Tom Asacker

Louis Auchincloss on perfection

"Perfection irritates as well as it attracts, in fiction as in life."

Do you think it's possible for a business to be too good? Like Yogi Berra's insight: "There's a restaurant in NYC that's so crowded, no one goes there any more."  You bet it's possible. While you're busy making whatever it is better and better, someone else may be busy making it different. And that difference may be what draws your audience away.

There are many examples, from Motorola (Mr. Six Sigma) not paying attention to Nokia's cool designs, to Kodak perfecting the analog camera and the distribution of film while the market moved to digital, to terrestrial radio's hubris in the face of Satellite Radio, iPods, and others. So stay passionate about the changing nature of your customers and your marketplace. Remember . . . today's peacock becomes tomorrow's feather duster.

Leon Trotsky on life

"Life is not an easy matter. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness."

Business is not an easy matter either. If you're wondering why your people fall into frustration and cynicism, simply take a look at your great idea. Or should I say . . . your lack of one. Why do so few companies have one? When will leaders take a holistic view of their businesses and create a compelling organizing principle - a.k.a. brand - which inspires their people and guides their decision-making?

Douglas Adams on perception

"If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands."

In a recent study of weight loss product marketing, the FTC found that certain kinds of messages were common in deceptive ads. Three particular types really stood out to me: testimonials, claims of rapid results, and money back guarantees. Why? Because I've noticed a trend among independent professionals to highlight these types of messages in their marketing.

Beware (be aware) marketers. The meaning of your message is not what YOU say it is. Rather, it is the meaning that your audience makes for itself. So if your marketing looks deceptive, and quacks deceptive, your audience will have to at least consider the possibility that it is deceptive. It's a feelings thing . . . remember?

Albert Camus on personality

"We continue to shape our personality all our life. If we knew ourselves perfectly, we should die."

The same could be said about today's marketplace: If you knew the marketplace perfectly, YOU should die. Why? Because it's changing, evolving. There is no perfection, only curiosity and innovation. Perfection is truly the enemy of the good.

And don't forget this piece of marketplace wisdom from David Ogilvy: You now have to decide what 'image' you want for your brand. Image means personality. Products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place. With a plethora of products competing for the same size pie and with price parity looming large in all industries, your competitive edge must be your personality. One that is relevant to your audience, creates a strong emotional connection, and is an authentic representation of your business culture.

David Mamet on poker

"The poker player learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent."

I finally read an advertisement for an MBA program that made sense. It read: "Enroll in our executive MBA program, and you'll learn from the experts. Not to mention our professors." That's the only time I can remember seeing - or hearing - the word "expert" and not wanting to throw up. I especially shudder when someone refers to me as an expert. I'm reminded of a quote by Edwin Meese III: "An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides."

What exactly is an expert? The best definition I've ever read was by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr: "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field." A true expert doesn't believe herself to be an expert. She doesn't even think about it. She never feels superior either in the presence of her peers or with lay persons. She knows that her knowledge is, by its very nature, incomplete. So she is always questioning, searching, trying, failing and learning. And listening more than talking.

As change agents, we must realize that true learning experiences come during situations when we have no past experience or knowledge base to rely upon. Like today's marketplace. Getting through these challenging times, by relying instead upon our instincts and sense of compassion, is what makes us the experts. Just like the advertisement says.

Bob Dylan on success

"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."

Are you successful yet?

Mencius on the great man

"The great man is he who does not lose his child-heart. He does not think beforehand that his words shall be sincere, nor that his acts shall be resolute; he simply abides in the right."

And there you have it.  Happy New Year to all of my friends.  I hope my Aussie and NZ blokes are whooping it up with child-like abandon.  My friends in South Korea are 30 minutes away from the big event.  Enjoy!  My wonderful partners and friends in India still have some time to get ready.  Make it a colorful one!  My Estonian friends and partners have a little bit more time, and so do my friends in the Netherlands, but I implore you - stop working and go out and bless everyone you meet with an early hug and kiss and best wishes for a great 2005!  And I offer the same sentiments to my friends in Israel and my family in Lebanon and my good friends in the UK and Europe and the rest of this beautiful world.  Weave the approaching 5, 6, 9 or 10 hours into your celebration of life.  And finally, my heart and soul go out to the family and friends of the victims of the horrific tragedy in South East Asia.  I end this post wordless and tear-filled.