Salvete.
The first week away from the VTSSB and the Apparatchiks has been very relaxing as Cicero awaits the call to help and assist some other business seeking marketing enlightenment.
In meantime it is great that the affairs of state are now in the hands of others. That the pressure of ensuring and assuring your liberty, your freedom and identity has been lifted. And that others have shouldered the burden of manning and guarding that wall that marks the boundary between freedom and anarchy. It can be tough as an Apparatchik.
But with time on his hands this week Cicero has been watching cartoons and is struck by the creativity and imagination of those who put together these films. In particular he is in awe of those who make cartoons like ‘Toy Story’, ‘Finding Nemo’ and, his particular favourite, ‘Cars’.
Delving deeper Cicero has discovered that these films are all made by the one company, Pixar, who seemingly have found the formula to produce hit after hit, and the process to produce creativity and imagination.
Now you might say that creativity and imagination is not a process. And you might be right but all businesses can create the environment where creativity and imagination is allowed to flourish, grow and develop, and not be stifled. And here Pixar are doing some great stuff from which we can all learn.
And on your behalf, Cicero, with time on his hands now that the burdens of state have been lifted, has investigated the Pixar story to bring you tips and wisdom.
Firstly Pixar puts people before projects and ideas. It does not start with the idea and then hire the people to execute. Instead it hires creative people and then encourages them to generate ideas. In this way their people are a creative and enduring asset with real ownership of the idea from end to end. How often do we see in business people being brought into execute something they don’t own, who adapt and modify the idea to fit their paradigm and then walk away when the results don’t materialise?
Secondly Pixar devotes a lot of effort to getting people to work together. Usually people collaborate on specific projects but pay little attention to what’s going on elsewhere. With Pixar a sense of collective responsibility is fostered with its people showing unfinished work in daily meetings and so get used to giving and receiving criticism. In addition any member of the team can at a regular time in the day ring a big cow bell summoning anyone with 30 minutes to spare to gather around to collectively brainstorm a problem. What a brilliant idea? As they say no one has a monopoly on wisdom. These systems of constant and collective feedback are designed to stop problems becoming a crisis and to provide teams with a constant source of inspiration. Surely all businesses might benefit from that.
And thirdly teams are encouraged to conduct formal post mortems once their films are complete with each review having to identify at least five things that did not go well as well as five that did. How often is that done in your business? How often do you sit down and review marketing campaigns, product launches, projects and the like along these lines?
None of this can guarantee that your company will be as creative or as imaginary or as successful as Pixar. Creativity depends on serendipity as much as planning. Managing creativity involves a series of balancing acts: giving people the freedom to be creative but doing so within a corporate structure; creating a powerful and successful corporate culture that is not too stifling.
But getting it right is in itself an act of creativity. And getting it right means too that for business success the sky is truly the limit. Or as Mr Lightyear would say ‘to infinity and beyond’. Are you and your business ready for the ride of a lifetime?
Batty? Brilliant? The choice is yours.
Is it only me…….but this should be child’s play.
It would appear that the Health and Safety Gualeiters did not disappear into the long grass with the Last Lot.
As evidence Cicero has heard about a young couple keen to encourage their children to be independent, are letting their two primary age children cycle to school through the leafy lanes of south London unsupervised.
Shock! Horror! Naughty parents! What kind of an example is this to set young people? Do they not know that 4x4s were invented just for that sort of activity?
It would seem that this is the views of the Nanny at the school, no doubt advised and counselled by some taxpayer funded Health and Safety Gauleiter, who is now threatening to report the parents to social services for some level of child abuse or neglect. What has the world come to?
Not it might only be me, though I doubt it, but surely social services would be better employed looking after the Baby Ps of this world rather than harrying and harassing middle class yummy mummys who choose not to send their young people to school by 4x4.
And in any event when was it decided that it was wrong to teach our young people independence? Was I out of the room when this was decided? Surely independence is a good thing. Why is it good for a country to be independent but not its people? Is this so the State and all its apparatchiks have something to do? Is this why some fear independent thought so much?
It is a miracle that Cicero has survived to such a ripe age. When he was a wee laddie the Health and Safety Gauleiter had not been invented. He had no one tell him when and where he could not cycle; he was able to play freely in the streets and fields without fear with all the other wee lads and lassies until it got dark unsupervised; he did not require a high viz vest, safety goggles and hard hat to play marbles. Ah those were the days.
Cicero hopes that the parents of the Biking Two have the courage to challenge and ignore the Gauleiters and Nannies. And that the Two Caesars take urgent steps to stop such errant nonsense.
And now for some really really bad news.
Cicero will not be around for next 2 weeks. He is off to learn new skills and experience new experiences. Enjoy the break. You will be able to get through the weeks ahead. Support and counsel each other. You will be fine.
Have great two weeks.
Et semper sis felix. Semper sis fortunatus.
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Friday, 9 July 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
Pro civilis muneris
Like Elvis, this week Cicero has left the building.
Yes, that’s right, Cicero has left the VTSSB to move onto pastures new but uncertain. He has laid down his career in an effort to help the resolve the Two Caesar’s wee financial headache. And as Edith Piaf might say at times like this ‘je ne regrette, je ne regrette ne rien’.
But fear not for this column does not depend on life on the VTSSB for inspiration and stimulation. This will continue and will live on. Bet you glad about that.
And it is noted that quietly and gently the flags are no longer fluttering from the chariots. Enough said
To mark Cicero’s departure from the VTSSB and as he wanders off into the sunset, this week’s dose of enlightenment is going to be a wee bit different and a wee bit self indulgent. Hopefully you will not mind.
But this week Cicero feels that he must speak up on behalf of the Apparatchiks with whom he has worked for the past 15 months, with whom he has toiled to preserve your security and freedom, with whom he has produced some great marketing stuff.
This week we speak out ‘pro Civilis Muneris’ which for those of you, remarkably few no doubt, who do not have the Latin tongue, means ‘in defence of the Civil Service’.
Now you might think at this point that Cicero after 15 months working amongst the Apparatchiks has gone native. This is most definitely not the case but the current attitude towards the Apparatchiks raises some serious issues, questions and concerns for the nation that must be debated and understood. And Cicero is just the man to lead said debate.
There is no question that the Civilis Muneris is too large and expensive. Undoubtedly its pay and pension policies need over hauled and reformed to align better with those creating the wealth in the country. And indubitably there is an excess of jobsworth zeal stifling creativity, imagination and simplification. But let us put such issues to one side for one moment and look beyond this.
We need to remember that the Apparatchiks are essential to us. They keep out streets safe and secure; they educate us; they keep us healthy; they collect our taxes; they pay our pensions and benefits; they provide support to business; they give us passports; they help the unemployed find work; and so on and so forth.
And yet we as a nation have in recent weeks and recent months taken against these people. And if we are not careful we will end up with the Civilis Muneris that we deserve.
It is easy these days to kick and pummel the Civilis Muneris but we must never forget that the Civilis Muneris is at the end of the day a collection of people trying to do a good job in difficult circumstances on our behalf. And if it is true that in any business people are its greatest asset then surely that is equally true in the Civilis Muneris. So let’s look after them.
This is a business where training and development in its people has been cut back to the point where it is non existent; where it is impossible to get a free cup of coffee; where you cannot buy pot plants to humanise the office; where there is paranoia about spending any kind of money to help make the Civilis Muneris a great place to work. And when you get a great place to work, you do great things for your customers.
And then when your Apparatchik wends his weary way home he is confronted with news of massive redundancy cuts, of changes to pensions and pay, of the value of his or her job being questioned and whether necessary, of salaries being published. How would you react to trying to do your best work in this environment?
Cicero fears for the health of the Civilis Muneris. The Apparatchiks are demotivated and demoralised. And how can it ever hope to recruit the brightest and best to work for it when this is the state of affairs. And that is why Cicero feels he must speak out in their defence.
A smaller lower cost Civilis Muneris, yes. A demotivated, demoralised, de-skilled de-humanised Civilis Muneris, no.
Batty? Brilliant? Please do tell.
Is it only me………………………………….but is this why we pay our taxes?
When news of the Two Caesars’ plan to reduce the amount of amount they wanted to spend, the Last Lot were a wee bit miffed. And as the Lot who worked with the Last Caesar, and who still wanted to be Caesar, pointed out ‘this is going to cost jobs in the public sector’.
Similar feelings of annoyance were expressed by a series of spokespeople from a consortium of unions and other lobby group supporters of the Lot that wanted to be the new Caesar but are not.
And here is question for you as an aside. Why are all Trade Union Head Honchos, Scottish….well a lot of them at any rate?
But back to my point.
Clearly if the Caesars want to spend less of our money it will have an impact on the Apparatchiks across the VTSSBs and TSSBs. If you have less income then you need to reduce the costs. You will know this from your own business. It is not nice and it does have consequences for those affected (yes, contrary to popular belief, Cicero does have a heart) but sometimes we have to do unpleasant things to do the right thing.
Now it might only be me but surely the role of the State is not to provide jobs but to provide critical services which cannot or do not want to be provided by anyone else. It should not be about jobs but outputs and outcomes. That is why we pay our money and we should be talking more about the value delivered rather than the cost of the inputs.
The primary role of the NHS is to cure the sick. Not to create jobs for marketing folk, for example. How exactly do you create demand for the NHS and why would you want to?
Schools should be about teaching kids to read and write and it would be good if they did that well. But why do they need folks to produce engagement strategies and to manage communications? Getting young people to spell ‘engagement strategy’ would be a great start.
And why does a local council need someone promote walking? All we want them to do is empty the bins and keep the lights in the libraries on. Spend money on that kind of stuff and not on something most of us do naturally and without promotion. If people want to get fat and lazy, leave them to it.
There was even a discussion overheard with one of the Last Lot who said with all seriousness that the decision not to be so profligate with our money meant that, and we are quoting here, ‘there would now be cutbacks in non-essential services’.
Hello. Wake up. Smell the coffee. If it is non-essential why is it being done in the first place? And if this means job losses, so be it. But quite frankly surely we only want our money spent on essential stuff and not non-essentials. We can debate what is essential and what is non-essential and that is a worthy debate but if it is non essential stop wanting to spend our money on it. Government is so simple.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Yes, that’s right, Cicero has left the VTSSB to move onto pastures new but uncertain. He has laid down his career in an effort to help the resolve the Two Caesar’s wee financial headache. And as Edith Piaf might say at times like this ‘je ne regrette, je ne regrette ne rien’.
But fear not for this column does not depend on life on the VTSSB for inspiration and stimulation. This will continue and will live on. Bet you glad about that.
And it is noted that quietly and gently the flags are no longer fluttering from the chariots. Enough said
To mark Cicero’s departure from the VTSSB and as he wanders off into the sunset, this week’s dose of enlightenment is going to be a wee bit different and a wee bit self indulgent. Hopefully you will not mind.
But this week Cicero feels that he must speak up on behalf of the Apparatchiks with whom he has worked for the past 15 months, with whom he has toiled to preserve your security and freedom, with whom he has produced some great marketing stuff.
This week we speak out ‘pro Civilis Muneris’ which for those of you, remarkably few no doubt, who do not have the Latin tongue, means ‘in defence of the Civil Service’.
Now you might think at this point that Cicero after 15 months working amongst the Apparatchiks has gone native. This is most definitely not the case but the current attitude towards the Apparatchiks raises some serious issues, questions and concerns for the nation that must be debated and understood. And Cicero is just the man to lead said debate.
There is no question that the Civilis Muneris is too large and expensive. Undoubtedly its pay and pension policies need over hauled and reformed to align better with those creating the wealth in the country. And indubitably there is an excess of jobsworth zeal stifling creativity, imagination and simplification. But let us put such issues to one side for one moment and look beyond this.
We need to remember that the Apparatchiks are essential to us. They keep out streets safe and secure; they educate us; they keep us healthy; they collect our taxes; they pay our pensions and benefits; they provide support to business; they give us passports; they help the unemployed find work; and so on and so forth.
And yet we as a nation have in recent weeks and recent months taken against these people. And if we are not careful we will end up with the Civilis Muneris that we deserve.
It is easy these days to kick and pummel the Civilis Muneris but we must never forget that the Civilis Muneris is at the end of the day a collection of people trying to do a good job in difficult circumstances on our behalf. And if it is true that in any business people are its greatest asset then surely that is equally true in the Civilis Muneris. So let’s look after them.
This is a business where training and development in its people has been cut back to the point where it is non existent; where it is impossible to get a free cup of coffee; where you cannot buy pot plants to humanise the office; where there is paranoia about spending any kind of money to help make the Civilis Muneris a great place to work. And when you get a great place to work, you do great things for your customers.
And then when your Apparatchik wends his weary way home he is confronted with news of massive redundancy cuts, of changes to pensions and pay, of the value of his or her job being questioned and whether necessary, of salaries being published. How would you react to trying to do your best work in this environment?
Cicero fears for the health of the Civilis Muneris. The Apparatchiks are demotivated and demoralised. And how can it ever hope to recruit the brightest and best to work for it when this is the state of affairs. And that is why Cicero feels he must speak out in their defence.
A smaller lower cost Civilis Muneris, yes. A demotivated, demoralised, de-skilled de-humanised Civilis Muneris, no.
Batty? Brilliant? Please do tell.
Is it only me………………………………….but is this why we pay our taxes?
When news of the Two Caesars’ plan to reduce the amount of amount they wanted to spend, the Last Lot were a wee bit miffed. And as the Lot who worked with the Last Caesar, and who still wanted to be Caesar, pointed out ‘this is going to cost jobs in the public sector’.
Similar feelings of annoyance were expressed by a series of spokespeople from a consortium of unions and other lobby group supporters of the Lot that wanted to be the new Caesar but are not.
And here is question for you as an aside. Why are all Trade Union Head Honchos, Scottish….well a lot of them at any rate?
But back to my point.
Clearly if the Caesars want to spend less of our money it will have an impact on the Apparatchiks across the VTSSBs and TSSBs. If you have less income then you need to reduce the costs. You will know this from your own business. It is not nice and it does have consequences for those affected (yes, contrary to popular belief, Cicero does have a heart) but sometimes we have to do unpleasant things to do the right thing.
Now it might only be me but surely the role of the State is not to provide jobs but to provide critical services which cannot or do not want to be provided by anyone else. It should not be about jobs but outputs and outcomes. That is why we pay our money and we should be talking more about the value delivered rather than the cost of the inputs.
The primary role of the NHS is to cure the sick. Not to create jobs for marketing folk, for example. How exactly do you create demand for the NHS and why would you want to?
Schools should be about teaching kids to read and write and it would be good if they did that well. But why do they need folks to produce engagement strategies and to manage communications? Getting young people to spell ‘engagement strategy’ would be a great start.
And why does a local council need someone promote walking? All we want them to do is empty the bins and keep the lights in the libraries on. Spend money on that kind of stuff and not on something most of us do naturally and without promotion. If people want to get fat and lazy, leave them to it.
There was even a discussion overheard with one of the Last Lot who said with all seriousness that the decision not to be so profligate with our money meant that, and we are quoting here, ‘there would now be cutbacks in non-essential services’.
Hello. Wake up. Smell the coffee. If it is non-essential why is it being done in the first place? And if this means job losses, so be it. But quite frankly surely we only want our money spent on essential stuff and not non-essentials. We can debate what is essential and what is non-essential and that is a worthy debate but if it is non essential stop wanting to spend our money on it. Government is so simple.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Friday, 25 June 2010
Smart arse
Greetings
It has been made known to Cicero through private back channels that you have noticed that the sentiments, views and opinions expressed here are becoming increasingly populist. This is most certainly not the intention and while Cicero is keen that his words remain accessible to all it was not a conscious policy to dumb down or seek popularity. Instead these words are intended to stretch minds, challenge sacred cows and provoke thinking. An effort has been made this week to restore stature and gravitas. Please advise if this has succeeded.
And in keeping with this policy of refusing to court popular appeal or to seek mass adulation, Cicero will proffer no comment on recent events in South Africa. There are plenty of other outlets to cater for those seeking nationalistic news, OTT analysis and jingoistic hysteria on events in that region. Needless to say it looks like that chariots will continue to bear aloft flags for a wee while yet.
Last week’s big news in the VTSSBs and TSSBs and other places where the Apparatchiks gather, was the Caesars’ big plan to reduce the amount of our hard earned money they want to spend. For Marketing Grands and Petits Fromages, the biggest implication of said plan was the almost complete freeze on marketing investment. And please note that Cicero sees spend on marketing as an investment and not a cost. Many should see it this way too.
Now we could spend a lot of time and expend significant amounts of energy debating the wisdom of the Caesars’ policy but it will change nothing-marketing investment is to be minimised. End of.
This is not something to be feared but should be viewed as an opportunity for marketing Apparatchiks to step up to the plate, to think creatively and laterally, and develop low cost, and preferably no cost, marketing programmes. What an opportunity to prove how good we are at marketing as opposed to briefing others to do work on our behalf at cost of course. For the era of Smart Marketing has arrived.
By chance Cicero came across a thought the other day that might help those seeking to practise Smart Marketing. There are more thoughts out there on this, and we might re-visit this subject in the coming weeks, but here is something to get you going.
Too often little thought is really given to what we want our marketing communications programme to deliver. And too often when planning these programmes we pay limited attention to where we are today. Are we trying to build brand awareness? Or improve purchase propensity? Or close the sale?
But do you really understand how well you are converting awareness to purchase propensity to sales? Have you looked at your awareness, propensity and sales numbers recently and done the ratios? Do you really understand where the weaknesses in the buying chain are? Are you sure? Do you want to go 50:50 or phone a friend?
It might come as a surprise to some unenlightened folks out there but marketing is not just about logos and pantones and pictures. Real marketers do this but also need to think more strategically about what they do. And for this they need an abacus or a modern calculator.
Let us look at one example.
In high growth, low share markets with plenty of potential it might make great sense to spend large dollops of shareholder or taxpayer money on fancy pant, and expensive, advertising programmes to build brand awareness because it looks efficient when you divide cost by impact or prospect.
But think again.
If the brand is already well known why spend more on getting more people to know you or to get the market to know you better. Surely the challenge is to better understand why high levels of awareness are not translating into purchase propensity and sales. And with this knowledge design a marketing intervention programme to drive up the numbers in these areas. Perhaps investing in programmes to close the sale might improve growth and cost effectiveness.
Conversely in or low growth markets where it might look too costly to advertise to build awareness, no amount of investment in programmes to close the sale will be effective until awareness and consideration reached higher levels. Here you should think about investing in a fancy pants advertising programme to build awareness.
Think about it. It might sound obvious but no one is going to buy you unless they know you exist and you can give them strong reasons to buy you. You need the interventions in place that make you better or different to your competitors.
Smart Marketers understand the buying chain and can identify the barriers to growth in the chain and then choose the messages, vehicles and other interventions required to overcome these barriers. Simple really when you think about it. Smart Marketing is only common sense but sense is rarely common. So to do Smart Marketing don’t be afraid to be common. It does pay dividends. Trust me. And if you do you too can become a Marketing Smart Arse
Batty? Or Brilliant? Do tell.
Is it only me….but is there nothing else on the telly?
And no, on this occasion this is not more words on the World Cup though no doubt such sentiments are being expressed in households across the land.
Instead we are going to return to the environmental and business disaster that is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As many have already pointed out this is also a PR disaster for Tony Hayward and the wider company with a series of insensitive and undiplomatic remarks from him and the other Grand Fromages at BP.
It is astonishing that throughout this episode BP has kept the camera running showing the black gold spewing forth and gushing from the broken pipe. As a result the news media, and no doubt You Tube, are able to beam a live feed of the disaster unfolding and continuing. It might not be riveting TV but it is highly damaging TV for BP, its managers and it shareholders, reminding all and sundry that the disaster remains un-fixed and worsening.
Now this might only be me but you would think that one of the first things BP would have done, and it is not too late, would have been to turn off the live video feed or even to switch channels to show the people of the world what a well functioning well head looks like. Why persist in showing you are still polluting? Why persist in showing the damage as it unfolds? Sure the BBC is similarly showing the disaster that is the England World Cup attempt unfold, but that is different. Lives and livelihoods and the fishes are not being damaged by this.
Would you still be showing the live feed if this was your business, and you were hated and reviled by the country you were polluting, and you had just been sliced, diced and skewered by its politicians?
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
It has been made known to Cicero through private back channels that you have noticed that the sentiments, views and opinions expressed here are becoming increasingly populist. This is most certainly not the intention and while Cicero is keen that his words remain accessible to all it was not a conscious policy to dumb down or seek popularity. Instead these words are intended to stretch minds, challenge sacred cows and provoke thinking. An effort has been made this week to restore stature and gravitas. Please advise if this has succeeded.
And in keeping with this policy of refusing to court popular appeal or to seek mass adulation, Cicero will proffer no comment on recent events in South Africa. There are plenty of other outlets to cater for those seeking nationalistic news, OTT analysis and jingoistic hysteria on events in that region. Needless to say it looks like that chariots will continue to bear aloft flags for a wee while yet.
Last week’s big news in the VTSSBs and TSSBs and other places where the Apparatchiks gather, was the Caesars’ big plan to reduce the amount of our hard earned money they want to spend. For Marketing Grands and Petits Fromages, the biggest implication of said plan was the almost complete freeze on marketing investment. And please note that Cicero sees spend on marketing as an investment and not a cost. Many should see it this way too.
Now we could spend a lot of time and expend significant amounts of energy debating the wisdom of the Caesars’ policy but it will change nothing-marketing investment is to be minimised. End of.
This is not something to be feared but should be viewed as an opportunity for marketing Apparatchiks to step up to the plate, to think creatively and laterally, and develop low cost, and preferably no cost, marketing programmes. What an opportunity to prove how good we are at marketing as opposed to briefing others to do work on our behalf at cost of course. For the era of Smart Marketing has arrived.
By chance Cicero came across a thought the other day that might help those seeking to practise Smart Marketing. There are more thoughts out there on this, and we might re-visit this subject in the coming weeks, but here is something to get you going.
Too often little thought is really given to what we want our marketing communications programme to deliver. And too often when planning these programmes we pay limited attention to where we are today. Are we trying to build brand awareness? Or improve purchase propensity? Or close the sale?
But do you really understand how well you are converting awareness to purchase propensity to sales? Have you looked at your awareness, propensity and sales numbers recently and done the ratios? Do you really understand where the weaknesses in the buying chain are? Are you sure? Do you want to go 50:50 or phone a friend?
It might come as a surprise to some unenlightened folks out there but marketing is not just about logos and pantones and pictures. Real marketers do this but also need to think more strategically about what they do. And for this they need an abacus or a modern calculator.
Let us look at one example.
In high growth, low share markets with plenty of potential it might make great sense to spend large dollops of shareholder or taxpayer money on fancy pant, and expensive, advertising programmes to build brand awareness because it looks efficient when you divide cost by impact or prospect.
But think again.
If the brand is already well known why spend more on getting more people to know you or to get the market to know you better. Surely the challenge is to better understand why high levels of awareness are not translating into purchase propensity and sales. And with this knowledge design a marketing intervention programme to drive up the numbers in these areas. Perhaps investing in programmes to close the sale might improve growth and cost effectiveness.
Conversely in or low growth markets where it might look too costly to advertise to build awareness, no amount of investment in programmes to close the sale will be effective until awareness and consideration reached higher levels. Here you should think about investing in a fancy pants advertising programme to build awareness.
Think about it. It might sound obvious but no one is going to buy you unless they know you exist and you can give them strong reasons to buy you. You need the interventions in place that make you better or different to your competitors.
Smart Marketers understand the buying chain and can identify the barriers to growth in the chain and then choose the messages, vehicles and other interventions required to overcome these barriers. Simple really when you think about it. Smart Marketing is only common sense but sense is rarely common. So to do Smart Marketing don’t be afraid to be common. It does pay dividends. Trust me. And if you do you too can become a Marketing Smart Arse
Batty? Or Brilliant? Do tell.
Is it only me….but is there nothing else on the telly?
And no, on this occasion this is not more words on the World Cup though no doubt such sentiments are being expressed in households across the land.
Instead we are going to return to the environmental and business disaster that is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As many have already pointed out this is also a PR disaster for Tony Hayward and the wider company with a series of insensitive and undiplomatic remarks from him and the other Grand Fromages at BP.
It is astonishing that throughout this episode BP has kept the camera running showing the black gold spewing forth and gushing from the broken pipe. As a result the news media, and no doubt You Tube, are able to beam a live feed of the disaster unfolding and continuing. It might not be riveting TV but it is highly damaging TV for BP, its managers and it shareholders, reminding all and sundry that the disaster remains un-fixed and worsening.
Now this might only be me but you would think that one of the first things BP would have done, and it is not too late, would have been to turn off the live video feed or even to switch channels to show the people of the world what a well functioning well head looks like. Why persist in showing you are still polluting? Why persist in showing the damage as it unfolds? Sure the BBC is similarly showing the disaster that is the England World Cup attempt unfold, but that is different. Lives and livelihoods and the fishes are not being damaged by this.
Would you still be showing the live feed if this was your business, and you were hated and reviled by the country you were polluting, and you had just been sliced, diced and skewered by its politicians?
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Friday, 18 June 2010
We need to talk
It seems that Cicero is now attracting comment from poets. Great to know that we are now attracting the attention of the literarati. Happy to allow poems but no limericks. Deal?
However our amanuensis who pores over the taxonomy on your behalf each week to assure its quality has complained that Cicero is displaying evidence of sesquipedalianism or a propensity to use big words. It is only showing off.
Hopefully the use of big words does not inhibit your enjoyment of these thoughts. It is a legacy of working in a VTTSB with apparatchiks who too display this tendency. Why use three syllable words when you can use words of more than 5 or 6 or 7 syllables to make your point backed up by the frequent use of TLAs or three letter acronyms? No wonder the Apparatchiks think no one understands them.
You will be aware from previous words that Cicero is a big fan of using nudge as a marketing tool empowering consumers to make the right behavioural choice without a Nanny, or even an au pair, approach.
It seems that such tactics are becoming widespread and Cicero was made aware of the gents’ urinals at Schipol airport which now have a small fly painted or etched onto the bowl. Results show an 80% reduction in spillage. You can work how this impressive result was achieved.
And no we are not taking the p#$%.............................quickly moving on.
We need to talk. Four small words guaranteed to send a chill racing through the blood of any male. Yet ‘we need to talk’ can sometimes be a powerful marketing strategy.
Before Cicero become Grand Fromage to a marketing team of Apparatchiks, Cicero worked for a business whose business was to facilitate connections. Last week the Head Honcho here called Cicero in his VTSSB to ask if he should start to twitter.
‘Go for it’, yelled Cicero, ‘Your business is all about making connections and to do that you must learn to use all the means you have to make connections with your customers and to allow them to make connections with each other.
‘Twittering is a perfect medium for doing this. It shows you are keen to talk. It demonstrates that your business is modern and progressive and not just for male, stale and pale businesses allowing you to appeal to a different demographic.
‘Sure there are risks. But your customers are going to talk about you whether you twitter or not and I’m sure these are overstated. And make sure you use the language of the medium to allow your followers to join in your debates and not the dry wonk speak of your usual debates.
‘You must go for it. It is 100% on brand for your business.
‘Now be about your business while I attend to matters of State.’
This conversation, however, set Cicero thinking. He wanted to understand why people, why customers feel the need to want to talk.
Is it right for brands and for businesses to starting or create conversations or to break into other people’s conversation which seems to be the basis of most brands social marketing strategy? Is it not more about allowing your market to talk about you with each other, a practice that is as old as ….well Cicero himself if not older? And that is saying something.
Talking about brands is part of life’s social fabric. It goes on. You do it. We all do it. Take a count of the number of times you talk about a brand or a business today that is not your own to friends, relations and colleagues. You will need more than one hand. And you do not need the tools of the age to allow you to do this. Nor are you playing ball with any social marketing strategy. You are just doing it.
You don’t talk to your friends about brands to persuade people to buy said brand or go to said shop but to let others know what is important to you and who you are. It allows relationships to develop. It gives people something to talk about, something to share.
So how do you use this insight of human behaviour to inform your marketing strategy?
You make your brand as interesting as possible so people want to talk about you. Make it part of the self identity of your market so that it says something about them and the tribe they belong to. Innovate often so that it gives people little things to talk about and often and fresh reasons to make contact. And be great at what you do so that people want to talk about you.
Last week Cicero purchased a new fangled plasmatic TV screen to adorn his living quarters from a local electrical retailer as opposed to a megalithic electrical superstore. The service and attention to detail from this retailer was second to none. He had gone out of his way to make sure Cicero was seen an individual with special needs, albeit one with no understanding of new technologies. And ever since Cicero has praised this guy across as many media and to as many people as he can.
People want to talk, they need to talk, some more than others. So use your Twitter, My Space, Linked In, Facebook etc etc etc, channels carefully and sparingly and strategically. You don’t need to talk. If your brand is good enough and strong enough it will happen whether you want it or not.
Is it only me…….but what is so special about this relationship?
Cicero finds the American reaction to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico very interesting. Sure it is an environmental tragedy and hard on all those whose livelihoods depend on fishing and tourism in the region but this is no excuse for the Brit bashing, populist, xenophobic, partisan, biased, jingoistic, error-strewn, blame-pointing, finger wagging, lecturn thumping, self indulgent, diversionary, arse covEring rhetoric being spouted by Obama and spewed forth by every other rabble rousing politician to the south of the 49th Parallel. It was an accident. It was not some sort of delayed response for Lexington and the War of Independence. Accidents do happen. Get over it.
It is sad that 11 people died and for the families of those oil workers who died it is indeed a tragedy but it is worth pointing out that America is no stranger to leaving behind a trail of death and destruction but they move on without even a glance back.
How much death and destruction was caused by the Yankee in Vietnam? Iraq? Afghanistan? And here we are not talking shrimps, guillemots and sea gulls but people. And let us not forget Bhopal where in an instant an American company, yes an American company, slaughtered 3000 people in an afternoon and left thousands more chronically ill. And yet here the victims only received a little over £300 in full and final settlement. No talk there of ring fencing billions to pay for the clean up, to compensate victims. Nor any talk about preventing dividends from being paid.
So unlike BP, which is promising to pay billions in costs for the damage it caused putting at risk its very existence. And, Mr Obama, it’s BP not ‘British pause for emphasis Petroleum’.
Now it might only be me but quite frankly I fail to see what is so special in the relationship we have with the US. Unless of course it is so special because we honour our obligations and commitments to the rest of the world. Compared to America that is not just special but unique.
So lay off us. Those in glass houses should not throw stones.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
However our amanuensis who pores over the taxonomy on your behalf each week to assure its quality has complained that Cicero is displaying evidence of sesquipedalianism or a propensity to use big words. It is only showing off.
Hopefully the use of big words does not inhibit your enjoyment of these thoughts. It is a legacy of working in a VTTSB with apparatchiks who too display this tendency. Why use three syllable words when you can use words of more than 5 or 6 or 7 syllables to make your point backed up by the frequent use of TLAs or three letter acronyms? No wonder the Apparatchiks think no one understands them.
You will be aware from previous words that Cicero is a big fan of using nudge as a marketing tool empowering consumers to make the right behavioural choice without a Nanny, or even an au pair, approach.
It seems that such tactics are becoming widespread and Cicero was made aware of the gents’ urinals at Schipol airport which now have a small fly painted or etched onto the bowl. Results show an 80% reduction in spillage. You can work how this impressive result was achieved.
And no we are not taking the p#$%.............................quickly moving on.
We need to talk. Four small words guaranteed to send a chill racing through the blood of any male. Yet ‘we need to talk’ can sometimes be a powerful marketing strategy.
Before Cicero become Grand Fromage to a marketing team of Apparatchiks, Cicero worked for a business whose business was to facilitate connections. Last week the Head Honcho here called Cicero in his VTSSB to ask if he should start to twitter.
‘Go for it’, yelled Cicero, ‘Your business is all about making connections and to do that you must learn to use all the means you have to make connections with your customers and to allow them to make connections with each other.
‘Twittering is a perfect medium for doing this. It shows you are keen to talk. It demonstrates that your business is modern and progressive and not just for male, stale and pale businesses allowing you to appeal to a different demographic.
‘Sure there are risks. But your customers are going to talk about you whether you twitter or not and I’m sure these are overstated. And make sure you use the language of the medium to allow your followers to join in your debates and not the dry wonk speak of your usual debates.
‘You must go for it. It is 100% on brand for your business.
‘Now be about your business while I attend to matters of State.’
This conversation, however, set Cicero thinking. He wanted to understand why people, why customers feel the need to want to talk.
Is it right for brands and for businesses to starting or create conversations or to break into other people’s conversation which seems to be the basis of most brands social marketing strategy? Is it not more about allowing your market to talk about you with each other, a practice that is as old as ….well Cicero himself if not older? And that is saying something.
Talking about brands is part of life’s social fabric. It goes on. You do it. We all do it. Take a count of the number of times you talk about a brand or a business today that is not your own to friends, relations and colleagues. You will need more than one hand. And you do not need the tools of the age to allow you to do this. Nor are you playing ball with any social marketing strategy. You are just doing it.
You don’t talk to your friends about brands to persuade people to buy said brand or go to said shop but to let others know what is important to you and who you are. It allows relationships to develop. It gives people something to talk about, something to share.
So how do you use this insight of human behaviour to inform your marketing strategy?
You make your brand as interesting as possible so people want to talk about you. Make it part of the self identity of your market so that it says something about them and the tribe they belong to. Innovate often so that it gives people little things to talk about and often and fresh reasons to make contact. And be great at what you do so that people want to talk about you.
Last week Cicero purchased a new fangled plasmatic TV screen to adorn his living quarters from a local electrical retailer as opposed to a megalithic electrical superstore. The service and attention to detail from this retailer was second to none. He had gone out of his way to make sure Cicero was seen an individual with special needs, albeit one with no understanding of new technologies. And ever since Cicero has praised this guy across as many media and to as many people as he can.
People want to talk, they need to talk, some more than others. So use your Twitter, My Space, Linked In, Facebook etc etc etc, channels carefully and sparingly and strategically. You don’t need to talk. If your brand is good enough and strong enough it will happen whether you want it or not.
Is it only me…….but what is so special about this relationship?
Cicero finds the American reaction to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico very interesting. Sure it is an environmental tragedy and hard on all those whose livelihoods depend on fishing and tourism in the region but this is no excuse for the Brit bashing, populist, xenophobic, partisan, biased, jingoistic, error-strewn, blame-pointing, finger wagging, lecturn thumping, self indulgent, diversionary, arse covEring rhetoric being spouted by Obama and spewed forth by every other rabble rousing politician to the south of the 49th Parallel. It was an accident. It was not some sort of delayed response for Lexington and the War of Independence. Accidents do happen. Get over it.
It is sad that 11 people died and for the families of those oil workers who died it is indeed a tragedy but it is worth pointing out that America is no stranger to leaving behind a trail of death and destruction but they move on without even a glance back.
How much death and destruction was caused by the Yankee in Vietnam? Iraq? Afghanistan? And here we are not talking shrimps, guillemots and sea gulls but people. And let us not forget Bhopal where in an instant an American company, yes an American company, slaughtered 3000 people in an afternoon and left thousands more chronically ill. And yet here the victims only received a little over £300 in full and final settlement. No talk there of ring fencing billions to pay for the clean up, to compensate victims. Nor any talk about preventing dividends from being paid.
So unlike BP, which is promising to pay billions in costs for the damage it caused putting at risk its very existence. And, Mr Obama, it’s BP not ‘British pause for emphasis Petroleum’.
Now it might only be me but quite frankly I fail to see what is so special in the relationship we have with the US. Unless of course it is so special because we honour our obligations and commitments to the rest of the world. Compared to America that is not just special but unique.
So lay off us. Those in glass houses should not throw stones.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Friday, 11 June 2010
Mr Motivator
And so yet again the quadrennial soccer tournament has begun. This corner of literary excellence will aim to provide some relief from the hysteria and hoop-la but first a soccer-themed question.
What is it about the Angles and their flags?
The roads are full these days with flags fluttering from their chariots. You don’t see similar sights in Hibernia or Dalriada or across the Dyke of Offa. Sure these peoples are not represented in South Africa which might explain a lot but there is no record of flags on the streets when the Pictish tribes won the World Elephant Polio Championships. It is a tradition peculiar to the Angles. Soon no doubt they will quickly and silently disappear. Or be flown at half mast.
And why the constant chanting of the theme music from ‘The Great Escape’? How can we be talking escapes when the competition has barely begun? The Angles are a peculiar bunch. Maybe they might do better with some better tunes and triumphal songs. Constant repetition of the word ‘Eng-er-land’ is not a song. Read some Catullus for inspiration.
Soccer chat is now over.
The other day Cicero was perambulating through the corridors of power in the VTSSB heading for some important meeting or other called no doubt to ensure your safety and security were maintained in these troubled times.
By chance he came across a small assembly of Apparatchiks discussing leadership. Intrigued he broke off his purposeful peripateticism to see if he might obtain further enlightenment and wisdom. Cicero is not proud. He will seek and take learning and wisdom from anybody, anywhere.
It would seem that they were discussing the attributes of a great leader and one of the Petit Fromage Apparatchiks was overheard to say that his boss was ‘ a great leader because he was inspiring and a great motivator’.
At this point and with this description Cicero knew that the Petit Fromages were not talking about him. No one has ever described Cicero in these terms. And while there is always a first, this day was not going to be the day when it happened.
As often happens Cicero had something to say on this matter from his own observations and so without ceremony he muscled in on the conversation.
‘I say’, he said, by way of introduction, ‘I could not help but overhear your interesting comments and thoughts on leadership, and in particular what you said about your own Grand Fromage, and I wonder if I might be of some assistance. I have some views on this matter and I thought they might helpfully inform your discussions. I hope you don’t mind’.
‘Be our guest’, came the reply, ‘we know not who you are but you look wise and thoughtful and we would be interested in your thoughts and we are keen to learn more.’
‘Thank you for indulging me. I will try to be quick.
‘In my experience it is not your Grand Fromage or your Head Honcho who inspires and motivates you. It is you yourself who does that. No one can motivate you, but you.
‘I can see from the expressions on your visages that this is not the answer you were looking for. And you are no doubt thinking that you do not consider yourself motivating or inspiring. And wondering why Head Honchos and Grand Fromages reach such exalted positions if they are not seen as motivating or inspiring.
‘And so I crave your indulgence for a few more minutes to ease your troubled minds.
‘A leader cannot force you to be inspired or motivated. You choose to be and you exercise your free will when you make that choice. The leader should, however, do all in their power to set a direction and a course and identify a destination which is rationally sound and emotionally engaging. It is your choice if you want to believe it and be inspired by that thought.
‘Let me illustrate by reference to Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’. A great speech powerfully delivered. Many blacks around the world were inspired by listening to these words. And many whites too. But some were frightened and fearful of it. Same words, same speaker, but different outcomes. Why?
‘Some chose to be inspired, some did not. Simple.
‘And the other key role of the leader and one which great leaders do very well, or so I am told, is to remove, minimise or marginalise those factors in the workplace or sporting field or wherever, that stop you being motivated.
‘You don’t wake up each morning and decide whether or not to be motivated. I work on principle that being motivated is our default setting and we become de-motivated by the stuff going on around us. Leaders try to stop or to make less visible this de-motivating stuff so that it does not get in way of you being motivated.
‘This can be big stuff like career prospects, whether or not you are going to have a job, or it can be trivial stuff like PCs that don’t work, wonky air con or, as in the TSSB, lifts that don’t work. Great leaders make this kind of stuff feel unimportant and help you stay focussed on the stuff that really does matter.
‘So leaders and leadership are important and they do do important work on our behalf but not in the way you might think. So treat your Head Honchos and Grand Fromages with respect. Show them love. They do a difficult job and a great leader is a rare and precious thing. If you have one of those, don’t lose him…or her.
‘And now, having put you on the road to true understanding, I must be about my business.
And with that Cicero resumed his perambulation and was off.
So as we sign off for yet another week, who inspires you? Who motivates you? Please do let us know. And if it is not the person you see in the mirror each and every day then you might want to re-read these find words.
Is it only me…….but this is enough to drive you to drink.
It seems that although we might have new Caesars running the country, we did not send the Nannys packing with the old Caesar.
Have you read the news that some State-sponsored Nanny has decided in its wisdom that we must set a minimum price for alcohol to save us from ourselves.
This is so wrong. And on so many levels.
Why should responsible drinkers like your good self have to pay more for their small tipple just because some people, and a minority probably, have a tendency to over indulge from time to time? Who gave this Nanny, probably unelected, the power to interfere with the market and to set prices for alcohol or any other goods for that matter? And once the Nannys get their hands on the price mechanism, what comes next-a minimum price for Mars bars and other sweeties on grounds it leads to obesity; no more discounts on electrical goods because it creates wonky weather? The list is endless.
And did it never occur to these people that the only people who will benefit from such a policy will be the people who make and the people who sell said refreshments. A minimum price means a minimum margin. Lovely jubblie. No wonder Tesco are in favour. Every little helps, indeed.
It might only be me but on the evidence of this proposal, it is time that our new Caesars, both of them, identified all the Nannys lurking in the long grass in Whitehall and told them to find a proper job and preferably one that is not taxpayer funded.
Once again, let us know who you think is right on this-Cicero or the Nanny.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
What is it about the Angles and their flags?
The roads are full these days with flags fluttering from their chariots. You don’t see similar sights in Hibernia or Dalriada or across the Dyke of Offa. Sure these peoples are not represented in South Africa which might explain a lot but there is no record of flags on the streets when the Pictish tribes won the World Elephant Polio Championships. It is a tradition peculiar to the Angles. Soon no doubt they will quickly and silently disappear. Or be flown at half mast.
And why the constant chanting of the theme music from ‘The Great Escape’? How can we be talking escapes when the competition has barely begun? The Angles are a peculiar bunch. Maybe they might do better with some better tunes and triumphal songs. Constant repetition of the word ‘Eng-er-land’ is not a song. Read some Catullus for inspiration.
Soccer chat is now over.
The other day Cicero was perambulating through the corridors of power in the VTSSB heading for some important meeting or other called no doubt to ensure your safety and security were maintained in these troubled times.
By chance he came across a small assembly of Apparatchiks discussing leadership. Intrigued he broke off his purposeful peripateticism to see if he might obtain further enlightenment and wisdom. Cicero is not proud. He will seek and take learning and wisdom from anybody, anywhere.
It would seem that they were discussing the attributes of a great leader and one of the Petit Fromage Apparatchiks was overheard to say that his boss was ‘ a great leader because he was inspiring and a great motivator’.
At this point and with this description Cicero knew that the Petit Fromages were not talking about him. No one has ever described Cicero in these terms. And while there is always a first, this day was not going to be the day when it happened.
As often happens Cicero had something to say on this matter from his own observations and so without ceremony he muscled in on the conversation.
‘I say’, he said, by way of introduction, ‘I could not help but overhear your interesting comments and thoughts on leadership, and in particular what you said about your own Grand Fromage, and I wonder if I might be of some assistance. I have some views on this matter and I thought they might helpfully inform your discussions. I hope you don’t mind’.
‘Be our guest’, came the reply, ‘we know not who you are but you look wise and thoughtful and we would be interested in your thoughts and we are keen to learn more.’
‘Thank you for indulging me. I will try to be quick.
‘In my experience it is not your Grand Fromage or your Head Honcho who inspires and motivates you. It is you yourself who does that. No one can motivate you, but you.
‘I can see from the expressions on your visages that this is not the answer you were looking for. And you are no doubt thinking that you do not consider yourself motivating or inspiring. And wondering why Head Honchos and Grand Fromages reach such exalted positions if they are not seen as motivating or inspiring.
‘And so I crave your indulgence for a few more minutes to ease your troubled minds.
‘A leader cannot force you to be inspired or motivated. You choose to be and you exercise your free will when you make that choice. The leader should, however, do all in their power to set a direction and a course and identify a destination which is rationally sound and emotionally engaging. It is your choice if you want to believe it and be inspired by that thought.
‘Let me illustrate by reference to Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’. A great speech powerfully delivered. Many blacks around the world were inspired by listening to these words. And many whites too. But some were frightened and fearful of it. Same words, same speaker, but different outcomes. Why?
‘Some chose to be inspired, some did not. Simple.
‘And the other key role of the leader and one which great leaders do very well, or so I am told, is to remove, minimise or marginalise those factors in the workplace or sporting field or wherever, that stop you being motivated.
‘You don’t wake up each morning and decide whether or not to be motivated. I work on principle that being motivated is our default setting and we become de-motivated by the stuff going on around us. Leaders try to stop or to make less visible this de-motivating stuff so that it does not get in way of you being motivated.
‘This can be big stuff like career prospects, whether or not you are going to have a job, or it can be trivial stuff like PCs that don’t work, wonky air con or, as in the TSSB, lifts that don’t work. Great leaders make this kind of stuff feel unimportant and help you stay focussed on the stuff that really does matter.
‘So leaders and leadership are important and they do do important work on our behalf but not in the way you might think. So treat your Head Honchos and Grand Fromages with respect. Show them love. They do a difficult job and a great leader is a rare and precious thing. If you have one of those, don’t lose him…or her.
‘And now, having put you on the road to true understanding, I must be about my business.
And with that Cicero resumed his perambulation and was off.
So as we sign off for yet another week, who inspires you? Who motivates you? Please do let us know. And if it is not the person you see in the mirror each and every day then you might want to re-read these find words.
Is it only me…….but this is enough to drive you to drink.
It seems that although we might have new Caesars running the country, we did not send the Nannys packing with the old Caesar.
Have you read the news that some State-sponsored Nanny has decided in its wisdom that we must set a minimum price for alcohol to save us from ourselves.
This is so wrong. And on so many levels.
Why should responsible drinkers like your good self have to pay more for their small tipple just because some people, and a minority probably, have a tendency to over indulge from time to time? Who gave this Nanny, probably unelected, the power to interfere with the market and to set prices for alcohol or any other goods for that matter? And once the Nannys get their hands on the price mechanism, what comes next-a minimum price for Mars bars and other sweeties on grounds it leads to obesity; no more discounts on electrical goods because it creates wonky weather? The list is endless.
And did it never occur to these people that the only people who will benefit from such a policy will be the people who make and the people who sell said refreshments. A minimum price means a minimum margin. Lovely jubblie. No wonder Tesco are in favour. Every little helps, indeed.
It might only be me but on the evidence of this proposal, it is time that our new Caesars, both of them, identified all the Nannys lurking in the long grass in Whitehall and told them to find a proper job and preferably one that is not taxpayer funded.
Once again, let us know who you think is right on this-Cicero or the Nanny.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Friday, 4 June 2010
In God we trust
Great to see you again.
It seems that some of you are determined to try to take Cicero down a peg or two. Last week we had the comments about Cicero’s antediluvian status and now it would seem that Cicero’s amanuensis, who checks these fine words each week for typographical errors, wants to get in on the act.
For on reading Cicero’s crafted and beautifully formed words and phrases last week and having been asked to critique these, reflected for a moment and then declaimed to Cicero through secret and most private back channels (and that does not mean what you might be thinking) that ‘it was all me, me me’. Though the ‘is it only me…..’ piece did meet with approbation.
This week Cicero will attempt to be ‘you, you, you’.
And now for the news you have all been waiting for-the winner of the most pointless app award which we will dub the Archimedes Award. This revered scientist will surely be spinning and gyrating in his grave that science and technology have developed to such pointless futility.
And the winner of the Aristotle Award for 2010 is ‘Panda Jumps’. ACDs can now relieve their suffering with this pointless app.
If Anonymous will forward his or her contact details, a prize will be winging its way to them.
Cicero has been commended. A most rare event.
It seems that you are surprised that he would publish a comment which let us say was not totally complimentary about Cicero, his age and his attitude to technology. Of course such comments get published, even if they are woefully wrong. There is no censorship or news management here. We have new Caesars now. This is not the old Caesar. Or even the one before him. It is a very different world.
And one last thought. Cicero is reportedly jumping with joy that so many of his enlightened devotees have registered their pride in the eyesore that is Parliament Square. It seems you are not ashamed by this spectacle but take pride that this is tolerated. Thank you.
And while on the subject of Parliament, Cicero is disheartened that once again the behaviours of our new lords and masters have in some people’s eyes damaged the trust and reputation of this institution. It is not for Cicero to pass judgment on the rights and wrongs of the latest episode but there is nothing more important than trust and reputation to individuals, to brands and businesses. You can’t buy it. You can’t claim it. You can only earn it. And once earnt over weeks, months, years, decades, it can be destroyed in a moment. Talk to the Head Honcho at BP if you want to know more.
But do you know how to build trust? It seems that it is no more than an arithmetical formula. Euclid and Pythagoras will both be pleased. Unlike our hard working and noble amanuensis, Cicero is not great at maths but even he gets this equation, so it can’t be too difficult.
Let me explain.
Now this is not Cicero’s own work but that of one whose brain is far more enlightened than his, but given that Cicero believes that innovation is only undiscovered plagiarism he is shameless in passing the learning on.
The Trust Formula starts with a sum.
We take Reliability-do you, your brand or your business do what you say you are going to do, what you promise to do, when and how you say you are going to do it? And do you do it every time? If you say you are going to do something and you do, then Trust starts to build.
To Reliability we add Expertise. The more you are expert in doing a job, the more special and unique you are then once again Trust builds. The expertise, the knowledge, the intellectual property, you, your business, your brand, is what you have to offer and what people buy. Protect it wisely.
And to Reliability plus Expertise we add Empathy. Do people like you? Can you get onto their wave length and think like them? Can you get close to people, your customers, and share their thoughts and values, their ambitions and aspirations.
We now have a sum. But this does not equal Trust.
To finalise the Trust Equation we divide the sum of Reliability plus Expertise plus Empathy by Self Interest. This is the killer. This is the thing that destroys Trust. The more you or your business or your brand is perceived to be acting in your own self interest, the less people will trust you.
Think MPs. Think banks. Think estate agents.
At the end of the day it is the perception that counts and if you, your business or your brand can convince your customers that you are acting in their interests and not the customer’s, the more Trust will build and you, your business and your brand will prosper. You might be racking in big profits, but if you are perceived to be acting in the customers’ interests, you will be rewarded.
Anyone who has ever watched ‘Miracle on 34th Street, a great film, will know that American dollar bills all contain the immortal strap line ‘In God we trust’. As strap lines go this is surely much better than ‘every little helps’. Clearly He has done the maths and no one could ever doubt that God ever acts out of self interest. Now surely that’s a target for all of us, all our businesses and all our brands to aspire to. You can trust me on this.
Is it only me…….but maybe some people are just not good enough?
Did you read the news a few days back that some Educational Apparatchik, heading up a quango that it is unlikely you or anyone on the Clapham Omnibus might have heard of even if we, the taxpayer, are subsidising his lifestyle, and no doubt lavishly, has announced that ‘young people from poorer backgrounds are still struggling to get into top universities’?
No doubt this man and his fellow quangocrats are well meaning and have the best intentions of us all at heart. No doubt he seriously wants to improve society and make us all equal. He claims that poorer kids fail to reach their potential because, and this is a direct quote, ‘poorer youngsters are more likely to underperform in exams than their better-off counterparts, which means they might miss out on the grades needed for the most competitive courses’.
And the solution proposed for this shocking state of affairs is that our unis need to make more effort to accommodate such dunderheads and relax their admission requirements. You do really have to wonder if we, the taxpayer, are getting value for money from this quangocrat.
Now maybe it is just me but as the learned Apparatchik has so rightly pointed out, maybe, just maybe, these kids are just too thick to get into university and equally important, stay in for the duration.
University is not for everyone and not everyone is good enough to go. It is a harsh truth but someone needs to say it. It is not a human right that you must get into university come what may. And we must stop using university admissions to social engineer society.
Maybe my learned friend instead of moaning how bad it is that poorer children cannot get into university, would offer more value for our taxes if he concentrated on lambasting those who have wrecked the educational system which has denied bright kids from poorer backgrounds the opportunity to realise their potential and to properly earn the right to get to uni.
Should our schools not be providing the brighter kids with the skills and the confidence to pass their exams and apply for the top unis.? This might be radical but instead of taking a pop at the unis Cicero suggests that this man has a right go at the educational establishment of this country who are failing those with the potential from all backgrounds to go as far as they can educationally. It is a right disgrace.
And one final thought on this. Not going to uni is not the end of the world. And people like Mr Quangocrat should not make people feel a failure if they don't go. Instead we should recognise and celebrate their achievements and contribution. Uni is not for everyone.
Who do you back on this? Mr Quango or Cicero? Let us know.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
It seems that some of you are determined to try to take Cicero down a peg or two. Last week we had the comments about Cicero’s antediluvian status and now it would seem that Cicero’s amanuensis, who checks these fine words each week for typographical errors, wants to get in on the act.
For on reading Cicero’s crafted and beautifully formed words and phrases last week and having been asked to critique these, reflected for a moment and then declaimed to Cicero through secret and most private back channels (and that does not mean what you might be thinking) that ‘it was all me, me me’. Though the ‘is it only me…..’ piece did meet with approbation.
This week Cicero will attempt to be ‘you, you, you’.
And now for the news you have all been waiting for-the winner of the most pointless app award which we will dub the Archimedes Award. This revered scientist will surely be spinning and gyrating in his grave that science and technology have developed to such pointless futility.
And the winner of the Aristotle Award for 2010 is ‘Panda Jumps’. ACDs can now relieve their suffering with this pointless app.
If Anonymous will forward his or her contact details, a prize will be winging its way to them.
Cicero has been commended. A most rare event.
It seems that you are surprised that he would publish a comment which let us say was not totally complimentary about Cicero, his age and his attitude to technology. Of course such comments get published, even if they are woefully wrong. There is no censorship or news management here. We have new Caesars now. This is not the old Caesar. Or even the one before him. It is a very different world.
And one last thought. Cicero is reportedly jumping with joy that so many of his enlightened devotees have registered their pride in the eyesore that is Parliament Square. It seems you are not ashamed by this spectacle but take pride that this is tolerated. Thank you.
And while on the subject of Parliament, Cicero is disheartened that once again the behaviours of our new lords and masters have in some people’s eyes damaged the trust and reputation of this institution. It is not for Cicero to pass judgment on the rights and wrongs of the latest episode but there is nothing more important than trust and reputation to individuals, to brands and businesses. You can’t buy it. You can’t claim it. You can only earn it. And once earnt over weeks, months, years, decades, it can be destroyed in a moment. Talk to the Head Honcho at BP if you want to know more.
But do you know how to build trust? It seems that it is no more than an arithmetical formula. Euclid and Pythagoras will both be pleased. Unlike our hard working and noble amanuensis, Cicero is not great at maths but even he gets this equation, so it can’t be too difficult.
Let me explain.
Now this is not Cicero’s own work but that of one whose brain is far more enlightened than his, but given that Cicero believes that innovation is only undiscovered plagiarism he is shameless in passing the learning on.
The Trust Formula starts with a sum.
We take Reliability-do you, your brand or your business do what you say you are going to do, what you promise to do, when and how you say you are going to do it? And do you do it every time? If you say you are going to do something and you do, then Trust starts to build.
To Reliability we add Expertise. The more you are expert in doing a job, the more special and unique you are then once again Trust builds. The expertise, the knowledge, the intellectual property, you, your business, your brand, is what you have to offer and what people buy. Protect it wisely.
And to Reliability plus Expertise we add Empathy. Do people like you? Can you get onto their wave length and think like them? Can you get close to people, your customers, and share their thoughts and values, their ambitions and aspirations.
We now have a sum. But this does not equal Trust.
To finalise the Trust Equation we divide the sum of Reliability plus Expertise plus Empathy by Self Interest. This is the killer. This is the thing that destroys Trust. The more you or your business or your brand is perceived to be acting in your own self interest, the less people will trust you.
Think MPs. Think banks. Think estate agents.
At the end of the day it is the perception that counts and if you, your business or your brand can convince your customers that you are acting in their interests and not the customer’s, the more Trust will build and you, your business and your brand will prosper. You might be racking in big profits, but if you are perceived to be acting in the customers’ interests, you will be rewarded.
Anyone who has ever watched ‘Miracle on 34th Street, a great film, will know that American dollar bills all contain the immortal strap line ‘In God we trust’. As strap lines go this is surely much better than ‘every little helps’. Clearly He has done the maths and no one could ever doubt that God ever acts out of self interest. Now surely that’s a target for all of us, all our businesses and all our brands to aspire to. You can trust me on this.
Is it only me…….but maybe some people are just not good enough?
Did you read the news a few days back that some Educational Apparatchik, heading up a quango that it is unlikely you or anyone on the Clapham Omnibus might have heard of even if we, the taxpayer, are subsidising his lifestyle, and no doubt lavishly, has announced that ‘young people from poorer backgrounds are still struggling to get into top universities’?
No doubt this man and his fellow quangocrats are well meaning and have the best intentions of us all at heart. No doubt he seriously wants to improve society and make us all equal. He claims that poorer kids fail to reach their potential because, and this is a direct quote, ‘poorer youngsters are more likely to underperform in exams than their better-off counterparts, which means they might miss out on the grades needed for the most competitive courses’.
And the solution proposed for this shocking state of affairs is that our unis need to make more effort to accommodate such dunderheads and relax their admission requirements. You do really have to wonder if we, the taxpayer, are getting value for money from this quangocrat.
Now maybe it is just me but as the learned Apparatchik has so rightly pointed out, maybe, just maybe, these kids are just too thick to get into university and equally important, stay in for the duration.
University is not for everyone and not everyone is good enough to go. It is a harsh truth but someone needs to say it. It is not a human right that you must get into university come what may. And we must stop using university admissions to social engineer society.
Maybe my learned friend instead of moaning how bad it is that poorer children cannot get into university, would offer more value for our taxes if he concentrated on lambasting those who have wrecked the educational system which has denied bright kids from poorer backgrounds the opportunity to realise their potential and to properly earn the right to get to uni.
Should our schools not be providing the brighter kids with the skills and the confidence to pass their exams and apply for the top unis.? This might be radical but instead of taking a pop at the unis Cicero suggests that this man has a right go at the educational establishment of this country who are failing those with the potential from all backgrounds to go as far as they can educationally. It is a right disgrace.
And one final thought on this. Not going to uni is not the end of the world. And people like Mr Quangocrat should not make people feel a failure if they don't go. Instead we should recognise and celebrate their achievements and contribution. Uni is not for everyone.
Who do you back on this? Mr Quango or Cicero? Let us know.
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Friday, 28 May 2010
The times they are a-changing
Greetings, amici.
Thank you for sending through details of useless apps. No one has yet sent me information on a useful app which just goes to prove my point. You have until midnight on Friday 4th June to send me through your thoughts on useful and useless apps and then we will decide a winner.
You will also note that in last week’s comments one of you has implied that Cicero is a Luddite, a dinosaur, a has been. You cannot be serious. Cicero refutes, rejects and resents such accusations. How can such things be said?
And it seems that there is some interest in discovering more about the writer of this wisdom. Indeed someone has dared to suggest that Cicero might be a composite. Surely it is doubtful that more than one could possess such wisdom and insight.
Unlike the Stig, a character on a motoring TV programme, Cicero does not hide behind a helmet and a racing suit. Even when traversing the capital on his way to the VTSSB on his wee bike, Cicero ignores the pleas of our Health and Safety Gauleiters and even refuses to wear a helmet.
There is one way to recognise Cicero. He always wears his trademark bold stripey socks. We must all look to be distinctive, to stand out from the crowd. Surely that is a marketing adage and marketing ourselves should be no different. Don’t you agree? And in these tough times for State Apparatchiks and others this is going to be increasingly important.
Which reminds Cicero of an incident last week in the VTSSB.
Below is an extract from a Cicero’ speech in the VTSSB last week to the Appartachiks. It might lack the polish of the prose in ‘Pro Sulla’ but it does contain useful nuggets of wisdom and insight for us all.
‘Colleagues, the two Caesars have decided and decreed that for us the times are to be a-changing. We have been living beyond our means and we must now all tighten our belts. This will be difficult for us all but we can get through this and I am here to help you.
‘Change is never easy. We hate change. It unsettles us. We grow fearful. But change is constant and we must learn to deal with it, to accept it, to embrace it.
‘Change is rarely democratic. It is dictatorial. It is imposed on us. It is done unto us.
‘And that is why we hate it.
‘But my advice to you today, my dear colleagues is to take ownership of those aspects of the change that you can influence and can do something about. You cannot determine what is going to happen to your job. The Caesars will decide that. But you can start to create options for yourself or you can wait for the fates to decide your fate. The choice is yours.
‘I would always want to create options. It means I am in a wee bit more control of my life and it’s my life, your life, we are talking about here. So get the CVs ready, practice the interview technique, search the job columns. Take control of what you can.
‘And when writing your CV, think of yourself as a brand. You are Marketing Petits Fromages. Think marketing. And market yourself using the tools and techniques you would use to market anything else. It is no different. You now have responsibility for marketing the ultimate product. You.
‘Why are you different and better than anyone else? What is your USP, your unique selling point? If you don’t know that, can’t work it out, how are you going to expect others to know what they are buying? Test your thinking on those who know you best to check you truly deliver your brand promise, that you genuinely walk the talk.
‘And once you have worked out what you are going to stand for, think about how you are going to communicate that in your CV. Think tone of voice, think look and feel, think language. Your CV is your brochure. Your call to action. Are you an Ariel kind of person, modern and progressive, or Times New Roman, classic and timeless with a wee bit of old fashioned added? Heaven forbid you might be a Monotype Corsiva. Remember Cicero’s Golden Rule of Marketing-everything communicates.
‘Think too about routes to market. How you going to reach the people you want to reach i.e. those who are recruiting. Use all the routes to market, you can find and think of. Why restrict yourself to just one or two? Employer websites, newspapers, head-hunters and recruitment agencies are the obvious places to start but what about your network and your network’s network. How are you going to reach them? Most jobs are not in fact advertised so how are you going to promote your brand to recruiters who don’t show themselves? How are you going to reach your hard to reach audience?
‘Colleagues, as Mr Dylan said ‘you’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changing’. Let us start swimming together. Let us start now. Let’s get on with it………….’
The rest of Cicero’s address is indecipherable at this point.
It is not just in VTSSBs that the times are a-changing. The times are a-changing everywhere all the time for all of us. Hopefully you might now be a wee bit prepared and ready to deal with these times now that Cicero has shared his thinking with you. May the force be with us all.
Is it only me……but surely we should be proud of this?
Cicero was wending his weary way home from his VTSSB the day Betty went to greet the new Caesars and all their little helpers and closed all the roads in central London between Buck House and Parliament.
On a newspaper stand he saw the headline ‘Peace Camp-our shame’. This was a reference to a tribe of squatters who have pretty much taken up permanent residence on the green opposite the Houses of Parliament in the name of peace. Admittedly, this is a bit of an eyesore on the green sward though doubtfully Betty and Phil would have paid it too much attention. They will have seen a lot worse surely.
Now it might only be me, and it usually is, but surely it is wrong for us to be ashamed of this. Should we not be fiercely proud?
Does this not represent all that is great in a democracy such as ours? Does it not celebrate freedom of speech? Does it not represent our individual and collective rights and liberties? Does it not demonstrate our tolerance as a society for the diversity of thoughts, opinions and views that swirl and meld within us?
In many countries, even so called democratic ones, such freedom of expression would not be tolerated. Those who held them would be shunted into gulags or force fitted with an orange suit and despatched to Guantanomo Bay never to be heard from again. Or they would be swept up off the streets like used cigarette butts and dumped somewhere else, usually with a blue lamp outside, until Betty and Phil had done their business. Is that what we want?
So let us not be ashamed as our newspaper editor wants us to be, but proud that in our society diverse thoughts can co-exist contiguously with so called mainstream thinking.
Are you proud? Or are you ashamed?
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Thank you for sending through details of useless apps. No one has yet sent me information on a useful app which just goes to prove my point. You have until midnight on Friday 4th June to send me through your thoughts on useful and useless apps and then we will decide a winner.
You will also note that in last week’s comments one of you has implied that Cicero is a Luddite, a dinosaur, a has been. You cannot be serious. Cicero refutes, rejects and resents such accusations. How can such things be said?
And it seems that there is some interest in discovering more about the writer of this wisdom. Indeed someone has dared to suggest that Cicero might be a composite. Surely it is doubtful that more than one could possess such wisdom and insight.
Unlike the Stig, a character on a motoring TV programme, Cicero does not hide behind a helmet and a racing suit. Even when traversing the capital on his way to the VTSSB on his wee bike, Cicero ignores the pleas of our Health and Safety Gauleiters and even refuses to wear a helmet.
There is one way to recognise Cicero. He always wears his trademark bold stripey socks. We must all look to be distinctive, to stand out from the crowd. Surely that is a marketing adage and marketing ourselves should be no different. Don’t you agree? And in these tough times for State Apparatchiks and others this is going to be increasingly important.
Which reminds Cicero of an incident last week in the VTSSB.
Below is an extract from a Cicero’ speech in the VTSSB last week to the Appartachiks. It might lack the polish of the prose in ‘Pro Sulla’ but it does contain useful nuggets of wisdom and insight for us all.
‘Colleagues, the two Caesars have decided and decreed that for us the times are to be a-changing. We have been living beyond our means and we must now all tighten our belts. This will be difficult for us all but we can get through this and I am here to help you.
‘Change is never easy. We hate change. It unsettles us. We grow fearful. But change is constant and we must learn to deal with it, to accept it, to embrace it.
‘Change is rarely democratic. It is dictatorial. It is imposed on us. It is done unto us.
‘And that is why we hate it.
‘But my advice to you today, my dear colleagues is to take ownership of those aspects of the change that you can influence and can do something about. You cannot determine what is going to happen to your job. The Caesars will decide that. But you can start to create options for yourself or you can wait for the fates to decide your fate. The choice is yours.
‘I would always want to create options. It means I am in a wee bit more control of my life and it’s my life, your life, we are talking about here. So get the CVs ready, practice the interview technique, search the job columns. Take control of what you can.
‘And when writing your CV, think of yourself as a brand. You are Marketing Petits Fromages. Think marketing. And market yourself using the tools and techniques you would use to market anything else. It is no different. You now have responsibility for marketing the ultimate product. You.
‘Why are you different and better than anyone else? What is your USP, your unique selling point? If you don’t know that, can’t work it out, how are you going to expect others to know what they are buying? Test your thinking on those who know you best to check you truly deliver your brand promise, that you genuinely walk the talk.
‘And once you have worked out what you are going to stand for, think about how you are going to communicate that in your CV. Think tone of voice, think look and feel, think language. Your CV is your brochure. Your call to action. Are you an Ariel kind of person, modern and progressive, or Times New Roman, classic and timeless with a wee bit of old fashioned added? Heaven forbid you might be a Monotype Corsiva. Remember Cicero’s Golden Rule of Marketing-everything communicates.
‘Think too about routes to market. How you going to reach the people you want to reach i.e. those who are recruiting. Use all the routes to market, you can find and think of. Why restrict yourself to just one or two? Employer websites, newspapers, head-hunters and recruitment agencies are the obvious places to start but what about your network and your network’s network. How are you going to reach them? Most jobs are not in fact advertised so how are you going to promote your brand to recruiters who don’t show themselves? How are you going to reach your hard to reach audience?
‘Colleagues, as Mr Dylan said ‘you’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changing’. Let us start swimming together. Let us start now. Let’s get on with it………….’
The rest of Cicero’s address is indecipherable at this point.
It is not just in VTSSBs that the times are a-changing. The times are a-changing everywhere all the time for all of us. Hopefully you might now be a wee bit prepared and ready to deal with these times now that Cicero has shared his thinking with you. May the force be with us all.
Is it only me……but surely we should be proud of this?
Cicero was wending his weary way home from his VTSSB the day Betty went to greet the new Caesars and all their little helpers and closed all the roads in central London between Buck House and Parliament.
On a newspaper stand he saw the headline ‘Peace Camp-our shame’. This was a reference to a tribe of squatters who have pretty much taken up permanent residence on the green opposite the Houses of Parliament in the name of peace. Admittedly, this is a bit of an eyesore on the green sward though doubtfully Betty and Phil would have paid it too much attention. They will have seen a lot worse surely.
Now it might only be me, and it usually is, but surely it is wrong for us to be ashamed of this. Should we not be fiercely proud?
Does this not represent all that is great in a democracy such as ours? Does it not celebrate freedom of speech? Does it not represent our individual and collective rights and liberties? Does it not demonstrate our tolerance as a society for the diversity of thoughts, opinions and views that swirl and meld within us?
In many countries, even so called democratic ones, such freedom of expression would not be tolerated. Those who held them would be shunted into gulags or force fitted with an orange suit and despatched to Guantanomo Bay never to be heard from again. Or they would be swept up off the streets like used cigarette butts and dumped somewhere else, usually with a blue lamp outside, until Betty and Phil had done their business. Is that what we want?
So let us not be ashamed as our newspaper editor wants us to be, but proud that in our society diverse thoughts can co-exist contiguously with so called mainstream thinking.
Are you proud? Or are you ashamed?
Have a great week.
Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)