If you could change your life (6)
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Seth Godin (27)
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...would you? Getting into Stanford Business School changed my life. In college, I trained to be a mediocre engineer (I didn't set out to be mediocre at it, but I sure was). I was on track to become Dilbert. Getting into Stanford meant jumping the track. Going from one path to another in one fell swoop. I didn't learn much of substance at business school, but that's fine, because the school allowed me to make ...
Creating a clearance sale culture (26)
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2 days, 11 hours
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If you want to avoid being stuck with inventory or downtime during a recession, you might profit from realizing that people tell themselves a different story when they go to buy something. During good times, we wonder, "can I get this house before the price goes up or someone else snatches it?" or we think, "my time is really valuable, it's okay if this is a little more expensive than the store down the street." ...
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Jay said:
Great thinking, but doesn't this mean we are selling based on how much the customer can pay rather than the price of the produce. Very similar to Value-Based_Pricing, which doesn't garner much support in the long-term for the consumers. Or can we put it in a better light to garner long-term customer relationships, even those who pay more.
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Jonathan Washburn said:
I love this idea. As a shopper I feel so special when this type of thing happens."So, empower your staff, all of them, to take 10% off the price of anything if someone asks or seems concerned. "Oh, don't worry. I'll just take $20 off the price of the room if you can book it now.""
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Erik J. Heels said:
Seth Godin's blog posts all seem to occupy one screen or less. I've got to work on that.
Don't know what you've got till it's gone (51)
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Seth Godin (27)
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3 days, 11 hours
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IWantSandy is folding, as are a number of web companies. So is that restaurant you loved down the street. Users are outraged. Outraged! When you find a service or establishment or product that gives you joy, it's tempting to keep it to yourself. Perhaps it's uncomfortable to recommend it to a friend (after all, you might seem silly) and even more uncomfortable to recommend it to a stranger (after all, you might seem like a ...
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Kate O' said:
Plumgood is closing, for example, and that's a bummer. But it's not for lack of people that I told about the service, that's for sure.
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Casey said:
I Want Sandy isn't "folding", its only engineer got hired by Twitter so he's shutting it down. It's not a lack of word of mouth problem. Seth Godin is on notice
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Tino said:
Let us promote a way to eternity that doesn't lead us cluttered with undreamed dreams.
Thanksgiving (27)
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Seth Godin (27)
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4 days, 10 hours
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This has always been my favorite holiday. No gifts, no guilt, no doctrine. For me, the holiday celebrates people who contribute with no expectation of anything in return. Online, the rules are no different. There are plenty of people typing as fast they can, all in expectation of what they'll get in return for that link or that shoutout or that flame. And then there are the superstars, the folks who have found a great ...
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Mahesh CR said:
Damn, this guy exceeds expectations in almost every post!
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Thaddeus Clark said:
Why go out of your way for someone who can't possibly pay you back? I hope the answer is obvious. It is to me. The benefit is in the fact that they can't pay you back.
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Ernie the Attorney said:
Amen to that, brother.
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Jack said:
I loved this post. I'm a teacher and fancy myself an innovator at my University. It's really rewarding when I find people online who are in positions of influence, who understand and value the moral or affective contributions of individuals equally to or more than the checklists, head counts and other physical or material necessities of an institution. "The opportunity to instruct or assist when you gain nothing in return is priceless. It creates meaning and momentum and structure." Powerful. Transformational. Seth, I've been reading your blog and sharing your ideas. Thanks for teaching us. Thanks for recognizing people who live this way. It is appreciated.
Holiday shopping guide (36)
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5 days, 4 hours
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The decisions you make with your hard-earned money this year will have more impact than ever before. So put your money where your mouth is. Here are a few ideas to consider:1. Buy handmade items from people you like. 2. Don't buy gift cards. It's lazy and sort of dumb. 3. Don't buy from big brands or big stores that don't care about you, or that act in ways you don't applaud. There are very ...
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Adam said:
Seth lays down a premium entree of goodness. Again.
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Peat said:
I like these suggestions even during economic booms ...
Death of the personal blog? (85)
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Seth Godin (27)
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5 days, 12 hours
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A quick look at the list of the 'top' blogs in the world will show you that almost all of them are written by teams of people. There isn't one in the top 10 that's personal. The best way to increase your ranking as a blogger is to post very often and to have teams of people doing the work. If that’s your strategy, of course you can’t have it be a solo blog. The ...
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Erik J. Heels said:
Seth Godin: Death Of The Personal Blog.
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afroginthevalley said:
I could not agree more. Blogs as personal hubs are emerging too, that's a deep trend coming.
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Teresa said:
:)
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Gavin said:
Seth Godin is probably one of the smartest thinkers on the subject of internet. I'm reading his 'Tribes' right now and it's fantastic. A must-read for anyone trying to understand how to build audience.
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Rodrigo said:
E é por isso que eu leio ele.
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Saru said:
His perspective is what makes me subscribe to his blog.. I love such true perspectives
The You Show (73)
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Seth Godin (27)
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6 days, 13 hours
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A friend was telling me about some job interviews she went on. She enjoyed them. Of course she did, I thought. She was starring in a show, a show about her. I wrote about this five months ago, but it's worth boiling it down to the interview or sales call level. One approach is to be reactive, to sit where you're supposed to sit, have your resume appear just so, wear what you're supposed to ...
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Michael Hyatt said:
I am not sure exactly how this would work practically, but I love the idea. You have to stand out!
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RoyBlumenthal said:
It baffles me why people accept crap jobs with crap companies doing crap work. Seth's spot-on once again.
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Devlin D said:
This is EXACTLY how I love to do job interviews. They are so nerve wracking but so much fun if you are excited about the company.
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Claudia said:
:)
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bbebop said:
of course, the goal is...
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Darren Draper said:
Gold:"Some bosses don't want to hire people who have a vision, a personality and a shtick. That's okay. You don't want to work for them anyway."
How to answer the phone (77)
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The KitchenAid tea kettle (adorned in bright Squidoo orange, of course) in my office melted, leaving hot orange plastic on my thumb. Yes, it hurts as much as you probably imagine it does. But that wasn't the worst part. I called 1-800-334-6889 to whine a little bit and to hear why they made a meltable teapot. I counted how many prompts I had to press in order to talk to a human being. It was ...
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Podcast Mike said:
I totally agree.
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Flexdaddy said:
The only reason to answer the phone when a customer calls is to make the customer happy.If you're not doing this or you are unable to do this, do not answer the phone. There is no middle ground on this discussion. There are no half measures. Saving 50 cents a call with a complicated phone tree is a false savings. Think of all the money you'll save if you just stop answering altogether. Think of all the money you'll make if you just make people happy.
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Megha said:
I am always max pissed when I have to make a call to any customer service. I just presume I am going to have the hardest time in the world not to lose my patience and start screaming like mad! Looks like I am not alone.
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seanness said:
Had similar issues with recent support of my Blu-Ray player. Horrible, horrible, horrible...
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Jay said:
Yep, its really frustrating. Both when you call and expect at least a proper response and when you get a call for totally unnecessary stuff for you.
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barry said:
Most large service company CEOs should be forced to read this daily for a year. But alas, most still wouldn't get it.
You will be misunderstood (49)
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I typically write posts that are three to six paragraphs long. I try to be clear and direct. And yet, just about everything I write is misunderstood by someone. (Not the same someone, alas). They write to me and I try to explain. It's hard to imagine how one could write something that 100% of the recipients will understood as written. If you overwrite to satisfy the last 1%, you're going to bore the rest ...
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Mark Dykeman said:
fair point; not sure I agree. depends on if you're trying to say something simple and direct, or perhaps just share info.
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bruno boutot said:
If it's important, or controversial, I don't think I'd obsess about making it short.
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Erik J. Heels said:
Seth Godin on Twitter: how to be misunderstood in 140 characters or less.
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William said:
Nice reminder for microblogging...
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Jeff Schmidt said:
There are a few people who I enjoyed reading their blogs etc... but couldn't stand them on twitter. Funny how that works.
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Margus said:
If it's important, or controversial, I don't think I'd obsess about making it short.
Watching the Times struggle (and what you can learn) (104)
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1 week, 1 day
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Page by page, section by section, the influence of the New York Times is fading away. Great people on an important mission, but their footprint is shrinking and the company is losing stock value and cash and power and the ability to have the impact that they might. Today's Sunday magazine has a cover story on Jennifer Aniston. Of course! "All the News That's Fit to Print" is the heart of the problem. It was ...
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ChangeForge said:
Hmmm... much to think about here. Live comfortably in the armchair of the past, or go stand on the wooden stool to see what's on top of the cabinets? The armchair is more comfortable, while the stool offers a vantage not to be had in comfort.
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Marshall Sponder said:
Wow, good post!
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Mahesh CR said:
How are other media companies going to negotiate these times?
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Xeus said:
"The people I know at the Times are smart, driven, honest and on a mission to do great work. The people didn't fail the system, the system failed them."
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Mike T said:
Brilliant post.
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Jeff said:
Just about everything Seth writes in the post could be applied to the radio industry.
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Devlin D said:
I think it would be a good idea to have an iPhone app that allowed readers to pick and choose which sections they would like. You could also tailor content and ads according to their interests. Newspapers should just stop fighting and evolve.
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Jbud1 said:
Can you find the similarities to your company's business in Seth's Analysis.
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Stuart Maxwell said:
This post by Seth is particularly spot-on. There's a lot of meaty stuff in here; see point #5, for instance, or the "All the News That Fits" paragraph.In my opinion, what's at the heart of all of this is the fact that when newspapers like the Times became profit centers instead of news organizations, they lost their souls. Instead of being community-driven and responsible for informing the public about what's going on in the world, they became insulated and responsible to shareholders. Newspapers started whittling away at the very infrastructure -- investigative journalists, foreign news desks, etc. -- that gave them an edge as information purveyors.This all started well before the internet rose in prominence; so, at the very time that papers like the NYT could have shown leadership in the world wide web, they were too compromised and blinded by their allegiance to profit to recognize the opportunities.Newspapers used to serve the local community. Now, I think, they wouldn't know a community if it bit them in the ass.
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mndoci said:
Actually I think the Times has already started doing this. Presumably some folks are keeping a leash on what is possible, cause they could be doing a lot more
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Ade said:
"The entire mindset of (every) newspaper has been driven by the cost of paper, the finite nature of paper, the cost of delivery and the cycle of a daily paper. You run enough articles to fit as many ads as you can sell."
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Francine Hardaway said:
This is such a terrific analysis of why the Times missed its moment. But maybe that's because it wasn't owned by Rupert Murdoch.
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Marshall said:
A really great piece from Seth about the Times, but it's true of most big, national dailies. Note to UK papers: What are you doing?
"Just doing my job" (82)
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Seth Godin (27)
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1 week, 2 days
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What a bogus excuse. If you take a job, you've bought into what the company does. You're responsible. If you work for a company headed off a cliff, hey, you're going too. The fact that you're just doing your job doesn't make unemployment any better. And if the company is hurting people or the world you operate in, it doesn't matter who told you to do it, you still did it. It's not just your ...
