Posted: 01 Nov 2009 08:21 PM PST

This is part 7 of the Overnight Success video series. In this one, I talk about how important taking some time away and replenishing is to your overall success. Some times, we’re grinding (working and really making things happen). Other times, we’re clocking (we’re there supposedly working, but we’re just pushing hours, not really getting anything done). The point of this video is to suggest that getting away from everything is just as important as pushing hours at tasks. You with me?

Can’t see it? Click HERE.

What do you think?

The New Utility Belt

Posted: 01 Nov 2009 06:56 PM PST

I was thinking about utility belts. You know, Batman style. I’m thinking about this in two ways. In the first way, we could talk about the gear that people (like myself) use in this modern media making age. For instance, in my backpack, I have the following items (amazon affiliate links for some):

Apple MacBook Pro
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3k digital camera and video camera
Edirol R-09HR mp3 recorder
Amazon Kindle
iPhone 3G (thanks Alex for pointing out this missing piece).
Verizon air card for mobile Internet
and a few other things.

That’s one way to think about the new utility belt, as if it were the gear that connects you to the web.

Another way to think about it is like this: what software and methods for using it would best keep you equipped while navigating the web in doing what you’re doing. For instance, if you’re a salesperson, maybe your utility belt looks like this:

LinkedIn – for networking, and for answering questions.
Batchbook – for simple CRM.
Radian6 – for competitive data (Radian6 is sometimes a sponsor of NML events)
Google Maps – for finding places on visits.
Google Docs – for keeping spreadsheets, sales docs, forms, etc.
Twitter – for informational pulse.
Socialcast – for internal company chatter.
YouTube plus a blog – for lead generation materials.
Flickr – for a visual database of your prospects, for sales materials, etc.

We could do this many other ways, and for several different organizations. We could think about how these tools allow us to navigate and parse and funnel and select. There are lots of ways you could see rolling different types of utility belts. For instance, what would a journalist’s utility belt look like, both physically and otherwise?

These are just thoughts along the way towards ways to make tools more useful to the human business. What do you think?

photo credit chanchan222

The Multi-Branded Human

Posted: 01 Nov 2009 05:47 PM PST

I’ve said several times that my next car might likely be the Cadillac CTS (maybe even the CTS-V). I like the car. I think it’s the Batmobile. Because of a tweet, I got to visit GM headquarters and drive one. Heck, I even got to meet GM’s top guy, Fritz Henderson, and talk about listening technology and what he could really learn about people’s feelings about his brand, versus what surveys reveal. I’ve owned and driven GM products since my 2nd car (Chevy Citation), including my most recent (Saturn VUE). I’d say that makes me pretty loyal to the brand as a consumer, yes?

But when we think about brands and brand loyalty, it’s strange to consider what that means from the company’s side of the equation, versus what it means from the consumer’s side. For instance, every computer in my house is an Apple except for my (rarely-used) netbook. I’m thinking of loading Windows 7 on it, because I’m hearing so many good things about the OS. Does this make me LESS loyal to apple? I’ve got an iPhone, but I’m seriously thinking about checking out Verizon’s Droid when it comes live. Does that make me a bad Apple customer?

I have two Visa cards from two different banks. Am I less loyal? I have an AMEX card. Am I less loyal?

When I work with a company, I put my business intentions around helping them succeed. To that end, it wouldn’t suit me to work for Coke and Pepsi at the same time. (Pepsi and I did some work in March, and I’m friends with some of their great team.) I visited Coke headquarters last week, and I might possibly do something different with them. Do you think that will cross streams? That I’ll somehow negatively impact the experience by working to improve business communications and human business within the organization?

A few months ago, the mix was Panasonic and Sony. Next month, it’ll be two other big brands.

Here’s the thing: we, as consumers, are in the business of using the products of multiple brands. It’s how we operate. I, as someone running New Marketing Labs am in the business of equipping companies with successful projects that move the needle. Do I overlap what I learn from one competitor to the other? No. Industry to industry? Hell yes. Why hire me if you don’t want a benchmark of what’s worked or not worked in another organization?

I’m curious as to your thoughts. I have a feeling that PR professionals might have something different on their mind than marketers and non-PR types. Just a hunch, but we’ll see how it bears out in the comments.

As for me, I don’t feel that my loyalty is what’s for sale when I work with organizations. I maintain their privacy. I perform with their best interests in mind when under their hire. I don’t divulge competitive data. Seems like I’ve got it covered.

What do you think?