The Business Prevention Department

The "Yeah, But's" Of The Corporate Bureaucracy

By David Miranda

You won't find it on any organizational chart, but it's there - the business prevention department.

It's prime objective is to champion attitudes that discourage the new and the innovative within the organization. They are "you can't get there from here" people. Chances are you have attended meetings with some members of this department. They are easily identified. They are most likely your boss or boss' boss or members of your peer group. They are the ones shaking their heads on your new idea after just seeing only the title slide. They normally begin their comments with "Yeah, but", as in, "Yeah, but, we tried that before"; or "Yeah, but, you don't understand".

The business preventionists come in all shapes and sizes, genders, ethnic groups, religious and political affiliation. They are good at what they do - resisting change.

Examples are many.

Take the IBM business preventionist who, after hearing a suggestion that "since we would be manufacturing millions of personal computers, we should also market our own operating system for it" replied, "Yeah, but, we don't do operating systems. We make computers. Let's get this guy, Gates, to do it."

Or how about the major television network executive who, after hearing a pitch for a 24 hour news channel replied "Yeah, but, who is going to watch news for 24 hours, Mr. Turner? I think this CNN idea is pie-in-the-sky."

Or the Barnes & Noble executive who, after hearing a pitch for selling books on the Internet said, "Yeah, but, I don't think you get it Mr. Bezos. People prefer to buy books in a real store. I am also not too crazy about the name, Amazon."

There's more. Newspapers could not see the threat of the likes of eBay and Craig's List. The music labels could not see the potential impact of Napster or the iPod. Microsoft missed the opportunity to be a Google, Yahoo!, MySpace, or YouTube. Blockbuster should have foreseen Netflix.

How about your organization? Is the business prevention department active? Here's a quiz:

• Are new ideas encouraged in your organization?


• Are they really? If so, what part of your marketing plan represents encouraging the new vs. reinforcing the status quo?


• Do new ideas come from the bottom up, top down, or as the result of competitor's initiatives?


• Is your company spending more time analyzing than doing?


• Does your company pride itself more in doing things right or doing the right things?

In summary, today's currency is ideas. The suppression of ideas and innovation is terminal. Don't let the business prevention department succeed.

Defeat the "Yeah, but's".

Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are A Changing" But It's Not Easy Going

Gandhi Didn't Expect Hugs And Kisses, Neither Should You

By David Miranda

To those of you that aspire to change the status quo, and you know who you are, don't be discouraged when you face the head wind of resistance. Nothing worthwhile comes without passion, sacrifice and perseverance. You have two choices in life - give in to the pressure of the status quo or fight for what you believe in. We just witnessed a remarkable political season where "change" was the mantra of both campaigns.

Too often, however, people relent. They say to themselves "what's the point?. I am just one person up against insurmountable odds. Why should I bother? Who really cares?"

To those that seek change but feel little support or encouragement from others, I say keep the faith and persist. No one said change was easy.

Gandhi once said, "First they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you; and then you win".

If you want to be an agent of change, ignore the ignoring, shun the laughter, fight the good fight and winning will be your redemption.

History has celebrated agents of change, the real visionaries- Abraham Lincoln, Mohatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Charles Lindbergh to name a few. All were the subjects of severe ridicule, and each rose above the criticism to forever change our lives. We just witnessed the election of a new member of this elite club - President-Elect Barack Obama. Whatever your political persuasion, it is clear we live in transformational times requiring transformational leadership.

The business lessons we can learn from these agents of change are simple - speak up, speak out, and speak with passion in the face of powerful dissent.

No one said change was easy, but it is inevitable.

Don't be a shrinking violet when change is required.

Using Mr. Rogers To Help People "Get With The Program"

The Innovation Adoption Curve And Your Organization

By David Miranda

We all know about the Innovation Adoption Curve developed by E.M. Rogers. His "Diffusion Of Innovations Theory", has permeated strategic thought and planning since its introduction creating various permutations such as Malcolm Gladwell's best seller, "The Tipping Point". The basic premise, of course, is that in the population there are five adopter categories: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. Although the theory is meant to describe consumers, it can also be used to describe people with an organization with respect to their willingness to embrace change. Applying the Rogers curve to your organization can provide management insights than can help people within the organization "get with the program" based on their position on the curve.

• The innovators are the first to embrace change, representing 2.5% of the organization. Innovators are considered to be venturesome people willing to take risks. These are the people you need to get on board from the outset.


• Early adopters, who enjoy leadership, prestige, and who tend to be opinion leaders, represent 13.5% of the organization. These are the people who "evangelize" innovation and enjoy their role in doing so reinforcing their leadership role.


• The early majority usually embrace change before the average person and they represent 34% of the organization. This group creates the needed momentum and critical mass for success.


• The late majority also represents 34% of the organization. This group of people is usually skeptical of change and will embrace it only after a majority has. This group generally requires more time and effort as they take a "wait and see" attitude.


• The laggards represent 16% of the organization and are the last to come on board. They are usually suspicious of change, tradition bound, and conservative. Some of this group will never accept new ways of doing things. The status quo has a strong gravitation influence on them.

The point here is not to stereotype people within the organization. Rather it is a tool to understand the underlying dynamics that effect an organization and its desire to impart innovation and change.

So let Mr. Rogers help people "get with the program".

We're Not In Kansas Anymore And Three Heel Clicks Won't Get Us Back

The Tornado Of Change Has Plunked Us In A Whole New World

By David Miranda

Like Dorothy, we wake up one day and find a tornado of change has deposited us in a whole new world world. A world of Google, YouTube, the blogosphere, MySpace, Facebook, iPods, eBay, cell phones, Blackberries, chat rooms, text messaging, wi-fi, TiVo, broadband internet, Skype, VOIP, XBox, Wii, Playstation 3 and on and on and on. In the blink of any eye, these innovations have dramatically changed our lives.

A just released survey from Pew Research Center found that people increasingly view more items as necessities rather than luxuries. It also found that the need for gizmos and gadgets has accelerated, even compared with a 1996 survey conducted by The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University. A home computer, which 10 years ago was considered a necessity by 26%, is now considered a necessity by 51%. Cellphones, not even included in the 1996 survey, is now considered a necessity, "New technologies not only give us something new we can covet and feel like we can't live without it, they transform the way life is organized," says Robert Thompson, a professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University. "What used to not be a necessity because nobody had it first becomes a luxury, and then it becomes a necessity. Things that you lived without before they were invented — they really do become necessities."

These changes, both individually and collectively, have important implications for marketing. Communicating with consumers has become complex and vexing. Consider what the U.S. Census Bureau is predicting in its "Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007." including commentary from forecasters and research contributors.

Next year, Americans will spend 3,518 hours with their beloved media, including 1,555 in front of the TV. That means the average American will spend roughly 146 days, or five months, consuming media. However, the numbers don't mean we're just sitting in front of our machines; we're multitasking. "I know people who use television as wallpaper," said Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster based in Silicon Valley. But, he added, "The news means that America is making a smooth transition from a couch potato to a mouse potato. Put another way, I suspect the only exercise Americans are getting is walking between their TVs and their computers."

"The numbers mean that people want to have — and almost need to have — information and entertainment at their fingertips now, 24 hours a day. They also mean that technology tools are continuing to shift our "social, political and economic lives," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which also supplied data for the report. "In the past decade, the Internet and cellphones have changed the way people interact with each other, the way they work, the way they spend their leisure time," Rainie said. Also changed: "The way they maintain and grow their social networks, and the way they share their stories with others through blogs (and) social networking sites."

The new landscape demands that marketers take a more holistic view in order to intelligently invest their limited resources to achieve their objectives. This requires both horizontal and vertical perspectives. Horizontal meaning across marketing channels based on media consumption patterns of the desired audience. Vertical meaning having the expertise per channel to be successful in that channel.

Use your brains. Be courageous. Put your heart into it. There's no going home again.