Thomas Johanix

I am what I am

Currently, I'm reading two books: Buddha: A story of Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra and Walking the Bible: A journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler. I noticed of couple of synchronicities between these books.

Both authors had literally traveled all the same places that the protagonist in each story had traveled. Deepak Chopra traveled all of the places that Buddha traveled. Bruce Feiler traveled all of the places that Moses traveled. Feiler explains why he traveled the land of Moses:

In the Middle East, I realized, the Bible is not some abstraction, nor some book gathering dust. It's a living, breathing entity unencumbered by the sterilization of time. If anything, it's an ongoing narrative: stories that begin in the sand, get entrenched in stone, pass down through families, and play themselves out in the lives of residents and visitors who travel its lines nearly five thousand years after they were first etched into memory. That was the Bible I wanted to know, and almost immediately I realized that the only way to find it was to walk along those lines myself. I would take this ancient book, the embodiment of old-fashioned knowledge, and approach it with contemporary methods of learning--traveling, talking experiencing. In other words, I would enter the Bible as if it were any other world and seek to become part of it.

Why did Deepak Chopra also travel all the places that Buddha traveled?  ...For the same reasons Bruce Feiler traveled the land of Moses.

Feiler claims that he would "approach it with contemporary methods of learning--traveling, talking, experiencing. Are these really contemporary methods of learning? Is this how we learn? Let me rephrase that. Is this how we teach? Contemporary methods of teaching include e-learning software applications, computer-games, work-books, test-taking, lectures, PowerPoint and required reading. I certainly agree with Bruce that traveling, talking, experiencing are contemporary methods of learning; however, these same methods have always been the way we learn things.  In other words, this is how we've always learned. We're "taught" with different methods. Can any method of teaching really substitute or improve learning than traveling, talking, and experiencing?

Both Feiler and Chopra are New York Times Bestsellers. They both learned their subject matter through the same methods. Neither one of them attended a lecture accompanied by PowerPoint. They did not use an e-learning application. It's also worth noting that they did not only read books on the subject to internalize the story.

Worthy of its own post,  another common theme is the "ongoing narrative [of stories that] pass down... nearly five thousand years" (Felier). Realizing that the Bible is an on-going narrative, the deepest understanding of the Bible must not only include the study of historical interpretations. The words must be understood in context of the present reality. It's the five thousand years of ongoing narrative that make the Bible so significant. That the same story has been passed down five thousand years is amazing on its won, the Bible's treasures however are actually found in five thousand years of traveling, talking and experiencing.

Not only can the purest beauty of the Bible or Buddha's story be understood only as an ongoing narrative, but both narratives provide the learner with explicit caution about worshiping the stories in a physical sphere. There is an old saying, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! Likewise, the 2nd Commandment found in the first five books of Moses in an English translation from Hebrew:

You shall not make a carved image nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not prostrate yourself before them nor worship them, for I am Hashem your God - a jealous God, Who visits the sin of fathers on children to the third and fourth generations, for My enemies; but Who shows kindness for thousands [of generations] to those who love Me and observe My commandments. (Shemot 20:4-6)

Neither God nor Buddha can be seen? Manifestations of Buddha nor God are to be worshiped.

Finally, over the years, my library has grown considerably. I have text books from school, many classic fiction books (I was an English major), and plenty of books on business. The books I really love, are the ones that I have had the opportunity to have signed because I met the authors. I have met Bruce Feiler and Deepak Chopra and I have signed copies of their books. These books are about an awakening of consciousness. Like learning the story of Buddha or about the Bible, consciousness is awakened by traveling, talking and experiencing.  This last synchronicity is the most important. It reveals my passion.

Authenticity

I blog to express myself to you. This blog's focus is to be authentic, to uncover the truth, and to take action on what we learn here. I invite you to join me on this journey.

Today's journey starts with a post that I read in April.  Harold Jarche’s post on Freelancing recommended Dan Pink’s Free Agent Nation.

Read it. I'm working for myself again. 

When I created this blog, I chose “Pursuing Truth, Leadership and Freedom” as my blog’s title. In the spirit of pursuing truth, consider: “Perhaps the ultimate freedom is the freedom to be one’s self.” (Dan Pink, Free Agent Nation)

How does one be one’s self?

First he must look for truth. Then, he must find comfort in truth. And, finally he must live truth.

Bob Dylan sings, “A man is successful if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between; does what he wants to do.”

Do what you want to do...be yourself.

Original Thinking

During the last year or so, I've been considering the virtues of formal and informal education. I haven't come to any conclusions yet. But, I've been finding many interesting perspectives in my blog-community. Additionally, I've had many interesting conversation with parents who home-school their children and even with parents who un-school their children.

My formal education consists of a healthy mix of learning environments including: K-8th grade in MN public schools, four years of prep school, and BA earned from two years of completing private college courses and about two years of completing public college courses at the University of MN. I decided to graduate a semester early, because tolerating required courses and completing required assignments was nearly unbearable and I couldn't grasp the concept of paying (or borrowing money) for more work to do.

Freshman symposium required all students to write a research paper on a topic of our choice. We had a several months to complete the research paper. Homework  included researching the topic at the library, writing an outline, rough draft, second draft and final copy. Writing has always been one of my favorite things to do and having just spent four years at a prep school that shared the library with affiliated university, I knew the university's library inside and out. That's when I drew my line in the sand and told my professor, chair of the university's English department, that I appreciated what she was trying to teach us by assigning homework; however, I wasn't one for busy work and preferred to simply turn in a final draft. To my surprise, she didn't argue at all. She understood my point of view and was happy to receive and grade my final draft. Later that evening I bragged of my success to my roommate. He couldn't believe it either! At the end of the semester, my final draft earned an A-. Of course, that was not my final grade. I received an F for my research, an F for my outline, and an F for my rough draft. My final grade was about a C. My roommate still tells this story.

Learning humility is a life long process.

This said. it's still silly to waste time--there is so much to learn and so much to be accomplished.

Does the process of creating always involve rinsing and repeating someone else's process. Should learners explore new ideas, think original thoughts, and share ideas with their peers and mentors? Or, should learners be taught to stick to the program, complete required assignments, and document that their process is in-line with the required procedure. The answer depends on what we're preparing the learner to do.

Within businesses today, especially in a SOX world, how much valuable time is spent every day completing required procedures and practices or worse documenting that a required procedure or practice has been completed? What is actually getting done?

As we consider formal and informal education, first consider what we're preparing the learner to do.

This scene from Good Will Hunting has stuck with me since I first saw the movie.

"You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education that you could have got for $1.50 of late charges at the public library."

Companies like all professionals need mentors

Recently I observed a SaaS company develop a new strategy for growing its sales. The company's sales force and executive team pooled and shared customer comments to determine what was working with the product and what was not working. Their assumption was that improving their would increase sales. If they built it, customers would come. But, was this assumption true?

Consider that even if the software was the best software ever built, they'd still have to find a way to get the software to the customer. 

Just as many successful professionals have mentors, successful companies should have mentor companies.

The company would be wise to consider Salesforce.com's strategy for growth.

At the recent OpSource Conference in Monterey,CA, I heard that nearly every sale at SF.com originated on the web. I know what you’re thinking, I couldn't believe it either. But, one only needs to look at Google’s 2007 Q1 results: Google topped analysts' expectations…first-quarter profit rose 69 percent! The truth is that investing in a web presence is critical to reaching sales growth goals.

Consider the case for making a web investment:

The company would have a higher probability of reaching its goals by understanding how SF.com is succeeding and executing a similar strategy.

There are three strategies the company should immediately consider implementing:

1. Create PR buzz, involving targeting technology reporters and blogs
2. Invest in a better web site (if your site hasn't brought you any customers this year, it won't next year either)
3. Offer a free trial…not a demo (allow prospects to use the software with actual data)

I’m not suggesting a move to a Google Adwords campaign, but this strategy should also be considered depending on the product or service.

Sales people (whether inside or outside) will still be needed to develop a trusting relationship, uncover prospects' needs, and differentiate the experience from other solutions. The key is to understand that sales start with a prospect. Developing a web presence is a great way to reach serious prospects.

Other areas where SF.com could serve as a model for SaaS companies:

• SF.com became the expert in one core area: CRM. SF.com has technology partners on the APEX who are experts in areas outside SF.com’s core. 
• SF.com has a very simple pricing model and sign-up process
• SF.com leverages OpSource to manage its back-end processes...SF.com focuses on its core

Strategy proposed by the company without mentor:

“Increased activity” i.e. cold-calling was the only strategy I heard. Having heard this "strategy" a time or two in my past, I couldn't help feel this act of deportation was going to be the company's kiss of death. SaaS solutions generally are not commodities. Mining for opportunities at random or from lists, in all likelihood, will not create enough opportunities to reach sales goals. The company need only look at its historical acquisition rate of acquiring new customers based on cold-calls made. A product that prospects are not already familiar with or immediately understand are very different from commodity products.

Like SF.com., SaaS companies need to get serious about opening a dialogue with prospects and turning their prospects into qualified, serious prospects.

Salesforce.com has used leveraged the Internet to grow over eight years to 560,000 subscribers serving 26,000 companies, and with 1,800 employees.

Keep the undercoating

How do you feel when a car dealer asks you to purchase protection packages, warranties, extra rust proofing and undercoating protection?

What would you do if you had to purchase the extra protection in order to buy the car?

If you’re like me, you’d find the same car without having spent hundreds or thousands more on stuff that should’ve been included with the car in the first place.

Unfortunately, software purchases can feel the same way.

A prospect and customer spend months creating mutual value. Positive experiences could make a company do business with us; negative experiences could turn the company away indefinitely. Salespeople who build the strongest relationships with customers will have the highest probability of success.

We’ve determined the scope of the clients needs and offered valuable solutions to meet those needs. We’ve agreed on the detail of the implementation. It looks like we’re going to earn the sale. There’s just one thing left to discuss…pricing.

It’s amazing how software companies complicate pricing. There can be annual fees, perpetual fees, fees for number of users (substitute any industry specific name), training fees, support fees, custom development fees, professional services fees, integration fees, platform fees, authoring seat fees, hosting fees, FEES, FEES, FEES.

I’ve seen and created proposals that include a sentence or two, a few bullet points listing clients’ “needs,” paragraphs detailing companies’ products/services, followed by pages of possible combinations of pricing including discounts. These proposals can take hours for salespeople to create and hours for customers to comprehend. The unnecessary complication opens the door for customer objections and often times gives a customer and open door to negotiate down the proposal.

A few years ago, I’d successfully differentiated my company’s product from other vendors’ products in the space. The company easily visualized my software application meeting their needs. We’d agreed on the implementation and the approximate investment required. My next step was to create a proposal. I broke the proposal into a few categories including pricing based on the number or records tracked, training, professional services for implementation, and annual maintenance. As an incentive, I added discounts for purchasing an extra “bundle” of records, training multiple users and pre-paid maintenance for two years, three years, four years and five years. (I had created the discounted proposal in consideration of maximizing my compensation plan) I submitted the proposal and started thinking about that red Porsche.

To my surprise, the VP of Finance of a large software company contacted me with a proposal of his own. His proposal included the maximum “bundle” of records, training for everyone, and pre-paid maintenance for five years, priced at a fraction of the proposed price!

With a proposal listing out every option with pricing, the VP of Finance knew exactly where he could negotiate and at what price. Not only was the sale now mine to lose because the trust in our relationship was compromised, I found myself at best with a substantially discounted opportunity.

I did get the sale, but that red Porsche never made it off the showroom floor.

This story and other experiences delivering complicated proposals have made it clear to me that keeping pricing simple is the best strategy. Simple pricing will:

• Maintain a mutually strong and enduring relationship

• Save the customer’s time and your time

• Avoid confusion

• Avoid customers omitting products and services to save money that may diminish the solutions value and cause the customer to become unhappy.

Ideally, the broadest scope of the customer’s needs should be identified by the salesperson and valuable solutions to meet those needs that connect to a client’s vision, objectives and challenges. A single price should be determined that meets the broadest scope of solutions possible. If the customer does not have the budget, valuable elements of the solution set can be omitted to create a solution of mutual value; however, this strategy is risky because our customer may not be as successful without all the elements of the solution and could become unhappy and ultimately create a negative experience which could turn them away from us permanently.

Consider creating a proposal with one price that includes software fees, training and support. Customers will appreciate that we’ve included all of the necessary components of the well crafted solution. They will be happier customers if they receive the training and support they need to be successful using the software. Our relationship with will be consistent and positive allowing us to achieve sustainable success. We will also avoid the possibility that the customer will find a solution somewhere else.

statistical method marketing pitfall

Just finished reading "Medical statistics: Signs of the times" in The Economist.

Dr. Austin of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto presented the following data to the American Association for the Advancement of Science:

People born under the astrological sign of Leo are 15% more likely to be admitted to hospital with gastric bleeding than those born under the other 11 signs. Sagittarians are 38% more likely than other to land up there because of a broken arm.

These statistics, of course, identify relationships when there are none, which was his point. Statistics we use run the risk of identifying relationships that do not exist.

The tendency to create scientific research around a new product or service finds it way into marketing from time to time. Sales people often request white-papers they hope will scientifically articulate the value proposition of a service or product or that will at least support claims made by marketing. For example, Cold-EZZE claims it's "Clinically proven to cut colds by nearly half." The Cold-EZZE website includes six clinical studies that support marketing's claim.

Making the decision to lead with a scientific claim or ROI about a product or service may not be the best approach to attracting and retaining customers. The reality is that scientifically supporting marketing claims is time consuming and expensive because if the study is worth its salt, it needs to be based on accurate research or customers may be disappointed if they do not achieve expected results. If they do not achieve the expected results, they will not remain customers and will not recommend the product or service.

Another reason for avoiding the a statistical method marketing pitfall is that customers generally don't make purchased based on reason. They are more likely to buy based on emotion.  A message that creates an emotional connection to a product is more likely to work than creating a statistic.

Success will follow when a product or service actually does what it's supposed to do. Cold-EZZE customers will buy more Cold-EZZE and tell their friends about Cold-EZZE if it actually reduces the length of colds.

Statistics may identify relationships when there are none. Avoid the risk, research, time and expense of marketing based on statistics. Instead focus on making a connection with your audience and creating a product or service that actually helps them achieve what they need.

 

Think before we speak

Ever feel like no one listens? Are you ever passionate about something that people just don't get? ...happens all the time.

We could blame the listener and recommend they start "actively listening" and recommend a few good "how to" listen books.

Many times people are listening, but they still don't hear the message. If our audience is attempting to listen or even when they're not, improving communication is the best way to for the message to take effect.

Today I had the perfect audience--someone paid me for my thoughts on an issue. How exciting! I told them exactly what I thought, why what I was saying was the truth, and how implementing my suggestions would benefit them.

I blew it.

My first reaction was frustration that the person I was speaking to didn't have the capacity or the motivation to consider what I was sharing. Turns out, "it's my own damn fault."

The question is how can we communicate our messages more effectively? According to Charles Halton:

Create a seeming paradox that relates to what you are teaching and then unwind it. Open with a penetrating rhetorical question. Hold up an example of an aphorism that everyone believes and then demonstrate its absurdity. Drop a bombastic statement and then calmly unpack it. Paint vivid and slightly obscure word pictures, analogies, and illustrations. Repackage information in new and quirky ways so that people are forced to reprocess it.

The truth is there isn't a silver bullet approach to communicating. We should pause and consider an effective strategy rather than simply spew facts and opinions if we're passionate about communicating our message. Consider the words we're about to use are things that have value. The value of our words will depend on how we use them. Think before we speak. Our thoughts and ideas may become reality when we communicate with high-value.

We may become more valuable people if our thoughts and ideas are accepted because people listen to us and hear us.

Humiliation

Humiliation. Know what it makes you? Human.

The motivation to blog occurred a month ago after reading an article about people testing for traces of pharmaceuticals in rivers.

Everyday we do stuff...good stuff, bad stuff, and mostly stuff somewhere between.

This blog is about people doing stuff.

Mistakes will be made and some stuff will be wrong. If people doing stuff engage, it's worth the risk of being wrong or making mistakes in front of people. Post a comment or ask a question about any of the stuff on this blog.

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