All organizations have two communications protocols. One for giving direction and one for seeking direction.

A hierarchy is the perfect communications protocol for giving direction. It's like a quarterback in a huddle calling a play: "We're running this play on this snap count. Now everybody go do your job."

But calling plays is not the same as knowing what plays to call. Knowing what plays to call is a job for the communications protocal called Broadcasting ... as this Manna Nosh demonstrates.

Functionality is a technical statement of what the stuff around us does.

The only dogmatic prescription apposite to convergence is: At any point in time stuff either functions in accordance with how we have partitioned our minds (that's good), or stuff doesn't (that's bad).

Many years ago Bob was at a club listening to Miles Davis. The stuff coming from Miles and his band was not the stuff Bob recognized as jazz. Between tunes Bob asked, "What's that you're playing Miles? It sounds different." Miles answered, "Times change man."

Miles was right (about change not music) times do change. We take note of change that strikes a Responsive Chord. We tune out dissonant change.

When typing became known as word processing Wang became successful. When word processing became known as something you did with a computer Wang became obsolete.

Functionally the Wang word processor was a computer; technically superior to the offerings from Apple and IBM. Unfortunately in the minds of customers Wang meant ONLY word processing. "Times changed man", but Wang didn't. They were behind the convergence curve even though they were in front technically.

Times change when the partitions in our mind change. Predicting and parlaying with changes in convergence is called success. Confusing a change in functionality for a change in convergence is called failure.

Happy Birthday Weed Eater!

This is the 35'th spring that has sprung since you made lawn care easier for all of us.

The Weed Eater was invented by George Ballas, a real estate agent living in Houston, Texas.

Ballas got the idea in the late 1960's while watching the spinning brushes of a car wash. In 1971 Ballas tied some fishing line to a popcorn can, bolted the can to a lawn edger, and presto ... the first Weed Eater was born. Eventually Ballas and a machinist friend refined the machine into a saleable product. Ballas started the Weed Eater company in 1972.

The Weed Eater story fully demonstrates the hubris of the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Before the Weed Eater, companies were fixated on blade trimmers. Each year a feature was added: a motor, wheels, a full height extension handle, etc... And they all worked; they weren't broke.

No company managed to think, "Maybe we ought to stop thinking about better trimmers and start thinking about better ways to cut grass."

In order for that to have happened companies had to be willing to believe their blade trimmers were broken, even though they did exactly what they were designed to do. It takes an Unusual Mind to think like that - especially when big dollars are at stake.

Thank you George Ballas for giving us 35 years of easy trimming and a great example of why things that ain't broke should be fixed.

This is true 100 percent of the time. If your brand equals another with a lower price you have lost a customer. It's that simple and that immediate.

The most misunderstood question in marketing today is, "How much is it?" There are exactly two biases contained within that question. 'How much' - is the bias of price. 'Is it' - is the bias of the story in the mind of your customer.

It is not possible to change the bias of price. It exists equally in all of us.

Some years ago 60 Minutes asked Bill Gates why he did not fly first class on commercial airlines? He replied, "Because it doesn't get you there any faster." That's how marketing works when your customer (even one as rich as Bill Gates) can evaluate your brand through the bias of price. A commercial airplane exists in the mind of Bill Gates to go from A to B. In Bill's mind what goes on inside the plane matters less than what goes on inside the engines. That's Bill's bias when it comes to commercial air travel.

It is possible to change the bias of a story. It does not exist equally in all of us.

In May of 1985 a commercial entitled, Jordan Flight, wrapped the Michael Jordan story around our mind and feet. The ten year result was an increase in Nike sales from 18 percent of the sneaker market to 43 percent. Also, the price of sneakers went to triple digits. But that COULD NOT matter because a Michael Jordan sneaker existed in the mind of customers not on their feet. What went on in the minds of these customers mattered more than what went on inside their sneakers. Be like Mike - no problem just pony up $200 bucks.

In 2006 New York Knicks superstar Stephon (Starbury) Marbury introduced the Starbury line of sneaker. They cost nowhere near triple digits, in fact at $14.98 they're barely priced in the double digits. Here is the story Stephon tells about the relationship between the cost of sneakers and basketball.

"The shoe(s) ain't going to make you jump higher. It's definitely not going to make you run faster. It does nothing but say you got $150 pair of shoes on, that's it."

I've spent a lot of time in meetings arguing the evocative qualities of price. Here's the bottom line. Price only gets to play when the stories are equal.

Will Starburys win the sneaker race? You bet! After all, in their customers mind they only have to tie.

Suppose you are in control of an established luxury car company with steady but stagnant sales. Statistical research indicates that cars above a particular price point sell in quantity X. Below the price point X+ number of cars sell. You decide to go for the X+ price point. Because of your mathematical adroitness you "know" the increased number of cars sold will make enough real profit dollars to compensate for the projected decrease in profit margin. Perhaps your company builds a less expensive car, one that keeps costs in line with the current profit margin and provides the magical X+ units sold price point. Either way the math path seems clear - offer an inexpensive luxury car and you're on the road to good times. It won't happen. In fact it didn't happen - just ask Jaguar. Why? Because customers are motivated by stories not mathematics and a low price point is in direct conflict with the luxury car story.

That one was easy. What kind of remodeling needs to be done to keep up with changing environments? Hint: math won't provide an answer.

Suppose you are the owner of a specialty frame store. Statistical research confirms an exponential increase in the number of pictures taken due to the existence of disposable and digital cameras. Decreased costs in the making of prints and the ubiquity of self serve print making machines has [predictably] increased the number of prints made each year. Yea - it's good times ahead! After all if X specialty frames were sold before the digital self serve era then X+ will be sold after. Wrong! The stuff that tickles a customers "special" gene changes when pictures are taken as commonly as breathing and printed as plainly as pushing a button. Digital cameras and self serve print making has changed the environment. Disposable pictures require disposable frames, (frames that are readily available for use and re-use as required), specialty they ain't.

To be sure there are still pictures recognized as something distinct and permanent in comparison to others. So why should the number of specialty frames sold be affected by the proliferation of disposable pictures? The number of specialty frames sold is not affected. But the environment in which they are sold certainly is. If you limit your offering to specialty frames, customers will go elsewhere. And they will stay elsewhere if that elsewhere offers both disposable and specialty frames.

The key to prediction is to recognize that success is determined by customer behavior not mathematics. In the case of luxury cars that means a price that supports the story of luxury. In the case of picture frames that means frame stores that are in-line with the digital self serve era.

Authors note: Ron White is a funny and famous comedian that does a bit on the difference between an antidote and an anecdote. "If I knew the difference between an antidote and an anecdote my camping buddy would be alive today." The idea for this column came from White. Confusing similar sounding words with very different meanings is funny when presented in a comedic environment. In a marketing environment confusing similar sounding words is expensive and tragic.

The problem is few of us take time to do so. Probably because presenters believe data artfully displayed will lead an audience to a desired conclusion. And nothing accommodates this belief more than a computer based slide generation program. Further, presenters believe that limited rehearsal is required because the data on the projected slides also serve as notes to the speaker.

Nowhere are these beliefs more exhibited than on the most boring and destructive slide - the infamous bullet slide. One wonders why, with all the research given to accurate data gathering and slide preparation, no one recognizes the inherent failures of a bullet slide.

Human read rate is 5 to 6 times faster than speech rate.
People are compulsive readers. Advertisers know this; that's why they put ads everywhere including fruit and vegetables and taxicab hubcaps.

An audience will scan the entire contents of a bullet slide while the speaker is discussing bullet one. This is the equivalent of a comic projecting the punch line on the screen as the joke is being set up. Everyone knows where the speaker is going - they're just hoping he gets there quickly. Did you ever notice how frequently a speaker sensing uneasiness in the audience either skips a bullet to get to the next bullet or skips all of the remaining bullets?

People go deaf when they read.
When people read they turn off their ears. Check it out for yourself. The next time you join three others for lunch watch what happens as the waiter passes out menus and begins announcing the specials of the day. The first person to receive a menu will begin reading immediately and then ask the waiter, "what was that first thing you mentioned"?

Retention improves when the brain simultaneously records input from multiple channels.
Isn't the objective of a presentation to have the audience remember and take with them what it is you presented? To really place a message in to the minds of your audience you synchronize the words you are speaking as the audience reads them. This is impossible with a bullet slide - no one speaks as fast as the audience reads.

We live in a post literate world where sound and pictures influence us more than printed words. A reinforcing graphic with as few words as possible is not only an adequate reminder slide to a speaker who knows the subject; it is a crowd pleaser and a superior point maker.

There's a great deal more to knowing how to create persuasive presentations, but getting rid of bullet slides is an essential start.

Holster that gun!

Wow! What a great time Bob and I had visiting with you guys at the August 8, 2006 DAC.

We get ourselves around to many luncheons; few of them match the spirit and cheerfulness expressed by your group.

Customer DNA communicates best as a live audio/visual presentation. This audio only representation is by definition something less.

Consider the Patton video clip. The first half is in German with English subtitles. For this clip to have the desired effect the listener must either speak German or have attended the live presentation.

To help mitigate the difference between a live presentation and a recorded representation we have created a DVD video of Customer DNA. This DVD combines the audio contained herein with the visual content of Customer DNA.

To get the DVD eMail us an appropriate mailing address and number of desired copies. There is no charge.

Thanks for your time.
-Matt Manna