Admiring Your Shot

F O R E !

There’s a saying in golf that refers to those precious few seconds after you strike the ball and it’s called “admiring your shot”. This happens for two main reasons: to enjoy the fact you nailed it or to insure you know whether it went into the sand trap or the woods.

Mine is usually the latter.


Do we ever have a chance to admire our shot or enjoy the victory?

The answer is usually akin to the amount of time it takes to make a cup of coffee or tie one’s shoes. There is rarely time to stop and assess whether a new idea will work, has worked or can be slightly revised. The result is a c.y.a. atmosphere where new ideas are shelved along with opinions and the dream of co-creative teamwork.

Head down. Arm straight. Clear your mind.

There are about twenty things you need to do correctly in order to perfect the golf swing. Any one of them could be the reason you’re taking another penalty shot.

Like with everything we do, the difference is all in our minds.

But somehow in business we are expected to deliver the most cost-effective, bottom line growing, revenue generating, guaranteed winning, competition killing idea - every time.

No room for error.

Save or make money, the rest is irrelevant. But in golf, if your concentration is solely on making the putt you will miss it every time.

What is the worst that could happen?

Exploration, experimentation and the openness for new ideas is a cornerstone of business. Do you have that type of atmosphere at work? If you own your own business, do you employ that attitude with all that you do?

Or do you lay up because it would be too dangerous to shoot for the green this time?

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

Let’s create experiences, not campaigns.

photo credits:
victorialodging.com | media.photobucket.com | macleans.com

Are You Open or Closed?

PCs Need Not Apply

Until the introduction of the iPhone, in order to get inside the walls of Apple Inc., you had to work at Apple Inc. and pass a vigorous series of tests. Body fluids were drawn, brain and fingerprint scans were performed. Even your mother was called for a reference.

There were unconfirmed reports of weeping and crying and …okay, they didn’t call your mother but the wall to climb over was rather high. That was intentional. Okay, and the claim about body fluids and scans was a bit of a stretch too. But not by much.

Feel Free To Promote

No one was allowed in, unless they were invited. Those on the outside were free to promote the great things happening within the kingdom du Jobs but opinions were neither requested nor accepted.

Apple decided while the rest of the world was building open platforms, Mac et al were to be closed. Closed. CLOSED.

Laugh and Point

Many of us PC's drool from afar. Few days go by when I don't hear the snicker in the voice of a colleague when I shamefully tell them my laptop is not an Apple. I know, it's pretty bad.

What often follows is something like: "Dude, you don't have a Mac?!"

What About You?

Is your offering so kick ass that people wait patiently for the drawbridge to lower for the privilege to walk across the mote into your kingdom? Some claim they "own" the social media space or marketing world, others say they have created a community of influence.

Even Apple had to lower the wall eventually.

Can you and I afford to create closed platforms?

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

Helping clients better utilize all media.
Building experiences, not campaigns.

photo credit: herstmonceux-castle.com