Week of October 19, 2009

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

Coming to you LIVE from beautiful Half Moon Bay in Northern California (just south of San Francisco) where I am getting ready to launch a new relationship in the medical industry.  The work is strategic and I am so JAZZED about the direction the project is taking.   Half Moon Bay is also the home of the great surf break, Maverick.  Huge waves, cold water, rocky shore – the place of legends.

 

Before jumping on the flight that brought me here, I had an unbelievably productive couple of days in dealing with:

 

• Follow Up:  For me it is critical to create idea traction.  It’s not about launching an idea, it’s about the depth of engagement and meaning the idea should generate.  Normally this requires connecting idea to action, to create application value, so I focus as strongly on the follow up or connected piece as I do the creation and delivery side of the equation.
• Writing:  I finished my latest article – Einstein’s Notebook.  This is a piece I have been working on since Las Vegas and it is now done.  If you want a PDF copy let me know.  It should be on the web site soon.
• Planning:  I am a religious planner and spent a hunk of time making sure all the projects on the table are in their proper planning sequence.

 

Next week I am off to introduce the Repeatable Successful Acts platform to an entirely new client base.  I will be in chilly Minnesota.

 

 

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

 

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

OK, 2010 is barreling towards us.  Budgets and strategies are in full planning mode.  I am here today to plead with you to SLOW DOWN.  Speed is killing thinking making it deader than a slow moving armadillo on a Texas highway.

 

I know that deadlines tend to drive action and I fall victim to this psychological force as well as you (just ask my publisher).  I want you to step back from the abyss of speed based decision making and take a look at a bigger picture.

 

Here is just one idea to help frame your planning process:

 

DEFINE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL BEFORE YOU MAKE A BIG DECISION

 

• Start with asking; who is my REAL customer.  Define them in three core statements.  Step back and look at who your future is based upon.  Remember, no one goes out of business due to the economy; they go out of business due to a lack of customers.
• What are our three core steps for “getting money out of their wallets?”  You need to have a simple, core understanding of connecting sales to outcome. 
• Involve everyone.  Ask your team and their team to get involved in these two core questions.  Make sure the team you ask is diverse in gender, age and any other demographic measuring stick.

 

There you go, just one idea to help with positioning the way you think.  I know the processes and systems in play within your organization are, unfortunately, complex, but your questions don’t have to be!

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    Law Abiding Citizen:  I really liked this movie.  It gives you two interesting characters, neither of which holds the higher moral ground which creates interesting interaction.

 

NetFlix Fans:  The Italian Job:   I love heist movies and this one was interesting with a great cast.

 

TV:    Brand new USA series hits the TV screen Friday night – White Collar.  Looks good and USA has a fantastic track record.

 

BOOKS:  Think Like a Genius – By Siler:    Really interesting approach to developing ideas.

 

MUSIC:   The latest, 40 Dogs, from Austin’s great Bob Schneider.   

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w5Y05f0Lig&feature=related       

 

WEB SITES:   An odd British site that covers everything from politics to UFO’s: 

 

 

 http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/    

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

We often worry about a reality that is just a figment of our media driven imagination.  Here are a couple of examples:

 

• In 2001 a headline grabbing shark attack occurred when 8 year old Jessie Arbogast was attacked in the shallow water off of Pensacola Fl.  The country was in a shark fear frenzy.  The media fed the fear with story after story of the scary nature of sharks (hey, any eating machine is scary – check out the crowds at a Vegas buffet).  The fact that worldwide, there were only 68 reported shark attacks that entire year and only 4 of those were fatal never made the media.  That was only a little over the 10 year average of 60.3.
• Meanwhile in 2001 elephants killed over 200 people, yet our fear factor of these big guys is nothing compared to a shark.  A Romanized version of the Dumbo and Babar give us our elephant reality.
• Who should you fear more, a stranger or someone you know?  Strangers of course, right?  Well, 3 out of 4 murders are committed by someone the victim knew.  Similarly 7 out of 10 rape victims knew their assailants.
• Did you know that 90% of identity theft occurs off-line, not on the internet?  Changing PIN numbers is a good idea, but it ain’t where the bad guys are looking.  Instead shred your key stuff and keep an eye on your mailbox.
• Though global warming is a key environmental issue, over the past 100 years the global temps have only risen 1.3 degrees.  Even the most brilliant climate scientists are unable to predict how atmospheric changes will impact our “pale blue dot.”

 

The idea here is to question to develop a reality based on thinking.

 

 

Einstein’s visions blooming uncontrolled.

Counting Crows

 

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.