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How often do you give a shout-out to one of your customers? How about an employee? A business partner?
I try to when I can (see breadcrumbs.io mention later in this blog!) – but probably don’t do it enough. Why not celebrate extraordinary individuals or organizations publicly more often? Does it come across as less genuine when it’s done more frequently?
For now, give this song by Tears for Fears a listen and Shout along as we see what the experts are saying this week!
Lessons from your Peers
I’ve always sought out and provided peer support where possible. Whether it’s a similar company (could be a competitor) or someone in a similar role, I feel like you shouldn’t have to sell your soul to learn from someone who’s done it all before. Seth Godin really got it right in his blog post – you should treasure peer support when you find it, and offer it when you can:
… peer support comes when people are part of something bigger than themselves. When they see their work as a craft, and a chance to turn on a light or raise a standard.
In every field, our best work can feel lonely, because we don’t have a guarantee, a map to follow or a crowd of people sure that it’s going to work. That’s when peer support means the most. And when it contributes to the evolution and forward motion of a field.
“Peer” is a job title, and it’s earned. One way to earn it is by finding the others, connecting them and leading them. We spend our lives looking for peers to accept us, but in fact, we have the chance to establish the foundation for our peers to find each other.
What can you do today to organize your peers? The buyer’s journey can be lonely, and they don’t always have those one-track minds – so how can you leverage your existing customers or their peers to help move things along?
Lessons from the ‘Be Kind, Rewind’ Era
The first VCR I saw was a Beta machine. A friend got one pretty early on. It was great – but little did they know that they chose the wrong format! Sony’s Beta seemed to be the way to go, but ended up being the thing we can do without! It debuted in 1975, a full 18 months before JVC unveiled VHS.
So what happened? It was the greatest format war in history.
Was it the openness of the platform that helped VHS win? Was it that VHS had longer recording times, making it the go-to format for movies? Some sources say that VHS won over Betamax due to the greater availability of pornographic movies on that format. Whatever the reason, VHS won the war due to consumer acceptance and market demand.
We’ve seen these wars before (and since) – different music formats and streaming platforms; PC vs Mac; Blackberry vs iPhone; CD-ROM vs Zip drives; web browsers… What about in B2B? What are some examples that your peers really, really ought to know?
Lessons from Hot Takes Live!
Here’s that shout-out I promised earlier! The awesome team at breadcrumbs.io hosted their famous Hot Takes Live last week. We saw some really great sessions – from the nonsense of a ‘single source of truth’, to the Top Ten F*ckups in marketing programs and the importance of marketing failure… these speakers really let it all out with their hard truths and hot takes. Interested in learning some cutting-edge stuff? Everyone should be! Check it out here.
As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!
Looking forward,
Rick
Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat