On Thursday, hundreds of people gathered in the beautiful Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa to hear Seth Godin speak. The event provided a unique opportunity to hear first-hand from a highly-respected individual in the marketing world.
As stated in Seth’s bio:
American Way Magazine calls him, “America’s Greatest Marketer,” and his blog is perhaps the most popular in the world written by a single individual. His latest book, Poke The Box, is a call to action about the initiative you’re taking – in your job or in your life, and Seth once again breaks the traditional publishing model by releasing it through The Domino Project.
The key take-away fr
om Seth’s presentation was to take initiative. He opened with a photo of cafeteria ladies and made the point that cafeteria ladies, by virtue, were underappreciated and replaceable. We need to strive to not fall into such a lull. With current internet trends evolving more rapidly than ever before, we no longer have time to copy the guy before us, to merely blend in. He noted that many people don’t take leaps out of fear, when really, fear should be motivating – if you were to assume that the next thing you’re going to do is fail, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Many people don’t take risks because they’re afraid they will fail, but, as Seth stated, “you can’t flip a one-sided coin.” You have to have failure, you have to have fear, in order to reach success. Figure out how to make an art that matters, and, literally, GO.
Seth included a few lists of six factors that provided a backbone for his presentation:
The first was “Six Things that are Foundations of a Functioning Organization” –
Be:
- aware of what works
- educated
- connected
- consistent
- an asset (for example, Zappos – they are completely trusted)
- productive
The second list was “Six Things for a Successful Project” –
- an idea
- people to work on it
- a place to build and organize it
- raw materials
- distribution
- money
The third, “Six Things You Need that You Can Bring to the Capital” –
- financial
- network
- intellectual
- physical
- prestige
- instigation
What are some of the ways that hospitality venues can use the above points to take initiative in their marketing?
Hospitality venues can take initiative on BEING DIFFERENT. I had a friend today who is new to Foursquare. He checks in a few times. I think I’m his only friend. He checked into a sandwich shop in LA for lunch. Next thing he knew, he became the mayor. Today when he walked in, his experience was different. When he walked in, they called him Mr. Mayor. They RANG A BELL. The cashier yelled to the chefs in the back, “The Mayor is here! The Mayor is here.” He got a free sandwich. He said, “Ok, ok, let me pay for the coke.” They said, “No sir! You’re the mayor! You don’t pay!” $10 value can’t compare to the word-of-mouth buzz this experience will create.
STOP AND THINK ABOUT THAT. You want to talk about buzz? You want to talk about word-of-mouth marketing? Foursquare is set to reach 7 million users. All of which are probably early adopters. All of which who command influence across various social networks.
What happened? A small sandwich shop TOOK INITIATIVE and TOOK ADVANTAGE of this opportunity. What are places waiting for? The market is RIPE with opportunity for those who know how to TAKE INITIATIVE.
On a separate note, one thing I found interesting was Seth Godin said some people don’t take initiative because they’re waiting to be picked on. Just like in school, we want someone to call our names. Then we will act. In life, that never happens. Those who take initiative thrive. Those who don’t, don’t thrive.
What are businesses waiting for?!?!
Wow, Matt, thanks so much for that inciteful comment! It’s really cool to hear about a first-hand experience and that’s a perfect example relating to how the hospitality industry can take initiative with social media. The sandwich is definitely going to get a lot of word-of-mouth buzz from that.
Thanks Debbie! Here’s something I heard: Run directly at what you are afraid of. There’s a chance that it will back down before you have to. 🙂 So the lesson is not just “do”, but “do despite your fear” or because of it. Because, he said, the world needs people to say “go”. And not waiting for someone to say it is OK.
A good night – glad to hang out with you and the rest of OC!
OK, first I want to say Matthew is not my only friend. Just on Foursquare, that he introduced me to. I thought it was kind of novel so I checked in at a few places where I work, Angel’s Flight Railroad and the building I work in. After a few days I noticed I was the Mayor of Angel’s Flight, no free cup of coffee like Mathew was getting but then I noticed a flag at the top that said “Savings nearby” so I looked and found “Mendocino Farms” a sandwich place 150 feet from where I have worked for 6 years and I never heard of it, but it said the Mayor gets a free sandwich! So I went there checked in and bought a sandwich. I thought this is such a great way to advertse. But it was game on the eat for free. It said I only needed 3 more days to be the mayor. I figured it would be today. About 11:30 I checked in again and I had ousted the previous mayor. I walked over and asked the girl taking the orders how I order a sandwich for the Mayor as I showed her my iPhone. She said “I don’t know” I thought I was going to go hungry until she got a co-worker who came out and said “Welcome to the Mayor!, order anything you want and just step over here!” So, I went to the end of the counter and got a can of coke, placing it on the counter I said I still need to pay for my drink to go along with my free sandwich as I showed the cashier my phone. Her eyes went wide and she started ringing this bell, and four or five other employees gathered and made a big to-do about this free sandwich for the Mayor. It was just a little embarrassing but as I was looking around at the other customers, they were making this fun for everyone as well as letting people know there was a way to get free food. I didn’t think to stick around but I did wonder the questions that I am sure were asked about what this was all about. For the rest of the day I don’t know how many people heard the name Mendocino Farms and free sandwich, but I do think they will receive good return value for their $10 advert.
Great post Debbie, I wasn’t able to make it to this one so it’s great to get the cliff notes! The truth is, there will always be those who DO and those who DON’T DO. That said, ANYONE can change to either side at any time. We are the habits that we create, and this is one that I’m working on changing for myself right now. I’ve always been an above average person. I do just enough to be better than the pack, but always sit in awe of those who are the best. What I’ve realized is that I can be one of those people leading the pack too. Rather than playing it safe, I can put myself “all in” and either fail or succeed, but at least it will be big either way, rather than just same old boring mediocre.
Apologies, “I think I’m his only friend.” was not needed… I stand corrected. 🙂 *smacks self*
Thanks for sharing, Jim!
Thanks for the feedback, Jeff. I definitely sympathize with your sentiments. I’m always afraid of failure (or, more than that, uncertainty) so I play it safe and settle for contentment/mediocrity rather than take bigger risks that could ultimately lead to greater fulfillment. It’s really difficult to “go” when you’ve never really “gone” before and have no personal experience yet of what might reside on the other side. It’s scary. But I, too, am trying to (more often) go “all in”, to succeed or not, rather than lingering awkwardly in that middle ground…
Great to see you, too, Tim! Thanks for throwing in those few extra points. I really liked Seth’s take on fear and using it as a motivating tool rather than something to run from.
Fun night. Thanks for the post. As Seth says “Ship it.”
Great recap! Thanks. Now where’d my lizard brain go?
Nice recap Debbie…
There were many take-always for me. On the topic of initiative, Seth asks a great question: “Who is your VP of Go? In many organizations there always seems to be a VP of No!” This message isn’t just for entrepreneurs with an idea, it’s for people who feel stuck or are working a stepping stone job too. For example, if there’s trash in the pool area of the huge hotel you work at that maintenance is taking too long to clean up, you can be the assistant catering manager and take care of it by throwing it away so that guests don’t see the mess. Don’t wait for permission or for someone to tell you it’s okay, just do it. Now, for entrepreneurs with ideas, he makes the point about trying new things. Seth clarified by saying that trying is not enough. You can’t just apply for the new patent you have to make your widget and ship it. (Paraphrasing Seth…) Many claim (falsely) that failure is not an option. If that’s the case, success is not an option either because you can’t have one without the other. Make a list of well-known successful people. All of them have failed to get to the successful place in their life. Those who have never failed have never truly taken a risk or shipped anything!
-Bryan
Thanks, Bryan! The details you highlighted are great for entrepreneurs. Seth’s point about Starbucks initially being a failure was an effective way to stress that huge success is attainable even despite (and because of!) initial failures.
My pleasure. Glad you liked it.
Thanks, Jim! It was nice to see you at the event.
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