Tag: communication

Compliance and change

FabrizioLeave a comment

Most feedback features an I and a you.

I like what you did.

I feel you are not motivated enough.

I believe this is what you should do.

It’s the opinion of one person – often against the opinion of another person -, and the effectiveness of this kind of feedback depends on the status of the one giving it. Even in the best case scenario, even if the feedback gets through, it is because of compliance.

A more effective feedback features a what, an how, a why, and a couple more whats.

What happened?

How did it go? – in relation to shared goals.

Why did things go like that?

What will be different next time?

What can I do to help?

It’s the feedback that helps reflection and learning. Status has zero relevance, in fact this format can be used by anyone with anybody. And when the feedback is successful, you have lasting change.

And the winner is

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What is the value of:

  • An award that has your name on it?
  • An award you have paid money to get?
  • An award that is given to everyone who participates?
  • An award that nobody knows about?
  • An award you and your team have worked hard to achieve?

In the end, most people who visit your website can’t really tell the difference. That’s why awards as marketing tools are little more than organizations talking about themselves.

Ground and arms

FabrizioLeave a comment

Change is permanent.

And there are only two things you can do about it.

First, build a solid ground. That would be knowing yourself, your situation, your story, your purpose, your triggers, your strength. A solid ground is what will allow you to not take change personally.

Second, open your arms. That would be listening to others, embracing their fears, helping them with their agendas, navigating the situation together with them, establishing long-term relationships. Open arms is what will allow you to make your solid ground even more solid.

One thing you should never do about change, and that would be trying to control it.

Early stage marketing

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If you are a start-up, with a single product, and you sell to other businesses, then product marketing is basically the foundation of your whole go-to-market.

The way you talk about the product, the way you differentiate from other alternatives, the unique point of view that makes you worth considering, the material you need to go out there and influence people, the knowledge of you target customer and of their pains.

Perhaps you can’t afford a product marketer. But make sure that whoever is doing marketing will focus on those things for at least 80% of their time. It will pay off.

The biggest difference

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The biggest difference is not in goals.

We all want some more of something. Money. Success. Health. Career. Knowledge. Security. If you tell that’s what you want, it’s difficult to stand out, because our goals are incredibly similar.

The biggest difference is in method.

How are you going to get that some more?

Tell about that and you will have your own personal story.