Vignettes

When Marketers Run Amok

When Marketers Run Amok

There are many examples of startups trying to ride on the heels of other successful companies. The Uber of this, the Netflix of that, the Airbnb for whatever… These shortcuts may help people understand what you do but are incredibly cliche. And lazy. Comparative marketing is one thing, but this is an entirely different type of marketing, and it needs to stop. Or go full-monty on Nonsense. The Billie Eilish of Towels. The amuse-bouche of Tech Support. The Ham Sandwich of dog leashes. So many possibilities.

References and Resources

Please Don’t Be “The Uber of” Anything by Emma Stratton; Type: Article

Stop saying you’re the Netflix of this or the Uber of that. by Oh Blimey; Type: Article

Your Company Isn’t the Uber or AirBNB of Anything by Wonden Works; Type: Article

Humans Can Win

Humans Can Win

Today was a day. Today was going to be difficult but doable. That is until my wife’s surgery was rescheduled 2 hours earlier than planned. And then everything became infinitely more complicated. I am grateful to my customers who understood and moved our meetings. I am grateful to everyone who understood – even those who have been pushing, pushing, pushing for speed and progress. I am grateful, that although we all have things that need doing, or fixing, or implementing, or solving – that humanity and empathy led every interaction – from customers to coworkers. I am grateful.

My wife is recovering right now as I write this.

Also, I should have taken the day off. The days of trying to do everything are over. Some things should always take priority, and your significant other’s surgery should always make that list.

Lesson learned.

What You Say vs. What You Do

What You Say vs. What You Do

Just a friendly reminder: Saying you are good at something is not the same as showing that you are good at it. For example, saying you are good at listening is not the same as being good at listening, especially if you say it when you should be listening.

Not a Reason for Return to Office

Not a Reason for Return to Office

With the sweeping changes in US Government positions to return to office, it’s just a matter of time before additional Corporations follow suit. This is in addition to Amazon, AT&T, Boeing, Dell Technologies, JPMorgan Chase, UPS, and The Washington Post, which have already implemented an RTO mandate. And though Tech vs Humans is very much against RTO, we also want to voice concerns about constant Zoom calls and how to resolve the main challenges with them.

According to Stanford University, there are four causes of Zoom fatigue (and we feel every one of them).

  1. Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact is highly intense.
    • Solution: Reduce the size of the window, making it less likely that you’ll focus on eye-contact
    • Risk: Reducing the size of the window can help, but it can also tempt you into trying to multitask. Don’t.
  2. Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing.
    • Solution: Most applications now have a hide “self-view” option. Use it.
    • Risk: Without a self-view, there is a risk that you’ll forget you are on camera.
  3. Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility.
    • Solution: Invest in a Bluetooth headset and be ok with turning your video off during calls to move around.
    • Risk: Video calls usually require video, so please ensure you have a shared understanding with your audience about when you can or cannot be on video.
  4. The cognitive load is much higher in video chats.
    • Solution: Force breaks in your day or add audio-only calls if breaks are not an option.
    • Risk: Audio calls aren’t the same as video calls in terms of connection, so you’ll want to ensure you mix up how often you do audio vs. video so you don’t lose that connection.

References and Resources

The Official List of Every Company’s Back-to-Office Strategy by the Hubble Team; Type: Article

Stanford researchers identify four causes for Zoom fatigue and their simple fixes by Stanford University; Type: Article

The Candidate Experience Survey

The Candidate Experience Survey

The “Candidate Experience” is the latest trend in recruitment, and it’s an odd concept that shows how quickly we, collectively, are losing our touch with humanity. The “Candidate Experience” is intended to measure a company’s recruitment process by asking potential candidates for feedback. Fundamentally, however, it in itself lacks humanity and balance. For example, I received a questionnaire after not proceeding to the next round in an interview process. First, a question – why would I fill out this questionnaire? What’s in it for the candidate that didn’t get moved on in the recruitment process? But, lets continue, the first question in the questionnaire is: Based on your experience interviewing, how likely are you to encourage other people to apply?

On the surface, that may seem like a fair question, but here’s the issue.

  1. I am still trying to understand why I was not moved to the next round. I have yet to receive feedback. Why would I bother giving the company feedback when I received none?
  2. I gave the company hours of my time, and now they want more of my time. (In other words, they are asking more from me than they were willing to give me…and I’m not talking about a job; I’m talking about the time it takes to write feedback (or give something other than a form response) – something I can learn for the next opportunity.
  3. The Survey itself is flawed—I don’t know how I could score higher than the lowest score, as I’m not interviewing for the experience of interviewing but for the job, which I didn’t get. And I wouldn’t want anyone to have an empty interview with no feedback or discussion and, as far as I know, no chance of landing a job.
  4. I’m not submitting the survey for the above reasons—which is the best I can do for this Company. So, if my experience and rationale are consistent with all other candidates who didn’t get moved on, the only survey results they’ll receive are people who did get the offer—which completely skews the actual metrics this Survey is trying to obtain. The candidate’s experience is not represented in the survey; the future employee experience is.

Learning: Companies are attempting to ask more of candidates while giving them less, calling this “The Candidate Experience.” If you want to improve the experience, talk to the consumers of that experience. If it’s more than just the illusion of caring, that is.

LinkedIn Translation

LinkedIn Translation

LinkedIn is a fun place. It’s a mixture of people doing well and showcasing (in various ways) that fact. And of people who were just laid off or have struggled to find the next opportunity. One particularly “helpful” post that we believe falls into the masked braggadocios category is the “Everyone always asks me…” post. “Everyone always asks me how I got $1M in revenue in 6 months,” or “Everyone always asks me how I converted 50% of my leads into opportunities.”

When you see these, use the following filter to amend the post.

Everyone always asks me TRANSLATES TO Not a single person has ever asked me.

Once you have that mindset, the information provided takes on a more realistic meaning – here are my thoughts on the subject. And if you know that person and trust that person, it may be great information. However, 9 times out of 10, it’s just noise.

Humans and AI

Humans and AI

I recently wrote a blog post about AI, and the comments varied wildly. They ranged from “You are overblowing your concerns” to “AI is terrifying.” I fully recognize AI’s potential benefits and dangers, but the primary concern is the easy access to both. All you need is the internet, a laptop, and a GitHub or Reddit account to leverage AI’s power. Heck, I used AI to write a book on content that I wrote over the course of 4 years. It was amazing. A horrible book, but still amazing that it could pull 150 blog posts into a 220 page book.

Learning: In the end, AI has incredible benefits and it does no good in being a doomsayer about it’s dangers. As long as human controls exist to manage AI and those who leverage AI in a damaging way can be punished, we have no reason for concern.

Solve it like a Toddler

Solve it like a Toddler

In Consulting, jumping to the solution with a partial understanding of the issue is common. It’s a well-documented pitfall in Consulting. I’m talking about Root Cause analysis in action – precisely Steps 1 and Step 2 of Root Cause Analysis.

We often don’t spend enough time on Steps 1 and Steps 2 because we want to speed to Step 4, “Find Solutions.” Solutioning is also incredibly seductive and is a perfect example of Action Bias – we, as humans, often favor action over inaction (or perceived inaction). However, a fantastic tool is the ‘5 Whys’ when you want to get to the core of an issue. Understanding the problem and the causes often requires asking Why 5 times or until there are no more answers. Once you have no answers to the Why question, you have effectively found the Root Cause. Note: It doesn’t mean that the other answers aren’t important, but to get to the root of an issue, your curiosity needs to take over.

I highly recommend reading the article below by the Lean Enterprise Institute to learn more.

References and Resources

5 Whys by Lean Enterprise Institute; Type: Article

Business Jargon that Proves You’ve Never Gone Camping

Business Jargon that Proves You’ve Never Gone Camping

“The long pole in the tent” is a metaphor with multiple meanings:

  1. The most important aspect of a problem. The most crucial thing that needs to be addressed first for a project to be successful. For example, it might refer to a key decision-maker or department.
  2. The most intractable part of a problem. A component of a project that takes longer than others. For example, in a project, “XYZ work is the long pole in the schedule.”
  3. The critical path: The longest path from start to finish that determines the overall duration of a project.

Although it can be annoying to keep up with these metaphors, this one is a solid addition. Though “critical path” has been historically used, it is less comprehensive than this metaphor. Critical paths often neglect department and human levels, frequently where many implementations stall.

References and Resources

A hot metaphor emerges by New York Times; Type: Article