The Genuine Article

You can hire an advanced art student to make a good enough reproduction of a valuable work of art that most people wouldn’t be able to tell it from the original if it were not side-by-side.

Why then, would we not have such a work displayed in our homes? Is it because everyone would know its a fraud, and thus we somehow seem like a fraud by association? Perhaps. That is surely part of it.

Consider the value of an imitation Gucci handbag. You can buy one on a busy corner in any big city around the world for a fraction of the cost of the real thing, and the good ones are almost indistinguishable to people not in the business.  People are much more prone to be carrying one of these fakes than displaying a fake work of art in their homes. Why? Mostly because the utility of the bag is the same either way. Also…the likelihood that it could be real is much, much higher. Women see them and assess the rest of the woman carrying one trying to decide if they think it’s real. Why do we even care?

Does the Ford driver think anyone believes he’s driving a DB9? Does he care? The utility of the car is not the same as the real thing in this case, but to many people it’s close enough in some ways that they are able to rationalize that it’s ‘just as good’ for a fraction of the price (though some surely have no idea the DB9 even exists). The handbag purchaser can make the same claim.

Why do we have to rationalize?  Because the real deal, the genuine article has an inherent value, and we know it. We know people care about that, and we know that when we buy into a fake it says something about us. About our ability to discern or about our character (trying to fool people). The genuine article has the added benefit of being honest, though possibly pretentious.

Marketers have long known and capitalized on the fact that they are able easily seduce us into believing that our identities are strongly associated with the products and services we buy. A person may not buy the expensive car because it’s actually too embarrassing to drive it in the day to day situations where he lives. If a marketer of the less expensive one can appeal to the sensibilities of that person a sale is made.

Likewise we feel our identities are tied to the other identities we associate with. We use products and services to feel a certain way about ourselves, and to communicate that to the world, but we also use people. Part of a person’s utility to us is simply in the way she makes us feel, a part of which is the value of the association in forming the perceptions of others looking in. There is always duality between the perceived benefits a person actually brings to us, plus the perceived nudging of the perceptions of others from the association itself.

We sense that there’s a certain amount of marketing or manipulation in the persona that gets put forth, and so, again, the person who comes across as being genuine shows up as being valuable. A known quantity. Trusted. Others may be able to make similar or even greater appearances, and we may be seduced by those, however the intrinsic value of the genuine article factors in.

We may get fooled and be able to fool others on occasion, but when the truth emerges genuine is validated.

It’s the Small Stuff

Going head to head against the big guerrilla is a loosing battle. What they inherently tend not to do well, however, are the small things. The details, whether they be in the form of extra-special service or just in attending to items off the beaten path, are where the market spreads out. There is tons of opportunity here. It is often overlooked, or passed by because it is too difficult and the ROI is not as easy to quantify.

On the other hand, if you are the big guerrilla you can raise the barrier to entry by also taking care of all the little things. Make it easy for customers to find and buy the little things and they’ll have fewer reasons to look around. Take care of all the details and they’ll have no reason to.

Here are two good examples: Sweetwater Cable Finder & Sweetwater Case Finder.

Taking the difficult and making it easy will always have value. But don’t be naive enough to think it’s easy to do. One reason few do it is precisely because it’s extremely difficult.

Beyond the Ante

Quality and/or good service used to be enough to win. Today it’s just the ante.

Whether you’re an individual carving out a career or an organization carving out market share, creativity is the only sustainable advantage. No matter the field of endeavor it’s really the only thing that can’t be outsourced or commoditized.

Evolution of Skill

As human skills evolve and improve we change what things mean to us. The guitar was once a relatively unimportant part of an orchestra. The Beatles made it a vital part of their sound, but it was still just a guitar. Then Hendrix came along. He was the first player to approach the guitar as a control surface for an analog synthesizer (the amp). Everything changed.

This is how true innovation leads to tectonic shifts in our understanding, which leads to changing the world.

To most people a computer is now an appliance for connection. It, and the associated skills, enabled us to change the world.

Imagine how the world could change if each of us became experts in human understanding — in understanding ourselves.

The Power of Music

Nearly all of us know what it’s like to be moved by music. In case there is any doubt watch a movie sometime with only the dialog track working (can be accomplished by disabling your left, right, surround and sub speakers, leaving only your center channel). The difference in how you perceive the story and overall impact of the movie is profound. Reletively few of us know the power of music from the side of the performer, but trust me it is even more powerful.

Consider this recent post on facebook from a pianist I know, Yana Reznik.

When I was 10, I heard Rachmaninoff 2 concerto for the first time. When I was 15, I got the cd and boom box as a present. I planted myself on the floor, ears between the speakers, hearing it every night over and over and over again, imagining that some day it would be me making that glorious music with orchestra. 22 years later that dream is coming true. I feel like a girl on her wedding day! I am overwhelmed with emotion, excitement, tears and impatience. I cannot believe how supportive all of you have been, some drove for 8 hours, some from LA and surroundings, all the incredible letters of encouragement and wishes, from all over the world. I don’t really know how to thank you all enough for making today so incredibly meaningful and special for me. I’m overflowing with love for you and for the music I’m about to make. Tonight, I play for YOU, my incredible friends, who got me to be who I am and where I am today. Thank you!!!

This is a glimpse into the love and passion that provides the fuel for the dedication required to get really good at something. When you are moved by someone’s art be mindful of the sacrifices it took for them to get there, but you can also take comfort that for the true artists it’s what they must do. They don’t know any other way than to suffer for what they love. Indeed, it’s often not even perceived as suffering.

Still, we owe them a lot. Imagine how dreary this world would be without them.

Make New Mistakes

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1. Make Mistakes – Step outside your comfort zone and push. Some things will go well. Others will go wrong. Learn.
2. Don’t Repeat – Make new mistakes.

Most people think decisions that lead to success are like a fork in the road. Choose correctly and you’re set. In reality achieving success is more like a series of bumps and redirections as you learn what doesn’t work. Clearly you don’t want to keep making the same mistakes, but new mistakes ought to be welcome, as each one gets you one step closer.

You might get lucky and have a shorter path, but you still have to be on the road for that to happen. Do SOMETHING, even if it’s wrong.

Fleeting

…moments…

I remember a Bill Cosby routine from many years ago where he made fun of his grandparents always saying things like, “You know who died yesterday?”

Life can be fleeting. As we age it seems like life can become more and more about death. Just in the past two weeks a parent of one of my best friends died, another friend of mine died today, and I just read that Mike Shipley died. I wrote a little about him in a past blog post.

That clock just keeps ticking, doesn’t it?

The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long

That can be true, but it doesn’t factor in the variable of wind. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

Sweet Spot

Good is the enemy of great.

Perfect is the source of paralysis by analysis.

How good is good enough? It depends on your passion. Some strive for perfection as comfort against insecurity. The only way to comfort for them is if the work is unimpeachable. Others rationalize that it’s “good enough” as a means to tranquilize themselves and avoid the burden of reaching for great. Lazy perhaps, or sometimes viewed as practical.

How often do you find that you are compelled or inspired by someone or something that is good enough? Good enough has a place in this world, but doesn’t really advance anything. Perfection is a noble goal, but in as much as it only can exist in the mind it doesn’t really accomplish anything. Too much expectation yields immobilization. Nothing actually happens.

Go for perfect. Settle for great. Great work stands out as great often because someone tried for perfect, but was determined to DO something even if perfection couldn’t be obtained.

The perfectionist has to suffer. Suffer to produce the truly great work. And suffer knowing it isn’t perfect. Knowing that she is vulnerable. She puts herSelf on the line, knowing it still might not be good enough.

Behind every beautiful thing, there is some kind of pain.  — Bob Dylan

90:10 is the new 80:20

For years we’ve been hearing about the 80:20 rule. It’s more true than many people realize. In fact, these days it tends to be more like 90:10. Anything that works is so much more targeted now. More refined. More specific. Almost customized down to the individual level in some cases.

The takeaway is the same as ever. You don’t need to obsess over satisfying the masses. Find your group, your tribe, your audience, and delight them. If you don’t — as you get distracted with the periphery — someone else will. People seek delight, and they will find it. Don’t miss out by playing it too safe.

Non-Linear

Human systems are non-linear.

Take the human auditory system, for example. In music an octave represents a doubling (or halving) of the pitch. In frequencies (Hertz) it also represents double. But the scale changes as the pitch increases. 41 Hz (low E*) to 82 Hz (octave higher E) is double, and a change of 41 Hertz. The next octave requires a change of 82 Hertz, and so on. Volume works the same way. Doubling it takes roughly 10 times the power in watts. To double the volume of a 100 watt sound system will thus require 1000 watts. Doubling the volume of that requires 10,000 watts.

In light the same sort of rules apply, which means it’s easier to tell the difference between two flashlights that are 5 lumens apart when one is just 3 lumens bright than it is to tell them apart when one is 100 lumens.

It’s easier to tell the difference between two bags of flour that are three ounces apart in weight when one weighs a pound, than it is to tell the difference between two bags that are three ounces apart when one weighs twenty pounds.

Making a difference…

The more stimulus you’re getting (light, sound, pressure, delight, sadness) the less easily you can notice a small change. If you’re entering a market filled with loudness, it’s harder to be noticed, even if the incremental benefit you offer seems large to you. If you’re trying to impress, the more impressed someone has been, the more you need to do to turn heads. If someone is miserable a small compliment may make her day.

One more reason to seek out those that are both interested and underserved.

* Tuned to A=440 Hz.