees how much you appreciate them and they reciprocate by producing more great work.
  4. It’s a great recruitment tool. We hire a mere one out of every 750 applicants at Red Frog. When you combine fantastic benefits with a positive culture, it’s noticed.

I lead by example. I worked more 100 hours last week, but this week, as I write this column, I’m watching surfers and sipping a delicious Hawaiian brew.

Joe Reynolds is an entrepreneur at heart who decided to pursue his passion by turning a $5,000 investment in an event production business called Red Frog into a thriving $45 million company in just four years. Red Frog Events was named the 2011 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year and recently won the Chicago Innovation Award as well as the Chicago Tribune Best Workplace.

IdeaMensch’s 33 Entrepreneurs making the world better

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I wanted to share IdeaMensch’s post profiling 33 entrepreneurs who have started businesses, initiatives, not-for-profits and projects that are focused on making the world a better place to live… for the recipients and for the givers.

Particularly interesting is the range of folks presented — from all countries, both genders, all ages, with a focus on not just technology (although most use the current technologies) but on support to local issues, foreign countries, animals and children.

An inspiring and welcome review.

http://ideamensch.com/33-entrepreneurs-who-make-this-world-a-better-place/

Chairing CES venture capital panel Wednesday 1/11/12

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Hello!

Meet me at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tomorrow, Wednesday, January 11th, 2012, 10:30 a.m., when I will chair the Digital Hollywood/CES venture panel.  http://digitalhollywood.com/12CES/CES12-Wed2.html

Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, 2nd Fl., Wednesday, January 11th, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM, Track II – DH10

We have a great line-up of panelists and we will explore the current conditions of the venture capital world — angel, early stage venture and strategic corporate investments.

Norm Fogelsong, General Partner, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP)
Scott English, SVP Strategic Investments, Hearst Corporation
Chris Petrovic, General Manager, GameStop Digital Ventures
Kevin Spain, General Partner, Emergence Capital Partners
Sharon Wienbar, Managing Director at Scale Venture Partners
Habib Kairouz, Managing Partner, Rho Capital Partners and Rho Ventures
Yoav Tzruya, Partner, Jerusalem Venture Partners
Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator

I hope to see you there.  I’ll be reporting on the findings in this blog next week.

 

Overview: Marketing Plan Essentials For Best Results by Terry Corbell

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tc2 Overview: Marketing Plan Essentials For Best Results by Terry Corbell
Terry Corbell, The Biz Coach

If you haven’t completed a strong marketing plan to complement your business plan, you’re missing some salient benefits.

An effective market generates revenue and alleviates uncertainty for your business.

In addition, a marketing plan provides you with tangible values:

  • When employees are apprised of your marketing vision, you’ll benefit from more teamwork and employee loyalty. Provide them with an abridged copy of your marketing vision for growth.
  • Development of a marketing plan means you are up-to-date on your company’s situation. You thoroughly know your company. You’re more aware of your dynamic marketplace.
  • A malleable marketing plan is an action to-do list. At the minimum, it’s a roadmap to success in the coming year. It means more business and reduced risks.
  • When you get really good, you’ll think two to four years from now. Details won’t be forgotten. It keeps the focus on the long-term objectives.

So you need to begin with an executive summary. Keep in mind your preferred end results from the specific actions you’ll take. Include your resourceful ideas and voluminous research, but specificity in measurable plans is vital.

Your marketing plan needs four specifics:

  1. Situation analysis – a market analysis with customer data, segmentation, market needs analysis and market forecast; a SWOT analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; your brand’s personality; and competitive analysis.
  2. Strategy – including a mission statement, goals, branding, product positioning and pricing. In other words, remember the 4 Ps of marketing – product, price, place and promotion.
  3. Sales forecast – by product and market segment, sales channels, responsible departments and managers – all designed to be tracked.
  4. Investment budget – enough details about sales programs, management and strategies to track expenses each month.

You’ll need input from virtually everywhere in your firm – consider finance, human resources, manufacturing, and marketing. You’ll learn unforeseen insights on problems and opportunities.

It may be a bit hackneyed, but as part of your checklist in setting goals, consider the acronym, SMART:

  • Specific  – who, what, when, where, and how
  • Measurable – determine how you’ll attain your goals
  • Agreed upon – make sure there’s a consensus or agreement
  • Realistic – Make certain you’re being pragmatic
  • Target date – a feasible timeline is best

Marketing plans are also helpful in time management. Especially, once you have the annual big picture for your goals then determine the intermediate steps or intervals each month.

Oh, and in this age, consider whether your business would benefit from branding and selling your business as green or how cause-related marketing can increase sales by double digits.

Again, even after you’ve written your marketing plan, remember you’re not done. You must be relentless in continuously monitoring your progress. Fine-tune your plan as needed. Figure out what’s wrong and what needs to be done to remedy any undesirable situation.

“Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

-Dr. Peter Drucker

 

Terry Corbell, my close colleague and friend, is Seattle’s “Biz Coach.”   I wanted to share his article with you, and refer you to his site, where you will find hundreds of interviews and articles (http://www.bizcoachinfo.com).