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If you want to tell people the truth, you’d better make them laugh or they’ll kill you.
     — George Bernard Shaw

The nature of wit is such that its bite must be like that of a sheep rather than a dog
      — Boccaccio

If you’re in the B2B solutions business, then you should be in the publishing business. And that puts you in the infotainment business.

That’s especially true if your product or service forces your clients to evolve.

It doesn’t matter too much how you label the thing you do.

What matters is if it makes them change their processes, staff composition/roles,  business philosophy, or business model. A marketing firm can effect this change. So can an add-on to a CRM software. Or business process consulting, or sales training. Or a consultative web design process.

Delivered differently, though, these same solutions merely optimize how a business operates – rather than transform form.

But now is the time to buy and sell things that transform how you engage with their world. And to keep trying until something sticks.

Like us, Boccaccio’s life was turned upside down by a global pandemic; his society’s response to it was even more incompetent than Donald Trump’s. So what did he write about in the Decameron? Ten people escaping the black plague by going into lockdown in the medieval Italian countryside. And? Telling each other every story they could think of. There’s a takeaway to the Decameron beyond, “neat stories”. It’s that when a cohort of people share their best stories, everyone gets a little wiser about what makes others tick.

Speaking of the Middle Ages and wisdom, do you remember learning about the court jester? We’re like the modern-day court jester – we are to provide the truth in a non-tiresome way. With pleasant user experience, you might say. The court jester told his liege the insulting, embarrassing truth. Couched in laughs and good feelings, as George Bernard Shaw later advised.

If you ever saw a Midsummer Night’s Dream, you’ll remember Bottom, a man with, unbeknownst to him, the head of a donkey, at least for a short time. His frightened friends wouldn’t let him approach them, so he gave chase and hurled accusations: “this is to make an ass of me”. But he was also entertaining on purpose too. And meanwhile, later in the play, Bottom also offered strategic advice for the battlefield.

How do you infotain?

I wouldn’t think of this as making someone laugh or even as entertaining them; that’s putting too much pressure on you, especially if that’s not your style. 

But there is something related to your work that amuses both you and them; often it’s the old way of doing things, like conference calls without video, floppy disks, or old enterprise software.

At the last employer I worked, for 12 years ago, 2,000+ fellow employees spent Friday afternoons squinting their eyes and cursing as they typed numbers into tiny little boxes on a webpage. And if you reloaded the page or your Internet connection dropped, you started over.

This was called, “hourly billing”. A workplace tragicomedy.

By the way, you’re not stilling by the hour, are you?

To infotain is to mock, gently, the things your audience shouldn’t be doing.

My best,
Rowan

In the news.

Airtable ​just raised 100 million at a billion-dollar valuation. Notion just raised money at a 2 billion-dollar valuation.​ Salesforce just bought Quip for 750 million. And Coda has raised 140 million.

What’s going on here? It’s not casino closures pushing gamblers towards NASDAQ speculation; only Salesforce is public. ​So what do these startup unicorns have in common?

To start, they all compete with Google GSuite and Microsoft 360 or Office 365 or whatever it’s called now. If MS Office was the first generation business software for your computer, and Gsuite the second, these startups are the third generation. You can put Canva (3.2 billion-dollar valuation) in this category too.

Productizing/Templatizing Expertise 

An ROI calculator is a useful prop. Like a cup in any production of Hamlet. How else can you tell the story of the death of Hamlet’s mother, who drank the poison meant for her son? Productions of Hamlet need that drinking vessel or it feels like charades. And you might need an ROI calculator.

But remember that it’s nothing but a prop in your story.

When is the last time you “switched” your religion because you thought it would increase your income by 7.4%? Or switched from one political camp to another, for a similar reason?

There’s a campaign concept that some Democratic pundits and politicians are in love with: “Don’t vote against your pocketbook”.

Clever but it doesn’t work.

Messaging focused on ROI calculation doesn’t work in the B2B business world either. It has a supporting role to play, but the leading role in your messaging is your customer’s identity and how you transform it.

Case Study: Scribe

Tucker Max learned about the value of calculation-marketing vs transformation marketing as he grew his business, Scribe publishing.

Having authored nonfiction books himself, both through self-publishing and through a major publishing house brand, he made the following observations:

• Self-publishing is easier economically than ever before
• There’s a methodical, replicable approach to publishing a quality non-fiction book, provided the author contributes expertise, time, and effort
• There are many fewer bookstores than there used to be, especially chains, which makes ecommerce the inevitable distribution channel; this levels the playing field
• Digital marketing and ecommerce are increasingly viable and accessible

and the coup d’grace:

• Because B2B expertise is more distributed outside of large corporations than it used to be, there are many independent experts who would profit from authoring a well-edited, well-produced book

Based on those trends, Tucker saw an opportunity to productize the expertise he’d acquired by forming Scribe, a specialized publishing and book marketing company. His market size was (and is) in the 10’s of thousands worldwide. 

The problem was how to make the case that he saw so clearly. How to convince prospects to spend $10,000 to $35,000 on your productized service – and even more on sheer effort.

Tucker initially did what many entrepreneurs do: create the ROI calculator.  I don’t refer to a single calculator but to a mindset affecting many aspects of his marketing. He made arguments based on the profitability of publishing a nonfiction book to would-be authors. He also told the story of his own business model, which mirrors dramatic changes in our society as bullet-pointed above.

Having been stripped by the Internet of exclusive marketing and distribution power, traditional book publishers like Random House and Double Day retained only three assets: name-brand validation, editorial expertise, and book production expertise.

It gets worse for the big publishing houses: Scribe does the last two (and probably other startups will start to do the same). This leaves big publishers with almost nothing but name-brand and the validation that comes with it.

Specifically, Scribe helps successful consultants and executives publish “BPD” (business and personal development) nonfiction books. It does so by pairing them with industry-insider book editors with decades of experience at traditional publishing houses. And asserting just as rigorous, time-consuming, and taxing an editorial and rewrite process. It also provides industry-leading illustrators, designers, and others who make books look and feel polished. Scribe authors get the exact same production quality as authors at the top 5 publishing houses. You cannot tell the difference on the outside or reading through the inside. Except for the brand name.

Scribe even attempts to chip away at the most valuable asset, name-brand validation, by redefining “vanity publishing”. As Max Tucker frames it, trying to get picked by a brand name publishing house (“pick me, pick me”) is the new vanity publishing, since this often comes down to connections and clout not ability and effort.

Not sure I buy that. I observe that excellent books are produced both through self-publishing and publishing houses. And I still think that publishing house brand names are extremely powerful – but more for emotional reasons, not business ones.

In fact, some Scribe authors have outsold their BPD counterparts at famous publishing houses. The Alter Ego Effect, by Todd Herman, for example. It ranks #6 in the lucrative “Business Consulting” category on Amazon.

But even Scribe books that sell little can be very lucrative to a consultant, coach, or other experts. Case studies suggest 6 and 7-figure increases in total revenue gained through selling various types of consulting products and services. In fact, that’s the essence of the ROI calculation argument that Scribes advertises.

It can be difficult to trace the attribution of consultative sales to a book, though. Your last sale – where did it come from? Your personal brand, your sales pitch, your website bio, the video you made?

It’s hard to know. But this is the point: Scribe took off when it stopped trying to do that attribution. When it stopped trying to lead with ROI calculation.

And here’s where Scribe’s story becomes the lesson for your business.

The pitch is not, “stop voting against your pocketbook”; the pitch is: become a different kind of person and professional, share your expertise with your audience, become recognized as an expert outside your immediate company and client base.

And by the way, you may also make more money as you do so. Because ROI calculators are still a good supporting argument. But only if they fit into the story about who your customer starts out as and who they become, under your guidance.

Which brings this story to an end.

My best,
Rowan

UHNW is a marketing term mostly used in the financial world meaning the super-rich (ultra-high-net-worth). So a fintech entrepreneur will say, “we’re marketing this to HNW’s and that to UNHW’s.” Talk about jargon.

What I find interesting about the ultra-rich though, is that nowadays they buy cheetahs.

There are only 7500 cheetahs left in the wild, yet the UNHW just keep snapping them up. I suppose they are easier to transport and house than endangered rhinoceroses.

I mentioned this fact the other day to my friend Dave, who responded: “Nowadays my ass”.

Apparently, the Pharaohs and lesser ancient-world potentates also kept pet cheetahs.

They were a sign of status – and still are. If you ever find yourself on a Zoom call with a prospective business partner or client, and he or she has a cheetah in the background, make a mental note.

In the time of Joseph, from the first book of the Bible, there was a Pharaoh who despite presumably owning a cheetah could not interpret his dreams. Joseph was born into poverty and worked as a servant for the captain of the guards. Yet this man of humble origins could interpret pharaonic dreams:

The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

Which must have helped the Pharoah plan ahead for a downturn in GDP, like any competent, ultra-high-net-worth individual. 

Because of Joseph’s wisdom, he was named ruler of all Egypt, after the Pharaoh. He had great wealth and power and was welcomed and obeyed by people of all tribes.

But he never had a cheetah. 

When Joseph died, he was ridiculed and his entire family was enslaved in a backlash against his sudden rise to power. He had not actually established himself or his family. You may be able to predict the future – or have some other valuable skill – but is that enough?

Good brand marketing means owning a cheetah.

I don’t mean gaudy, illegal, and ostentatious displays of wealth. I mean something associated with your business that is a sign of its long-lasting success. It could be a podcast, a helpful study, a guide book, or even just an unusually beautiful and well-designed website.

My best,
Rowan

In these pandemic days of 90-degree weather, I hear the splashing of the kiddie pools and of a real pool among the adjacent dwellings. It’s amazing how much joy water brings.

But a pool becomes an inhospitable swamp if not tended to. And evaporates entirely if not filled.

It is the same with a website – it must be watered regularly, primarily with your ideas. But with other things too. Your website is your MVP asset, partly because you get to own it forever. It’s the digital extension of property rights.

Also because it’s the swiss army knife of your business model. Need an ROI calculator? Need to publish a podcast? Need to issue refunds digitally? Need to publish your own business dictionary? Have a website.

Not owning a website is a non-viable business practice. Now more than ever in the post-pandemic era.

From my perspective, helping people create websites professionally for about 22 years now, this all seems beyond obvious. Owning a website has been table stakes for at least a decade now. It’s more than just a marketing asset.

But how do you own a website?

I hear things like, “this is the last time I’ll ever redesign my website.” In fact, I heard those words verbatim from a client the other day.

I empathize with the frustrating complexity of producing a high-value website; they never match up to ones that huge brands spend 100s of millions of dollars per year on.

But you can’t just set it and forget it; it doesn’t work like that.

It works like a pool; it has to be maintained – forever. 

Website redesign isn’t a thing you do; it’s not a project. It’s a state of mind and a business practice you embrace as an entrepreuner.

My best,
Rowan

 Someone cannot stand your for-profit business. Or at least a part of it. 

At, least ideally someone can’t. Non-controversial business models are for government agencies and nonprofits; not business brands.

And that’s scarily counterintuitive, to embrace disapproval. But as always, let’s do what scares us.

So who can’t stand you? And if the answer is no one, then why not?

Is it just for big brands to embrace controversy? Protip: No. Nothing meaningful in business is just for big brands but not for you.

I know someone who said of Seth Godin, “I can’t tolerate that new age bastard, all he does is recycle common sense!!”. That’s as verbatim as memory permits.

Then there’s me, convinced of the opposite. “I LOVE Seth Godin!”. He offers a way to find ethical and intellectual meaning in marketing.

He helped me realize: the marketing itself is the product. An idea which revolts some people. Fine with me.

Several people unsubscribed to this list when I wrote about my support for Black Lives Matter three times in one week. Also fine with me.

Personal branding expert Peter Montoya once said: “The most polarizing brands attract the most wealth.”

Everybody hates a fanboy (Apple, Tesla) but brands leverage that fanaticism into profits.

Think about any major religion. And their charismatic and controversial figures – Jesus, St. Francis of Assissi, Lao Tzu.

Think of any major political party or movement. And think of political demagogues like Trump and Bolsanaro.

What do they create: fanatics.

Also: violence, strife, attention, unpaid-for press, strong feelings, and actions taken.

Think of polarizing athletes like Kaepernick and Charles Barkley. And polarizing media hosts like Stern.

And the list goes on. We’re following the money now.

None of these individuals are business role models but we can learn something from them. By the way, sometimes there’s a cynical calculation to invite controversy on purpose, as is true of Donald Trump’s police state tactics in Portland, Oregon.

Ideally, though, the polarity you create comes from a deeply-considered belief about how your business should be done.

I can’t tell you what beliefs you should cultivate about business. I can tell you that if they don’t apply to both your business and personal life, they probably aren’t true.

I can also tell you that if you think you don’t have any beliefs, you’re mistaken. Simply, think back to the last time something pissed you off. 

In that moment lies the seed of your polarizing point-of-view. And that can change the way you conduct your business.

Best,
Rowan

I predict one day Amazon will fail. Amazon will go bankrupt. If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years.”
~ Jeff Bezos

Amazon will go out of business – though probably not on its 30th birthday, only 5 years from now. 

YouTube and the rest of Google will go out of business. So will Facebook and Twitter. Gone.

Or transformed into something completely different, like Sears. Sears dominated a kind of early-online shopping, the mail order catalog – you could order an entire house from Sears in 1906.  Some are still standing.

Amazon.com accounts for 50% of all online purchases in the United States. But for a generation, Sears accounted for over 90% of mail-order shopping in the United States. They seemed much more eternal than Amazon now seems. They still have 100s of department stores even after declaring bankruptcy in 2019.

But it appears Sears is en route to becoming just an online store. They have invested heavily in their web presence and, by objective standards, it seems better designed than Amazon.com. Its homepage UX is superb and it’s well-designed in other ways – it has useful product listings and product pages. Its shopping cart and checkout process work well. A lot better than the messy experience of shopping on Amazon.com.

This is an unfair comparison since Amazon is an open marketplace supplied by 10’s of thousands of independent merchants. The diversity of products and services makes is extremely difficult for Amazon to present coherent product listings, let alone a coherent homepage.

But the point is – Sears and lots of mass merchants have better online stores than Amazon.com. So why does Amazon do so well? Why will it sell about 300 billion in 2020?

Because Amazon focuses religiously on orders, order tracking, and order returns.

In this one category group, Amazon.com is the best in the world. I highly doubt that’s accidental. Nothing makes buyers happier than knowing when they are getting what they have bought. And knowing that they can return or cancel that order easily. And knowing both processes happen fast – faster than anywhere else.

There’s always something for us small boutique, B2B knowledge-businesses to learn from the business giants. Especially when it comes to productizing services. Here the question is, how can you make order tracking and returns part of your business? 

My best,
Rowan

If you want someone to pay you for advice, I like the 5-to-1 rule: for every critique, 5 compliments.

This is the sandwich rule (compliment-criticism-compliment) on steroids. Its premise is that groups perform better when overwhelmed by positivity. You see this principle in action on Seth Godin’s Akimbo workshops.

HBR published research on the 5-to-1 rule 7 years ago https://hbr.org/2013/03/the-ideal-praise-to-criticism.html. Their research approach was to compare teams with varying “complimenting protocols. The team instructed to complement one another the most devised the most profitable solutions. On average, they complimented one another 5 times for every criticism; as a result, criticisms were not only better received but they more frequently resulted in behavior changes.

It’s not just about money either. Withholding compliments is a form of emotional greed, childish and rude. But withholding useful criticism is also selfish. It’s important to criticize well. If you can’t criticize your clients work well, you are not a consultant.

But how to do 5 compliments for every criticism – genuinely.

The first step is to use the word advice, not criticism. But if the advice has negativity, it should still be ensconced in positivity.

It sounds harder than it is – 5 positive interactions. It gets easier by cultivating these habits:

• “Dale-Carnegie-style generosity
• curiosity
• humility

Curiosity lets you discover more facts about someone that may impress you. Humility lets you assign more value to those facts than you otherwise might. What they know might be more valuable than what you know.

Dale Carnegie asks us to build up goodwill through many little acts of generosity – such as taking the time to learn someone’s name ((Dale Carnegie said “Remember that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language... https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People-ebook/dp/B07CRCWG7Q/)) and seizing every opportunity to say it.

That gives us a formula: being a profitable advice-giver means being curious, humble, and generous with what you observe. Of course, people have to want your advice in the first place; that’s another discussion.

Hopefully your next question is, how do you be curious?

My best,
Rowan

Consider the following:

• argumentum ad hominem
• argumentum ad populum
• argumentum ad misericordiam
• argumentum ad baculum
• argumentum ad crumenam
• argumentum ad ignorantiam
• argumentum ad captandum vulgus

These terms sound so stately. If someone knows what they mean, they must smart and well-educated – maybe they know something that can help you.

But these are nothing but cheap tricks.

You probably already know what an ad hominem attack is – it skirts the issue by attacking the person connected to it; threatens them into backing down.

argumentum ad populum appeals to your need to belong. Everyone else is doing it. 34,000 others in your field subscribe to it. Etc.

argumentum ad ignorantium is one of the most outrageous – it’s when someone claims something is true because it has not been proven false.

These terms are the jargon of logicians.

Our jargon is similar in that it was created for an innocent reason – it’s shorthand. It makes complex concepts easier for the professionals thats deal with them daily. 

Then something a little less innocent happens – the jargon acquires the veneer of “insider badge”. 

This is why the police talk in jargon. This is why I sometimes talk in jargon (“content marketing strategy” – guilty). And why you might too. It says:

• “I have a system for dealing with this complex problem”
• “And I am a part of a special group of people.”
• “I’m smart”

But here’s the problem – your audience doesn’t have to deal with those complex problems and concepts; you do. They do care that you are smart, and part of a special group of problem solvers – but there are better ways to convey that.

Don’t let jargon poison your copy by presenting it without context – that’s a very cheap trick.

Instead, introduce your jargon and explain what it means – that’s a lovely trick. It will also give you the opportunity to create your own definitions that will help your audience better understand your business.

My best
Rowan

Yesterday we talked about change consulting vs optimization, an idea Philip Morgan explores too.

We also looked at a framework for evaluating what it means to be a change business. How does a change business interact with its customers?

I said it asks 4 questions:

1. What type of person is the change for?
2. What’s the inciting incident(s) that leads them towards change?
3. What is the outcome of the change?
4. How is that change achieved?

You could add a 5th – is focus on revenue or costs? I wouldn’t add it, because I think it’s actually a separate category.

A change business can focus on either revenue or costs (or both). Same for an optimization business.

That makes it useful to plot the profitability-model category, costs vs revenue, against the impact-type category, change vs optimization.

Examples of Change/Optimization vs Costs/Revenue

Focused on Optimization and Revenue

• Conversion rate optimization
• Search Engine Optimization
• Pricing

Focused on Optimization and Costs

• Software speed optimization
• Search engine optimization
• Pricing 

Focused on Change and Revenue

• Product design
• Brand messaging
• Sales coaching

Focused on Change and Costs

• Digital transformation
• Productivity consulting
• Leadership coaching

The last example, Leadership coaching, is intentionally problematic. An effective leader probably fits all four categories above, though their emphasis should be on transformation.

In fact, most change/transformation businesses have some element of optimization in them – but not vice versa.

A side note on digital transformation – my former firm used to do this though I never used the term. The next time you meet someone who uses the term to describe their business, show them this chart – what they often don’t realize is how lopsidedly focused on costs/efficiency they are – versus focused on revenue. Nothing wrong with that focus, of course. But it’s good to realize where you land in the grander scheme.

Where does your business fit on this matrix?

My best
Rowan