Noone is perfect
[photo credit: GustavoG]
...and certainly Seth Godin is no exception.
Further to my previous post, I don't believe in old fashioned business values. You know...the ones that say, "MBA preferred" and "10+ years of experience" and "Proven this and that." Why not? Because I've always had the same feeling that James Surowiecki has:
Experts, no matter how smart, only have limited amounts of information. They also, like all of us, have biases. It's very rare that one person can know more than a large group of people, and almost never does that same person know more about a whole series of questions. The other problem in finding an expert is that it's actually hard to identify true experts. In fact, if a group is smart enough to find a real expert, it's more than smart enough not to need one.Problem #1 with being labeled an 'expert' is that PEOPLE BELIEVE YOU ARE THE FOREMOST AUTHORITY ON STUFF. Ha. Nobody is the foremost authority on stuff. Nobody. Nada. Not me. Not Seth. Not anyone. We know some stuff about some stuff and there will always be others that can: a. challenge us/shed some light and b. kick our ass.
[I have been to several 'meetings' lately with people who want my advice on hiring people like me. I say, "Um....hire a non-marketing professional with zero experience and loads of social skills. Someone who spends their time hanging with a community keeping it real. Then involve them in the deal-making process."
Seriously. Certainly maturity comes into play. Some people, being hired in this role will start to think, "Man, I'm in the marketing role now, so I have to do marketing stuff." Yikes. Please don't. In fact, give them a non-marketing title and encourage them otherwise.]
I agree that we should just say, "Screw marketing" let us replace it with other stuff. In fact, let's dispense with titles altogether.
But that's beside the point. Eff Squidoo. It's simple. It's fun. But it's no disruptive killer app that will change the world. No biggie. Seth has said some sage stuff. He says that same sage stuff over an over again. People start to 'get it'. It's his legacy. Squidoo isn't.
You know what is, though? Change This (Seth's previous project). I love Change This. Amit, who has dedicated much of his time to it, is brilliant. He's the dude. I met him at BarCampNewYork. He was one of the people on my 'have to meet' list. He has another amazing project, Photojojo. He needn't pimp it, 'cause it just rocks. He involves himself in stuff he loves.
My point is...[like I ever get to one]...that we celebrate figureheads 'cause they are easy to celebrate, then we are disappointed when they don't deliver. Well, duh. They are human. Totally capable of doin' the dog. Nobody should be on a pedestal. Seriously. You invented the word AJAX? Good for you. You imagined a better, free, online encyclopedia? You rock, that's awesome. You said something profound about marketing? Nice. Wanna ride it forever and ever? Um. Good luck.
You are still human beings and the rest of the world is, too.
And, really, not that I've ever been in that position, but I would imagine that being in a pedestal like focus would be some seriously major pressure to perform. I'd hate to walk around paranoid that my crown is going to be removed any second. Yikes. I'd rather be on the fringe trying to change stuff quietly(ish) and doing what I love anyday.
10 Comments:
I constantly get messages and calls from other bands, wondering how we've been able to successfully "market" the band to a huge audience, score 3,000 downloads of our new EP, and have a MySpace audience that ranges all ages across the entire world.
The truth is, we're not marketing. When we first started doing this thing and were making decisions about how we wanted to get our music out there, I knew that we wanted to use alternative distribution methods. Yes, we want to get a record deal, but the record deal is not the be-all-end-all for us.
Instead of "marketing" to "fans", we just stayed in contact and tried to turn each listener into a friend, a friend that could then join our little community and give us feedback on our music. We created a band policy to personally respond to each email and MySpace message that is sent to us, no matter how many we recieve per day and no matter how childish the message may be. My view is that if we listen to the community, then we can better understand what our community as a whole likes to hear, what they like to see, and then we can tailor ourselves to that a little bit. It's not about creating more fans or holding market shares; it's about a love of music and a connection via that love of music with people who will support you no matter what the cost.
We started doing the community thing about six months ago, and the "results" have been fabulous. We've yet to play a single show under our new band name and haven't played a show together at all in almost five years, but we're still on the top ten of unsigned artists every single day on MySpace. I truly believe it's because we've applied these Pinko techniques that you talk about so much; the band is living proof that creating a community is so much better than treating people like you're above them just because you play in a band that they happen to enjoy.
"I don't believe in old fashioned business values. You know...the ones that say, "MBA preferred" and "10+ years of experience"
Guy had a post a few weeks ago about the 'Top 10 signs that you are working for a bozo company', and one of them was that when they hire, they say 'MBA preferred and 10+ years of experience'...in a field that's only 5 years old ;)
J Botter, what's your band's name?
Loved it when you wrote:
"It's very rare that one person can know more than a large group of people, and almost never does that same person know more about a whole series of questions." You were being kind with the word "rare".
The notion that expertise resides in one individual needs to be challenged. Thanks for raising the subject.
We often look for that one individual to tell us what to do. But in this networked world we will learn that leadership and vision and expert insight resides in "us".
I blogged about this here.
I am guilty of this as are many other people.
We see someone that is doing what we would like to do and cling to that person. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we made their ideas our own and did it OUR way. Could they end up looking up to us because WE did what THEY wanted to do.
I guess that what I'm saying is that a great idea doesn't make a person more than a person. A great idea makes a person part of the conversation. We can all build on their idea...and it doesn't make them any MORE than the rest of us.
I don't believe in old fashioned business values. You know...the ones that say, "MBA preferred" and "10+ years of experience" and "Proven this and that."
Not the ones that say "profits", "overjoyed customers" or "long term vision"?
@Kingsley
Hmmmmm, forgive me, but I fail to see the connection between the two statements. However, I have to say, "No" I don't believe in any of those things.
I do belive in a community of people who are engaged, excited, overjoyed and otherwise connected with you and your company.
And, truly, what is 'long term vision' other than a buzzword that is unflinchingly myopic...see the irony? See it? There is nothing wrong with a vision and/or a dream...just don't expect that it's written in stone.
And that is part of pinko.
I left my comments about Seth over at Techcrunch. I'm a fan, and I think Squidoo will have a healthy sustainable future, once its intended audience (business) catches on to what the "MySpacers" are already enjoying.
Anyway, as much as I like Seth and my little collection of bright colored books with clever titles, post-for-post I'm getting a lot more value out of your blog lately, Tara.
No offence to Mr. Godin intended.
Hey, sorry for not leaving this earlier -- I just got back to the thread.
My band's name is The Favorites, and you can find us at either MySpace or our The Favorites.
Your message about not hiring marketers resonated with me. I am a marketer judging by dept i work in, title and 8 years of experience, but I never identified with that term or felt I am proud to be one. I would rather considerate myself a "consumer / community advocate", more often utilizing gut feeling, identifying with "users", trial and personal experience than in depth analytical models. But I find myself in total minority for believing in the personal experience, at least in the companies I worked for - Romania, USA, Canada etc. This is to the point that I considering changing my career to so I can work with more like-minded people. So I salute your approach/thoughts and glad that I am not alone!
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