For Seth Godin, Mind Reading is as Simple as Riding a Bike
Today my husband and I took our 5 year old, Louie, to the park to teach him how to ride his bike. Here in the Netherlands, kids seem to master bike riding before taking their first steps, but the training wheels had come off Louie’s bike a few months ago and the bike had not moved since.
We rode in the grass to soften his fear of falling and I used the technique of running while holding him as he pedaled until he was stable enough not to notice when I let go. It was exhausting (for me), but surprisingly successful!
On the way home, we stopped by my office to drop off something and my husband commented on my recently rearranged bookshelves, now prominently spotlighting my Seth Godin collection and photo taken with Seth in London. “Come on, you are too old to be a Groupie,” my husband teased. “I am a Groupie; end of discussion,” I replied. It was surprising because I had written a post, The Guru and the Groupie, after meeting Seth, but my husband never reads my blog.
My colleague Lisa and I are often amazed by the uncanny timing of Seth Godin’s advice on the various topics we grapple with at the Women’s Buisness Initiative International. Our belief that Seth Godin is a mind reader and that he writes just for us is obviously shared by thousands of other Seth fans. A few hours later, I checked Seth’s blog and for the first time in 3000+ posts, he offers a parenting tip. You can guess the topic of his tip; How to teach your kid to ride a bike!
Today the coincidence was really too much. But even if I lived in a time zone that had enabled me to see the post before the bike riding lesson, I wouldn’t have followed Seth’s advice completely. Rollerblading, as Seth advised, instead of running to keep up with Louie, would’ve guaranteed that Seth’s post tomorrow would be all about a trip to the emergency room!
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The Guru and the Groupie- I saw Seth Godin in London!
My Pilates Trainer flashed a look of disapproval when I told her I was going to London to meet my Guru. No, I wouldn’t miss any workouts; she took offense to my use of the sacred term, Guru, in reference to someone in the Business World; even worse Marketing!
But in the sense that a Guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses these abilities to guide others; Seth Godin is my Guru.
He is the expert I turn to every day seeking enlightenment, and somehow he always manages to deliver. Every day(sometimes twice a day) he posts a thought provoking idea, concept or story on his blog. If this is starting to sound like hero worship, I am only getting started!
When Seth Godin announced that he would be in London, I instinctively knew I had to act fast. Immediately, I called my business partner and booked two tickets. Sure enough, the “London Session” was a sold out event , no advertising required. Luckily, the organizer invited us to a “Meet and Greet” with Seth, which resulted in a front row seat for the day.
Why were we so excited to see Seth Live? First of all, in Seth’s own words, “The real world still matters,”. Reading his blog, his 10 best selling books, and communicating via e-mail are not the same as looking someone in the eye, shaking their hand and seeing how they interact with people in real life. Throughout the day, Seth made himself completely accessible; no signs of ego or diva- like behavior. From the front row, I could imagine why a guy might want to shave his head and start acting like Seth; his character is worth emulating.
What would the other members of Seth’s tribe be like in person? I was curious to meet them too. The crowd of 400+ came from all walks of life; from a major music label to indie musicians, big companies like Shell, Microsoft and IBM to plenty of online marketing types. The non-profit sector was also represented, my favorite was a young Vicar in the Church of England, a testament to the fact that we are all in the business of trying to make our story heard!
More than anything, I wanted to see Seth think; and he did not disappoint. He has a very special gift for quickly turning individual questions into answers that interest and appeal to a broader audience. To illustrate how much Seth values authentic conversation over monologue, he spent 75% of his time with us answering questions and only 25% presenting. (This is an admirable goal for any speaker!)
The intensity of his stage presence combined with the never ending flow of provocative ideas, left us all with a headache. Mission accomplished, Seth! We were on our own in London to recover from Information Overload Hangovers. Luckily there is already a support group for people like us! Have you met your Guru lately?
The Price of Nice?
The term “Customer Experience” is a current buzz word, but call it customer service, care, satisfaction, or even excellence; the sad truth is that all too often, “Customer Frustration” and “Customer Disappointment” are more accurate descriptions.
Yesterday was a particularly low point for me as a customer. Trying to replace a lost/stolen mobile phone all week has become a nightmare with no end in sight. I have endured a record breaking hold time, been hung up on by a customer service rep and was turned away from a store empty-handed and trembling. Being cut off (ongoing, in case you try to reach me) from my business phone line of seven years is beyond an inconvenience, but only one person along the way (not in a customer interfacing role) has uttered an empathetic word.
Immediately following the incident at the telecom shop, I received a bizarre phone call from a business contact threatening legal action because he had underestimated the obvious risk of Word of Mouth Marketing, and left a few of the wrong (connected) people with a queasy feeling about his business practices. Will threats help him build a reputation as being nice to do business with?
Amused by the call and feeling like I had nothing to lose, I attempted for the fourth time to make an appointment with an adviser of whom I am a long time client, but one week, one e-mail and three phone calls later, I have been told by three different people that only the one person can schedule an appointment and is too busy to come to the phone. I have never received a call back. The persistence required to simply make an appointment exceeds my level of stamina in such matters.
We are also trying to purchase an expensive piece of equipment for our office, so I called once more to request the overdue quote, but again the one who could help me was not available. When you have to beg to buy something from a company, how good will the after sales support be? With all the talk of the economic downturn, you would think companies big and small would make more of an effort to keep their existing customers.
At the end of the day, I came across Seth Godin’s timely blog post, asking the question; How much extra for nice? He points out the huge gap between what people are willing to pay for nice (a lot) and what it would cost businesses to deliver it (almost nothing). I have to agree with Seth Godin that this is a huge business opportunity. Today I would pay any price for nice!
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Small is the new Big!
Great news for me since I am into Small Business in a big way! In working with small business owners, I am constantly encouraging, convincing, begging them to think big! Here is a great interview with Seth Godin on the virtues of small. The interview appears on Etsy, the rapidly growing online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade.
Here is the take away, “Small is the new big only when the person running the small business thinks Big!”
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