Dr. Burt Smith's Blog

What’s a “correct” answer?

Dr. Burt Smith — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:10:53 +0000

In his book series, Rich Dad/Poor Dad , Robert Kiyosaki is a little critical of our educational system. You can read the books and discover for yourself why he holds these opinions, but I just thought I’d share a couple of his viewpoints here. One of the issues he takes with the system is that it falls short when training students to think critically and creatively. He believes that the system isn’t necessarily teaching “wrong” answers, but is teaching “old” answers.

The following is an excerpt from Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing.

Here are some examples of right answers that are old answers:

Can humans fly? The correct answer prior to 1900 was ‘No.’ Today, it is obvious that humans are flying everywhere, even in space.

Is the earth flat? The correct answer in 1492 was ‘Yes.’ After Columbus sailed to the New World, the old right answer was obsolete.

Is land the basis of all wealth? The answer before the Industrial Age was ‘Yes.’ Today, the answer is a resounding ‘No.’ It takes an idea and knowledge…Once you prove you know what to do, the world is full of rich investors looking to give their money to you.

Doesn’t it take money to make money? I am most frequently asked this question. The answer is ‘No.’ In my opinion, it has always been ‘No.’ My answer has always been ‘It does not take money to make money. It takes information to make as well as to keep money.’ The difference is that it has become much more obvious that it does not take money or hard labor to make a lot of money.

It seems what a “right” or “correct” answer is has become a matter of perspective. I think we should bear that in mind when making strategic decisions.

Anyone who says businessmen deal only in facts, not fiction, has never read old five-year projections. – Malcolm Forbes

What do you wanna watch?

Dr. Burt Smith — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:29:39 +0000

Isn’t it neat to think about how our access to entertainment has evolved? Television brought free entertainment right into our living rooms and created an instant revolution. Of course, before the invention of the VCR, if you had a favorite show, your best hope was to catch it in a rerun if you wanted to see it again, and you might have one shot at that during the summer or something. Once the show went off the air, maybe you’d get lucky and see it in syndication, but you’d have to view it on somebody else’s time table.

Today, you can buy DVDs of just about any show, or digitally record them commercial-free, or download them to your MP3 player and watch them whenever and wherever you want. Or you can download a movie or TV show or whatever and watch it on your computer or smartphone instantly.

I predict one of these days, and perhaps very soon, you can get digital downloads of just about anything that was ever broadcast, and at super fast speed. There are bazillions of feet of film sitting in warehouses somewhere just waiting for the right media to make it profitable for it to be seen again. Places like Hulu are already experimenting with one such business model, so it’ll probably be here before you know it.

Then, underrated shows like 240-Robert, where my buddy, Mark Harmon, got his start, can get the appreciation they always so richly deserved!

That’s the miracle marketing performs in a free market economy, and most of us take it for granted. Marketers and entrepreneurs find out if enough customers are interested in something, then we go about finding a cost-effective way to deliver and we profit for doing so! One of the greatest contributions of marketing is the more convenient delivery of the “product” to the customer! In this case, the customer will benefit from being able to watch whatever they want to watch whenever they want to watch it. The owners of the footage will profit by getting new revenue from an existing asset. It’s an absolute win-win and it’s all made possible through technology!

Before you completely devalue any asset, consider whether new technology might make that asset more valuable again. You may find that it’s possible to breathe some profitable life back into what looks like a dead or dying product. Keep that in mind next time you’re taking inventory!

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future

Ask and ye shall receive?

Dr. Burt Smith — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:59:49 +0000

Consumer products giant Procter and Gamble competes in many categories, dominating most with its repertoire of nearly 300 brands. The company prides itself on staying close to its customer and considers the hefty sum allotted annually to market research to be an investment that yields remarkable results.

P&G interacts with more than 4 million consumers a year in nearly sixty countries.

Better than a strategic plan?

Dr. Burt Smith — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:17:06 +0000

In previous entries I’ve suggested that a much more ACTIONABLE alternative to long, drawn-out, boring strategic plans is to have a set of guiding principles that give members of the organization direction on how to make decisions. How to take ACTION, which is what strategic plans are supposed to accomplish in the first place. The problem is, about all that ever gets accomplished is that the plan gets written and then nothing happens. Zip. That’s the end of that. The plan goes in the desk drawer somewhere, never to be seen or heard from again, and it’s back to business as usual. Ugh. Don’t even get me started…

Because a good set of guiding principles helps empower everyone in the organization on what to DO to accomplish the purpose of the organization, they can become battle cries that help build culture that is incredible. Here’s a great article from Fast Company that boldly says that culture will eat strategy for lunch! Read on!

Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Wanna ruin the Super Bowl party?

Dr. Burt Smith — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:22:56 +0000

Come Super Bowl Sunday we’ll all be gathered around the tube to give this hyped-up event the homage it deserves. Most of us will likely discuss the commercials that air during this glorious event as much as we discuss the game itself. That shouldn’t be so surprising considering how marketers pay close to $3 million per 30 seconds of Super Bowl airtime. Many of these things will be awe-inspiring productions. We may find ourselves talking about them for days afterward, in fact. A fair amount of them may cause us to look at our fellow Super-Bowl party attendees and go, “What the heck did that have to do with…anything?” If the creators of the commercials were at the party with us, they’d probably get all huffy and defensive and say that we’re missing the point. That the ad is supposed to generate “buzz” and that no brand will go far without first getting people to talk about it, and to get people to talk about it you first have to get their attention. And to get their attention you have to do something that dazzles them, and if they’re dazzled by the commercial, they’ll be dazzled by the product. If they love the commercial, they’ll love the brand, they might say.

Author Jack Trout refers to this hoopla as “marketing theater” rather than marketing that should impress us, and he’s none too complimentary of most of it. He is quick to remind us of some important things about exactly what an advertisement is supposed to accomplish and what elements should be present in order for that to happen.

Trout says that an ad is basically what you do when you can’t send a salesperson to visit with the prospect. That simple fact shouldn’t be overlooked in any promotion we do, but especially for something we’re taking a three million dollar gamble on. Its ultimate purpose should be to SELL the VALUE of the offer. The content of the commercial should demonstrate how it is a superior solution over anything offered by a competitor and showcase how it will make the life of the customer better. That is the story the ad should tell.

As you watch the commercials that air during the big game, think about that and see if he might just have a point.

If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” - David Ogilvy

Call in the dogs?

Dr. Burt Smith — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:23:00 +0000

Volkswagen is running this very eye-catching, conversation-piece of a commercial.

The commercial is indeed cool, clever, original and well done. It is hard not to watch it multiple times. It’s difficult to not share it with everyone you know and to contribute to the “How did they do that, anyway?” buzz that it is generating. And to see my preschool son laugh like he does when it comes on is very rewarding. It’s a well produced piece of work and will likely win several awards in 2012.

But NONE of that matters if ultimately it doesn’t help sell more Volkswagens. If this campaign doesn’t pay for itself, it’s not GOOD marketing.

Granted, it may be a component part of an overall strategy that leads Volkswagen into a whole new era. The first step in the marketing communication is, after all, to grab the ATTENTION of the target market, and if those are the intended results of this stage of the campaign, then they may indeed be barking up the right tree…Sorry, just had to give that one a try!

Anyhow, Volkswagen promises an explanation during the upcoming Super Bowl, so we’ll see…

Well, here we are…

Dr. Burt Smith — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:14:18 +0000

I have found myself being overly reflective of late. Maybe it’s because I’ve made some headway in finding a comfortable level of balance in my life by focusing on what’s most important and of letting go of what isn’t. Who knows, but it’s a good place and if you’ll indulge me I’ll be sharing a little more about that in future entries just because I think it’s something we’re all looking for. When I get my findings down to the kinds of brief, actionable ideas that you can use, which is the kind of value it is my great joy and honor to try to bring you with each entry, I’ll be eagerly sharing them.

One thing I think we’re all looking for is some kind of perspective. As I’ve written before, it’s a zany, crazy, mad, slap-happy, sometimes unforgiving world out there. I ran across this quote from “the great one” himself, (click here for one example of why I’m such a fan) Dr. Peter F. Drucker, who said that every so many years, we cross a “divide.”

Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself – its worldview, its basic values, its social and political structure, its arts, its key institutions. Fifty years later, there is a new world. The people born after the transformation cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born.” -

Have your kids asked you what kind of cell phone you had when you were in junior high? For that matter, have you ever stopped and wondered how in the world we ever dared leave the house without our the security of having a cell phone handy? Or how we could have possibly done our Christmas shopping in the days before the Internet? Or what kind of psychotic episode would undoubtedly result if we failed to check e-mail for a whole week?

I wish I could conclude this entry with “THE” answers, but that’s above my pay grade. I have no idea what’s next, but as far as us determining what direction to take, one simple answer is VALUE. Think constantly about your customer and what they value most, and do more of that. Think about how what they currently value could be improved, then work to improve on that. None of us may be able to see the future, but if we really think about it, we can all imagine a better future and the winners of tomorrow will be those who can deliver that “better future” to the marketplace. So go get ‘em!

When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’“

What does the future hold for Best Buy?

Dr. Burt Smith — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:54:40 +0000

You’re probably too young to remember this, but back when I was a boy, obtaining market dominance meant you could be pretty optimistic about your future. At least for a little while! Now it just means you’re a bigger target for an emerging technology or business model to attack.

Consider, for example, how Blockbuster vanquished all the mom-and-pop video rental stores, then Netflix came in and almost put them out of business, and it looks like Amazon may now have Netflix in its sights with the addition of video streaming to its Prime membership package.

And now Best Buy is facing a similar fate. I’m anxious to see this special program CNBC is airing. It’ll be rebroadcast several times in the next few days and there are some clips from the program here, too.

How did Santa become a national security issue?

Dr. Burt Smith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:41:43 +0000

Back when I was a boy, we knew Santa was on his way when the weatherman came on the news at 10 and showed good ole’ St. Nick on his radar. “Santa has left the North Pole…” He would proclaim in a tone that conveyed the seriousness of his message, “So all you little boys and girls out there had better be in bed…” and near panic would ensue as my sister and I scrambled off to our rooms. Today, thanks to the NORAD Santa Tracker, you don’t need your own radar to keep up with Santa’s whereabouts, just an Internet connection. Way cool.

What is even cooler is how NORAD’s tracking of Santa was started and became an annual tradition. As it turns out, a tiny error by Sears & Roebuck started it all!

The following story is borrowed from http://www.noradsanta.org/en/whytrack.html.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief

Rudolph’s marketing lesson!

Dr. Burt Smith — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:23:50 +0000

I ran this story this time last year. I didn’t know its origin then, nor did I know if it was true or not. I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now! It