I usually post on topics that are personally interesting to me, and I share a lot of links to interesting stories via Twitter. But I haven’t taken much of an opportunity to post my perspectives on technology and business development/marketing – topics that I am deeply passionate about.
I’ve always been a geek, so technology is a natural for me. I started working on computers back when a program was something that you typed line by line into BASIC. I learned typing on a Commodore 64 that used a cassette tape for storage. Of course when I started playing around with LOGO on an Apple ][ in elementary school, the graphical user interface changed my perspective on life. I’m not much of an expert, but I’m not just someone that is attracted to shiny gadgets either. Technology for me, is a means to an end. In business, technology can enable a firm to get more done with less, or (as is the case all too often) get less done with more than is necessary. I’m a huge fan of the open source movement, but not to the detriment of productivity and efficiency. Technology for technology’s sake is gratuitous, but not making use of cost efficient tools that enable a person or company to advance runs counter to human evolution.
My approach to marketing and business development is also pragmatic. Adopting new techniques to keep up with the Jones’ is futile, but refusing to make use of proven methods is ill-advised. Marketing is only effective if it produces results. Professional marketers live by this, and the field has adopted principles that are more akin to the scientific method: forming a hypothesis, conducting carefully designed experiments with proper controls to isolate variables, rigorous collection and analysis of data, leading to theories that can be implemented and iterated. The Mad Men types and all that goes with it are no longer relevant today. Trust, integrity, transparency are valued much more over 4-color brochures and mass-media advertising. The benefit to this paradigm shift means that even the small and medium players of the world can hold their own against multi-million dollar campaigns that whitewash (and sometimes greenwash) the true nature of a brand. And brand is no longer a term that means something trivial such as a company logo. Now people have come to understand the importance of establishing a personal brand
. Marketing is no longer a luxury afforded only to big companies and carried out by overworked former graphic designers constantly scrutinized by the accounting department. In large companies, marketers are often C-level executives, and CEOs are expected to be personally involved to some extent. In small firms, if the company leader(s) are not actively contributing to marketing and business development, missed opportunity abounds.
Going forward, I’m going to try to make a stronger effort to post my thoughts on technology and business development, if for no other reason than to challenge my own thinking. I welcome comments and criticism, because as I stated, I’m no expert. I’m just a guy that loves tech and seeing business thrive.
