There are business books that purport to tell you how to do things. Then there are books that help you think differently.

For me, the former are the bulk of the books out there and also are the least useful. By the time the book is published, some of the “best practices” are outdated and, frankly, if you need them, you may as well just Google them.

On the other hand, books that expand your perspective and then give you a framework for executing (as opposed to a checklist) are in short supply, but high demand.

In to this category comes the latest book from Mitch Joel, Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It.

Now, while there are fewer and fewer people who understand what Ctrl Alt Delete means any more, the book is really designed for those of us who do.

It’s about how we grew up in one era, but are now living in an entirely different era…and what we all need to do about it so we can thrive.

Joel is a prolific blogger and one of the world’s most respected minds when it comes to the impact of social on marketing. In fact, I subscribe to two podcasts. Harvard Business Review and Mitch’s. Author, speaker, and the head of the Twist Image agency in Montreal. You get the point. He’s got the street cred.

There are a ton of great ideas in this book that will help you think differently, but I will focus on just one, allowing you to savor the others when you read it.

Mitch highlights the arrival of something he calls “Utilitarianism Marketing” which he says will be the next great business disrupter. In his words:

“It’s not about advertising, it’s not about messaging, and it’s not about immediate conversions. It’s about providing a true value and utility: something consumers not only would want to sue-constantly and consistently-but would derive so much value from that it would be given front-and-center attention in their lives.”

Then, he goes further, challenging us:

“Do you think your brand has the ability to create that kind of interest and attention in this media-saturated and ads-everywhere world in which we live?”

Sadly, for some brands, it will not happen. Habits are just too hard to break and their inability to adapt to the new realities will have a Darwinian result of non-survival. It’s just inevitable.

For others, however, the possibility does exist. It will require a leap of faith as we look to measure marketing’s impact in terms of utility delivered to our end customers.

In short, your future (and mine) does depend on making a number of adjustments to how we think, behave, and act if we are really going to prosper in this new world, without being disrupted ourselves. In my mind, Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on Itis a part of that journey and I encourage you to check it out.

I hope it’s of high utility to you

Now this is simply remarkable.

One of the biggest challenges facing large brands today is something we call the “Dynamic Customer Journey (DCJ).”  It represents the multiple touchpoints and actors that affect a prospect or customer’s decision process to more deeply engage (or not) with a given brand or entity.

Providing visibility around a DCJ to brands in the form of a Unified Personal Profile (you always know who the person is regardless of the channel through which she interacts with you) is a key element of Sprinklr.

To help illustrate what a DCJ is and looks like, I wanted to share a recent personal example, that demonstrates just how involved, multi-faceted, and out of a brand’s control the process is.

The Journey Begins

I’ve recently become fascinated by how the world will change because of the arrival of 3-D printing.

The Actors Arrive

The first stop on the journey, so far as I can recall, was Fred Wilson’s blog.  I’m a long time reader (since 2004 or so) and pretty much whatever Fred writes, I read. If he endorses it, I’m good with it. So, when he had a post that talked about 3-D printing, I was intrigued.

In that post, he pointed to his portfolio company, Shapeways. I subsequently visited the site, clicked around and started following their CEO on Twitter. Let’s call them the target brand and Actor #2.

This led me to go back to my Kindle and read the free first chapter of Chris Anderson’s book (Actor #3)  “Makers: The New Industrial Revolution “ which I had somehow obtained and once flipped through a few virtual pages. Note to self: finish the book.

Some time after that, I saw my pal David Berkowitz (Actor #4) do a 2013 predictions post (which I can’t find for some reason, but he references it here) where he said “3-d printing fascinates me.”

All of this was a lead up to SXSW 2013 in Austin where I was visiting my brother (Actor #5) and I saw Cory Doctorow’s book “Makers” (why he and Anderson have the same name and get away with it, I don’t know, but that’s ok).

Doctorow (Actor #6) is a name that I see a lot in the new media/social world, but I had never actually read his stuff. However, a few pages into his book, which starts off with the possibilities of 3-D printing and I was hooked…I mean big time. You should read it.

I plowed through the book and then went back to Shapeways, this time a bit deeper and downloaded an open source 3-D modeling tool called Blender.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten, but I’m going to go further.

The Journey Ends

All of this will end up with my making a purchase of Shapeways’ service to have something-whatever it is-printed in 3-D.

Now, what’s interesting about this process, from Shapeways’ perspective is how many steps there were in the process that had nothing to do with them at all. Of the 6 touchpoints, 5 of them were out of their control.

The decision to buy from them was basically not influenced by them at all. The CEO, while seemingly a smart guy, doesn’t really have a Twitter feed that makes me want to come back for more, but Fred Wilson’s investment covers that, so I don’t care.

What Is a Brand To Do?

This type of journey is, we believe,  representative of the fact that much of the decision process of your customer today takes place outside of your influence, hidden from your view.

Understanding this journey and the different paths that your customers and prospects take to your door allows you to better understand where to make your investments.

Demos? Videos? Influencer relations? Analyst relations?

Much of this takes place in social and can be measured (e.g. sentiment, influence, etc.), but much of this takes place offline.

We have a strategy team that helps our clients look at this and then build experiences that complement some of the more common paths that people take to our clients’ doors.

This can be valuable, for the right client, but you can start just by talking to some of your customers and asking them to “play the movie” about the steps they took to you.

• To whom did they speak?
• Which articles did they read?
• What made an impression?

As empowered consumers become more and more comfortable (and, in fact, more and more biased) with peer recommendations as the primary, if not sole source of, reliable and trusted information about a brand, it’s critical for us to understand how the actors who are not under our control (compared to marketing or sales, for example) affect the journey of your desired audience.

I just signed up for a Simple bank account. It is a great concept in terms of serving mobile-empowered, tech savvy customers.

Unfortunately, the initial experience has been anything but simple for me. Too many hoops to go through to receive that title.

As an early adopter, however, I’ll deal.

Their marketing, however, is solid. When I received the ATM card the other day (which came on a nice, artistic piece of cardboard), I noticed that instead of “detach your card here,” it said “detach your wallet.”

Now, whether that means “you only need this card now” or “you don’t need the rest of your wallet,” either way, I think it’s pretty fun and WOM-worthy.

Changing “card” to “wallet” turns expected to unexpected..which triggers word-of-mouth.

Hence the story.

As for me, I still prefer using Google Wallet via NFC on my phone, but I’m hoping to use this for mobile check deposits.

One of the core hypotheses upon which I’ve based my career for the past 10 years or so is that the arrival of social technologies fundamentally changes every aspect of business (and, well, society, but we’ll leave that out, even though it’s connected).

In Dan Pink’s new book (original client that he was) “To Sell Is Human,” Dan shows us that the whole concept of Selling as we know it has been inextricably and forever altered as well.

He calls it “the end of information asymmetry” when the buyers and sellers know the same. Actually, buyers know more in aggregate than sellers do.

It’s not Caveat Emptor. It’s Caveat Venditor.

So, what happens to sales and salespeople in this era?

Well, for one, they can’t keep going with the same, tried and true tactics…they must adapt.

I love the famous “Coffee is for closers” scene in Glengarry Glen Ross, but Dan argues that the image of sales people is as relevant today as a quill and inkwell.

Instead of “A B C” as in “Always Be Closing,” he argues for “Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity.”

This allows you to move from “problem solver” to “problem finder,” adding value by helping your potential customers see things in a new light, one where they have a greater understanding of the

As with all of Dan’s books, the writing is solid and the numerous tips are practical.

The one that I want to try was to map out the conversations flow in a bi-directional manner to identify where real influences lives or doesn’t, titles notwithstanding (pictured).

I’m looking forward to trying that out.

In my mind, if you are in sales (and we ALL are, it’s just that some of us know it) and you want to be effective, this book is an absolute must-read. The only regret I have is that I can’t have the new behaviors hardwired into my brain.

Great stories from Mark Schaefer's blog.  Note the 3rd one ;-)

Proud of our team.

Baseball fans know Mariano Rivera as perhaps the greatest relief pitcher of all-time.

This year marks his final season and, like many greats before him, he is doing a farewell tour.

What differentiates this tour from all of the others before is how the Yankees have evolved the tour to benefit from the rise of the mobile/social/network-empowered consumer.

Traditionally, a player of Rivera’s magnitude, goes out to home plate (or center court, etc.) and there’s a big public ceremony, he gets some gifts, and the fans give him a standing ovation.

Rivera and the Yankees hatched a different plan.

As the NY Times wrote:

Three years ago, when Rivera first considered retirement, he went to Jason Zillo, the Yankees’ director of communications, to discuss how he should commemorate his final year in baseball. This year, in spring training, he and Zillo devised a plan for Rivera to meet with different people in each city, whether team employees or fans.

In Cleveland, for example, Rivera met with some employees of the Indians organization and John Adams, a devoted fan who has been banging his bass drum at Indians games for 40 years, according to the article.

In every single city, then, Rivera and the Yankees are creating a new story and one that, by definition, is going to be retold. At a minimum, by those 25 employees (or whomever) in the room, but more likely by an entire group of people surrounding the event, including friends, other fans, and online and MSM outlets.

Instead of “oh, there was yet another big celebration for Rivera, but this time in our city,” now it’s “Rivera connected specifically with our fans, talking about his memories here, and making a new memory.”

Social Marketing is Best for Many Little Stories

While some say that the “big campaign” is dead, I’d disagree. The campaign is just fine, it’s the activities that make up the campaign that have changed drastically. 

Instead of copy/paste marketing activities, social benefits most when the tactics are unique/customized to a smaller audience.  And, counter-intuitively, those smaller events can (and, as we all get better at this ,will) ultimately lead to greater reach, engagement, or whatever marketing objective you have because of the power of consumer to tell them on your behalf.

The larger narrative-let’s celebrate Rivera’s accomplishments-used to be the one consistent theme. What the Yankees are doing is using that idea as the foundation upon which many small narratives (dedicated fans who try to distract the greatest reliever of all time by banging a drum) are built. Since each one is unique, it gets told more often, reinforcing the core narrative at the same time.

A few trends or noteworthy items that have popped up recently which I am watching. Wanted to share them here to get thoughts down and your thoughts.

1. Efforts to measure and monetize relationships
   I expect to see this more and more as companies continue to recognize that the value in their brand is locked up in the networks of their customers/raving fans/advocates.  A new company, https://introhive.com/, started by former Radian6 CMO David Alston, is attempting to conquer this mountain.  They are just one of many, but expect to see more.
   
2. Virtual Community
   As we get more and more disconnected from each other physically (e.g. I work in a home office and expect that more folks will continue to do so), the need for real-life shared experiences occurring at the same time will grow.  Outside of sporting events (and not even always those) and a few things like Grammy’s, Oscars, etc., there aren’t many left.  So, creating those experiences will be something people will be willing to pay for/participate in. Prompted by this video from my friend, Mo Edjlali, the ZenCEO, that offers real-time, distance, virtual meditation circles.
   
3. Micro-Selling
   I remember this from my consulting days. People would call up and say “can I pick your brain?” Depending on the nature of the relationship, I’d say yes or no. There was no middle ground. I like what Chris Brogan is doing here and it’s an example of how digital makes handling small time increments scalable.
   
4. iPhone Marginalization?
   Ok, this may be bold and I know it’s popular to say “Apple is done,” so I’m not going to say that.  Here’s what I will say. First off, Android is just simply better. I can lay this out in another post, but simple things like tight Google integration and synching browser tabs on Chrome across devices makes it a huge time saver alone.  Second, the number of people who tell me “I bought my first smartphone, it’s an iPhone 5” is an indicator. Why? Because for the early adopter crowd (and I’ve met a few), it means that Apple phones are no longer cool.  Oh yeah, turn-by-turn nav also smokes Maps. 
   
   Don’t get me wrong. I have 2 iPads and love them, but on the phone front, I’ll stack my Nexus 4 against an iPhone 5 any day. And, I bet soon-to-be Galaxy S 4 owners will as well.
   

I’ve got a few more, but this is good enough for now. What are you seeing?

I’m often asked about building community.

One of the great mistakes in trying to build community is making it TOO open. Letting anyone in.

All that happens is…well, no one wants to join at some point.

My buddy, Derek Coburn, has gone the other way. He’s building the premier business professionals networking group in the Metro DC area and, as of April 1, he’s not letting anyone else in (unless it’s one big April Fool’s Joke…which I don’t think it is.)

His full note is below, but I think it’s pure genius.

It tells his members: I value you.

It tells non-members: this community has enough value that I don’t need you (right now).

He’s focusing on Reed’s Law and, in so doing, is going to make the community even stronger.

At some point, he may allow new members in, but if/when he does, he’ll know that the core is rock solid and that those who do join will really appreciate the opportunity because it’s not a commodity, it’s a precious resource.

Happy Tuesday, cadre'er!

Beginning April 1, we will be capping our membership so that we can focus all of our efforts on maximizing the support we provide you and our existing members. This is somewhat inspired by Dan Pink’s, To Sell Is Human, where he suggests organizations should focus more on up-serving and less on up-selling. Although we have obviously never up-sold you, we believe we can do even more to serve you and would rather put 100% of our focus there, at the expense of marketing to prospective members. We will be considering new member applications until the end of the month and only have room for about five new members at this time. (See the details below on how you can extend an invitation to an ideal nominee, while offering them 50% off the upfront fee.)
Here’s our vision for the near future and how it will benefit you:

• We have provided revenue-generating opportunities to several members over the past few months that have come to us outside of cadre (i.e.- “Hey Derek- Do you have anyone in cadre who does X?”). We want to build on this and focus more of our time promoting the community as a resource to local corporations and businesses who are not in cadre.
• By leveraging the capabilities of your new Community Concierge, Alicia Staley, we will work with each of you to maximize the impact you receive from the Nucleus (your events, blogs, interactions, etc.). In particular, Alicia will be working with you to better prepare your profiles for when we make them public (part of our initiative to promote you outside of cadre). More details on this coming soon.
• We will provide more opportunities for you to include key clients and contacts as guests at our events.
• This will ultimately lead to us maintaining a strong waitlist that we can turn to if existing members become unfit for the community (move out of the area, change careers, become disengaged, etc.).

If you know of anyone that would be a great addition to the cadre community, now would be a great time to introduce them to us. You can offer any candidate you refer to us the opportunity to join at a reduced initiation fee of $1499 ($1000 plus the first month of $499) instead of paying the current rate of $3000. If you are making a great recommendation, we want you to look good too! If you have someone in mind, please respond to this email and I will get you the copy to use when making the introduction. Not that you asked, but we will still be providing you with Amazon gift cards and/or Kindle Fires (depending on how many members you have referred in) as our way of saying thank you! :)
Our goal with cadre has never been to grow for the sake of growth, but rather to have a highly engaged community of remarkable professionals we can serve. We believe that by eliminating our efforts to proactively identify new members (literally getting it off our plates) we can spend this time looking to identify even more opportunities for you.
We hope to have your support with this, but please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We would love to hear your feedback.
Thanks for being part of cadre and part of our lives. We look forward to contributing to 2013 being a huge success for you!
Best,
Derek

One of the key parts of great storytelling-and hence great marketing-is focusing on the unexpected.

Here’s a great example…all the way from France.

(HT: Scott Chait for sending this in)

Le papier ne sera jamais mort / Paper is not dead ! from INfluencia on Vimeo.