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Introducing Dynamic Market Leverage™, an approach to help cut through the clutter, stand out, and effectively build business.
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Top of Mind Thursday January 24, 2018: Shut Down But Not Out
The partial shutdown of the US government is now on day 34, with 800,000 employees still not getting their paychecks.
TSA agents and air traffic controllers are calling in sick. The FBI, Secret Services and IRS are all cutting back on their normal services. The USDA and FDA have halted inspections of food and drugs. For the first time ever, US military personnel are not being paid, as they defend our country.
While the stalemate between Congress and the President continues, there’s been a heartwarming outpouring of support for the government employees caught in the middle. Companies across multiple industries are providing discounted or free services to those affected. Restaurants, chefs, and food banks are offering free meals. Banks are suspending interest on loans; PayPal is offering cash advances to its federal employee customers.
Helping those in need crosses party lines and political affiliations. It brings out the best in all of us. It also exposes just how many functions that we rely on every day are performed by government employees.
Let’s hope that this situation is resolved sooner rather than later, but also that once these people go back to their jobs and their normal lives, we don’t lose the compassion and caring that brought people together to help those who were down, but not out.
Contact me to find out how to get heard above the noise.
Limited time to devote to marketing? Check out our weekly Just a Moment for Marketing videos. They only take a minute.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts.
Check out the new video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday January 17, 2018: The Best a Brand Can Get
Gillette, the 117 year old producer of razors and shaving supplies, startled audiences this week with a new ad celebrating the 30th anniversary of their slogan “The Best a Man Can Get.”
The new web ad, called “The Best a Man Can Be,” addresses such negative behavior as bullying, sexism, and “male toxicity,” and encourages men in this #MeToo era to practice more positive behavior in order to be their best. Shavers and blades are barely mentioned.
It’s a daring move, and, as might be expected, it has generated much controversy. Some people think it’s great. Others hate it. Still others think it’s a nice try but poorly executed.
It’s too soon to know if this will be successful. But one thing is certain: People who haven’t thought about Gillette for years (or ever) are now talking about the brand.
In this industry, the razor is usually given away to sell the blades. Once they’ve got Gillette’s razor, they’re hooked. Except that today there are more interesting and lower-cost offerings, like Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s, aimed at younger men. Millennials likely aren’t hooked on Gillette products and probably haven’t been thinking much about Gillette at all–until now.
One way to be heard above the noise is to do something different and a bit outrageous. Yes, you run the risk of getting cut when you shave too close. But is it better to slip away into obscurity because you’re afraid to sharpen the blade?
Contact me to find out how to get heard above the noise.
Limited time to devote to marketing? Check out our weekly Just a Moment for Marketing videos. They only take a minute.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts.
Check out the new video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday January 10, 2018: Come Fly Away
Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, passed away last week at the age of 87. Though he had passed on the mantle of active leadership over 10 years ago, he remained involved with the company until his death.
In 1967, Kelleher and a colleague sketched out the concept for a low-cost airline service Texas. It took 4 years of legal battles with existing airlines before they could take their first flight. Today, the airline has 58,000 employees serving 4000 flights per day.
What hasn’t changed in that time is Southwest’s commitment to not just low cost fares but also a culture where employees don’t take themselves or their jobs too seriously. There’s no first class on a Southwest 737 (and that’s the only plane they fly), but there’s also the feeling the crew is enjoying their job and glad you’re there with them.
On a recent flight, the captain came on to tell us, in a most serious voice, that he was sorry to say that he’d just heard the weather in Seattle was horrible. We all looked at each other strangely–until he added, “Good thing we’re not going to Seattle!”
That kind of fun attitude has never caught on with the mainstream airlines. When was the last time you saw a United or Delta captain joke like that? I imagine if they did, they might no longer be employed when they landed.
It’s this kind of attitude that has consistently made Southwest one of the most admired companies in America.
RIP, Herb Kelleher. Your vision continues to soar 4000 times each day.
Contact me to find out how to get heard above the noise.
Limited time to devote to marketing? Check out our weekly Just a Moment for Marketing videos. They only take a minute.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts.
Check out the new video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Start by Stopping: How to Develop Natural Leadership with Fewer Failures
Marcia Daszko
Marcia Daszko & Associates
www.mdaszko.com
The founder of Marcia Daszko & Associates, Marcia Daszko began working in the management consulting field in the 1980s. She co-founded the Bay Area Deming User Group (BADUG), and a non-profit called In2In Thinking. Today, she speaks and teaches executive teams and MBA students a new way to think about leadership—without management fads and “best practices.” She is the author of Pivot, Disrupt, Transform.
In this podcast, Marcia discusses the key factors that allow an organization to create positive transformation. She tells us why adding best practices without a compelling purpose creates complexity but not success, and why it’s important to stop using a language of failure and create a language of success instead.
Listen to this podcast.