The security of certainty
What do the following books have in common?
- 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- 1 Thing You Need to Know
- 48 Laws of Power
- 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
But I never would presume that it was the answer to everything. It may work in some cases. It may be a good guide. But here is my own 'immutable' rule about stuff:
It's all good in theory, but as soon as people are involved, life tends to deny predictiveness.
Egad, even I fall back on the 'It worked for so-and-so, thus, you should apply it to your strategy'. And you can give it a whirl and sometimes it may even work for you, but don't be all shocked when it doesn't.
I get a little frustrated, though...because so many people call us looking for easy answers and when I refuse to give them, they get upset. Sure, I could read off one of the many 'lists' I've made here, but I think that does our clients a disservice. There are no formulas that can be plugged into any business situation for guaranteed success. None. Those that tell you there are, are full of it.
There are guidelines. There are methodologies for gathering information to inform you on making decisions. There are even some principles you should follow. Nevertheless, be prepared for shock, surprise and off the beaten track to happen as time marches on. I've never observed a marketing strategy that goes 100% to plan. It doesn't mean that everything is accidental, it just follows that saying, "We know that 50% works, we just don't know which 50."
If you would have done nothing at all, would have you achieved the same results? I don't know. Can we turn back time and find out? Nope. Then let's look at what worked...this time...will we learn from it? Probably, but it's not guaranteed.
Does that mean we don't need marketing? Nope. We just need to be very wary when it comes to steps, and laws and rules. A person can see great success at one position and totally fail at another. Steve Jobs has produced his share of failures. Tomorrow's success may have nothing in common with anything you've seen to date and be led by someone you've never heard of.
I want to work towards a world where we are constantly learning, listening and adapting, and where certainty is not necessary to function. People are messy and fabulously unpredictable, and, by being more amenable to uncertainty, we may even start to enjoy that.
3 Comments:
Great post Tara.
It seems business books only sell well if they are marketed on a premise of a quick fix.
And readers continue to buy into the idea that if they can just somehow find the right formula -- the "secret" -- they'll succeed.
The irony is most of the books are right, it's just a matter of applying all that knowledge correctly and intelligently.
My list - Do what you love. Do only what you really can be the best in the world at. Be smart. Be hungry. Be humble. Hire other smart, hungry, humble people. Dream big. Act small. Persist.
As Winston Churchill's said: "90% of success is just turning up."
Couldn't agree more, Tara.
Reminds me of the old saw: Other people's best practices work best in other people's organisations.
We need to see these things as descriptive of experience, not prescriptive of action.
Through learning and iteration and even some form of natural selection, we can adapt the experiences vicariously.
Unfortunately people still look for cookie-cutter approaches, quick fixes that are generic.
Many have forgotten how to learn, they want the Cliff Notes. And many of these books are closer to Cliff Notes than anything else.
Which is why there continues to be one born every minute.
expect the unexpected. Those who win always were good in exectuing plan B :)-
Good reading list T. I still need to read the "22 Immutable laws" ~~
But have you read "unstuck" by keith Yamashita and Sandra Spataro ? Getting unstuck is an intergral part of any business strategy / plan correct ? :)_
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