How to Change Things -- And Yourself

I am not one to get all gushy about business books. I read a lot of them on a nearly one-a-week basis because of my podcast interviews with the American Marketing Association. However, I am so pleased to be reading Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. This is the second book by co-authors and brother writing team Chip and Dan Heath.

Their first book, Made to Stick, was a New York Times bestseller and is a must-read for any communicator of any type -- period.

Okay, so for the gushing...

I am a whole 24 pages into this book and it appears to be another must read. Within the first chapter I've already learned about three surprising elements of change and how to apply them to my advantage.

1. What looks like resistance is often due to a lack of clarity.
2. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
3. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.

I'll admit, I was surprised at the admittedly simple description of why change fails so often, but equally excited at the opportunity to unlock these ideas in my own work life. And what's even better is that next week I'll be interviewing Chip and Dan about their new book -- the podcast will be posted soon after.

If you have questions you'd like me to ask Chip or Dan, let me know. I'll be happy to include what I can in the podcast interview.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Go Back and Change Someone's Mind

I've had the chance to interview Jack Trout three times in my career. The first time I was working to get him to come to Seattle and speak to my chapter of the American Marketing Association. The second time was when we talked about his (then) new book In Search of the Obvious. This time, I spoke with Jack about his latest book -- one that revisits his seminal work of nearly 30 years ago.

While positioning was all about the battle for the mind, Repositioning is about adjusting those perceptions once they've been made. He liberally uses the examples of Mac versus the PC -- how Mac changed the argument from one of technology to the type of person you wanted to be. This is just one of the three keys he mentions: competition, change, and crisis.

Trout spends a lot of time talking about the difference between value and price -- and how they're not the same thing. While that may seem obvious, it isn't common practice. What stirs someone to want to make an investment into a product -- to find that there is something special in that product or service? Trout says it's about repositioning your argument based on what they're telling you.

While this may seem tried and true Trout, you're right. Trout has been selling the same choir book for more than 30 years now, but it is so fundamental and so truly important that the refresh is welcome. While we can learn from history, and other people's mistakes, I think we can also learn from Trout on how to set ourselves apart from the masses, and deeply entrench our value promises in the minds of our audiences.

Specific to non profits, Trout suggests that everything he's written completely relates. He goes one step further to note that not only do non profits need to get really good at what they do, but they also have to be seen as specialists. I can't agree more on these two points. Non profits must be experts at doing what they do, but they also have to be seen as niche experts and leaders -- those practitioners worthy of special consideration and funding.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Move Over 4 P's -- Time for the 4 R's

Last night I was teaching MBA students at Seattle University the foundations of marketing. In review, we hit upon the legendary and foundational Four P's of Marketing. Originally coined by Harvard professor E. Jerome McCarthy in the early 1960s, this simple model has dominated much of the way marketing has operated ever since.

There have been many modifications to the original 4, some have made them into five suggesting People be included, and even Seth Godin suggested a new one -- Purple cow.

But the best addition to the 4 P's I've ever seen is the four R's. RELATIONSHIPS, RETURNS, RELEVANCE, and RESPONSIVENESS.

Cause-related organizations shoudl consider regularly assessing their mission and value proposition to the external marketplace against the four R's. In doing so, I think some will find ways to update and improve their services, engagement, and excitement factor. Following is a quick definition of each element of the four R's.

RELATIONSHIPS -- this has to do with your organization's ability to create alliances and partnerships that improve your ability to fulfill your mission. This isn't just about getting donors to provide free stuff, but rather finding ways to attach your cause into the missions of these organizations so that it becomes their cause too. How expansive are your relationships and alliances into the for profit world? How deep are your connections to decision makers? How wide is your reach because of these relationships?

RETURNS -- this is a big one that many cause-related organizations fail to understand, but is so easy to accomplish. Donors and supporters do not only want to know what you did with the resources you've been given, they desperately want to know the permanent difference you're making in the world. Go beyond identifying how many meals you served, beds provided, acres of forest saved, and wells dug. Tell the world about what happened as a result of those things. Tell us what happened 3, 5, and 10 years later. What permanent mark did you leave on the world? What is your legacy of good?

RELEVANCE -- for anyone who doesn't get this concept, I have a bunch of 8-track tapes I want to sell you. Music hasn't changed much over the past 25 years, but the way we consume it has. People continue to shop and share product reviews with their friends just like they did in the 1980's. The way they do it has changed dramatically. Your cause may be just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago, but is your organization? Have you kept up with the times? Are you a dinosaur in a world of robots? Don't be fooled into thinking that technology is the driver here. It's not; people are. You need to ensure your cause-related organization is relevant in their eyes, meeting today's needs, not yesterdays.

RESPONSIVENESS -- I can get same-day shipping from Amazon. Text messages are instant. Netflix knew that receiving videos by mail was soon to be too slow so they created instant view from their site as well as on-demand viewing through providers like TiVo, Xbox, and others. Keep in mind that the world operates in Web time. Things can be and are instant. This isn't something to be afraid of or to work against. On the contrary, it is an opportunity. Web sites can be updated daily, tweets can go out to communities instantly creating buzz and action, and needs can be met in real time, not on 30-day mailing cycles.

-- David Kinard, PCM