What do Cesar Millan, Yo-Yo Ma, Kenny G, and Jacques Cousteau have in common? They are all famous. At first glace, that may seem to be little more than a cheeky answer, but I'm serious. To me, the fact that each of these figures is famous is nothing short of a huge accomplishment. The reason that is intriguing to me is that each of these people is famous for doing something that very few ever become famous for. In fact, I would argue that these figures are the only famous people for their respective fields.

Think of it, how many famous dog trainers, cellists, saxophonists, or scuba divers can you name? Unless you are in some way linked or partial to one of those categories, you probably can't name more than one. But you're probably familiar with these people.

These people made a name for themselves outside of their given fields, and left an impression on a general population that didn't actively lend their attention or interest. The fact that they did so is remarkable, and something that we should all consider how to do in our own areas of expertise.

Last year, I wrote about my dream wallet; a gadget that could consolidate my keys, phone, and wallet into one device. It looks like that dream might become a reality sooner than later, as many tech companies are coming out with some pretty cool software, apps, and gadgets. Here are just a couple of examples:

Last week, my 3 year old niece asked my sister, "Mommy, will you take us to Diddneyland?"

It's been a while since I posted, so I wanted to give an update on what I've been up to with the projects I've been working on.

“It’s better to be a first rate version of yourself than a second rate version of someone else.”
- Judy Garland

People inside the business world love personality tests. Whether it's Meyers & Briggs, DiSC, the Color Code, or another system, I believe corporations love these things because the task of human management becomes much less daunting if you can categorize all of your employees into four buckets. I believe that these systems have varying levels of merit and practicality to them. My intent in this post, however, is not to compare and contrast them, but to comment on a separate, simpler, and more ubiquitous personality profiling system.

Two of my business heroes are Samuel Brannan and Sylvester McMonkey McBean. Brannan was a pioneer who made his fortune during the Gold Rush in California, not by searching for gold, but by selling shovels and other tools to prospectors. McBean, otherwise known as the "fix-it-up-chappie", capitalized on the pride of Sneetches as they ran around getting and removing stars on their bellies.

I've made my guest blogging debut! Check out my contribution to the UW CBPM blog!

It seems to me that Coke Zero and Pepsi Max are experiencing a bit of an identity crisis. Granted, they are in a difficult spot to begin with. A quick glance on Max's and Zero's Facebook pages revealed to me that there is a lot of confusion surrounding what the brands really offer.

Are they equivalent to the diet versions of the product, a straightway replacement for the marquee brand, or a new drink all together? I'm sure that if you asked the brand managers at Pepsi and Coke, they would try to convince you that it was the latter. But I'm unconvinced.

Of the two brands, Zero appears to be most confused. Max at least properly identifies Zero as its competition, whereas Zero practically begs to cannibalize its own sales of Coke Classic.





The Zero campaign, though funny at times, places a target on itself rather than focusing on its true competition. It will be interesting to see whether they stick with this strategy.

I've been reading Daniel Pink's Drive, which has turned out to be a great book about how to motivate ourselves and others. One point that stuck out to me is where the author describes mastery as an asymptote, an algebraic concept in which a curve grows increasingly closer to a straight line, but never quite reaches.

I just read an article about Kraft Foods plan to bump up spending on some of its "power brands". One campaign in particular that stood out to me is Miracle Whip's "We're Not for Everyone". As someone to doesn't care much for Miracle Whip, I don't think that this stance harms the brand in any way, it just acknowledges what millions of consumers probably already know. If anything, it will just foster a closer sense of community for those people who do like the product. I commend Kraft on the maturity that comes with the realization that not everyone loves and wants Miracle Whip, and the initiative to go out of its way to make that a selling point.

I came across a great article in which author Joe Hadfield outlines four lessons in turning customers into converts. I thought I'd pass along the highlights.

Lesson 1: Design Products to Feel Familiar
This is a seemingly obvious but often forgotten piece of advice. Well-known examples of this include the Nintendo Wii and everything Apple makes. Last time I went to Japan, I visited Toyota's Universal Design Showcase, which also exemplifies this principle.

Lesson 2: Hire a Guide for your Demo
When airlines first introduced do-it-yourself kiosks, participation was lower than expected. It wasn't until customer service reps assisted clients through their first time that they became familiar with a new way, more efficient way of checking in.

Lesson 3: Take Advantage of Technology and Timing
If you offer support for a product, try to time your assistance so that the customer has had a chance to open and interact with the product first. Most people who buy phones think they will be able to figure them out, so offering assistance at the time of purchase may be less effective than offering later when they call to activate it.

Lesson 4: Buy Time with Bundled Pricing Incentives
For products and services with a steep learning curve, this lesson helps customers get over the bump of failure. For example, it is better to offer five golf lessons in a bundled package than to offer a free introductory lesson and hope people stick with it.

Here's a fitting video to go along with the past few of my posts. While I don't completely subscribe to all of his points, Jacques has an intriguing take on China.


Martin Jacques: Understanding the Rise of China

It's always interesting to me to see how government policies and changes in law affect consumer trends and overall shifts in culture. In China, one of the most prominent examples of this has been the institution of a one-child policy in 1978.

Last year, I wrote about turning weakness into strength. A friend of mine shared with me another great example of this idea.

China has long been known as a copycat country. Watches, clothing, movies, software... you name it, you can probably find a fake version of it in China. The U.S. and other affected countries have tried in vain to curtail Chinese knockoffs. Just yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner pushed President Hu Jintao for stronger intellectual property protections.