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"Guru" This!
I just finished an hour+ walk on the streets of Miami. I imagine I saw, say, 500 "workers." In bank branch lobbies. Hotels. Restaurants. Other miscellaneous shops. Heading into law firms and PR firms. And so on. And on.
I bet 98% (literally) have pretty standard bosses who, in turn, are embedded in pretty standard hierarchies. And I further bet that the reach of most of their markets is about five blocks, and no more than the Miami border.
And so on.
(Oh dear, and 98%++ don't even read my blog ... or Tweet.)
That is, about 98% of the people I saw are pretty much unaffected by all of the "cool" stuff and "weird" stuff and "world-upside-down" stuff that about 98% of the "gurus" (me included!!) write about 98% of the time.
That is, I sometimes (right now) wonder what we "gurus" are doing to help/be of service to 98% of the working people of the world, from Miami to Chicago to, yes, beloved San Francisco and Amsterdam and Dubai?
Just a thought.
Comments
Who cares about hierarchies - for or against - showcase innovation on a weekly cable show, maybe the discovery channel -
for example, the History Channel has a 'how its made' show that is interesting. It shows how all sorts of products are made. But, they never point out how truly innovative the factory machinery (most of it is custom made for a given product) was/is. A series that stresses this innovation in the world of 'dull products' would be great. Focus on innovation - and don't just say -innovate,innovate,innovate - show innovation. There is another series called 'Howe and Howe' that follows the development of military equipment by a small engineering firm. They show innovation each week. But no one talks to the employees about how ideas are arrived at.
To get it out to the 'regular guy' seminars wont work. TV could, but it has to focus on results. Show innovation - in all of its forms (not just Ipods).
Stay away from law firms, PR firms, banks, Hotels, restaurants(this is done by the food channel). Show people making stuff. Point out where innovation comes in even if all that the factory makes is hockey pucks.
Posted by zorro at February 17, 2010 3:32 PM
It's a valid question and one I'm sure many people in different walks of life ask themselves. My take on it would be somewhat different: how fantastic that you can be a major influence 2% of the people. After all, would you rather make a colossal difference to 2% of the people, who in turn can push on and affect another 2%, or spend your whole life having not much impact on 100% of the people?
Posted by Mark JF at February 17, 2010 3:43 PM
IMO, THE single, best thought you've had in a while.
Posted by Tom Asacker at February 17, 2010 4:01 PM
Great thought, Tom!
How are you going to "wade into" the 98+% so that you can listen to them, see if your assumption of "pretty standard" aligns with their reality, find out what their Wow!s are, and their aspirations. Sharing those with the 2% who cause the "pretty standard bosses" and "pretty standard hierarchies" to exist might stimulate positive change!
Posted by Randy Bosch at February 17, 2010 4:04 PM
All this takes on such importance as the economy continues to wobble as it wiil for a long time to come. It'll be a job added here and a job added there at tens upon tens of thousands of "ordinary" companies that will eventually pull us out of the trough.
Posted by tom peters at February 17, 2010 5:23 PM
Tom - 100% of us are selfish. For 98% of the time we think about ourselves. If you influence 2% of the people for some of the 2% of the time they are not thinking about ourselves I would say you are doing marvelously Tom - don't knock it - just keep it up :-)
Posted by Trevor Gay at February 17, 2010 5:50 PM
Since you were focused on hierarchical jobs and industries, you were focusing on people who only need to learn about office politics to survive. They get on the job training for their skills and then they figure out how to master the promotion/survival processes--which has nothing do with business model innovation. These types of businesses de-value creative input throughout the entire chain of command (generally speaking). Plus most people are focused on making money, not learning how to become more 'clever' in business.
Find the small business entrepreneurs and the top-level entrepreneurial owners of big companies and you'll see that they study gurus... They will also make the most money. In other words, leaders follow gurus and followers follow no one.
Posted by TC at February 17, 2010 6:03 PM
TP, to reach the 98% you would need to transform yourself from a "business guru" into a "self-help guru". Perhaps an appearance on Oprah would be a good starting point ... :-)
Posted by Mike L. at February 17, 2010 6:10 PM
Tom, as I recall, each of those 98% is a "Brand You".
Posted by Randy Bosch at February 17, 2010 6:27 PM
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Zorro, you're right (again). In London's Science Museum there's a fascinating machine for mass producing wooden rifle stocks (ie automatically machining complex finished shapes from a solid block of material). It's from the mid-late 19th century, and it's from the USA. It arrived in the UK at a time when we were still largely hand producing these things on lathes and cutters, and was a marvel of its time. It's a very graphic signal the emergence of the USA as the world's leading industrial power.
Posted by RobCH at February 18, 2010 5:26 AM
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zorro - your point about innovation is a good one but too narrow because it isn't just about innovation in manufacturing. buy viagra with paypal uk
It's also about innovation in the supply chain (components and finished goods). Innovation in how you sell it: finance deals, service packages, warranties etc. Innovation in how the customer orders it: in person or on-line, customisations etc. united states viagra online
Sure you need the basic product but if that were all, it would just be a contest between 2 R&D departments and their production lines. How you organise your business and the service offering you wrap the product in are also important.
Posted by Mark JF at February 18, 2010 6:21 AM
That 2% will create the 98% of tomorrow!
Jay, Bangalore
Posted by Jayakumar Hariharan at February 18, 2010 7:14 AM
Tom,
You're making a valid point. As a marketing guru, I would point out that you have not yet targeted the "98%". Where are your disciples? Even Jesus had 12 disciples! The internet is great but it is a passive medium. It requires the user to be looking for a guru and the noise level is tremendous. Sad to say, even books have a limited reach. Where's the bus tour? You do have a bit of the 'beltway' myopia. There's a lot happening out here west of the Hudson and east of Silicon Valley.
buy viagra generic online Posted by Bruce Bortree at February 18, 2010 10:15 AM
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RobCH
Great comments - My problem with innovation in the UK is that we have been very very good at it but actually not any good at doing anything with it.
viagra generic overnightHistory is littered with ideas and inventions that Brits came up with and which other countries then made successful.
A classic example is breaking the sound barrier. A British team was well on the way to being first- we solved most of the technical problems. The powers that be then got cold feet, handed some of the key ideas (the all moving tail plane being one of them) to the US who promptly executed - I don't mean to take anything away from Chuck Y and his team - it was an extraordinary achievement. But as a nation the UK has to do more than have bright ideas.
cheapest canada pharmacy viagra (At least Britain has the first supersonic land speed record!)
Often it's the smallest things are the key - Many people outside engineering have never heard of Joseph Witworth and yet his standardisation of something as mundane as the screw thread meant that nuts and bolts could be mass produced - Arguably he actually had more impact on the world of mass production than Henry Ford - Someone who should be celebrated.
Posted by PaulH at February 18, 2010 1:16 PM
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Don't under estimate the reach you have and how far down this may flow into the 98% without them knowing where it came from.
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