Leadership Secrets of New England Patriots

By Jay Maharjan

 

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Tonight’s Patriots-Giants game was probably one of the most exciting regular season games in the history of NFL. In the era of ever changing dynamics of coaches, free agent star players and the owners who do not truly appreciate the sport, it is refreshing to see a well led and managed organization like the Patriots clinching the 16-0 perfect season. If you look closely, The Patriots organization has always been different from other sports franchises. Between the humble owner, Bob Kraft to the disciplined coach Bill Belichick and all the levelheaded players - they all sing the same tune.

In 2005, James Lavin wrote an interesting and thoroughly researched book on the Patriots – Management Secrets of New England patriots. The book highlighted the management and leadership traits that helped them win the three super bowls. With this year’s perfect season – happened only the second time in the history of NFL and the first time since the league moved to a 16 game format – the Patriots are still in sync with the leadership traits that Lavin presented in his book. Some of the traits that Lavin pointed out in his book included:

  1. Respect opponents, Do not undermine your competition
  2. It’s Leadership! not luck
  3. Humble ownership/ top management sets the right direction
  4. Consummate Leadership is the key
  5. Winning with class
  6. Smart coaches/ leaders & coachable players/staff
  7. look for overlooked talent
  8. Focus on value (Performance/pay)
  9. Expectations – Past performance is no guarantee for future results. Be creative!
  10. Everyone’s a coach. Every member of an organization needs to take a lead.
  11. Being competitive is not a bad thing. Don’t get mad, get even!
  12. Best marketing is a great product

Some of the traits mentioned in this post are along the direction of my previous writings on Business Plan Basics.

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The Future of Optimized Television Advertising

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This afternoon, I was at a meeting where General Manager of CharterMedia presented the future of targeted marketing for the cable television advertisers. This service is only in its first year, but the results from the initial run are quite promising. Based on a strategic platform that is similar to that of google and its demand based advertising model, the cable version is simpler even for a SEO novice. Among various interactive TV advertising tools available on the market, this is by far one of the most effective interactive and relationship based models that I have seen.

The process in a nutshell:

The advertisers will get to embed custom messages on the bottom of their TV ads – this is done via clients’ existing cable boxes. The messages are controlled by the cable company based on clients’ specific demographic, psychographic, geographic and geo-psychographic traits. Once these interactive messages appear on the commercials, with a simple click of a button, clients will be able to order the featured products/services. Because of the Cable Privacy Act, the cable companies will act as the primary fulfillment hub. This is good news for the cable companies as this could be an additional profit center, but there is an upside for the advertisers as well. Under most circumstances, the advertisers would outsource the fulfillment portion to a third party anyway.

From a marketing executive’s point of view, the productive portion of the process is its extensive reporting capability. If done properly, the reports can be used to zone in to your target buyers in a relatively short period of time.

Some of the cool features:

a. Orders/information are processed with a click of a button

b. Once information is requested, the future messages will be automatically updated for the particular client.

c. Telescoping – where clients will get to choose to click on the 30-second spot into an extended version. This is appropriate for advertisements for colleges, where a prospective student can choose to watch an extended information on a specific program.

d. All the reporting is instantaneous and will be available to be viewed online – a great tool for marketing executives/managers

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Why don’t many ad agencies advertise?

Here is an excerpt of a very interesting article by SinekPartners CEO, Simon Sinek. The article talks about how a traditional ad agency operates when it comes to advertising its own message. I am sure once businesses understand “Do as I say and not as I do” mentality of many ad agencies, they will do their homework to find the agencies that truly care about their needs.

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An excerpt

IF ADVERTISING is so effective, why don’t ad agencies advertise? PR firms tout themselves in releases. Event planners throw their own parties. E-marketers use the Internet. These folks all believe in the effectiveness of their disciplines. Do ad agencies disagree?

In an increasingly cynical age of advertising and mass marketing, modern ad agencies work hard to reinforce the value of their product with their clients. “Studies” are whipped up to prove the effectiveness of the medium. And when client budgets are tight, agencies will provide data to show the importance of advertising in a down market. But this “do as I say, not as I do” mentality raises a suspicious eyebrow.

More than advertising, agencies rely quite heavily on pr. Getting mentioned or singled out in Brandweek, Adweek and other prominent newspapers and magazines supports an agency’s ability to drum up business.

When Donny Deutsch took over leadership of the agency his father started, he tried to drive new business with a full page ad in the New York Times. The ad was ineffective at helping Deutsch attract clients. Deutsch abandoned his own product and hired high-priced pr mavens at Rubenstein Associates to raise his profile. And it worked.

In their own defense, agencies may point out that they operate in a business-to-business environment and their product is more effective in a business-to-consumer landscape. But the argument holds no weight because agencies routinely pitch and promote the value of ads to b-to-b clients, too.

If agencies hype the importance of branding campaigns for public companies to enhance their image among investors, why is it that Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP don’t support their brand images on Wall Street?

According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the four holding companies spent a total of $3.7 million to promote themselves in the U.S. in 2005, down 15% from the $4.4 million they spent in 2004.

Considering that agencies recommend their clients spend 10% of their revenues on marketing, the big four are spending .01% of their combined $29.3 billion in global revenue. Mull that for a second or two.

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Cool stuffs on the web

By Jay Maharjan

Ever second-guess your doctor’s diagnosis or just curious to see if you can learn more on your own? Now you can! There is a cool website called wrongdiagnosis.com. This site is equipped with more than 8,000 different medical conditions – and more cases are added every day. Mark Frauenfelder has done a great job compiling some of the cool sites like this one in his book - Rule the Web.

With the barriers to entry for web presence going down, there are several cool sites emerging every day. Kayak.com has been around for a while, but it is my favorite for finding the best flight deals. Instead of visiting independent travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity, Kayak does all the searching for you and generate the best results.

If you are an online shopper, you will like this one! eComemrce sites always ask if you have a coupon right before checking out and the chances are you never do. Now, you can visit Retailmenot.com and get a temporary coupon code that you can use instantly.

google is your best friend when it comes to finding information. What you may not know is that google has come a long ways and developed some really cool features – like finding out the real time status of the flight with the live picture of the flight path when you type in a flight number in the search bar.

Some of the new web ideas fascinate me. I will start writing about some of the cool web sites that I come across.

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Sales tips for entrepreneurs

Brand Yourself as an Expert

The Pro: Erica Feidner The Company: Steinway & Sons in New York City Key Stat: Has been company’s top salesperson for eight years straight.

Inc. Magazine

Erica Feidner insists that she’s not “in sales”–never mind that she expects to move roughly $3.5 million worth of pianos in 2004. Feidner prefers to think of herself as a piano matchmaker. Add to her interesting mindset the fact that she takes clients by referral only. And add the fact that she recently filed for a patent to further establish herself as a music expert. And finally, add to that the amazing press that she’s received as a result of her unusual approach to selling pianos. What you end up with is a salesperson who transcends the label. Having been branded an expert, Feidner finds it’s much easier to close deals.

Stroll through Steinway’s lavish show room with Feidner, and you’re apt to feel like you’re spending time with a psychologist. The former concert pianist, who also has an M.B.A., tries to learn as much as she can about you before picking out a piano to show you. If you think you’re tone-deaf, she teaches you to hear the differences between each instrument. If you can’t decide, she gives you some alone time. If the right piano isn’t available, she encourages you to wait to buy.

This unique approach led, in 2001, to The New Yorker publishing a profile of Feidner, describing her uncanny ability to match people with pianos. The article also delves into her personal life, from her bohemian upbringing in a house full of pianos to her stint as Miss Vermont in 1985 to her struggle with player’s block, which resulted in a falling-out with her father.

After the article came out, Feidner realized that her customers were at least as interested in her as they were in Steinway. Typical of her clientele today is Erica Huang, a landscape painter from Huntington Beach, Calif., who sought out Feidner after reading the article. “There was something about her story and the courage she showed as a person,” Huang says. “In my own life, there are parallels.” Less than an hour after stepping into Steinway this past March, Huang put a deposit on a $43,100 Steinway model M that, according to Feidner, has an “inner fire,” just like Huang.

In addition to drawing new business, the article is a killer calling card. Feidner e-mails it to top prospects like Andrew Mitchell, an accountant from Upper Montclair, N.J., who found it in his in box after he called Steinway to express an interest in trading in his old Boston model for something better suited to his 16-year-old son’s musical talents. A few weeks and many phone calls, tune-ups, and test runs later, Mitchell plunked down $51,900 for a slightly used Steinway model B with a black satin finish. “After going through that process, I have a very good appreciation for Erica’s discrete skill,” he says.

To enhance her already impressive credentials, Feidner, a perky 39-year-old, is now attempting to patent her method of teaching people to read music in one lesson. She figures that protected intellectual property will, like a magazine article, separate her from the pack. Feidner first filed the application back in April 2002, with the help of attorney Charles Miller, whom she met, naturally, when she sold him a Steinway grand. She spent about 20 hours total teaching the lesson to Miller’s assistant, revising the method, and approving drawings. The whole process cost about $5,000. Feidner also has plans to establish herself on the corporate speaker circuit. She will position her one-lesson music instruction as a team-building exercise. When the corporate types she trains decide they want a piano, they’ll naturally come to her.

Besides making sales easier, there are other perks to the woman at the center of the burgeoning Erica Feidner brand. Customers sincerely appreciate her. Recently, for example, Feidner arrived home to find a lovely fruit basket on her doorstep. It was a thank-you from Mitchell. His son’s piano had just arrived.

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Principles of Sun Tzu and The Art of Business

November 30, 2007 at 5:04 pm

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1. Win all without fighting
Capturing your market without destroying it
2. Avoid Strength/Attack Weakness
Striking where they least expect it
3. Deception and foreknowledge
Maximizing the power of market information
4. Speed and preparation
Moving swiftly to overcome your competitors
5. Shape your opponent
Employing strategy to master the competition
6. Character-based leadership
Providing effective leadership in turbulent time

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1. Win all without fighting
Capturing your market without destroying it

* Prioritize markets and determine competitor focus
* To win all without fighting you must first decide which markets you want to win and whom you must defeat in those markets to do so. Therefore, in this step, you must first prioritize your markets and then select a competitor in those markets on whom to focus your efforts.

2. Avoid Strength/Attack Weakness
Striking where they least expect it

i.e: WWI and II, Germans avoiding French Armies

* Attacking psychological weaknesses
o The supreme excellence in war is to attack the enemy’s plans
o Next best is to disrupt his alliances
o The next best is to attack his army
o The worst policy is to attack cities
o Anger his general and confuse him
o Keep him under strain and wear him down
* Develop attacks against competitor’s weakness
* Once you’ve selected a competitor to focus on, you must determine that firm’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as understanding your own. Prioritize your competitor’s weaknesses by elevating in importance those weaknesses that, if attacked successfully, would severely unbalance your competitor. Take the 4 most critical weaknesses and develop 2 to 3 potential attacks against each that could be used successfully.

3. Deception and foreknowledge
Maximizing the power of market information

* Foreknowledge
* Know your competition
* Know yourself
* Utilizing Information Technology
* Knowing your market
* Deception
o It is not enough to know yourself, the business terrain, and your competitor. The other side of the equation is ensuring that your competition is unable to know you. This is where deception comes in.

i.e: Trojan horse

* If the competitors do not know where you will attack next, they will be confused and unable to respond effectively. They waste resources by allocating them incorrectly and it creates spots to attack by making its management unsure of your intentions.
* Wargame and plan for surprise
Now use your knowledge of your competitor to wargame each attack, playing out the moves and countermoves that could occur. It is especially important to forecast how your competitor might leverage its strengths in a counterattack. As you wargame your attacks, think through how you might achieve surprise against your competitor by disguising the attacks with deceptive moves.

4. Speed and preparation
Moving swiftly to overcome your competitors

“Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack”

* Speed surprises and shocks the competition
* Reducing Cycle time
* Scenario planning and wargaming
* Ready your attacks and release them
* Determine what preparations are required for successfully executing your integrated set of attacks, your strategy. Then, execute your attacks with speed and shckpower.

i.e: Napoleon, WWII

5. Shape your opponent
Employing strategy to master the competition

* First put together all you have learned so far. You must know the situation
* Then you must be able to deceive your competitor as to your plans. And do so with
* blinding speed.
* Using bait to shape your competitor
* Holding strategic positions
* Leaving a way out
* Avoid being shaped
* Integrate best attacks to unbalance your competition
* This is the point to select the one or 2 key weaknesses of your competitor that you will exploit. The results of your wargaming will provide the insight to do so and will also assist you in deciding which set of attacks to utilize and how they can be integrated for maximum impact on your competitor. This becomes your strategy.
* Alliances
o prevent your competitors from combining to oppose you
o if powerful alliances exist, avoid attacking them
o if you must attack, first separate your competitor from his allies
o make skillful use of your own allies
o do not choose the wrong allies
o know how to maintain an alliance and when to end one

6. Character-based leadership
Providing effective leadership in turbulent time

* build your character, not just your image
* lead with actions, not just words
* share employee’s trials, not just their triumphs
* motivate emotionally, not just materially
* assign clearly defined missions to all, avoiding mission overlap and confusion
* make your strategy drive your organization, not the reverse
* Reinforce success, starve failure
* Support your strategy with prompt action, determining quickly which attacks are succeeding and which are not. Ruthlessly reinforce success and starve failure.

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Based on the book Sun Tzu and The Art of Business written by Mark McNeilly

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