Freedom and Choice

Recently, I returned from a trip to Washington D.C. with my 15 year old son Jordan. It was amazing to see how many incredible individuals have gone before us to make this the greatest country in the world. As I was able to take in all of these individuals, a repeating pattern began to emerge. What really made these individuals great was the central fact that they believed with all their being extending freedom and choice to ALL individuals.

After this eureka moment, I then started to realize that these are the same two reasons why some companies are successful in good times and bad. Two cases in point: Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. Southwest’s motto is “Your are free to move about the country,” and they have always tried to be the no frills people centric airline. Yes, they did not have first class, but they gave the customers what they wanted (freedom) and choice of low cost fares. JetBlue also realized that Southwest was leaving open the “high-end” choice segment, so they offered EXACTLY what Southwest was offering but at a slightly higher price AND with a lot more perks (seat assignments, no center seats), but again at a choice point that exactly hit consumers sweet spot.

Another way of looking at Freedom and Choice is looking at the power of “AND.” JetBlue looked at the market and asked, “What if we combing first class AND low cost?” Essentially, combining features of the more expensive airlines, such as American Airline’s First Class with those of a discount carrier, such as Southwest’s low cost fares?

Looking at other notables who have employed the “power of and” you have to include Wal-Mart, Target, Virgin Atlantic, Apple, Google, eBay, Linux, Cisco, Hyundai, GE, and Procter and Gamble. Note: Apple and Google are starting to move away from the Freedom and Choice model, and are starting to be perceived as trying to control their markets. Look how the world perceives Microsoft, and how Freedom and Choice will eventually lead to Microsoft’s demise.

(Prediction: Obama will win the Presidential contest NOT because he is a better candidate, or more qualified, nor because he is African-American. He will win for the same reason that Reagan won. He brings the promise of Choice and Freedom. How is not as important as what, and What is the power of AND. If he stays on message, he may well carry over 55% of the popular vote.)

Anyway, how can any of this help you or your business? Well, ask yourself. Is what I am doing really helping people, and if not, how can I give my customers more freedom and more choices. This is NOT to say that you offer all things to all people. THAT is a recipe for disaster. What I am saying is that you FOCUS on offering MORE of what people really want, and if possible, things that until you can along, might have been mutually exclusive (like high quality, and affordable pricing; or like overnight letters and ground package delivery; or more taste and less filling).

So remember, are you on the side of control or on the side of freedom. People in general love the freedom fighters (cue “Braveheart,” “Star Wars,” “Mad Max”). We naturally abhor being constrained, and as Thomas Jefferson once said, “I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.“ Make this your motto in business, and you are almost guaranteed success.

The Moldy Middle

While taking statistics during my quest to get an MBA and while earning my engineering degree, the professors always emphasized the importance of finding the statistical mean of any population by using the Central Mean Theorem (a.k.a the highest point of the Bell Curve). As an engineer, this was essential in order to maximize throughput, minimize cost and waste, and ultimately make a better, faster, cheaper widget. A funny thing happened on the way to the dark side of marketing. I discovered that the only thing in the middle of the road was quite literally dead road kill. I do not know if you remember stores like Bradlees, Ames and Service Merchandise (just to name a few), but they all folded because the environment changed and they were caught trying to service the mythological “average customer.” Part of that change came when Wal-Mart began its juggernaut with the discount department store. Wal-Mart did two things right: 1) Focused on “mobile” consumers, and 2) Fo

The Rush to Bottom

I cannot take credit for these words of wisdom, and sadly I do not know who wrote it originally. So, I cannot acknowledge them by name but I can acknowledge their exceptional talent to get a message across with clarity and hard-hitting truths. Whomever this author is, I thank and admire you and take pleasure in sharing this with others! I have also included a video if anyone is interested in sharing it. “When the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great...but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.” An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one wi

How Much is Enough?

I have been thinking about integrity and honesty, and frankly should humanity even continue, but that is another thread. In my thinking, I keep coming back to the same question: How much or little cheating is enough? Or stated another way? How much of a lie makes you a liar? How much cheating do you have to do to be a cheater? How much do you need to steal for you to be considered a thief? How much infidelity do you need to be considered an adulterer? How much fraud to you need to commit for it to be criminal? How much of the truth needs to be changed for it to be untrue? How much shit exactly, does something need to have to be considered a shit sandwich? How dead must a person be to be considered murdered? How pregnant do you have to be to be considered pregnant? OK, the last two were off topic but the answer is “any”.. Any amount of lying makes you a liar. Any amount of cheating makes you a cheater. Any amount of stealing makes you a thief. Any amount of infidelity makes you an adult

The Profit Prophet

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