Is Failure Good For Business?
In a few short weeks, 8-year-old Facebook will launch its IPO and will suddenly be worth a staggering $100 billion, or thereabouts. Porsche is selling more cars than ever before, contributing significantly to Volkswagen, its part-owned parent which generated over $200 billion in revenue last year. And then there’s Apple, now the world’s most valuable company with more money in the bank than the Federal Reserve. Seemingly these firms can do no wrong.
The reality is quite different. These organizations have experienced huge failures of product and business acumen, yet somehow survived and thrived. Facebook Lite was launched in 2009 to compete with Twitter and closed in 2010 after it failed to impress users. Porsche narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 2009 before an investment in innovation led to a roster of new models, and who can remember the Apple Newton, the failed hand-held device whose development later led Steve Jobs to create the iPhone.
Could it be that failure is actually good for business? Peek behind the headlines and we quickly find that most successful organizations have created a culture that encourages creativity, innovation and experimentation. Along with this comes the risk of failure, but also the possibility of stunning success. As Henry Ford once stated, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, only this time more intelligently.” And he should know. His Detroit Automobile Co. failed a full 15 years before launching The Ford Motor Company. This has been true for many businesses, including:
High school buddies Paul Allen and Bill Gates launched Traf-O-Data, before the State of Washington decided to offer the same traffic counter service for free. The students then took what they had learned from the venture to launch micro-soft. Today Microsoft has a market cap of over $260 billion.
Sony’s first consumer product was a rice cooker, which succeeded only in burning its contents. Total sales: 100. But this did not stop the company from creating some of the 20th century’s most successful consumer products.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co dominate the soft drinks market. Enter Virgin Cola, an upstart competitor to the soft drink giants that aimed to apply its maverick Virgin brand to the sector. The outcome was no more than 3% market share in the UK and continuing losses. Virgin accepted defeat and moved on to invest resources in future successes such as Virgin Blue and Virgin Mobile.
Walt Disney started a business with his very first cartoon production. It failed to attract an audience and the company went bankrupt. However, this gave him the experience to launch The Walt Disney Company, which now enjoys revenue of over $30 billion.
What can we learn from these failures? Mostly that failure and mistakes are a reality of business. No company chooses to fail, but the experience proves to be a valuable chance for organizations to experiment, take risks and explore new paths. Governments talk about fostering innovation, but it goes beyond policy making. It’s about recalling our early education to explore and be inspired.
Sure it may not always work out, but by creating a business environment that encourages creative risk taking and perseverance, organizations are in fact building the foundation for future success. Or as Woody Allen put it, “80% of success is showing up.”
Is that a Goat in my E-stocking? Not-for-profit Shouldn’t Translate into Not-making-a-profit; How Charities Can Get More from their Wish Lists
It’s no secret, Christmas season is not just a busy time for the generous, the anxious, and little elves in green tights. This is peak giving season and every charity is out there stating their case for donations.
The amount of money that charities raise now more than likely determines what they will be able to spend in 2012. They’re using online, offline, below-the-line, and even out-of-line channels to get donors’ attention. So what is the most effective way to get that crucial message across and standout from the crowd? Maybe a look at what’s been done will shine light on what ought to be done….
First came direct mail, traditional advertising and PR campaigns; many would argue that this old school triumvirate is still the way to go, particularly when reaching out to baby boomers, zoomers, and whatever trendy encapsulation of a population segment comes after zoomers…. There is a considerably large percentage of the population that still appreciates receiving something in the mail; it is considered to be a more personal approach.
For those who want a little more bang for their save-a-panda-buck, there are events, experiential marketing, and canvassers. From pop-up events to flash mobs to those poor chipper students who stand in the cold eagerly engaging passersby. While still visible on chilly Toronto streets as of November 1st, this is an older (and colder) tactic that some charities have stepped away from.
Enter online: a brave new world with myriad options for giving. What started as the DONATE HERE button has evolved into third party fundraising sites, online contests, customized widgets, tweetups and other initiatives that invite online communities to congregate at real time (and real life!) fundraisers.
These days, we can tweet to our tribe to pre-promote an event, raise money on a third party website, and use mobile giving to text a donation while at said event. (Not to mention checking in on Foursquare, taking it viral on Youtube, and blogging about it afterwards.) It can be positively exhausting keeping up online appearances and the truth is, an avatar’s work is never done.
When it comes to promotion, publicity and maximizing outreach, many people ask when is enough, enough? At least that question is easy to answer: never. Especially when it comes to charitable giving and remember, not-for-profit shouldn’t translate into not-making-a-profit. Charities ought to be aggressively campaigning on every channel possible—especially online.
The problem is—unlike trying to decide between that ultra-uber-post-post-modern spiky vase and the earrings made out of recycled car tires for your brother’s odd artist girlfriend—there are so many charities that really are worthwhile, and donation really do make a difference. The solution isn’t a simple one, so here are a few straightforward tips for maximizing outreach during this busy season:
1. Simplify your message: one slogan, one ‘ask’, and one place to donate (regardless of how many places the message is posted, tweeted, blogged, broadcasted, printed, mentioned, and so on.)
2. Be dynamically aggressive: Do not think that one channel is enough, ten is barely enough.
3. Just like my mom’s legendary turkey gravy, lay it on thick: too many charitable organizations are too timid to really ask for what they need: money.
Not only should charities highlight the incredible work that is being done by their organization, but they should also highlight how privileged we are to live in this country and enjoy the rights and freedoms we do.
I know it’s Christmas, but I’ve always been partial to Thanksgiving and the spirit in which it is celebrated. I think that ought to be present year-round and I for one am thankful to be in a position to give. So whether it’s online or offline, help your local charity this season.
Why Creativity is at the Centre of Everything
Among all the accolades bestowed on Steve Jobs since his passing – revolutionizing the music industry, creating the PC market (then making it obsolete), transforming movies and the way we use phones – possibly the greatest business revolution that Jobs brought about has been the one in our heads.
Jobs placed creativity at the very heart of business. With a healthy dose of Bauhaus philosophy, he understood that beauty and function go hand-in-hand. And it can also help make lots of money, which is how Apple became the second most valuable company in the world. This clarity drove the design of the first Mac and every Apple product since. Jobs knew that creative thinking and an appreciation, if not understanding of art, architecture and design were essential to creating products that would ‘make a dent in the world’. Through hard work, persuasion, and the odd expletive, he even managed to convince teams of engineers and geeks that creativity was not a distraction but a guiding principal.
Of course Steve Jobs was not alone in this thinking, though maybe the most visible of our generation. Check out professor Sir Ken Robinson, who’s fame exploded with a remarkable TED lecture exploring how our outmoded education system was built on the industrial premise. Great for the 19th to mid 20th century manufacturing age. Not so helpful now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
The argument is that if our children continue to be brought up thinking design and the arts are peripheral to career success, we are missing a remarkable opportunity to create a generation of free thinkers who, with an understanding of problem solving, innovation, and importantly, passion are going to be responsible for addressing many of the great social and business issues of our time. Hopefully a few great artists will be born too.
Recently in Canada there has been a rallying cry to bring innovation to business. What does this really mean? Government grants? Workshops and Think Tanks? Sure, all of the above. In fact, I’d like to add free entry to museums and galleries to this list, which is not as crazy as you may think. London’s Tate Modern is the most visited museum in the world, and it makes money. Oh, and entry is free.
This rallying cry means a mind shift that starts by prioritizing the arts in school and society. Increase arts funding, celebrate creative achievements (as we do technology and sports), bring artists and design thinkers into business schools and then let’s hear how they strategize and solve problems.
So the next time you pull out your iPhone or iPad go ahead and give thanks to the late, great Steve Jobs. But more importantly, take a few minutes to think about the creative process that led to its creation. Who knows, maybe it will bring a little more creativity to your business day.
I Don’t Mean to Be a Pill
Apple isn’t the only tablet making news in recent days.
The headline “Pill to Cure Grey Hair” snapped me out of an early morning daze. As someone whose hair started greying in my early 20s, I was intrigued. Then disappointed.
Turns out hair dye giant L’Oreal’s pill, expected to be available in 2015, must be taken before someone starts greying.
The next day I stumbled across an article on another magic pill in the works, “Swallowable Parfum,” that releases its scent through the skin.
I am all for medicine and scientific advances, but are humans truly so lazy that we yearn to simply take pills for everything?
The marketer in me says yes.
All doubts vanished after a colleague spent more than $300 on a universal TV remote for her boyfriend.
Lazy sells.
The late great Steve Jobs built an entire business empire based on the marketing premise that people just want to plug and play.
The world is a much better place because of Apple. But promoting magic elixirs that promise quick solutions to non-existent problems (see perfume pill above) diminishes the contributions inspired innovators and marketers offer to improve our lives.
Ever since some unknown leech wrangler created the world’s first tablet by compressing mysterious powders in some apothecary – the forerunner to Shoppers Drug Mart – the pill has offered a simple cure for all that ails us. No more need to stew your own newts or grind up dried fish innards.
Perhaps razor makers should stop ploughing billions of R&D dollars into fitting ever more blades into a cartridge (surely five are enough) and start investing in shaving pills. Good-bye 5 o’clock shadow. A time-released capsule could keep even the hairiest guy baby skin smooth round the clock.
Then there is the smart pill. Hollywood uncharacteristically got the money-making formula completely backward when it created Limitless, a hit movie about a pill that offers superhuman intelligence. Even a young kid knows you first produce Transformer toys then you make the movies.
Of course, the Limitless pill creates some health challenges – namely sudden and extremely premature death – but (spoiler alert) the lead character does live very happily ever after. Even for the ultra lazy among us, I wouldn’t count on the same ending in the real world.
The political lawn sign: Social activism or brand for rent?
During every election campaign, lawns all around me sprout up political signs, revealing bold statements on political beliefs and values. We are awash in blue, red, orange and even a little bit of green. Strange that a topic shrouded in secrecy should on the other hand be so public.
Think about it. Would people post their bank balances on such a sign, or perhaps a sexual preference?
The secret ballot is at the heart of democracy. The cardboard voting booths may be flimsy but they do protect our privacy at polling stations. So many people are willing to plunk down political signs on their lawns but everyone scans the room for prying eyes before marking the X.
Aside from the not insignificant question of environmental waste (Green party, what are you thinking?), what does this public display of political association say about the intersection of brand and social engagement?
By erecting such signs are we in fact renting a social purpose as easily as if it were a Toyota Prius or Chanel handbag? Is this really the most effective way to express a position on how our cities should be governed or the values behind which our community lives?
In the US, this is a first amendment rights issue, but that misses the point.
As the great urban thinker Jane Jacobs said: “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
If the display of political signage reflects a person’s social beliefs, surely it would be more effective to live that belief. Support a food bank, borrow a book from the library, employ a new immigrant. Actions speak louder than signs.
Corporations spend billions of dollars to have their brands deliver authentic experiences, yet political organizations seem to still be living in the social responsibility dark ages.
Consider Germany’s Green Party. A movement formed in the early 1980s with a strong environmental position. Pro environment, no-nukes and clear pacifist policies. They have since become a powerful political force, wielding extraordinary influence in Germany as a key government coalition partner. In the 2005 German federal election, rather than drive through neighbourhoods in emission boosting vehicles some candidates instead used well-branded pedicabs – that’s a three wheel bike with cover to you and me. Marketing stunt? Maybe, but it’s also an authentic interpretation of the organization’s brand.
Here is a bit of free advice to all the candidates running in this and future elections. Since when has a knock on the door by a badge wearing, political leaflet waving stranger at dinner time ever made me more inclined to give them my vote? It hasn’t.
For the benefit of political parties and public alike my vote is to start real political brand engagement by bringing an end to the lawn sign madness.
