Hi everyone!

Yes, the hiatus is over. Summer's coming to an end, the projects that have kept me away are almost complete, and I am finally back. (Yey!)

Aside from my long-awaited return (ahem), since this is "back to school" week in the US, let's focus on a handful (actually, two handfuls) of great marketing lessons, rather than on the usual timely and insightful commentary on the latest trends in the ever-changing marketing world. (No worries, we'll get caught up next week.)

Whether you're just starting in your marketing track in college this year or have been in the business world for fifty years, if the advice you find in this column over the next few days doesn't help you breathe new life into your business and make it even better than it already was, my name ain't Nathan Arizona! (Thanks to Tom Asacker for the incredible series of posts that this week will be based upon.) This stuff really should be taught in college. Maybe even high school.

Note: These bits of advice are way to good to be refered to as "the basics..." so let's just call them "the new basics."

Hmmm... that kind of has a ring to it.

Okay, let's get started with #10 and #9:

Truth Ten: From Rah Rah! to Ah Ha!

"To flourish in a rapidly changing world you need the ah-ha’s! and not simply the rah-rah’s! Success is a by-product of childlike inquisitiveness and rapid experimentation. And it comes from a culture of curiosity and caring, not from a head down, plow ahead mentality."

Pow! Take a minute or two to digest that. Go brew yourself a cup of tea or press yourself a cup of coffee, file a few folders, return a phone call or two, then come back and read it again. It's worth it.

"When they asked Wayne Gretsky, arguably the greatest hockey player of all time, what made him more successful than other players, he replied, "Most players tend to play where the puck is, whereas I play where the puck is going to be." Or as the professional trend-spotter may explain, Gretsky smartly followed the "drift" or "general course" of the puck. Now, to anyone who has played a game in which hitting or catching a moving object is essential, Gretsky’s insight is absurdly obvious. And to anyone who has developed a successful business from the ground floor up, so is trend-spotting customer behavior (regardless of the fact that major corporations spend a ton of money to frequently have it done for them). Because the truth about trends - and staying ahead - is that it has nothing to do with the future. It’s about being intimately involved with your audience today! Being part of the dynamics of change now!

"(...) Disturb the comfortable. Comfort the disturbed. Never let your brand become bland. Surprise people! You’re not in the "make stuff" and "do stuff" business. You’re in the life improvement business. So use your brand to heal the psychologically wounded, and to bring some excitement to the complacent and uninspired. Remember: Feelings are the only value proposition left in our developed economy. So rediscover your unbridled imagination and idealistic hopes and tap into that proposition and create new and preemptive benefits. Shatter what conventional wisdom tells you that your audience needs. Try wild ideas. Go for the extremes. Stay passionate!

Truth Nine: From Knowledge to Wisdom

"Knowledge speaks. Wisdom listens. Go into every situation with an inwardly calm mind, and be a learner, not a teacher.

"... Wisdom is all about aligning interests. It’s about using the best means to achieve the best ends. Knowledge, on the other hand, tries to win. To out-reason, to conquer. Knowledge is one sided. Wisdom works reciprocally. Knowledge is about getting the deal done. Wisdom understands that the purpose of each interaction is to grow the strength of the relationship. I meet a lot of very knowledgeable people in my business travels, but very few wise ones. Most people feel that they have to do all of the talking to prove their value, and to show how smart and dynamic they are. In fact, the key to building enduring relationships is to forget about you, be attentively silent and help the other person feel appreciated and valued.

"Why do we forget? Why do we continue to push our agenda, instead of doing what’s best for our audience? Because we’re in a hurry, goal driven and attention hungry. We’re listening to the facts and to the little voice in our head, trying to quickly figure out how to get others around to our way of thinking. Instead, we should be listening to their feelings. Slow down, relax, be engaged, try to understand, be empathic. Tune out your turbulent thoughts - your techniques, obsessions and personal biases - and tune in your audience’s need to be heard, acknowledged and uniquely understood. Thoreau once wrote: The greatest compliment that was ever paid to me was when someone asked me what I thought and attended to my answer. There is no greater gift you can give others than to be fully present with them, to make them feel that they are at they very heart of things.

"Empathic listening is the very first step in making people feel good about themselves and in creating richer relationships and deeper trust. And it’s also the first step towards a compassionate heart. And it’s compassion that inspires us to improve people’s lives with our creativity and resourcefulness. To make them feel loved, appreciated and cared for. In fact, the closer we get to our audience and their problems, the more unbearable we find their suffering. We feel a responsibility to improve their well-being. We are compelled to take action. I love inventor David Levy’s curse method for developing new products: "Whenever I hear someone curse, it’s a sign to invent something." And that desire to improve life is the key to innovation, differentiation and success in today’s marketplace."

Tomorrow, we will look at truths # 8 and 7: Authenticity and caring.

Have a great Monday, everyone.

Technorati Tags: Tom Asacker, marketing,web designback to school, business lessons, customer service, marketing 101, corante, branding

I've been thinking a lot about leadership, lately. Particularly, what makes a great leader vs. a lousy one. I've known a lot of lousy ones. I can count the great ones on the fingers of one hand. That's really sad... and a little bit scary.

Back when I was fresh out of college, I enjoyed a brief but unforgetable tour of duty with the French Navy Marines. For the better part of a year, I had eight NCO's working under me, each with a leadership style of their own. One was a tyrant. Another was a big brother. The rest found themselves somewhere in between. Most of these guys had 10-15 years of experience under their belts. I had three months. Let's just say that when it comes to leadership training, I could have done a lot worse.

The tyrant didn't last long with me. He and I didn't see eye-to-eye on much. He had grown bitter about his career and enjoyed the power he held over his men a little too much. Morale on his team was low. His men weren't engaged. They all wanted to transfer out to other units. Ironically, he was the one who got transfered after a few months. He was replaced by his second-in-command who ended up making a fantastic squad leader. Before long, requests for transfers ceased altogether, and everything got back on track.

I learned quickly that leadership isn't about being the boss. It's about giving your people the tools, the space, the authority, and the support they need to do their jobs. If you have the right people in place and give them all of these things, there is nothing they can't or won't accomplish or risk for you. Nothing.

I've met my share of lousy and good leaders since then, and I can tell you that the difference between a good leader and a bad one is huge. A bad leader can sink a billion-dollar company with a captive market faster than I can lose my shirt in a crooked poker game. A great one can make a small company with no capital the talk of its industry, and turn a small idea into a cultural phenomenon.

Let me tell you this: Leadership has nothing to do with diplomas or resumes. Our country clubs and executive suites are filled with serial CEO's who couldn't lead themselves out of a bunker, much less turn the companies they work for into the successes they were hired to conjure up. Leadership is a gift. A talent. You're either a great leader or you aren't. Sometimes, you don't really know who the leaders are in a crowd until the fit hits the shan, and someone has to step up to save the day. Leaders aren't always who you would expect.

Being a great leader is as much about character as it is about skill, experience and knowledge. It's a complicated package. It's a rare one. Finding one in the crowd can be as difficult as finding gold deep inside dark, damp mountains.

But they're there, if you know what to look for.

What makes the lousy ones lousy? Here's a list:

They don't know how to listen.
They don't love what they do for a living.
They don't care about the people who work for them.
They don't understand the difference between leadership and management.
They think that leadership is best exercised by barking orders.
They love power a little too much.
They inherited their position from Daddy.
They aren't having any fun anymore.
They refuse to delegate.
They are terrified of making mistakes.
They really, really like the prestige of their position.

What makes the great ones great?

You naturally want to work for them.
They love what they do.
Their vision is both original and unshakable.
To them, failure is just a point on the learning curve, and nothing to be afraid of.
They're most inspiring one-on-one, over a beer.
They are loyal to their team.
They are naturally curious.
They know when to listen, when to speak, and when to act.

Here's more on what makes great leaders... well, great (via servant of chaos, by way of Johnnie Moore, originally posted by Lisa Haneberg):

"A leader is most effective when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, his troops will feel they did it themselves."

- Lao Tzu

And this, from Lisa herself: That last part, the section in bold letters, it pretty much says it all. I've seen that magic happen before. I've seen it in the Navy. I've seen it on the soccer field. I've seen it in the corporate world. I'm not sure that a leader should necessarily be invisible, but I'll settle for one that knows how to empower her people and is wise enough to get out of their way once they start working their magic.

Leaders take their people and their companies where they always wished to go, but would have never dared to on their own.

Technorati Tags: leadership, Lao Tzu, Johnnie Moore, Lisa Haneberg, BrandBuilder, great leaders