THE ENTERPRISE--LEARNINGS
"IT AIN'T WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT GETS YOU, IT'S WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW THAT AIN'T SO" --Will Rogers
I agreed to take one side of an on-line "debate" about the usefulness of social networking sites for businesses. It appears to have struck a nerve, almost like the political arguments do. Some folks are very upset, and come back with emotional responses. Others agreed with me (I listed Ten Reasons I don't use Social Networking sites). Still others (thank goodness) came back with reasoned and rational replies which educated me about how some of these sites can be used for business advantage--an area about which I intend to learn more.
The primary two things I learned were:
1) Some social networking sites can be effective business tools, IF you learn to use them, and IF you take the time to understand what they are good for--and what they don't do well (which I had not done enough of :-[ ). That's an important learning. There are good sites, and not so good ones; useful sites and those that are just mostly for fun--or trouble. It's wise to learn which is which, before getting too deeply involved in any of them.
2) The other thing I learned is that when you take a strong position on a topic (any topic), somebody won't like it, and some of them are so upset, they will call you names. I guess I already knew that, I just hadn't done it in on-line forums. Another useful learning. Don't pay too much attention to the name callers, since their insults didn't do much except make them feel good (I guess). Pay attention to the ones with good input, success stories, and also, failures. If you never fail, you don't learn as much as you might.
WHEN CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A DISSERVICE
Network Solutions, the company that sells on-line domain name registrations is also my web hosting company. For the second time in a year, someone either hacked my site or tried to infect it with some kind of "malware." Some PC-based site visitors received a warning message, but no real harm was done. The harm done was the reminder that Network Solutions has some security issues and an incredibly frustrating customer service system--which makes it very hard to get service at all. Yahoo! was my prior champ as being almost completely "un-contactable." Now Network Solutions is vying for the title. Stay tuned for the outcome. The back & forth is still ongoing.
SAY SO LONG TO APPLIANCES AT GE
GE is an industrial products, entertainment and financial services company. Appliances didn't fit, but were a carryover from its heritage. It's now surprise that Jeff Immelt is cashing in that business (low margins, cyclical anyway), to put that money to better use somewhere else.
THE ECONOMY--IN RECESSION? OR "A LONG FLAT SPELL?"
It's interesting how all the people who predicted a recession are now waffling about whether that's what we have going on right now. Growth doesn't appear to have gone negative (a recession is defined as 2 successive quarters of negative GDP growth). First, recessions can only be "called" after the fact. That makes it of questionable value to hang the name on a flat or down economic period. We are in a flat spell. It's going to last quite a while. Housing and the financial crises led the way. Housing may be near the bottom, but the inventory overhang of unsold houses will take a long time to work off. A couple of years is what many experts are betting.
The government is throwing money, credit and low interest rates at the financial crisis. it seems to be helping a little, as long as you don't have to borrow money. Lenders are so tight these days, that getting a loan is nearly impossible--and if one is available--the interest rates will be sky high, and terms squeaky tight. During a time like this, prudent people get very frugal. Few people/companies cut back as fast as they should. It's a time when the penalty for reining in spending too slowly is severe. Sell hard. Spend sparingly. Look for creative ways to grow, and by all means, blow away any unnecessary complexity.
OBAMA ANGRY? "IF THE SHOE FITS...
I have no idea whether George Bush was talking about Obama or Jimmy Carter or who in his "appeasers" remarks. I do know one thing. When the shoe fits,,,the wearer gets mad...which was Obama's reaction. I hope Obama isn't as much of an appeaser as he's seemed, since he's the likely nominee and the favorite to be the next President. Appeasers make a lousy commander-in chief.
MCCAIN LAYS IT OUT--RISKY BUT GUTSY
John McCain was here in Columbus and I should have been there live, but didn't make it. He did a gutsy thing. He laid out his vision for America circa 2013. But wait, isn't that what a leader is supposed to do? Share his vision with the people? He may not be as enchanting as Obama, but he sure is not the third term of Bush either. His vision made sense, given the situations and issues the next president will inherit.
DEMOCRATS CAN'T EVEN RUN THEIR OWN PRIMARY--LET ALONE A COUNTRY
Somebody asked me the other day, "How can the Democrats run a country when they can't even manage the primary process in their own party?" I don't know, but I have this sinking feeling we'll find out soon....and it won't be pretty, I'm afraid.
REPUBLICANS ARE IN HUGE DISFAVOR AND DISARRAY
The Republican party has been badly wounded by the misadventures of the Bush administration. Democrats are winning elections in the South. But wait, when I was younger, the South was full of Democrats--except their ideas and beliefs were more like Northern Republicans. Maybe the issue is the party affiliation and name, and not the beliefs. Hmmm. That bears more thought.
WHAT'S NEW? NOT THIS RETAIL NEWS.
Wal*Mart's doing better. Sears/Kmart is doing worse. Seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same. Target's doing OK too. So is Lowe's. Home Depot is improving, but far from fixed (at least based on the buzz I heard last time I was in Atlanta). You don't need me--or economists--to tell you this. Just go shopping. Get out there.
LEARNING
The conclusion of the learning story I opened with and the one I closed with is that the way to learn is to--get out there and see, hear and study things for yourself. One of my favorite activities was taking my staff VPs shopping to see how our products looked at retail. It was a real eye-opener. The same goes for getting elbow to elbow with employees, and face to face with customers and suppliers. Want to learn something? Get out there and look, and ask questions--and then listen up to the answers--even from the ones who call you names.
Best, John
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