Archive for May, 2005
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 18 May 2005, 12:30 PM - Leave Comment
I am huge fan of Seth and I must say that his book Purple Cow was a major inspiration for my upcoming Book “Beyond Code”
Seth, I have to say this. With your 800-CEO-READ offer, you have just proven your core message from the book “All Marketers are Liars.” Here’s why:
Here is the promotion in a nutshell:
You can get a free copy of Seth’s new eBook “Knock Knock” (valued at $9) if you buy two copies of “All Marketers are Liars” from 800-CEO-READ.
Sounds like a good deal?
Here is the comparison:
Via 800-CEO-READ
* Two copies of “All Marketers are Liars” – $44.32
* Knock Knock eBook - $0.00
——————————————————
Total - $44.32
——————————————————
Via Amazon
* Two copies of “All Marketers are Liars” – $32.58
* Knock Knock at full price - $9.00
—————————————————-
Total – $41.58
—————————————————-
With the Amazon option, you can buy another book of Seth instead of buying two copies of the same book.
——–
PS: I have not read the book yet. Seth mentions to me that that this analysis has nothing to do with the content in the book. Agreed. OK, my motivation was that folks at 800-CEO-READ will read this blog item and make a price adjustment leading to a really compelling offer.
Posted under Compelling Offers, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 18 May 2005, 11:38 AM - Leave Comment
Even if you have a great product you can’t rest on your laurels. Apple’s iPod is great but there is now competition from PalmOne.
The new Lifedrive from PalmOne looks cool. They are creating a new
category called “Digital Lifestyle Device” and want to launch a flank
attack at iPod. Interestingly, observe that they are also commodotizing
many of their own organizer products to demonstrate a giant leap.
Lifedrive is a cross of
* email client
* browser
* mp3 player
* organizer
* video player
* mobile hard drive
and many more.
PalmOne just launched the product so the jury is still out. My
only point is that innovation is not a one time activity. It has to be
woven into the fabric of our personal and professional lives. We can’t rest on our laurels.
Posted under Innovation, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 16 May 2005, 12:31 AM - Leave Comment
I love Nordstroms. I really do!
People are very professional and it’s a great shopping experience.
Yesterday I was shopping there and picked up a couple of pants. There
was a big sign there stating “Alterations made while you shop” and I
thought I can get them fixed today. There was a tailor in-house, took
the measurements and asked me to pay at the counter and bring back the
pants for making the alterations. So far so good.
When I returned back to the tailor, she promptly asked me to come back
next saturday to pick them up. I asked her whether she could get them
to me today, she told me that normally she could but she was very busy.
It was a happy ending overall. But next time, I decided to verify the
promises Nordstroms is making before assuming that they mean everything
they say. Great store. great products. great promises but sometimes
unable to fulfill them 
Lesson learnt: Don’t make a promise that you can’t fulfill, especially don’t set wrong expectations.
Posted under Business Models, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 15 May 2005, 11:43 PM - Leave Comment
There is an old saying “When the student is ready, the teacher arrives”
Here is a similar one from Henry Ford urging the importance of
preparation
“Before anything else, getting ready is the secret to success”
- Henry Ford
Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 13 May 2005, 6:26 AM - 2 Comments
I have mentioned this in one of my previous posts and I want to repeat
it here – one thing in life has not changed – “sometimes we succeed and
sometimes we learn”
Many times we put a lot of effort on some things but the results are
not there. Sometimes we put in a little effort and we get a big result.
In fact there can be many combinations of effort and result. Here are a
few:
1. small effort – small results
2. small effort – big results
3. small effort – no results
4. big effort – small results
5. big effort – big results
6. big effort – no results
Our tendency some times is to expect recognition for our “big” efforts. In general, we can only get recognition for “big results” irrespective of the amount of effort involved.
Knowing this will reduce the amount of stress that we may have to go
through when we put in a big effort and get no or small results.
C’est la vie!
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 13 May 2005, 12:32 AM - 2 Comments
Recently I was discussing some of my favorite topics (management,
leadership) with Ashok Shrivastava, retired VP at CPG giant Proctor and
Gamble. Ashok had several insights to share but this particular one was
very interesting.
When a leader declares a goal and goes ahead and achieves it, he or she
is in the “challenge” mode. When a leader does not announce what he is
doing and achieves something, he or she is in “chance” mode. In
“chance” mode, the stakes are low and in the “challenge” mode, the
stakes are high.
There are cases when one is appropriate or the other. But, if a leader is never in a “challenge” mode, there is a problem!
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 10 May 2005, 6:26 AM - 2 Comments
The general temptation for many of us is to receive things that are “free”
Think about that for a second and see if it is really worth receiving those things that are free. Here are some of my thoughts:
1. I think there is nothing that is “free.” Everything has a price and it has to be paid
2. Sometimes “free” things are “free” because of the value that they bring (close to nothing)
3. Once you receive something for “free” although you may not have paid
anything, remember that there is a powerful force of reciprocation that
is generated within you and you feel compelled to give back. What are
you planning to give back?
4. If the “free” stuff is really worth something, who is underwriting
the “cost” associated with the “free” stuff and why are they doing it?
I can go on but here is the gist – Walk away from “free” it is not worth it. If
the offer is very compelling, then please decide how you will
contribute back to the source in exchange for what you received.
P.S: One of my friends asked me about Open Source software (which is free) and how it works. My answer was simple – At our company CIGNEX,
we use lots and lots of open source software but we make it a point to
contribute back to the community. There are companies bigger than ours
who are contributing a lot more than what we do to keep open source
“free.” Granted, there are thousands of companies who are using open
source for free and not contributing back. Imagine, if a small
percentage of these “free riders” start contributing back – the
software world would be a better place.
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 09 May 2005, 9:25 PM - Leave Comment
This post may seem like it is targeted at sales professionals but my
guess is that it is equally applicable to professionals at all levels.
Whenever we are making a point, getting our ideas across, we tend to
focus only on the decision makers. This may work but many times, the
better approach is to look for the influencers in the group. There will
always be one or two key influencers in the group. The group will
typically look forward to the opinion of these key influencers before
they make up their own opinion of what we are talking about.
I learnt this concept from leadership guru – John Maxwell.
John has a great way of explaining how to identify the influencer
within a group. When you are taking to the group and you make a
statement on which the group has to take a stand observe what the
members of the group typically do. Most often, they look for the
non-verbal queues of the influencer. For example, if the influencer is
nodding, many folks in the group will agree with what was said and if
the influencer is shaking his head, many members in the group will
disagree with what is being said.
Wish you the very best and hope you influence lots and lots of influencers!!
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 07 May 2005, 8:55 AM - 1 Comment
Tim O’Reilly, for whom I have great respect, has a great post on
O’Reilly radar discussing a breakdown of visitors by browsers they are
using.
Brief summary
This year
Internet Explorer: 54.66%
Firefox: 35.08%
Last year
Internet Explorer: 75.53%
Netscape: 19.89%
The verdict is clear – Firefox is gaining a ton of momentum and there is no sign of slowing down. Hats off!
Posted under Business Models, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 06 May 2005, 12:04 AM - Leave Comment
This is the first season of Apprentice
I really followed closely. I had heard extreme opinions about the show
(obviously I had not watched the previous seasons) – some hated the
show and some absolutely loved it. I personally have mixed feelings
about the show. Since next week, we may see whether Tana or Kendra will
become the Apprentice, I thought this will be a good time post my
thoughts and hear what others have to say
Here are my $.02
Here are some reasons why I love the show:
a) The show is different from
several of the mindless shows that air on TV. Whether you agree with
everything or not, it will make you think for a while.
b) For insights: Every
now and then the show features executives from real companies
discussing their strategies briefly and what they are looking for in a
new product or service. May give some ideas for you and me.
c) Lessons on teamwork:
I have always believed that to accomplish something very significant,
you need a team that will work effectively and efficiently. You can get
some tips on team work – what to do and what not to do.
d) Creativity: The
time allotted to some tasks are very small. So the teams need to be
quick and creative in their approach to work. Couple of times I was
amazed at what the teams created in less than a day.
Here are some points to ponder:
a) Far from reality to serve the purpose:
If the purpose is really to find an apprentice for Donald Trump, this
interviewing method obviously will not produce the optimum result.
Mr.Trump might find a bright and lucky candidate but whether the person
is suited for the job is questionable.
b) Comments on fellow team members:
For those of you who followed the show, it is very clear that each team
member had “not so” good things to say about the other team members.
Imagine having such team members in your own team. What are we trying
to teach the folks who are watching the show?
c) Decision making is highly subjective:
In some episodes there is a clear winner but in many episodes the
criteria for winning or “firing” is very subjective. In fact, in one of
the episodes I saw Mr.Trump asking carolyn and George who he should
fire but their opinion was not considered at all.
d) Results are the only real measure:
Many times the participants were measured by the “results” they
produced and although all of us were watching how they were produced,
no importance was given to how the team got those results. In fact, in
one of the episodes
where the objective was to create collateral for Pontiac Solstice, the
winning team (Kendra, Craig and Tana) did not even work as a team.
Kendra did most of the work and just because they were part of the
winning team Tana and Craig remained on the show. Fair? May be not!
I have a lot more but this is already a long post and I should end
here. Any comments are welcome. There are no right or wrong answers
here but only opinions.
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
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