About these Authors
Johnnie Moore is a marketing consultant and facilitator based in London. As well as 20 years of marketing experience he's trained in psychotherapy, NLP and Improv. Find out more at his blog.
Andrew Lark's more than 18 years experience of all facets of marketing, branding, sales and communications spans technology, Internet, telecommunications and consumer sectors. There he has led award-winning programs and teams for brands such as Dell, Sony, SBC, IDSoftware, Nortel, Microsoft and Sun. He is a thought leader and innovator on the convergence of brands, communications and social networking technologies. Find out more at his blog.
Jennifer Rice is a strategist and evangelist for relationship-centric brands. She brings 15 years experience in brand strategy, customer insight and marketing communications, and has worked with companies such as Microsoft, Verizon, Alcatel and Corning. Her current passion is exploring how brands are being impacted by blogs and other social technologies. Her company blog is What's Your Brand Mantra?
John Winsor is the author of Beyond the Brand: Why Listening to the Right Customers is Essential to Winning in Business and the Founder/CEO of Radar Communications, a consumer-centric consultancy. You can find out more about him at Beyond the Brand.
Jennifer Rice
Andy Lark
Johnnie Moore
John Winsor
1. PXLated on March 4, 2005 09:30 AM writes...
Hmmmm...Have any case studies proving that? :-)
Permalink to Comment2. Bruce DeBoer on March 4, 2005 05:26 PM writes...
Oh Seth ... Really! [hands on hips and exasperated] What exactly are you trying to say, Seth? Don’t bother talking about marketing failures? Only look at successes? I don't know about anyone else but I gain most of my insights from my failures – they aren’t all the same. Analyzing someone else’s failure helps to keep them from becoming mine.
Besides, who is Seth to talk about self centered. He has a blog (more like a diary)that doesn’t accept comments – he told me that the comments give him headaches. Huumph. I guess we just have to comment on someone else’s blog, Seth doesn't want us to play in his sandbox.
Permalink to Comment3. Johnnie Moore on March 5, 2005 04:15 AM writes...
Hey Bruce, thanks for the input.
Here's what I like about Seth's post. It relates to what I call The Southwest Paradox. How come this airline is so successful for so long, but almost no other comes close?
Southwest is not a secretive organisation. But you can't map what some people (I find tiresomely) call "its DNA" and replicate it. To succeed, you have to come up with something of your own.
That's where the case studies become a hindrance. I think it's what Peter Block means when he says "The Answer to How is Yes"
That's not to say we can't learn from failures though. That's how I learn a lot of things!
Permalink to Comment4. Shawn Lea on March 5, 2005 11:14 AM writes...
Hey, this game is pretty easy once you get the hang of it...join me, if you like.
http://everythingandbutnothing.blogspot.com/2005/03/insert-your-favorite-author-here-rule.html
Permalink to Comment5. Bruce DeBoer on March 5, 2005 01:55 PM writes...
Thanks Johnnie - Then why didn't he say that! Your exactly right - I'm sure that's what he meant. The specifics of why one business works can't be duplicated by others - their is just too much to do with personal ownership, opportunity, and market timing for clones to work. There are, however, general business strategies that can be studied and from which we can learn. In the case of SW we can point and say, "I guess the hub and spoke system isn't the only way to make it" or, "look, travelers are willing to give up sucky food from lower fairs and faster turn around", imagine that? In the case of AT&T there are other lessons, IBM still others, AOL more still.
One of my hot buttons are marketing Guru's who make some great points – maybe in a book or two - only to become myopic. I think Seth is one of those even though I quote him often and read his books. Perhaps it's because Seth is now SETH, Inc. the business and not a marketing executive hoping to help clients succeed. However, I am prepared to be wrong about this and learn from my mistakes:)
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