|
« “One Thing” Marketing How to Make the Phone Ring by David Goetz » |
It’s nice to know that success isn’t necessarily connected to your innate abilities or high school SAT score.
According to K. Anders Ericsson, professor of psychology at Florida State University, successful people “spontaneously do things differently from those individuals who stagnate” (Fast Company, November 2006, p. 116).
Smart people stagnate, not-as-smart people stagnate.
Ericsson uses the phrase “dilberate practice” to describe how successful individuals improve and innovate on their performance. A deliberate practice may be as simple as the ability to observe yourself doing an activity and intentionally improving on it the next time you do it. It’s that extra step or activity that gives folks the edge to go deeper into their craft or get better feedback from their clients. It’s not a grandiose activity. Call it the “small discipline.”
The same practice appears to create successful organizations.
Adam Bosworth, vice president of Google, recently conducted a presentation for SalesForce.com convention and used the phrase “intelligent reaction” to discuss how successful software should be built. In short, here’s the formula (or deliberate practice) of successful software development:
- Try things out;
- Watch;
- Learn from the customer in real time; and then
- Iterate.
This practice, which has produced successful companies like SalesForce.com and Google, also seems basic to successful marketing. You try this campaign, and then adjust to what works. The alternative, I guess, is to attempt to get it all right the first time, what Bosworth calls the “grand plan,” which is a myth. You never get it 100 percent right the first time. And by the time you are able to implement the full plan, the market has changed.
The point isn’t that you shouldn’t plan, of course. The point is the deliberate practice to get in front of customers quickly, listen to what they are saying about your product or service or marketing, and then adjust.
Last thing: There are two culprits when organizations can’t do this well. One is simple inertia. The other is ego.
December 15th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
One of my past mentors believes experienced leaders will make the correct decisions 90 percent of the time - “and the other 10 percent we can fix.” Another mentor puts it this way: fire the gun, then race to position the target for a direct hit.” The difference between successful and not-as-successful people may not have as much to do with native intelligence as it does their respective tolerance for risk (or their fear of failure) and the ability to act quickly.
December 19th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
My experience is that there is no SMALL discipline. Each discipline takes strength, courage, persistence and, often,
faith to enact. The point of the article is a great reminder that we must be practiioners and not procrastinators; doers and not just hearers. Thanks for the encouragement to do and be better.
December 19th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
Nice pony, too.