Words, words: a digital library : It has been said that not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers. I buy that.

Book recommendations can be a double-sided gift: frequently helpful though often not risk-free. (e.g. And why does she/he think I should read this..?)

Click here to visit my digital library. Best estimate is it features ~20% of the books currently occupying my shelves.  

Library contents are listed in a modified Dewey Decimal System: 

1.  Storytelling

2.  Marketing

3.  Strategy

4.  GSD and Business Stories

5.  Philosophy and the Art + Science of Success

When asked if I have any book recommendations I can now: a.) visit my own web page; and/or b.) send inquiring readers to my page. Convenience factor: 10/10. Bonus: you can do the same.

All that remains is to keep the page current. I want to believe this’ll be easy. 

Future recommendations appreciated.

Unstuck shortcuts: AI writing assistants

If you value originality and company-specific accuracy, AI writing assistants are probably not for you. If you want to save time and are willing to modify commoditized results, maybe so.

I set aside a few hours to explore AI writing assistants and found they’re kinda like the inflatable swimmies of the content world. They’ll help you get started but if you need customers to know what you - and only you - can do, you’ll want to be selective about how you use them. 

The following is a ⚡️-fast category summary, not a product-by-product analysis. Individual solutions may become great (I hope they will!) and if you’d like to know more feel free to ping. That said, here’s what I found: 

The good: 

• Thought-starters. For raw idea generation, AI can be a lever to getting unstuck. Just enter your topic in an AI writing assistant (at least the two I tested) and kapow!! ideas on top of ideas. Even if a select few apply, there’s a chance one will lead to another and that’ll be enough to establish momentum.  

• Templates. Helpful to instill guardrails and as structural mechanisms. For example, if you’re seeking to employ a classic AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) or PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solution) framework, there are templates for those; or SEO Meta Titles or Descriptions, ad headlines, product descriptions, and more, ibid. All nice-to-haves, especially for those who need to crank out material at high volume and/or cross-check their work against what’s trending.   

• Analytics. The ability to track written output by word and character count is useful because it helps content teams identify patterns and account for how they’re investing their time and the $$ they’re potentially saving. For example, are you generating higher ROI on short-form or long-form writing, product/service how-to blogs or thought leadership, case studies or customer testimonials? Answers = opportunities.  

• Long-form composition: AI writing companies are run by pros who know story structure and how content is optimized for digital performance. If it’s The Hero’s Journey you’re seeking or a story plot for the screenplay you’ve yet to punch out, then maybe just maybe an assistant will offer the nudges you need.  

The less good: 

• Generic content. AI can make suggestions but users make decisions. Unless you’re satisfied with high-opacity statements applicable across your competitive set, my sense is that AI-generated suggestions will not be ready-to-go like 8-minute brownies. This can still can be OK and of course you get out what you put in. Just prepare to modify with the knowledge that modifications take time.      

• Marketingspeak. Customers are smart. They know nonsense when they see and hear and read it and many results of my inputs were riddled with lingo I wish I could unread. To an extent, these are contra-results, signals of terms writers should be careful using because so many others are already using them. Proceed gingerly. 

• Many words when few will do. If you want to leave your audience with a memorable impression, less is more. Many of the results I saw were simply more.

I’m a believer in quality > quantity and originality > commoditization. In my experience this is what drives engagement and sales because it shows brands are listening and investing in distinct customer needs. AI writing assistants have a role to play in helping accomplish these goals while improving content discoverability and production, no doubt. How well they perform is up to the teams who know how and where to use them.  

For sport: 

I sought inputs from two writing assistants on why Chewbacca would make a strong CMO. Apparently “he has a great track record for growing companies” and “can growl at anyone who tries to steal your brand identity!” ..? One of my first brand jobs was policing a new brand so I can relate to the identity part. Not sure on his growth chops but would value a chance to learn more.

Peace in the galaxy.

Creative Experiments: A 00:30 spot for LinkedIn

Cover stories are seldom seen. I made one anyway. Here’s how.

For starters, I decided not to make my ‘Cover Story’ a talking head video. A still image of my mug is more than enough. 

My approach was to create a no-audio clip featuring personal images, supers, and a DIY graphic. The goal is to provide visitors with a summary of who I am, what I do, and brief perspective that might help them get unstuck. Spoiler: Stories add value and you should tell them more and better. 

Ingredients:

• Final Cut Pro X (my preferred video editing software)

• Canva for arrow and line graphics

• Photos

• Enough time to iterate

Constraints:

• Cover stories on LI must be < 30 seconds

• Pre-roll (e.g. the segment that autoplays upon page load) is approximately 3 seconds. I wanted to get the timing of this juuuust right: so the jump to additional content would happen after the 3 second pre-roll.   

• Vertical/portrait orientation only

Result: 

That’s it. Production time: 2 hours.

Some of you may be thinking ‘2 hours…that’s a lot of time!?’ A: not really (I know my way around FCP) and it was well-invested.  

To be clear, a Cover Story is not an act of daring. It’s just one more way to try a new software feature and be unique. Because, in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss:

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”   

And because we all have places to go.  

R&D (Research & Data): Oct 21 Ed. : 6 useful references for marketing and business pros

I keep a running list of links. Here’s a sample of numbers + insights recently uncovered or reread. If you’re into content and campaigns, I’m 99% confident you’ll find something interesting here.   

1. Salesforce: 90% of marketers report the pandemic improved data strategy via VentureBeat. Necessity is the mother of invention.

2. US Digital Ad Spending by Industry 2021 via eMarketer.  In a previous role I followed these numbers - and the global version - like a 🦅. Good refreshers on market sizing, mix, and trends. 

3. Content Marketing Statistics You Need to Know via Semrush. One way of comprehending whether or not you’re doing what your peer set are doing, too (and how well). 

4. The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2021 via Hubspot. Straight-up good to have in your back pocket: for research, context, comparisons, and strategic ideas.  

5. US consumer sentiment and behaviors during the coronavirus crisis via McKinsey. A trusted source on many topics, sales and marketing included. Plus first-class graphics. 

6. The Definitive Guide to Sales Enablement via Highspot. Blast from my professional past. Nice to see how far it has evolved.  

Now back to the lab.

A CLV restart : Eventually you’ll get stuck. It may as well be on a road to customers you want.

I like KPIs that don’t require an advanced degree to ‘get it.’ At its heart CLV says build stuff people want and don’t waste your time selling to people who aren’t going to buy as much of your stuff as other people who will. The rest is details; some dryasdust but worth sharing because the payoff is as important today as ever before.  

Heads-up: This is a tactical post and there’s a Greek symbol just around the corner. If you’d like to bail now I understand. 

What we’re dealing with

Customer. In this case your customers (plural). Hopefully you know them and how to find them and connect with them. 

Lifetime: That’s how long you want them. More realistically it’s how long, on average, you anticipate a customer will remain a customer.   

Value: The margin you’ll earn in exchange for the value you’re delivering. 

Here’s an example of a CLV formula. As any quick internet search will reveal, it’s one of many and leans technical.  

Plain English interpretation: CLV is the difference between annual customer revenue and costs (e.g. margin, the CRn - Cn) multiplied by the customer retention rate (e.g. the percentage of customers you expect will stick around, the R) compounded over time (the n) and divided by the sum of 1 (one) plus a discount rate (e.g. your expected return on investment in the business being evaluated; the riskier the business, the higher the rate), again compounded over time, the result of which is set against customer acquisition costs (CAC). Note for the more scientific: over time, each customer’s retention rate will change, as will the discount rate. Also note: CAC is often viewed as a separate calculation. I prefer including it because it provides a holistic view of customer economics.  

I know it can be a lot of math.

Alternatively, if a back-of-the-envelope calculation is preferred, then it’s worth trying this simple(r) version:  

Again in Plain English: CLV is the difference between customer revenue and costs (e.g. margin, the CRn - Cn from the previous example) multiplied by the result of the customer retention rate divided by 1 (one) plus the discount rate minus the retention rate and less customer acquisition costs.

All aboard

Treat CLV conversations like a great excuse to get your people together for a short road trip where the whole team joins the fun. Via CLV: 

• Marketers reveal who they’re targeting, why, and how much they should be willing to spend to win a customer, plus the importance of customer retention (which cannot be overstated).

• Finance can describe how the company’s risk level and budget contribute to customer growth.

• Sales illustrates the impact of marketing and product/service decisions on revenue opportunities. 

• Engineering is able to see how their hard work translates into $$.  

When you know what your customers are worth and how they value your product or service, you become more aware of how you’re helping them get unstuck, of the problem they’re paying you to solve. And you can make more strategic decisions including: what projects to fund, how to position and message, which audience(s) to prioritize, and how to more profitably build what you sell and sell what you build. Insider tip: This knowledge isn’t common.  

Use cases

The bulk of my CLV-related experience has been in SAAS businesses where ACV (Annual Contract Value) and ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) play a large role in decision-making and quarterly KPIs. That said, CLV also applies in a wide array of industries and at revenue levels of all sizes. Over the years I’ve used it in consumer tech, mobile telecoms, and elsewhere. Still I haven’t started a fan club…yet.  

Closer to the palm of your hand: Ever wonder why you see the ads you see when you’re scrolling through your social feeds? They don’t appear for artistic merit. They show up based upon who available data perceive you to be and who you might become as a margin-generating customer. The more ads you see from one brand, the more that brand is willing to spend to bring you aboard; e.g. the greater they anticipate your lifetime value will be relative to the $$ they’re spending on targeted marketing and sales. It’s an example of CLV at work.

Here’s another example: 

Customer X: Annual revenue: $100, Annual costs: $30, Retention rate: 80%, Average years: 5, Discount rate: 17%, Acquisition cost: $80

Customer Y: Annual revenue: $75, Annual costs: $25, Retention rate: 85%, Average years: 5, Discount rate: 15%, Acquisition cost: $80

Pop quiz: Which customer is more valuable? 

Ceteris paribus (e.g. all else being equal) and using the simple(r) formula illustrated above, Customer X is more valuable by ~$10. Pat yourself on the back if you guessed calculated correctly. 

Practical summary and inspiration for further research

Returning to our driving analogy, knowing how metrics work is like knowing what’s happening under the hood of your car. You can pinpoint what’s going well, what’s on the verge of breaking down, and when to pause and reassess. You can also better describe what’s happening for those who might be in position to help. It’s a simile that doesn’t rust out. (The pun police have been notified.) 

All for today

I’ll return to quant topics soon enough. Because knowledge is power and math is good to know.

In the meantime, many happy returns. 

***

Other recent posts: Sand Mode, Workshop This Way ->, A Brand Statement

Workshop This Way -> : As a noun and a verb, it’s hard to outdo workshop. Here are a few thoughts on how to make the most of the noun, collected by way of the verb. I’ll clarify.

Workshop: noun, work·shop. A seminar, discussion group, or the like, that emphasizes exchange of ideas and the demonstration and application of techniques, skills, etc. Source: dictionary.com. 

Fragmented business environments and WFH trends are making workshops indispensable. Not meetings, workshops. Moments in time when blue sky thinking can occur in a zero-multitasking space. Prior to 2020, we would have referred to these as laptops-down sessions and with any luck they’ll return IRL soon. 

Without workshops, all we do is work. It’s an etymological twist. And if all we do is work, head down and shoulders tense, it’s hard to perceive whether we’re setting ourselves up for progress or getting stuck.  

Want to run a workshop? Here’s some of what you’ll need.

1. An approach. If you’re asking a team or partners to trade time with customers for time in an internal conversation - however critical it might be - then the why, how, and what of your workshop investment must be clear-cut. You’ll need an agenda, a set of roles and responsibilities, an outline of desired outputs, knowledge of who else is attending, and a menu. Yes, a menu. For morale. If the workshop you’re leading is virtual, make sure everyone has sustenance nearby even if it means sending digital coffee cards in advance. In short, show participants you care and they’ll care in return. ☕️☕️

2. An ethos. Be flexible because where you think you’re stuck isn’t necessarily where others are also stuck. Your workshop may pursue a tangent and that’s 100% OK as long as the tangent reconnects with your goals. Keeping a workshop moving while making space for perspectives - being inclusive - is what participants will remember just as much if not more than your conclusions. Inclusive in the workshop: inclusive outside the workshop. Everything else is details.

3. Tactics. Intersperse tech where you think it will add value and not distract. For example, anonymous polls inserted in slideware can be a great way to keep conversations moving. If you select this route, bear in mind there are no stone tablets commanding that all workshop polls must be business-ish. Have the confidence to infuse a little levity. I, for one, am grateful to know that my spirit animal is the arctic fox. All-up: to stimulate progress, keep the conversation moving. Find avenues for personal engagement and record learnings in the language of your audience. Use your whiteboard, the comments field in your video communications platform, and post-it notes. The more involvement you generate, the more actionable your workshop results will be.

4. Follow-up. Point out the differences between your trajectory (or lack thereof) going into your workshop and where you closed the day; e.g. we started here — 🔴 and ended here — 🟢 Make a list of tasks you’ll begin doing, keep doing, and stop doing, with accompanying next steps. Establish your next connection point before your workshop wraps, ideally within the next 7 business days. And always, always, thank your attendees. Make your next workshop a must-attend event.

Who should lead

Not everyone is equipped to lead a workshop. I’m not equipped to write code. That’s just how it is. I can’t force it and neither should you. 

Look for someone with a coach’s mentality, a person who’s comfortable speaking in front of groups, asking insightful questions, and showing their vulnerability because this will inspire others to do the same. Maybe the ideal person is inside your organization and maybe not. Maybe she or he is more junior or senior than you. Maybe they know your space deeply or maybe they don’t. Maybe it’s you! I’ve found workshops tend to work best when the person leading is acquainted with an industry or product but not so deep in the minutiae that their preconceived notions stand in the way of gritty debate. If you’re in charge, it’s your call. Either way, do your part to encourage open minds. We’re all as impactful as the questions we ask and the teamwork we stimulate.  

But first, workshop it

Workshop: verb (used with object), work·shop·ped, work·shop·ping. To experiment with different versions … often in a collaborative environment: Source: dictionary.com. 

Workshopping is one of my favorite activities because it’s impossible to know whether or not you’re stuck unless you try it. And try it repeatedly. Workshopping is taking an idea for a walk or, to offer another metaphor, sending it up the flagpole and seeing who salutes. You get the gist.   

When workshopping, seek insights and feedback from a variety of people: old friends, new friends, colleagues, family members, anyone who’ll listen. Listen for enthusiasm or skepticism, commonality of purpose, familiarity with the opportunity or problem you’re presenting and willingness to examine it. Listen for how you articulate your goal and where your story needs help. Listen for the raw materials that will make a decisive workshop.

Workshop your workshop because your workshop isn’t going to be a slapdash event (see: most brainstorms). It’s where you’ll replace the Hollywood Squares of modern collaboration with real connections. Where you’ll identify the traction needed to sprint forward together rather than one-at-a-time. Where you’ll trade stuck for forward progress.   

Time to move. Thanks for visiting. 

***

Other recent posts: Sand Mode, A Brand Statement

A brand statement : Results of a personal branding exercise I didn’t know I needed.

Personal branding is, to borrow a modish term, a thing. Not that it hasn’t always been a thing; more that the thing is now evident and underlined rather than subtle and inferred. It’s in the open these days. 

The primary reason it’s a thing is competition. A personal brand - in the form of a personal brand statement - acts as a signal and gives the brandholder a chance to establish differentiation: This is who I am and what I do, people. It’s my location on the professional map.  

Prior to last week, I’d not been asked for my personal brand statement. Slogans and Myers-Briggs types and interesting facts and two-truths-and-a-lie, yes. But not a personal brand statement. As a brand person, the request was timely given a recent conversation with Eric B (also the inspiration behind Sand Mode). Oh, the places one good chat can take you. 🙏 again, E.  

My target criteria:  

1. I want a brand statement that’s aspirational but doesn’t read like something out of a comic book; e.g. leaps tall buildings in a single bound, am the best there is at what I do & etc.

2. My personal brand statement should be rooted *and* reaching. It should say, I know where I’m from and where I’m going.

3. It must be short. Preferably. (I’m still working on this.)

4. It should be memorable to the people I’d like to remember it.

5. I would like it to be distinct. 

6. The traits -and the brand - should not be presumptuous. 

After 12 iterations, I landed where my conversation with Eric ended and my list started. Result:

I will help you get unstuck. 

Because like it or not and as mentioned in a recent post, Sand Mode: a concept for getting unstuck, everyone is acquainted with getting stuck and has felt the relief of getting unstuck. The people who tend to help people get unstuck have themselves been stuck many times before and helped others re-find their way. Inexperienced people can’t help you get unstuck. Impatient people can’t help you get unstuck. People who have challenged themselves and others and sometimes won and sometimes lost can help you get unstuck. People who are willing to fail can help you get unstuck. So can people who have more often and repeatedly found a way forward. I think those people are the masters of unstuck. I aspire to count myself among them. We’ll see.    

I’ve taken this unstuck thing for a walk and 10/10 times it has generated a grin, a nod, an affirmation that yes, it makes sense for someone like me to make a claim like that. Especially in domains where I’ve generated results; e.g. marketing, not woodworking; strategy, not refrigerator repair. [Author pats himself on the back.]

I’ll help you get unstuck. 

And if you’re stuck trying to develop your own brand statement, hopefully this helps. If it doesn’t, call a friend.

More soon.

***

Other recent posts: Sand Mode

Sand Mode: A concept for getting unstuck

The happiest and most level-headed decision makers I know are acquainted with getting stuck. Their equanimity is the result of knowing how to get unstuck. If you’re looking for a superpower, this is a good one. 

Credit where credit is due: Sand Mode as a concept originated during a chat with my friend Eric. I’m simply taking it for a drive (as it were). 🙏, E.

You need Sand Mode

A few years ago I owned a Jeep. One of its novel features was Sand Mode. In Sand Mode, a vehicle’s transmission remains in low gear, traction is distributed, and wheels don’t overspin. The result: increased torque and a reliable pace for getting unstuck; e.g. achieving the goal. 

I’m guessing designers of the Jeep knew many drivers would have the opposite tendency: to rev their wheels in the assumption that faster would be faster and ignore the tenet that in real life faster can be slower and slower faster. They would get rattled, arrive face-to-face with their lack of preparation, and deepen the stuck. They would need Sand Mode.

The business parallels are everywhere.

In one form or another we’re all either stuck or soon will be

• Stuck trying to scale a new idea

• Stuck attempting to replicate past success

• Stuck without the resources you need

• Stuck in a situation you didn’t sign up for 

• Stuck figuring out how to bring people back to the office

• Stuck questioning whether or not you need an office

• Stuck in a meeting, an airport, or without cash

• Stuck with a song in your head

• Stuck not knowing what to do

• The list goes on

The question is not if you’ll get stuck but 1 ) when, 2 ) to what magnitude, and 3 ) how you’ll get out of it. It’s whether or not you’ll pass the test and emerge stronger.

I want you to have your own version of Sand Mode. 

Plan for obstacles 

Sand Mode is a keep-moving-forward state of mind with reality as subtext and preparation as the magic ingredient. When you do the thing - the venture for the gain - it’s what will help you remain cool at the wheel. 

Before proceeding:

Many people claim they want to go places others won’t then lose composure and freak out at the first obstacle. They cycle on minutiae because they can’t separate what matters from what doesn’t, their heart rate elevates, and they exhaust themselves and everyone around them. It’s a mess. They lack the Mode. You know this; now you have a name for what they need.   

Onward…

Unstuck tip #1: Because reality is hard and you’re forging a new direction, you must be prepared for setbacks. Find the holes in your plan, the entrances that lack obvious exits, the sunk costs and low-probability events that may not occur but then again might. Rehearse what you’ll do if when they appear. Literally (1) go (2) through (3) the (4) steps.

Have contingencies based upon what you’ve learned and prepare to activate them. Prepare because not every decision will be color-by-# and many will be flat-out wrong. 

This is ok. Life and business demand decisions: to launch or not to launch, build or not build, target x or y audience, hire this person or that, invest here or there, the list goes on. As long as you can perceive what you’re getting into and have the chops to help your team when they’re stuck, then there’s an excellent chance it’ll be great.

In short: Fortune favors the prepared. Make it favor you. [Not a bumper sticker or billboard…yet.] 

Diagnose your situation

Stuck is relative and time is its common denominator. You can be temporarily stuck or royally stuck. Unlike the majority of business decisions, royally stuck is life-altering. Today we’re talking about business decisions but the Sand Mode metaphor travels. (You got that?)

Remember: Stuck is why you get paid. Not to look out for things that are going smoothly. 

Unstuck tip #2: Make a short list of where you’re stuck. I’m 100% certain there’s some aspect of your work that’s 99% stuck. Acknowledging the stuck is the first step to getting out of it. For example:

• Maybe you need help from someone who knows what they’re doing

• Maybe you’re not asking the right questions

• Maybe you don’t know because you haven’t tried

• Maybe you’re not as brave as you need to be at this moment

Prioritize where you’re stuck. Rank your stuckiness on a series of post-its or index cards, in a notebook or on your hand. Tell yourself: My first goal is finding a way out. Then pick up the phone or your laptop and start.  

Set a timeline for your unstuck strategy

Unstuck tip #3: Make a KPI for getting unstuck; e.g. We’re going to Point A by Time B; we’re going to commit to a direction before our next quarterly meeting; we’re going to explore [fill in the challenge that will force you to encounter the brutal facts] not just sit here and muse for the next 6 months; and etc. And we’re going to be flexible and fast and patient and find our torque when torque is required.  

Key 🔑: Sand Mode exists to be used. Put yourself in position to use it if you need it! If you wait too long to make a decision, proceed too slowly and without clear intent once you’ve made a decision, or lack the grounding to know which decisions must be made when, then the world will pass you by. Fact. I’ve seen it happen.

Another fact: The best way to not get stuck is to keep moving. Not frantically but with a protagonist’s mindset and composed awareness of how to get unstuck. When you’re aware that plans often go sideways but are prepared and have your bearings, then people will want to work with you. You’ll be more than seasoned (seasoning is for grill foods); you’ll be battle-tested. Sand Mode will be as natural as a walk in the park.    

Summary

I want you to have the resolve and frequently audacious stuff to make informed decisions and bring others along for the ride. To maintain your grace, put in the work, instill in your team the confidence that you know what it takes to get out of tough situations because you’ve been there not because you ‘know’ in some intangible hope-as-strategy way. You have Sand Mode or whatever you wish you call your internal setting that offers the traction you need. 

1. You’ll be prepared for anything

2. You’ll know where you are

3. You’ll move forward fast

We’ll get there, with or without a Jeep.  

—

Bonus material: 5 quotes on getting stuck, coping with the stuck, and finding a way out: 

1. "Remind yourself what you've been through and what you've had the strength to endure." - Marcus Aurelius. The master. 

2. "The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces." Robert Greene. You’re not going to have all the answers. Also not me. Nobody. 

3. “No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.” Seneca. Enter the arena and see your own eyes light up. 

4. Phil Jackson on why he made Chicago Bulls practices so rough: "Not to make their lives miserable but to prepare them for the inevitable chaos that occurs the minute they step onto a basketball court.”

5. “It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else. Sometimes it is years before I see the way forward. In the case of information loss and black holes, it was 29 years.” -Stephen Hawking. That’s persistence.