Brains on Fire

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  A Reflective Perspective: From TimTV

  Posted on October 28th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 4 commenting.

  
  Today’s post is a gift from TimTV. I love it because it clearly relates to building movements. Movements build and grow stronger with every new voice. Enjoy.

  Today I received news that the father of a childhood friend of mine passed away. As we reminisced, two particular moments came to mind; both of which containing modicums of wisdom which helped form my view of the world, and so I thought I should share.

  Among the many things that Mr. Dolber had been in his life, I thought of him most as an artist. One of those rivers that ran deeper than I would get to know, but quite obviously so. We didn’t have many interactions; only a handful, but what they lacked in number, they made up for in wisdom.

  I remember sitting in the sunny kitchen of their big old New England house, looking at the large aloe plant sitting in the breakfast nook bay window and listening to Mr. Dolber speak. He was talking about New York and being a taxi driver and being shot. Eventually we came to talking about art, and he had one piece of advice for me.

  It was simple. “Draw Something Every Day.”

  And I did. He was right. The lesson of Increments is vital, and has come up again and again for me; whether for art, martial arts, music, business or relationships. Anything, really. “Strength builds in increments; flexibility builds in increments.” a Yoga teacher once said. It’s important not to forget when you’re trying to budget your time, money and effort. Every little bit really does count.

  The other moment we spoke of was at a Japanese dinner. We had just seen the film “Tampopo” at a small art theater. I was 17 and discovering my weirdness in full regalia. I was proud of who I’d become so far and all the attention it was causing. From the end of the table he told me, “You have style, but you lack substance.”

  The words were painful to hear. A critique of my delicate new frontier. But he was right, and as much as it hurt to admit, I knew it. But that terse assessment (among other things) drove me to seek experience; to explore the outer and inner worlds in an effort to thicken my blood and gird my stance.

  My years have been full of adventure. Last year I got to see Mr. Dolber again, and I reminded him of these moments. He laughed and nodded his head. He had never realized that his little statements were taken to heart and that they had helped shape my life. But I’m grateful I was able to share with him before he passed. And now with you.
  
  My request: DO something. Something that builds. Every day.

  My question: Does your Style reflect your Substance?

  your humble narrator,
  Tim of the kinetic potential

  Tags: building movements, Movements, Tim March, TimTv
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  Twitter Survey: What’s Wrong With Marketing? What’s Right?

  Posted on October 25th, 2010 by Eric Dodds and currently 4 commenting.

  We ask a lot of questions here. And sometimes we throw them out on to the internet. And sometimes we use Twitter as the catapult.

  This time, we asked people what was wrong with marketing. Then we asked them what was right with marketing.

  

  What’s wrong with marketing?

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  What’s right with marketing?
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  People who answered both:
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  Tags: answer, Brains on Fire, Marketing, right, twitter survey, wrong
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  Pivot Post 4: Fan Question from Tracy McAbe: Reverse Mentorship

  Posted on October 21st, 2010 by Eric Dodds and currently 3 commenting.

  Ok, back on track with a day of recovery after a 3-post extravaganza on Tuesday. I apologize for the late posting today – everyone’s full tilt rockin’ client’s worlds and all.

  In the introductory post for this series we linked you to the Pivot Conference agenda and asked if there were any sessions of particular interest. For responses we received, we said that we would attend the session of interest and devote a post to the topic. This post is for Tracy McAbe, who was interested in the session titled “A Case for Reverse Mentorship.” Here is Tracy’s question:

  [Why I'm interested in] reverse mentorship: Two reasons.  Reason 1: it’s a beautiful, simple, elegant idea. Reason 2: We should do this here at The City. Reason 3: Okay, I said there were 2 reasons, but really there’s 3.  Because I’m writing a piece about the parallels between the immigrant experience in Canada and being a digital native (or not). I think there’s ageism and elitism at play here and it would be good to learn more. I’m a digital immigrant and the natives do not always treat me well. Their loss. Still, a fascinating dynamic.

  

  Old? Young? You decide.

  We like the way you think, Tracy. I’m going to start out with a few bulleted highlights from our notes and then Robbin and I will offer a few thoughts on the subject from our perspectives. If you’re interested in a certain aspect of reverse mentorship that we don’t cover, just let us know in the comments and we’ll address it.

  Notes – “A Case for Reverse Mentorship” – Reverse mentorship pairs “experienced” senior marketers with digital natives who bring a different “experience” to the job. Speaker: Alexa Scordato, Community Manager, 2tor

  • Alexa (the speaker) is the quintessential digital native. her biggest fear is having a job that she hates – she is a millennial and says of her demographic: “we’re young, inexperienced, spoiled, and it’s all about us.”
  • The questions she is trying to answer are: Are senior executives wondering, ‘How do I work with this new group of employees? How do I embrace ‘social’? How do I embrace new technology?’ How do we embrace culture and adopt new technology into the workplace?
  • The media often gives millennials a bad rap (sense of entitlement, laziness, etc.)
  • Her first job out of college was as an executive assistant. She developed a two-way mentoring relationship with her boss – she was fascinated by cash-flow and EBITA and he by the strange new website called Twitter. She started by inviting him to talk to her about Wall Street Journal articles he found interesting and then encouraging him to put his thoughts on a blog.
  • Over the year they worked together, they wrote 50 blog posts together, she made his speaking engagements public on YouTube, and she showed him how to connect with people on Facebook.
  • “If the future of business is social, we can’t think about our organizations as a corporate ladder.”
  • “It can’t be us versus them (older vs. younger), we have to start pairing young digital natives with senior executives.”
  • Crowd question: how does this actually work? Answer: “It could literally be as simple as finding your entry level employees and carving out time for luncheons where there is time for senior executives and young employees to just talk.”
  • “The more time you invest in millennials as employees, the more likely they are to stick around.”
  • “If you believe in the concept of reverse mentorship, you have to actually let young people be decision makers in the company.”

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  Robbin’s thoughts:

  On the subject of ageism and elitism: it comes from both sides of the fence. I have seen young people roll eyes at the oldest in the room and old people roll eyes at the young among us.

  So WOW. Big hairy beast of a subject. I honestly have lots to say about it. And I feel in this rapid fire age of technical progress and change, it has to disappear. Somehow, someway.

  I am lucky. At Brains on Fire we hire based on determination and talent and a sense of shared passion. That same tribe thing. NOT age. Or skin color or country of origin. I often remark that part of what I see as the secret sauce of our organization is admiration and respect for each others talents and differing points of view. Regardless of age or experience. But we live in a bubble sheltered by our size. In larger organizations, that same opportunity might not be possible as folks vie for better jobs and a longing to have their voice heard. Professional competition can be beautiful or ugly. Strange, huh?

  Marketing by it’s very nature is a bit of a young people’s business. The hours are long. You have to constantly be learning. I can’t say that enough. I will roll my eyes at you no matter your age if you say “That is how it’s done. Or “social media is stupid.” Or “I don’t get it.”

  I won’t lie. Eric gets frustrated with me and me with him. Largely because of differing styles of communications. Not our ages. But we always come back to respect and a shared desire to learn and grow from each other’s life experiences. Still can’t get him to let me go hiking with him and his friends tho’. (smiling).

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  My thoughts:

  I agree with Robbin – it’s a big, hairy beast of a subject, and a crucially important one at that.

  I think the tension between older, seasoned marketers and millennial digital natives arises because of several things (not an exhaustive list, just thoughts from experience):

  Many in generation Y have grown up with technology – it’s a part of who we are. Quite literally, it is hard for millennials to imagine life without modern technology and the internet. Many have never written a research paper without the aid of online resources. Further, as the web has progressed it has affected our lives in increasing and deeper ways.

  Now pair that with a generation who has seen the internet and technology change business in mind-bending ways and who can sometimes have a longer learning curve because they didn’t grow up with technology, but for whom the internet is also affecting their lives in increasing and deeper ways.

  Now put the two in a conference room, mix in a few communication issues, lots of creativity, maybe a little sense of entitlement from the millennial and a dash of resistance to change from the executive, and you’ve got a pretty interesting situation on your hands.

  Reverse mentorship has worked (not perfectly, mind you) at Brains on Fire precisely because of what Robbin said: “we always come back to respect and a shared desire to learn and grow from each other’s life experiences.” At Brains on Fire, I have always been told that my perspective is valued and encouraged to share it. By the same token, I have always held in my heart a deep respect (and admiration) for the brilliant minds in this place – that they would invite my thoughts is humbling.

  I agree with Robbin that our experience is somewhat sheltered by our size, but I think Alexa hit the nail on the head when she suggested simply carving out time to spend together. No matter the size of the company, you have to start at the same place: an open dialogue, an extended hand, a genuine interest to learn. And, as a millennial, if the executives initiate the conversation, it means a lot more than you might think.

  Tracy, it is very disappointing to hear that the digital natives have treated you badly, and I agree that it is their loss. Our bent towards entitlement and know-it-all-ism can be an ugly thing. But, as Robbin says, love is a circular transaction, and I’m excited to see how reverse mentorship plays out in your work place.

  Tags: age, backwards, Company Culture, demographic, entitlement, Eric Dodds, generation y, Internet, Marketing, mentorship, millennial, millennials, old, reverse, Robbin Phillips, technology, tracy mcabe, workplace, young, Youth
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  Pivot Post 3: Instant Gratification

  Posted on October 19th, 2010 by Eric Dodds and currently 8 commenting.

  

  React to this subject as discussed at the conference: Instant Gratification

  Robbin Phillips:

  The average teenage girl sends 6 texts an HOUR. Wow. I have to admit I see texting as a quicker way to communicate. It’s instant gratification.  And I like that. I am not a patient person. Technology makes it possible to get just about any thing we want in a matter of moments. Most of us now expect communication to be fast.

  For brands I see this as the ultimate challenge and opportunity to be human.
  
  Gone are the days of carefully crafted responses to complaints and requests. In the Brains on Fire book, we share this thought:

  Take off your marketing hat.

  And I have to admit that thought crossed my mind over and over and over again as I sat among so many “marketers” for two days. IF we take off our marketing hats, what we have let left is a human being hat. And most people don’t have to learn how to be human. I think the skills most good marketers and leaders need now is soulfulness, a basis understanding of the golden rule, and a genuine ability to feel love and compassion for other humans. Squishy? Maybe. But I think that’s the beauty the demands of  technology have placed on all us.

  Eric Dodds:

  Mmm. What to say  about such a complex subject in so few words. First, I don’t think that the desire for instant gratification has changed, I think that technology has simply given it the most open venue it has ever seen.

  That said, our culture’s tech-charged instant gratification, like most things, is a double-edged sword. When I visited New York City without an iPhone, I enjoyed less of the city simply because I didn’t have ‘instant’ access to the amount of information about the things that surrounded me. Instant technology can be a wonderful tool. In many cases, though, I believe that it has opened the door for unrealistic expectations. The instantaneousness of technology gives you the feeling that you can get anything you want, right now. But that’s not how real life works, and it is definitely not how relationships work. They take time, hard work, and patience. Our desire for instant gratification is not neutral – it requires careful handling. And in today’s culture, I think that a lack of stewardship of instant technology produces negative consequences for both consumers and marketers.

  Tags: Brands, Eric Dodds, human, instant, instant gratification, marketers, Marketing, Opportunity, Pivot Conference, Robbin Phillips, speed, technology, text message
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  Pivot Post 2: Top Three Takeaways From Day One

  Posted on October 19th, 2010 by Eric Dodds and currently 0 commenting.

  

  Top 3 Takeaways From Day One: Robbin

  1. One of my favortie speakers from Monday morning’s line-up was Kit Farrow. She’s a consumer psychologist. Don’t you love that? She made an interesting point about online engagement during the Q+A session. About online dating. You can see someone’s photo and profile and say, “this could be the one.” Then you can email them or chat with them on the phone and say again, “this could be the one.” Then you meet them and within two seconds, you rule them out. There are just some cues we get face to face that we can’t get online. Hmmm. And 90% of word-of-mouth happens offline. So if brands want to connect with their customers, why don’t they spend more time finding ways to find their passionate advocates offline? Just got me thinking.
  2. Second comes from Anthony Shore. He names things. We don’t like bullshit branding, and we don’t like bullshit in social media. Here’s a tiny bit of his speech: “No audience is more cynical than the 18-34 year olds who were born into an online marketplace awash in spam, ‘paid user reviews,’ phishing and other greedy deceptions.” These cynics can sniff out bullshit from a mile away. Actually, they’re waiting for it. And when they zero-in on the source of a communication’s stench (an exaggeration, and ambiguity, and inconsistency, nonsense, promise that is too good to be true) they’ll pounce. And rather than just take their business elsewhere, they’ll take up a cause to expose and punish the bullshitting offender by urging others to boycott. Isn’t that encouraging? And hopeful? Maybe there will be less bullshit in the world. Nice thought.
  3. And speaking of nice things: this generation wants to understand purpose. For them, it’s passion over money. I’d have to say that I think this is just a value shift that is happening across generations. I feel it. Don’t you?
  Top 3 Takeaways From Day One: Dodds
  1. People talk about this new way to connect with customers: conversation, relationship, and ugh, the already over-played ‘authenticity’. But in the same breath they still talk about ‘tapping in’ to customer’s lives to sell them stuff. I fully understand that at the end of the day you have to make sales, but it seems that marketers are in somewhat of an identity crisis. Some work so hard to understand a specific demographic when they really need to re-think what a relationship with their customer actually looks like. They say they want an ‘authentic relationship’ with their customers, but no-one I have a meaningful connection with ‘taps in’ to my life because I’m a certain demographic. Some appear to be managing this shift well, others have a long way to go. What’s clear is that there is a a major tension and that we all have a lot to learn.
  2. I found it very interesting that throughout the first part of the conference (focused on understanding Gen Y) many speakers peppered in brief bits on how important it is to hire talent and treat employees well. They agreed that you have to make a significant investment in your employees if you are going to interact successfully with your customers in this new environment. I don’t’ think this mandate has changed much between the old and new environments, but the consequences for failing to fulfill it have. A good reminder that treating your customers well starts with treating your own employees well.
  3. There is so much talk about the changes that are happening – teen addiction to the internet, constant connection to technology, etc. Yet only a few people really sought to answer the question of whether these changes are fundamentally a good thing. One presenter said that she thinks a lot of the trends she sees are negative (creating more superficial relationships than real ones). The lack of discussion around the topic makes sense in a room of people trying to adapt their marketing to remain profitable, but I think there is a lot of value in asking the fundamental questions. Sure, we can measure these changes, and lots of them are psychological, but are we just going to figure out how to sell to the changes without stepping back and asking about the consequences for society as a whole? Fun (and crucial) questions to think through.
  Tags: Advocates, anthony shore, bullshit, Consumer, consumer psychologist, Conversation, cynics, demographics, employee retention, employee satisfaction, Employees, kit farrow, offline, offline vs. online, online, Pivot Conference, psychology, purpose, relationship, Social media, value, Word of Mouth