START WITH WHY

Simon Sinek had been trying to discover the source of what inspires.  He states that most sales are done through manipulation with such tools as pricing, fear and aspirations.  Manipulation works, but it doesn't inspire.  What he has learned is that people do not buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.  This is the secret to inspiration.

His models include Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Martin Luther King Jr and Herb Kelleher.  They inspired people not because of their manipulations, but because people felt inspired about why they were doing what they chose to do.

Simon improved his understanding when it was explained to him about how the brain works.  The limbic system is innermost and makes decisions without words, in other words based on emotions and feelings.  The Neocortex helps to rationalize decisions and can influence decisions.

Colin Powell makes an important observation in this information overloaded era, "I can make a decision with 30% of the information.  Anything more than 80% is too much information."  Personally I would just be concerned that you pick the right 30%.

Customers aren't always right.  Southwest Airlines  founder Herb Kelleher once said "It is a company's responsibility to look after the employees first.  Happy employees ensure happy customers and happy customers ensure happy shareholders in that order."  By treating employees fairly, trust is developed and loyalty that is transferred to customers and shareholders.

Another example given is with the Education for Employment Foundation, set up by Ron Bruder who is using this organization to develop optimism for opportunities in the Middle East.  Ron felt part of the problem in the Middle East is that too many young people are discouraged from innovating and he has set out to move in the right direction.  Innovation can be a key to jobs.

Getting back to the premise, Simon elaborates with the idea that value is a perception and not a calculation.  People buy brands that give confidence as they understand the compelling why behind them.

With innovative inspirational entrepreneurs an important lesson is that in trying to crack the mass market you need to identify early adopters first.  They are the ones who will understand the why and their enthusiasm and loyalty will carry towards the rest of the market.

An obstacle to continued growth is success.   As long as the leader is still around there is inspiration, but sooner or later they leave and the Why often gets lost to the How and the What.  One example is Walmart whose founder, Sam Walton might be best known for low prices, but in reality his secret was in how he treated his employees.  Other companies have been more successfully in passing on the original drive and some examples have been at Apple and Southwest Airlines.

Simon worked with ad agencies and wondered why some campaigns worked and others didn't although the ingredients seemed essentially the same.  As he came to understand the brain he concluded that too often the What and the How were understood, but not the Why.  Leaders need followers and the best are those who share enthusiasm for the Why.  In conclusion Simon says two things are required for innovative success.  The first is a vision of he world that does not exist.  Equally important is the ability to communicate it.  The vision comes from Why.

You can read more about Simon and his ideas at https://www.startwithwhy.com

Why is an important question, not asked enough, particularly by adults.  Earlier I had hit a similar theme from Amanda Lang http://www.johnfdavidson.com/2013/04/the-power-of-why.html  She felt that curiosity had been knocked out of a lot of people as they were socialized, but that following up Why was the way to innovate.

NON MANIPULATIVE SOCIAL MEDIA THAT WORKS

Today's world is very different than the one us baby boomers grew up in.  Marketing was used as an euphemism for selling unless you were academically inclined.  Now marketing means data mining and all sorts of clever studies to help manipulate prospects more effectively.  Social media seems to many very flighty, but apparently another form of manipulation.  Or maybe it is a tool with a life of its own.

This book is in two sections--one is about being awesome and the other about not being awesome.  You can learn something positive from both sections, but the author seems to be catering to the fact that people fall into the two tracks of either starting from positive or from negative.

Scott brings a different perspective.  Social Media can be like other forms of manipulation, but there can be another dimension.  You can engage with real people and you might find his philosophy works even outside social media   Social media doesn't make a company bad or good, but it does amplify what they already are.   A previous book, "Unmarketing" introduced me to his philosophy and ideas.  You can read about it at  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/01/unmarketing-marketing-for-future.html

Social media offers new opportunities for businesses to develop customer relations.  As Scott points out most businesses know how they should respond to phone calls, but too often ignore social media messages.  They should be treated as quickly as possible whether positive or negative.  Positive messages should be acknowledged and of course negative messages require serious attention.  Often negative messages (complaints) occur on other sites, but can be monitored.

Scott used an example of someone I know, Chris Farias who received some poor treatment from a company he was dealing with that started a chain of negative social media.  At a more local level Chris was involved in a misleading venture for my family.  Chris actually gave out what we all thought was a heavily discounted meal at a local restaurant that turned out to be a big letdown.  Chris took it personally and supported us on social media and I notice that restaurant is no longer there.

All business decisions seem to revolve around ROI (return on investment).  Social media can be difficult to correlate investment with efforts to results, but Scott gives some convincing examples of how it can be very positive.  Or negative if you don't do it right.  A quote from Scott to remember, "If we don't value conversation we will never see why we need to use social media."

Statistics are abundant on social media, but can be misleading.   For example someone with 1000 followers may have only 10% online at any given time and only 10% of those will see a particular tweet and when down to that only about 10% of them will click on a link.  A tweet or Facebook posting can have a limited shelf life.  Although it may take an effort to develop positive relationships online it is very possible to wreck your network with a poor choice of a posting.

There are plenty of examples and tips anchored by his philosophy.  One of the highlights for me was when Scott was on his way to make another point he revealed Newt Gingrich for the pompous know it all he really is.

Scott has been a front line worker and realizes they are often the poorest paid and least appreciated of employees, but represent the company to most consumers.  They should be selectively hired, properly trained and above all appreciated.

After reading what twitter can do it makes one want to get more involved.  There is more to it than learning where people eat lunch.

To find out more check out his website:  http://www.unmarketing.com

The Power of Sad Movies

Earlier inspired by a Thom Ernst topic on Fresh Air with Mary Ito to do a post on the joyous topic of kissing, the topic of sad movies brought up recently by the same team seems worth pursuing.  I have watched some of the movies referred to and was able to check out some I hadn't.  Memory can play tricks on you and what each person gets out of a movie is often very different.

I can appreciate why Thom Ernst named "Imitation of Life" as his saddest movie.  An element adding to the sadness is that it was just after a personal scandal of Lana Turner's daughter knifing her mother's boyfriend to death.  In this movie Lana portrays an ambitious actress pushing aside personal relationships (her daughter and her true love), but in the end there does seem to be a reconciliation and a realization of what she had done.  An earlier version of the movie in 1934 probably hit a racial nerve.  In the 1959 version we are never told any explanation why a daughter is much whiter than her mother, but know that it was common for an owner to rape or otherwise have sexual relationships with female slaves so that lightening of the skin occurred, but somewhat randomly.  That is the real tension.  Racial attitudes caused such a rift between mother and daughter that literally drove them apart.  What a tragedy that society attitudes, horrible in themselves could cause this further anguish.

As a youngster I watched "Old Yeller" and coming from a dog loving family was upset, but it was an early favorite and taught me to enjoy sad movies. It seemed ironic and unfair that the dog who protected the family paid the price.  The nobleness of the dog also struck a chord.  "Bambi," the classic was also a heart breaker.  A family friend, Bob Morley used to hate that movie as he loved hunting.

Thom mentioned Burgess Meredith's role in "Rocky" that had a very sad scene, but I remember that movie as one of the very few I actually stood up in the theatre (with many others) and clapped because it made me feel good.  I do remember Burgess in a much older film "Of Mice and Men" that rates as one of the sadder movies when Burgess shot his very kind and vulnerable friend played by Lon Chaney who he had tried to protect throughout the narrative.   A second viewing of "Rocky" the sad scene resonated with me.

"The Pride of the Yankees" contains the triumphs and romance of Lou Gehrig, but that just sets up the end.  ALS is now known as Lou Gehrig's disease and is more memorable because of his consecutive game record.  Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright and Walter Brennan help you like the hero. The writers and director were right to end the movie at his farewell speech about what a lucky man he was.

The saddest movie I recall is "Kal Ho Na Ho' near the beginning of my interest in Bollywood.  When I picked up my reserve copy at the local library the young girl checking out warned me it is very sad.  In truth it is classic manipulation.  In the first part of the movie it appears typically juvenile humour and from time to time the protagonist helps patch up some human relations problems but mostly the hero (this was a critical to my preference for Shah Rukh Khan) is cracking corny jokes many in poor taste.  At one point you realize that he loves the heroinne, Preity Zinta and before too long she is ready to reciprocate.  Surprisingly he lies to her and tells her he is already married. Then he works hard to set up her immature school friend which eventually succeeds.  Bollywood music is sometimes a distraction, but here under the guidance of Shankar Ehsaan Loy is used brilliantly.  The title song is first sung around mid point and basically seems philosophical--you don't know what will happen tomorrow.  In the second half you understand he has a dangerous heart condition.  It comes to a climax when he is hospitalized and the heroinne realizes she has been lied to and her new husband feels his happiness had also been manipulated.  Rest of the family and some friends gather around and the viewer realizes everyone present from a young girl to a bitter grandmother owes him gratitude.  Shah Rukh Khan admits to over acting and this is probably a good example, but fits right in.  I felt guilty for thinking the hero was so juvenile.  The music is the same title song, but now officially labelled "sad version" and it is impossible not to sob.  It has had that effect on me every time and when I hear the beautiful song it is also very affecting.

While still on Bollywood (I promise this won't just be Indian promotion) another movie that induces sadness is "Paa."  In it the producers have cast the famous 64 year old Amitabh Bachchan as a 12 year old and his actual son, Abischek  to play his father.  Near the beginning it seems like a romance and a comedy.  The twelve year old has a disease, Progeria and you are warned that it is fatal, but there is so much action with young children that you are more concerned about how the boy and the father will realize their relationship.  It goes in stages.  The background story is that a romance that seemed so promising was disrupted by a pregnancy and a desire not to abort.  The new mother who is studying to be a doctor gets support from her mother and the two of them raise the boy who is badly deformed, but very intelligent and give him an atmosphere of love.  The father,  the son of a wealthy man who is kept out, in the meantime, becomes an idealistic politician trying to do good things, but is being attacked by crooked media and other politicians.  He encounters the young boy who wins a contest and they start to bond.  My first movie seeing Vidya Balan who plays the boy's mother and later becomes a favorite..  The last words of the dying boy hit hard.

While I was researching this project through a flukey set of circumstances I watched a Finnish movie, "Mother of Mine."  It had another source of sadness.  Two mothers loving the same boy, but each having to give him up with the ups and downs of war.  A boy's love for his mother is perhaps the most natural thing in the world, but some unnatural things like war can disrupt the natural course of events.  Circumstances during the Russian assault on Finland during World War II  and neutral Sweden's offer to help whipsaw personal lives.  Most North Americans are unaware of these historical events.  Well done movie in a lot of technical details helps add to the impact.

Sometimes the greatest impact comes from the unexpected, but we usually watch movies for expected feelings. I apologize for the spoilers, but you did realize these were all sad movies! Tragic sad movies do fill a role at different times of our lives and if you are looking for a good cry bring along some kleenex and check out some of the movies mentioned.  If you would rather read about the joys of movie kisses check out http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/02/kissing-bollywood-vs-hollywood.html