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Nine
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"The
only place opportunity cannot be found is in a closed-minded
person."
-
Bo Bennett
More
on Recasting
By
Robert Ringer
I
rarely write about the same subject twice in a row. Today,
however, I'm going to make an exception. I just read an article
in Time that was too good to pass up, because it
so well underscores what I said in my
last article for ETR about unconventional thinkers
who recast businesses in their own image.
In
that article, I discussed how Steve Wynn transformed the
Las Vegas hotel industry into one of luxurious, self-contained
mega-resorts. And how Howard Schultz turned a coffee-bean
retailer into the Starbucks worldwide chain of designer coffee
shops.
Now,
along comes Tomas Maier, creative director of Bottega Veneta,
the high-end Italian leather-goods retailer. Bottega Veneta
is owned by PPR, parent company to many other luxury brands,
including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.
Playing
the maverick role to the hilt, Maier made the decision to
take Bottega Veneta in a direction that's completely opposite
that of the rest of the world of high fashion. The theme
of his recasting can be summed up in one of my favorite words:
understatement. And Maier is making it work.
He
opened 18 Bottega Veneta stores last year, with 10 more planned
for 2006. Sales skyrocketed 66 percent in 2005 to $190 million,
and are expected to hit $238 million this year.
What
I like about Tomas Maier's design-and-marketing philosophy
is his belief that high quality wins out over splashy logos
- a concept that ties to Bottega Veneta's slogan, initiated
back in 1966 by the company's founders: "When your own
initials are enough."
Maier's
strategy is almost unthinkable in this day and age of in-your-face
marketing. He banks on big-spending customers being smart
enough to recognize quality rather than logos. And when you're
selling handbags that cost from $2,000 to $75,000, your quality
had better be very high.
Believe
it or not, in my early twenties I actually designed men's
outerwear. Most of my ideas were pretty radical, even though
I came up short on the talent side of the equation. Still,
I've always felt that the trend toward company logos on clothes
and accessories is demeaning to the customer, because it
turns him or her into a human billboard - and I've openly
expressed my displeasure. (I even have a Tommy Hilfiger doll
nailed to a dartboard on my office wall.)
The
phenomenon of logo-saturated apparel could rightly be referred
to as the Yuk Parade: Abercrombie & Fitch... Nautica...
Banana Republic... Gap... Gucci. Heck, even Cheeburger, Cheeburger
sells T-shirts with its name and logo on them.
Notwithstanding
this tacky approach to marketing, I make it a habit to focus
on the opportunities inherent in every bad situation. And
what I see here are endless opportunities for imaginative
entrepreneurs to buck this trend and carve out a big slice
of pie for themselves in their respective industries. When
everyone has "Me, too" on the brain, it's an open
invitation for someone to come in and attract both attention
and customers by implementing a contrarian approach.
As
a rule, I try to avoid making predictions. So many complex
factors are at play in today's increasingly insane world
that it makes predicting the future a high-odds proposition,
at best. Nevertheless, I am compelled to opine that in the
not-too-distant future, an army of contrarian entrepreneurs
will go against the grain of today's accepted standard operating
procedures for customer service in virtually every industry.
Everyone
reading this article has had more than his share of frustrating
experiences trying to get a customer-service rep on the phone.
What you get instead are robotic voices that make it clear
the company totally disregards the value of your time. Consider:
-
Robotic,
rude voices that say, "Sorry, but you have pressed
an invalid number. Goodbye." Click ... they're
gone. From the company's viewpoint, you were the equivalent
of a crank call.
Now,
put on your entrepreneur's cap and think about this modern-day
nightmare for a moment. One hundred percent of the buying
public hates being victimized by the audio torture chambers
that practically all companies now use. Hint: Where there
are unhappy customers, there is also a business opportunity.
So,
my big prediction is that new companies in virtually every
industry will spring up in the coming five to 10 years that
will offer, for a slightly higher price, something novel:
real, live customer-service reps who will quickly answer
your call and actually speak with you. They will be highly
paid, well-trained people who will not "redirect" your
call to a robotic voice that leads you on a wild goose chase
or just hangs up on you.
Would
you pay an extra $5 a month to a telephone company that offered
this kind of service? I would. Or $10 more for a computer
that would free you from the Dell, Hewlett-Packard, et al.
robotic-voice mazes?
There
are a handful of companies that still use live customer-service
reps, but they are shrinking in number every day. Soon, the
last of the holdouts will get on board, and that's when the
pendulum will swing back in the other direction.
If
you analogize it to the stock market, the customer-service
situation in businesses across the board has just about hit
bottom. And at or near the bottom of a cycle is the best
time to invest.
If
you already own a business, I suggest that it may be time
to start thinking about investing in a live customer-service
department. Then, use this valuable service as your most
persuasive marketing tool.
Likewise,
if you don't own a business but are thinking about starting
one, consider how easily you could set yourself apart from
the competition through a marketing campaign that boasts
about your emphasis on respecting your customer's time. I'd
wager that if Tomas Maier were in your shoes, he'd be doing
just that.
Stories
of nonconformists who ignore conventional-wisdom business
models and recast entire industries can be found daily in
magazines and newspapers that are readily at your disposal.
Read as many of these stories as you possibly can, because
they will help expand your mental paradigm and get your creative
juices flowing. After that, it's up to you to formulate a
plan and to implement your ideas by taking action.
At
the same time, make it a point to resist hanging on every
word spewed out by industry experts. True, successful people
usually have a great deal of knowledge about their businesses.
Nevertheless, I know from personal experience that once a
person becomes successful and entrenched in any field of
endeavor, it becomes more and more difficult for him to have
an open mind when it comes to fresh and exciting new ideas
- especially ideas that have to do with recasting his existing
industry.
[Ed.
Note: Not sure how to revive, recast, and create a whole "new" and
profitable industry? Check
out Robert's personal-development books on CD. And
if
you are not presently a subscriber to Robert Ringer's insightful,
wisdom-filled e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World, CLICK
HERE to sign up for your free subscription.]
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An
Easier Way to Get Lean
By
Al Sears, MD
Yesterday,
you read how the glycemic index can surprise you. Some
foods that are touted as "healthy" - like some
cereals - can be worse for you than candy bars. That's
because the glycemic index measures the blood sugar produced
by different foods, and some cereals produce much more
blood sugar than some candy bars.
Today,
I have an even bigger surprise. Nearly everyone reporting
on this important measurement has misinterpreted it, introduced
bias, come to a wrong conclusion, and ignored the real lesson.
How
can that happen? "Glycemic" means "sweet" -
and the glycemic index can't seem to shake this association
with sweetness. Yet real data show very little connection
between the sweetness of a food and its glycemic index. Some
of the sweetest foods have a very low glycemic index - cherries,
for instance, measure 22. Potatoes and cornbread are not
sweet but top the index at 100, because starchy foods release
much more sugar into your blood.
So
the glycemic index is not about sweetness but starchiness.
Still, you can hardly read about the glycemic index without
running up against the advice to "eat low-glycemic carbohydrates
like whole grains." Even the USDA's new Food Pyramid
makes this nonsensical recommendation. (Have you ever seen
a non-starchy grain?)
So
forget the misinterpretation and bad advice. If you choose
naturally occurring foods, you can indulge your sweet tooth.
The most reliable way to lose fat is to eat foods with a
glycemic index below 40 until you achieve your desired leanness.
To avoid the common bias, my Wellness Research Foundation
and I developed our own glycemic index for our patients. You
can get your free copy here.
Tomorrow,
I'll explain how you can use fat to get lean.
[Ed.
Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The
Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority
on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
Notes
From Asia: Our "Spoiled Child" Reputation
By
Michael Masterson
When
we asked our guides what the Chinese people think of Americans,
we got a variety of answers.
Billy
in Beijing said, "We like the people but we don't like
your government." Patty in Xian agreed. And Roger in
Shanghai said, "Americans like to express their feelings.
This is not the Chinese way. But our government says only
good things about yours. They want us to have good feelings
about America."
America
has, for a long time, been viewed by much of the world as
a sort of spoiled, oversized child that acts rudely in other
people's homes. This negative perception has been balanced
by the positive qualities Americans generally exhibit: friendliness,
frankness, and generosity. (We top the world as tippers,
our guides have told us. On the bottom? New Zealanders.)
Since
the war on terror began, our world image has definitely suffered.
Our traditional image as well-meaning brats has morphed ominously
into something more sinister: unprincipled, avaricious monsters.
When
I travel, I expect people to like me, but I am cognizant
of the fact that, as an American, I might be judged with
a degree of suspicion. I try to overcome that suspicion by
living up to my countrymen's reputation for frankness, friendliness,
and generosity. But the most important rule for getting along
in foreign lands, I've learned, is the same rule for getting
along in America: Be mannerly.
Displaying
good manners is a much overlooked but highly important technique
for getting along with others and developing sustaining,
long-term relationships. If you can learn to maintain your
good manners at all times and in all places, your life will
be easier and success will come sooner.
Today's
Action Plan
Every
culture has certain rules when it comes to manners. In China,
for example, the American-style hearty handshake is considered
rudely aggressive. On the other hand, a polite, proper Chinese
handshake would seem non-committal or even insultingly uninterested
to Americans. Still, there are certain common behaviors that
should be avoided wherever you go:
1.
Don't raise your voice. The trick to getting
what you want in China is the same as it is anywhere
else: persistence. Calmly pursuing your objective despite
passivity or even resistance will eventually work for
you, regardless of how difficult the circumstances are.
2.
Don't be dismissive. All people, regardless
of where they come from, want to be treated with courtesy
and respect. Taking the time to look people in the eyes
when you speak to them, to speak in a well-modulated
tone, and to say "please" and "thank you" go
a long way.
3.
Don't be gloomy. We all cheer up when we are
in the presence of cheerful people. If you want to get
the best reaction out of the people you meet (even if
it's for selfish reasons), smile at them.
It's
Good to Know: Locating Files on Your Computer
By
Suzanne Richardson
You
may have a top-notch filing system, but even so it can be
hard to locate a file in the impenetrable thicket of Word
documents, e-mails, spreadsheets, MP3s, and photos on your
computer. To quickly find what you're looking for, try one
of these free desktop search engines:
-
Google
Desktop: After forming an index of practically
everything on your hard drive, Google Desktop allows
you to search through them the way you'd do any Google
search. It even brings up results in a Web browser,
Google-style. And each time you go to Google to search
for a subject, the search engine will tell you if
you have related files on your computer, in your
e-mail, or in your Web history.
-
Windows
Desktop Search: Like Google Desktop,
Windows Desktop indexes your hard drive. Instead
of seeing your search results in a browser, you'll
get them in a Windows application. You can sort your
results by name, file type, author, or date, or filter
them so you see only one type of file.
-
Copernic
Desktop Search: Copernic works just
like Google Desktop and Windows Desktop, but it allows
you to specify your searches - narrowing down results
to those from a certain sender, for instance. You
can also search through e-mails and attachments from
Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and
Eudora.
(Source: Australian
PC World)
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Word
to the Wise: Avaricious
"Avaricious" (av-uh-RISH-us)
means greedy for wealth and/or power.
Example
(as I used it today): "Since the war on terror began,
our world image has definitely suffered. Our traditional
image as well-meaning brats has morphed ominously into something
more sinister: unprincipled, avaricious monsters."
