Be Cool

Steven Jobs was recently identified by HBR as the best performing CEO in the world. Since he returned to Apple in 1997, Apple’s market value has increased by $150 billion. You can read about some of the other metrics that earned him this notable accomplishment.

When people think about Apple, a number of descriptions may come to mind, but for me one of them has to be “cool.” They produce cool stuff. Their stores are cool. A lot of their “Apps” are cool. Who knows, maybe people themselves feel a bit more cool, just by doing business with the company. All of this has contributed to Apple’s sustained growth and financial performance.

I have always believed that cool sells. Of course there has to be value, but all things equal, cool products out sell comparable ones which are seen as plain or simply functional. And today there are a lot of cool products in the world – from eye and ear popping home theater systems to elegant and easy to use cork screws.

But can all products in some fashion be cool? Let’s see, have you ever heard of a cool CD offered by a bank? How about a cool homeowner’s insurance policy? Maybe there are some. However, whether it is staples or financial instruments, it will be very difficult for some products to every make it on the cool train.

So here is the question you might find interesting to kick around a bit. Regardless of product, what can you do to raise your cool factor? (Don’t immediately start justifying why being cool is not appropriate for you or your business – just go with it.) What might Mr. Jobs or those quirky people from Apple do if they were in your business? And never forget that just because a product may never be cool, service and relationships certainly can be. And those two areas might be the most fertile opportunities for your pursuit of coolness. Don’t let your definition of cool be limited to magical technology or slick packaging. Cool can be a lot of different things.

In 2010, we challenge you to liberate your brains with some no box thinking about cool possibilities. The world economy could use a boost from creative and innovative ideas, and doing something cool is always personally rewarding as well. And who knows, one day even a trip to the dentist office, the bank, a big-box discounter or yes, even the department of motor vehicles might turn into a thrilling, hip experience.

Best Wishes,

Steve

Space Tourism Update

OK, check this out. - from Wired.com/autopia

On a cold and windy night at the Mojave Air and Space Port, the VSS Enterprise was unveiled to the public tonight. Attached to its mother ship, the vehicle better known as SpaceShipTwo is expected to be the first commercial spacecraft when it enters service with Virgin Galactic.

SpaceShipTwo was built by Scaled Composites under the guidance of legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan. Rutan didn’t specify when flight testing for SpaceShipTwo would begin, though it is expected to start early next year.

Sub-orbital passenger flights could start as early as 2011 from Virgin Galactic’s space port in New Mexico which is currently under construction. Tickets for the early adopters are $200,000 for a training program culminating with the ride into space. Both Rutan and Virgin Galactic founder, Sir Richard Branson have repeatedly said they expect the prices to drop rapidly similar to many new technologies, including the early days of air travel.

In our book, we featured the nobox innovator, Burt Rutan, and his bold vision of “Space Tourism.” We have been keeping an eye on his progress and one day this adventure may become common place and affordable for the Gen X’ers and younger. Achieving his feat will not be a cakewalk, but it has clearly moved beyond the realm of far-fetched fantasy into near-term reality.

Amazing what can happen when you cast off the shackles of the box.

Steve

Addressing Underage Drinking

After writing a book about letting go of tired ways of thinking in order to find or create answers in new and different ways, I have come across a lot of examples. It is very enjoyable to discover these entertaining, even inspiring stories. But what I love most is having my own point of view rattled by novel, perhaps even crazy sounding ideas.

I came upon one of those ideas which I would have laughed off a few weeks ago. Now it has me quite intrigued. It has prompted me to think about an important issue in a very unusual, perhaps even unsettling way. Read on and see what you think.

My 16-year old daughter recently completed a research paper on underage drinking. (When teenagers and drinking are in the same sentence, it is usually not a good thing!) In a nutshell, she wrote about a previously conceived idea supporting a kind of drinking “permit” for those who are 18 – 20. Modeled after driver’s education, the young adults would go through some kind of training program to better understand the responsibilities and risks of drinking. Then perhaps they would be provided some kind of smart ID card, which would have to be scanned in order for them to purchase drinks. There would be restrictions, to ensure they could not abuse the privilege.

She included a number of research findings about the causes and consequences of binge drinking, DUI’s and other problems associated with underage drinking, in order to make a reasonable case. I am not here to review the validity or her research or make the point that you should agree with the position about which she wrote. Because the bottom line is, who knows if it would work? And it is that very question – “who knows” – that IS the point! It is the question which all growth leaders must ultimately confront and answer. And as leaders, they know that finding that answer is never risk free.

Can you imagine how outrageous this idea might seem? Let’s see, drinking education classes. Does that include hands on practice? “Mom, Dad – I am taking this class and for homework, I have to drink 3 beers and a couple of tequila shooters." Boy, this would surely be one of the most popular courses at high school and college, at least for the kids. And you can already envision the tidal wave of protest from parents, barking that people would have to be out of their minds to offer or condone such an idiotic program.

But what if it worked? What if it did greatly reduce binge drinking at college? What if the mystique of drinking was eliminated, so young adults learned early on to drink more responsibly? What if drinking and driving accidents with 18 – 20 year olds dropped substantially? Hmm, perhaps this should give us pause after all.

I personally am glad there are education programs to better equip kids to drive a car. Driving is no laughing matter. People die when things go wrong. The same is true for drinking. Would a drinking education program help? Who knows? But what we do know is that attempting nothing different will absolutely never provide solutions to the known problems.

Although I have to learn more before choosing sides, my eyes are now opened to a new way of looking at the issue. And fresh eyes are a starting point for many great innovations.

Fortunately, I still have a couple of years before my daughter turns 18 and I have to worry about the impact of this idea on her – and me. (How’s that for hiding in the box!)

Steve

The Spin Box

On my first trip overseas some twenty years ago, I faced a dilemma at the Frankfurt airport. I was connecting from Berlin on the way to the UK, and my luggage did not show up on the carousel. I had to retrieve it from the Berlin flight and then re-check it for the UK leg. What a bad time for my bags to get lost – in a massive airport where a different language was spoken. Needless to say, I was a bit unsettled.

As I walked over to the customer service desk of the German airline on which I had arrived, I was trying to recall how to say “my luggage is lost” in German. I knew the phrase was something like, “mein gepack ist verloren,” but what would happen when the agent started asking me more questions about it “auf Deutsch.”

But something remarkable happened. She took my passport and before I uttered one word, she said to me, “how may I help you” in flawless English. I was comforted and relieved to hear my language spoken.

Although there are many languages around the world, I have learned that there is a single language of leadership – and that language is called the Truth. It is not spin, deception or cloaked truth, it is the pure and simple truth (which I believe Oscar Wilde once said is seldom pure or simple). This language seems to be forgotten more and more these days, and it is causing confusion, uncertainty, even anger.

Here is a recent example. In Ohio, voters will be able to vote on a casino issue in the upcoming election. Like all issues, this has its supporters and opponents. The Cincinnati Enquirer recently published side by side pleas from each side as a means of clarifying the issues. The opponents stated in black and white – passage of this issue will prevent churches from offering Monte Carlo nights or other related fund raisers. They also clearly stated that the casinos would be exempt from paying state income taxes on cash transactions. The supporters, in black and white, said just the opposite.

My questions as a voter – what is the truth? Passage either will or will not make church functions illegal, or will require a tax on all income or not. What is the truth?

Personally, I am sick of all the manipulative, deceiving messages put forth by so called public leaders today. You only need to hear the words health care and you get the point.

There seems to be a communications box today that preaches the only way of influencing others, is to do whatever you can to get your point across in the way you want it heard. So, if you leave important points out, remove meaningful context, or simply spin the message in remarkable, yet deceiving ways, no problem! Well, it is a problem and everyone knows it. Who designed that rulebook? And why do so many people subscribe to it?

So leaders, you must be willing to break free from the spin box and tell the truth. Although Jack Nicholson’s character Colonel Jessep might believe that “you can’t handle the truth,” the best leaders believe you can. And speaking the truth is the only way the real problems can ever be solved in the best way for the common good.

Steve

Getting Drop Outs Back To School

Just came across a program that had a little of that No Box spirit to it.

What do think it would feel like to be 21 years old and in high school? Sounds like a prescription for some serious ribbing, if not public humiliation. So check this out. The Gateway to Success program is a partnership of Cincinnati’s Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development and other colleges around the Cincinnati area. Here is the premise. There are kids that drop out of high school, and a few years later want to come back and get their diplomas after all. Since it is very difficult for the schools to assimilate the older kids, as well as potentially embarrassing for the returning students, simply re-enrolling in a high school is not a good solution.

So through Gateway to Success, classes are offered at the local college campuses, in the college environment, with other students of comparable ages. So now, if the older kids are asked if they are in school and where they are going, they can say Cincinnati State, or UC (University of Cincinnati) or one of the other partner schools. Kids can complete their high school work in a much more conducive, empowering environment.

There are real hurdles in the decision to go back for a high school diploma. The stress of school itself and ongoing financial challenges for a young adult are just two of them. But that giant emotional barrier – the risk of humiliation – is now eliminated, thus making it easier for drops outs to drop back in, which most would agree is a very good thing.

Bravo to all the organizations involved in this endeavor. And bravo to the kids for taking that big step forward in their lives.

Steve

Flying From the Box

Here is another one of those, "you won't believe this" kind of stories. Ever heard of Jessica Cox. Her story has been making the rounds during the past few months. Jessica is a pilot. So are lots of other people. Here is the punch line. How many of those other pilots have no arms?

That's right Jessica, who was born without arms, is the only pilot licensed to fly using only her feet. But what the heck. I guess once you have learned to do things such as put in contact lenses or play the piano with your feet, what’s the big deal about flying? I am sure her flight instructor knew immediately she was up for the task, when she drove herself to her lessons.

There is no need to retell her entire story here. You can Google her or check out a YouTube video about her at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuMHSFPOzpc.

But I think you will agree, she certainly has that No Box mindset and spirit. There is probably an endless number of reasons why her flying achievement would be considered impossible, including my favorites, “no one has ever done that before,” or “it simply cannot be done by someone like her.” But she obviously refused to let anyone or anything box her in, including a couple of missing limbs. And now she is flying high.

So Jessica, you go girl and thank you for being a role model. And for those of you reading this, I encourage you to re-look at some of your favorite excuses as to what is holding you back from something great. Hopefully, her accomplishment will inspire all of us to break free from the box and go for our dreams in dramatic new ways, rather than just trying to conjure up some better excuses!

Steve

So Long GM

Why is there a need for innovative, no box thinking? One answer is June 1, 2009. That was the day that the "Heartbeat of America" passed on and our government got into the auto business. GM has been close to the brink of bankruptcy before, and finally caved in amidst the current economic struggles strangling the world.

Have you set back and deeply thought about this or did you simply shrug your shoulders and say, Oh well!" In today's world, the company could not stay the course, so they learned the consequences of continuing poor performance. We are not here to debate why this happened. It did.

But I wonder how many people could not in the wildest dreams ever really believe that GM would end up as new department of the government. I wonder how many GM people believed this, especially in the top levels of the organization. I wonder how many courageous decisions that needed to be made at the company were never made. All their talk about how competitive they were and how equal their cars were, was not enough, was it?

So here is the question Assuming they were unfairly disadvantaged as they claimed with their costs for pensions, health care, and supplements for laid off or idle workers, blah, blah, blah, what did they do that was dramatically different to address them - besides ongoing harping and endless confrontations with the unions. Did they make marked improvements with labor, so they all were committed to success, or did they approach the relationships in virtually the same ways. Did they try truly innovative approaches to selling new cars, beyond new features and deep discounts. I truly hope so, but fear they worst. Clearly, strategies such as On-Star and employee comparable discounts for everyone were nowhere near bold enough.

If you think you can stay pretty much the same and survive today, take some cash and buy your corporate tomb stone right now. You will not make it. And you should not. My guess is that an unfair playing field or other external forces are not the biggest problem for companies such as GM or perhaps yours. It is too many people, including those in senior management positions, who are permanently parked in the box of yesterday's world (whether they believe it or not). That is the real issue that must be resolved.

Think about it.

Steve