Funny Pictures

During my travels, I took pictures of signs with my BlackBerry.  Some are funny.  Some are creative.  And some are just plain silly.  Regardless, all make me laugh.  Click on the thumbnail to see the full size picture.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Making Your Products/Services Affordable and Accessible

One of my last blog entries discussed the need to create affordable and accessible solutions as a way of staying competitive. Given  globalization, cheap labor, and a damanged economy, this makes more sense than ever.

Here are three starter questions to ask to help you generate new ideas:

How can you productize a service? One way to make a service more affordable and accessible is to turn it into a physical or digital product; something that requires little or no human intervention. In my earlier entry, I talked about Cybersettle automating insurance claims processing. My Innovation Personality Poker enables people to recreate one of my most popular speeches/workshops. Self-assessment tools can reduce reliance on consultants. Remote diagnostic technologies can speed medical exams and pre-qualify patients before they come to the doctor. Legalzoom.com offers affordable legal advice for people who might otherwise not seek counsel. TurboTax simplifies tax filing. Experts convert their intellectual property into books, mp3s, DVDs, digitally delivered training (including eLearning) systems, or online databases. The possibilities are endless.

How can offer a low-cost product/service? In an earlier blog entry, I quoted Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, who once said, “Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away.” I love that.  Ask, “Why are people really using our products/services and what are the bare minimum ways of delivering the desired outcome?” $300 netbooks are stripped down computers because most people want to do word processing and surf the net. Tata is offering a $2,000 car in India (ok, maybe that is a bit too scaled down). Ernst & Young Consulting (now Cap Gemini) once offered a subscription service, Ernie, which provided small businesses with a low-cost alternative to high priced consulting. Dow Corning, the maker of silicone-based products, created Xiameter, an internet-based division that sells product only in bulk… with no call centers.  Which features, services, or qualities can be reduced in order to tap into a new market?

How can I make my product addictive? Drug dealers know that if you get someone hooked on your product, they will come back to buy more. This strategy can be useful for attracting – and retaining – customers. Last month I spoke with the CEOs of three software companies. The one strategy that was pertinent to all three was the development of a stripped down version of the software…and potentially offering it for free. The idea is to get the customer hooked and using the software on a regular basis. Then as the customer’s needs grow, they will need to upgrade (note: this is not the same thing as offering something free today and then charging in the future). I worked with a major computer manufacturer many years ago where this concept was applied. Their flagship computer was (let’s call it) the “F” series. But that was too expensive for most companies, so they introduced a much slower and less expensive computer - the “E” series. Interestingly, the two models were 100% identical except a computer chip was added to the “E” to slow it down. The company knew that many customers would eventually want an upgrade, and they simply pulled out the chip and charged an exorbitant fee.

All three of these strategies move your innovation to the left-hand part of the bell curve (above) rather than the right. All three can be used by any company to augment their existing products and services.  The point is to make your “core competency” available to a broader market - without negatively diverting energies.

I will be including more strategies in future blog entries.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

L Vaughn Spencer - Very Funny

A good friend of mine, Neil Mullarkey (yes, that’s his real name), is one of the funniest people I know.  He, Mike Myers, and a couple of other guys founded the Comedy Store Players (an improv comedy group) in London.  I have seen Neil perform dozens of times.  Always fantastic!  I even spent a day training with him.  Now I am funny(er).  His latest comedic character is the “gansta motivator,” L Vaughn Spencer, also known as L Vo.  He also has a new book based on this character (I am eagerly waiting for mine to arrive from Amazon).  I know many motivational speakers.  After a while, it is hard to take some of them seriously.  That’s why L Vo is so much fun.  The Sunday Telegraph in the UK said, “(L Vo is) the perfect antidote to the endless bogus management consultants and coaches who ply the corporate circuit.”  Hopefully they aren’t referring to me!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Origin of Spam

You may wonder how spam got its name.  No, I am not referring to the annoying emails we get.  I am referring to the canned pork product that pre-dated the internet.

In a classic Straight Dope article from 10 years ago, Cecil writes that the name is short for “spiced ham.”

Supposedly there was a “name-the-product party, in which you had to contribute a possible name in order to get a drink.”

Clever idea.  Maybe this is a way of developing a new name or concept for your business.  Just make sure you check your corporate insurance policy first.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Goal-Free Fun

In a previous blog entry, I describe how games can turn work into play.  The key is to choose a game that resonates with you. Here’s a bit from the Simpsons that shows that not all games are fun.

Bart forgot his permission slip, so he was unable to visit the chocolate factory.  Instead, he was stuck with Principal Skinner who had other plans for him.

Principal: Here’s a whole box of unsealed envelopes for the PTA!
Bart: You’re making me lick envelopes?
Principal: Oh, licking envelopes can be fun! All you have to do is make a game of it.
Bart: What kind of game?
Principal: Well, for example, you could see how many you could lick in an hour, then try to break that record.
Bart: Sounds like a pretty crappy game to me.
Principal: Yes, well, get started.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Next Page »