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The John Deere Way by David Magee - Book Review

The John Deere Way

Performance that Endures

By: David Magee

Published: Mar 31, 2005
ISBN: 0471706442
Format: Hardcover, 242pp
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

You've probably heard the slogan, "Nothing runs like a Deere". For giant farm,industrial, and yard equipment manufacturer John Deere, it's more than a mere catchphrase. It's the way the company does business. In The John Deere Way Performance that Endures, author David Magee interviewed John Deere employees from CEOs and executives to assembly line workers and janitors. The resulting book is a testament to an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Business writer David Magee (photo left) demonstrates clearly how everyone working for the company is committed to the John Deere Way of doing business. Indeed, it's a way of life. Employees join the John Deere family and stay with the company for their entire working career. A rarity in the modern world of mass layoffs and job changes, staff stability is part of the company's success secret. Employees look to a bright future, with a solid company past to guide them.

At John Deere, people on the job for twenty years are often thought of as newcomers. Employment at the company is usually lifelong, and very often spans several generations, as company wisdom and lore are passed along. This tremendous wealth of experience from top to bottom, has helped the company to innovate and improve their product line. It has built the famous green and yellow brand recognition, and reputation for quality, that's second to none. At the same time, long term executives avoid the catastrophic mistakes that many other corporations have suffered.

The company began in 1837 when a blacksmith named John Deere marketed the first commercially successful, self scouring steel plow. The commitment to quality that created John Deere's original success permeates the company today. To understand the corporate culture is to understand the company. The culture and the business are tightly entwined and rooted in the rural Midwest where the company makes its headquarters. Indeed, it's impossible to think of the John Deere culture without considering the deeply seated rural values instilled in everyone is part of the corporate family.

Decisions are made based on the time tested idea that ethical business practices pay off in both the short and longer terms. When new plans and concepts are formulated, they must pass the test of the John Deere core values. The code of ethics for all company decision makers, regardless of their position, are integrity, quality, innovation, and commitment. It's not unusual for an employee to ask, "what would John Deere have done" in the same situation.

At John Deere, ethical business is good business that endures. Read The John Deere Way Performance that Endures by David Magee, and learn how honesty and integrity can build your business and your brand as well.

You'll understand why truly "Nothing runs like a Deere".

Tags: The John Deere Way, David Magee, business ethics, business books.

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson - Book Review

The Long Tail

The Radical New Shape of Culture and Commerce

By: Chris Anderson

Published: July 11, 2006
ISBN: 1401302378
Format: Hardcover, 256pp
Publisher: Hyperion

Forget the old marketing rules about hits, best sellers, and chart toppers. According to Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail The Radical New Shape of Culture and Commerce, those marketing concepts no longer exist in the traditional sense. The internet and other technologies including iPod, iTunes, and TiVo have changed the former marketplace rules forever.

Chris Anderson, an editor and blogger has written an important book about the future of marketing. At the same time, he has crafted a book about today's business realities, and how technology has shaped them in ways unimaginable even a decade ago. The market will always have room for the bestsellers and the blockbuster hits, but there is now competition for companies in any industry who are dependent on the single top seller. That competition has arrived in the form of the niche product, creating consumer choices beyond imagination. Chris Anderson even has a name for this plethora of product choice. He calls it "the long tail".

At the head of this new marketing phenomenon, are the best selling products as traditionally understood. They are the household brand names in every product line you know. In the past, that head was almost the limit of true product choice. Space for products was limited and expensive. Only the heavy turnover items were kept in stock. Many products appealing to a limited group of people, were not available in the traditional marketplace. The internet and other technological advances have added new unlimited choices that appeal to those extremely narrow market segments.

Taken separately, these tiny groups of customers were not worth the price of shelf space in the past. There was no room for the misses; only the hits. Now, with the arrival of websites, and other electronic marketing venues, there is no limit to the number of tiny segments that can be reached. As a result, the niche marketing long tail forms an aggregate market, made up of those former and current misses, many times larger than the best seller formed head.

The modern world of today, and the even faster paced society of tomorrow will be built on access to product options, available electronically, from all around the world. No longer will marketing savvy business people be dependent upon creating a hit. Adding together an unlimited number of misses into tiny niche markets will be the order of the day.

The head of the marketplace animal will always be built upon hits and blockbusters. For Chris Anderson, in The Long Tail The Radical New Shape of Culture and Commerce (also available as an audio format CD), that will always remain the case, but what is important is the hit's importance will be dimished dramatically.

Where the writer believes the real action, and far more economic activity will take place, is with the many times more numerous misses and minor products. These small sellers, taken as a whole, make up the long tail phenomenon. Electronic media, satellites, and internet have made the niche market a truly viable option for businesses large and small. The unlimited product choice and availability at a person's fingertips will be a boon for the consumer as well.

Read The Long Tail The Radical New Shape of Culture and Commerce by Chris Anderson. Your business future is found somewhere in "long tail".

Tags: ideas, Chris Anderson, niche markets, internet marketing, business books.

Is That Your Hand In My Pocket: Ron J. Lambert & Tom Parker - Review

Is That Your Hand in My Pocket?

The Sales Professional's Guide to Negotiating

By: Ron J. Lambert and Tom Parker

Published: Jul 18, 2006
ISBN: 0785218777
Format: Hardcover, 256pp
Publisher: Nelson Business

If relationship marketing and looking for the win-win solutions is your sales technique, then it needs some serious reconsideration. That is the message from authors Ron J. Lambert and Tom Parker in their powerful negotiation primer for sales represenatatives tited Is That Your Hand in My Pocket? The Sales Professional's Guide to Negotiating. As the title implies, the book is about negotiation and it delivers on that promise.

Both authors Ron J. Lambert and Tom Parker have over twenty-five years of ecperience in training sales people with the negotiation skills necessary to survive and prosper in the modern global economy. They say the days are long gone when a representative could spend years with a client, building and nurturing a mutually beneficial relationship over time. In their view, the modern purchaser doesn't want a relationship with any sales people. They add that the buying company doesn't want one either. The rules of the game have changed, and the modern sales negotiator has to change along with it.

In a series of chapters crammed full of practical hands on advice for negotiating successfully, the authors move from basic negotiation styles to tactics for getting results from even the most difficult prospect. By presenting a breakdown of various negotiation techniques, the writers provide the best means of addressing each method. Whether the potential buyer is a hard nosed type who sees everything in terms of winning and losing, or if the prospect is a bend over backwards compromise specialist, the best way to sell to each person is presented. The authors make it very clear that one technique does not fit all situations. Adapting to the circumstances is essential to successful negotiations in the view of the authors.

They explain in step by step detail how to:

* Set the agenda for the sales negotiation to maintain control.

* Establishing the negotiator in a powerful bargaining position whether that is indeed the case or not.

* Read the other side's non-verbal signals to pick up cues as to their thinking.

* Finding creative solutions to very difficult or stalled negotiations.

As an added bonus, the authors provide a chapter that turns the negotiator from a seller to a prospective buyer. In an information laden section on buying a car, the authors teach would be automobile owners how to hold their own against some of the best negotiators in the business. Instead of car buying being a negotiations nightmare, the authors provide the tips to help the buyer drive away with a fair deal.

Overall, Is That Your Hand in My Pocket? The Sales Professional's Guide to Negotiating by Ron J. Lambert and Tom Parker is a book that everyone entering into negotiations should read. Whether a person is buying or selling, or negotiating a raise, or reaching a mutual agreement with family and friends, this book will get them to a mutually satisfactory conclusion.

That's as win-win as you can get.

Tags: Is That Your Hand in My Pocket?, Ron J. Lambert, Tom Parker, negotiation, business books.

Carnival of the Vanities 202 at Eteraz

The 202^nd edition of the longest running internet blog carnival, the well known Carnival of the Vanities appears at Ali Eteraz's Muslim blog known as Eteraz.

Carnival of the Vanities is the original collection of blog postings, assembling some of the best and wide ranging bloggers on the internet.

This week's Carnival of the Vanities entries include politics, literature, science, humour, technology, business, and Islam.

I have an entry in this week's Carnival of the Vanities as well.

My post is titled "Case studies: Blogging real world busines" where I discuss how case studies are widely used in business and the academic communities as a teaching tool. They are real life business examples of how a business idea or application worked. Perhaps more importantly case studies can point out failed plans and actions. In any case, the study of real world business experiences from idea conception to the end result are an important study for any business.

To participate in the Carnival of the Vanities, or any of the other blog carnivals, one of the easiest techniques is to use the all inclusive carnival entry form at The Conservative Cat.

Another participation option is to simply e-mail your entry to the new e-mail address:

cotvmail -at- gmail -dot- com

As I suggest elsewhere, hosting and contributing to the various internet blog carnivals is a great promotional idea for your blog.

Next week's edition of Carnival of the Vanities appears at at as yet undetermined location.

In the meantime, head on over to the Eteraz hosting of Carnival of the Vanities and enjoy the posts on offer.

You will almost certainly be introduced to some great new and interesting blogs.

Tags: Carnival of the Vanities, blogging, carnivals, promotions.

Marketing Sherpa SEO Buyer's Guide: I'm invited

Marketing Sherpa is a well known internet and search engine marketing and information service. Their reputation is one that is the envy of many in the internet marketing field. To be included in any Marketing Sherpa publication is a privilege.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to be invited to be part of the 2005 - 2006 MarketingSherpa's Buyer's Guide. (shown left) I have been invited to be part of the 2006 - 2007 MarketingSherpa's Buyer's Guide as well. In both issues, I am included in the search engine optimization section for SEO firms and professionals.

It is free to be included, but it's necessary to qualify for inclusion. The entry form is a survey that requires some time to complete, and not everyone is included in the final edition. A series of questions is asked and answers are required for inclusion with the company and professional profile in the directory.

Here are some of my responses to the various SEO related questions:

They wanted my vision of my ideal SEO client:

My ideal client is a medium to large size business whose management understands and wants to learn more about the process of SEO. Along with the company's desire to maintain its brand image and to present a postive public image, my services of completely ethical SEO techniques makes an ideal combination. The company executive in charge of the SEO process will understand the need for patience, and take a long term view of how SEO, is practiced in an ethical manner. My ideal client is not one seeking a quick fix but a long range holistic approach to SEO, and to achieving solid search engine rankings, rather than chasing the latest fads.

They asked how I would respond to seekers of unethical SEO services:

I would advise the client to seek another firm. I specialize in ethical, "white hat", and search engine approved techniques only. I do not use, and will not consider utilizing any unethical or "black hat" search engine tactics. As a result, the client and I would not develop the ideal working combination that is necessary for good SEO practice.

They requested my opinion of who would be the wrong client for my practice:

The wrong sort of client is one seeking short cuts and fast fixes instead of utilizing a holistic approach to SEO. If the client wants unethical SEO tactics used, and sees no problem with "black hat" SEO methods, they are not right for my practice. I use entirely ethical, "white hat" techniques that are not compatible with unethical SEO practices.

As you can see, my emphasis is on providing entirely ethical and "white hat" SEO services. I don't believe it's necessary to resort to tactics that are in violation of the guidelines provided by the major search engines. In fact, I believe it's a privilege for any online business to be included in their organic search engine results. As such, a website is a guest of the search engine, and such should follow their posted rules.

My current list of clients hired my services precisely because of my ethical SEO position. They like their company reputation maintained and further enhanced by their online presence. They enjoy resting easily knowing their sites won't suffer any penalties or possible search engine bans for unscrupulous tactics.

Three of my clients are as follows:

Alan Wayler at Green Mountain at Fox Run

Tara Lefave at Enerjy Software and Teamstudio.com

Vicky Lincoln at Zeus Technology

I work closely with all of my clients and as a result, I can provide even better SEO services. Knowing the people and their business helps me do my job better. It also gets the clients better search engine placement for the most important keyword phrases for their business.

It's a win win situation.

And I'm proud to be part of Marketing Sherpa's brand new 2006 - 2007 MarketingSherpa's Buyer's Guide.

Tags: Marketing Sherpa, SEO, ethics, client relationships.