Len's News, Notes, and Stuff

Deep Lessons from the World of Pasta Sauce

When it comes to human behavior and human preferences, there is no one best way to do things.  Taylorism is fine and dandy for automatic production in factories, but as a framework for thinking about the world, “the one best way” is a sure way to business disaster (or at least sub-par performance) and an inability to truly please people (yes, your customers are people).

Here is an interesting presentation by Malcolm Gladwell, of Tipping Point, Outliers and Blink! fame, about the change in thinking that took place in the North American food industry since the 1970s.  The food industry went from looking for the one “best” product to serve the market to finding the “best products, plural” to serve the various distinctive subgroups in the market.

The best points from this presentation:

1. People are not all the same, so don’t treat the market as one homogeneous mass
2. People don’t always consciously know what they want, so don’t keep asking them verbally
3. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different – a continuum, not a hierarchy

I think these key points are helpful for marketers and communicators across the board, and this presentation makes these points wrapped in a very memorable framework.

Enjoy!  Buon appetito!

What Do You Do? How You Phrase the Answer Can Make or Break You

Marketing isn’t something just for the marketing department.  It’s something we all do, but it’s just that most of us do it very poorly.  The clip below is talking about indie musicians marketing themselves – you know, the kind that the big labels haven’t picked up, nobody knows about, and are trying to get people to check them out – but the advice applies to everyone.

It applies to every business, where you need to interest customers immediately.  It applies to everyone looking for work, where you need to make an impression in your cover letter and at the interview.  It applies anywhere, anytime when you need to get someone’s attention and give you their time and their interest.

Of course, it’s also good to think of a memorable answer to the question, “What do you do?” for the next time you’re at a party and get asked that honest, sensible question.  BTW, you are not your job title.  What is it that you do?  What do you accomplish?

But that’s leading me to a new topic for another post some other time.

Still, we all would be well-served by thinking about what it is we do, and then phrasing it in a way that is interesting and memorable.  Yes, even for those of us who aren’t indie musicians.

Did You Know Addresses Don’t Work the Same Way Everywhere?

It’s really cool to find out that I’ve been using a basic assumption that I didn’t even know was there.

There are some things that are so fundamental to the way that people where we grow up think that we don’t even realize that certain basic assumptions have been made.  It is not until we see for ourselves that people elsewhere do it differently, or hear about it, that we realize, “Oh wow, there is another way to do this!”

As they say, fish know nothing of water.

Take a look at this quick little gem.  I’ll bet you never realized that the way we think of addresses in the West isn’t the only logical way to do it!

Police Remind Themselves to Play Nicely with Protesters

As a follow-up to my earlier post about government and protesters living in harmony, I thought I’d share some of the comments that I saw at work today.  The following are taken verbatim, straight from an official document.

“Protests are part of everyday life, especially in Toronto. Important to consider that citizens have the right to lawful protest.”

“The policy is not to discourage protests. The aim of the Communities Relations Group is to work with them and advise the protestors of the ground rules.”

“Provide written “Freedom of Speech Expectations” to protest groups. Pre-Summit outreach to protest groups by police is a key element in the facilitation of lawful and peaceful demonstration activity.”

From my brief interactions with individuals of a decidedly activist stance, and from my informal survey of protest group websites, I get the impression that many activist groups readily compare our police forces to the Gestapo and other politically-guided secret police forces.  While I’ve had the distinct impression that some individuals within the emergency response community hold a decidedly dim view of protesters, I think that is the exception rather than the norm.

Consider the emphasis given to trying to enable peaceful protest as the right of concerned citizens in a democratic society.  There is no intent to shut anyone up.  There is no intent to limit what any particular group can say.  The only concern is to keep the protests legal – which means it does not infringe on the rights of others and does not damage property.The following is a particularly telling quote:

“Ensure that the press have access to protest sites because protestors want their issues raised.”

Sometimes the security forces will designate particular areas as “approved” protest areas.  My impression from what I’ve heard on this front is that the security agencies are trying to find logical, open spaces for protesters to congregate, without infringing on security zones – zones which the security agencies will defend with physical and legal force – and which will still give the protesters the visibility that they are looking for.

Finally, I find it interesting that mention was made regarding the protection of local businesses and property owners:

“Legal determination whether it is an unlawful assembly or not. Declaration required of “unlawful assembly.”  Do not use “riot” because it invalidates insurance policies.”

Insurance policies typically do not cover damage caused by war and riots.  So the declaration of civil disturbance as a riot has serious financial consequences that may be wholly unintentional.

It’s comfortable and convenient to put one group in the box labeled “Good Guys” and another group in another box labeled “Bad Guys.”  But it isn’t always that easy.Take, for instance the following quote:”Ethnic groups within the GTA have a history of engaging TPS to identify individuals within their communities who are likely to attempt to change a peaceful and lawful protest into an unlawful one.”Protests typically turn violent because of a limited number of troublemakers.

Most protesters just want to be heard.  As a result, many groups have learned to work with police agencies and will “out” the troublemakers in their ranks.Government, police, and protesters aren’t likely to ever become “best friends”, but they certainly can exist and act in a harmonious manner that reflects the values of a democratic society.

Ottawa MPs costing you money, all for photo opps with Haitian orphans

Politicians love photo opps with little babies. They also love photo opportunities with orphans from Haiti, and are willing to inconvenience many people and cost taxpayers money for them. Maybe you’ll want to think twice about voting Conservative again in the next federal election in Canada.

Then again, politicians are politicians, no matter what party they come from. Maybe this would happen regardless of party affiliation. Still, as a taxpayer and voting citizen, you should know what’s going on.

You have undoubtedly heard on the news about Haitian orphans almost at the end of the adoption process being expedited and transported up to Canada. Well, here are some more details.

1. All Haiti evacuees are supposed to be flown to the Montral airport at Dorval. A reception centre with medical, social, security, and immigration services is all set up there.
2. The vast majority of Haiti evacuees are destined for somewhere in the Province of Quebec. Makes sense, since Haitians speak French & Creole.
3. Federal ministers are in Ottawa and (a) don’t want to fly to Montreal, and (b) would have to fight through Quebec provincial red tape to get photo ops with the orphans at Dorval.

So, the solution seems obvious, from a politician’s point of view: Fly the whole planeload of orphans and other evacuees to Ottawa. Get a picture taken with the orphans, make the voters feel good, get a few more votes.

The problem is that Ottawa has to set up a reception centre for the incoming orphans and evacuees when Montreal already has a perfectly good one set up. It also means that after the plane lands, and the orphans & other evacuees are processed, they’re all transported by bus. Where to? Right to the Dorval Airport reception centre where they would have started out if the planes were directed to Montreal in the first place.

This isn’t costing tons of money, but it is costing you the taxpayer something. It also shows the slick side of politics that gives politicians the bad rap they sometimes rightfully deserve. They’re willing to cause other people trouble and use taxpayers’ dollars to do something that has no benefit or value to anyone other than giving a few politicians an opportunity to look good.

We all want to help the Haitians, and we all want to help kids. But the next time you see a photo of an MP next to a group of Haitian orphans, or any politician next to the group-we’re-helping-this-quarter, ask yourself and your elected representatives to what extent the shots were staged and whether they cost extra taxpayer resources and money to make possible.

You’re paying for politicians to look good. You should know when that’s happening and ask questions. Sometimes it’s justified, sometimes it’s not.