Scott Brown: What Companies Can Learn From His Meteoric Rise

DISCLOSURES: I waited at least a few weeks before blogging about Scott Brown and his successful Senate run in Massachusetts so as not to get lost in the crowd. Second, I am hoping that the mere fact of having the words “Scott Brown” in this blog will send the traffic through the roof. Finally, Scott Brown is a part-time resident in my New Hampshire seaside town—not that I would have ever been able to pick him out on the beach before now—but we all have to try to lay claim to fame somehow. Oh, and I am a bit of a political junkie.


Rarely—if ever—has an election of one person to the United States Senate had such a profound impact on the psyche and the bearing of this country-- the impacts of which are seemingly well known to those Americans following this historic event.

I do applaud Scott Brown. I love the underdog regardless of political party (when you are down 30 points you are probably more than an underdog)—and the efforts it takes to overcome that perception.

But there are lessons that every company can and should take out of this election of a Republican Senator in a highly Democratic populated state. Here are three:


1. Don’t just sit on the sidelines- Listen to your customers

The Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, appeared to take the strategy of “playing it safe” by staying on the sidelines for months without interacting with her “customers” or listening to what they want. It reminds be a bit the American automobile manufacturers in the 1970’s—they were going to tell Americans what car Americans wanted to buy. Whoops! Enter the unheard of Japanese car companies, Toyota, Honda, Datsun (Now Nissan)—they, like Scott Brown, listened and produced a product people wanted to buy. They have not really lost market share ever since.

Remember, Customers don’t just buy you for what you did. They want to know what you will do for them.

2. Image matters—and so does relevant substance

Martha Coakley has her tough Attorney General image. Scott Brown the hard working “regular guy” who as we all know, “drives a pick-up truck” image. But usually “image” alone does not carry the day—it just gives a good head start (although if you have a bad image it could derail you pretty early on). Coakely’s “substance” while known (follow the Democratic playbook)—wasn’t in tune to the customers. Brown’s substance “I just want to go to DC and start solving problems” meant something to people.

Steve Jobs—also in the news recently for the iPad (there is a buzz word again that will lift the traffic on this blog!)—is a master of both image (think uber-design of the iPhone) across all hardware AND substance (think of the creation of “Apps- yeah, there is an App for that!). How did Palm—who basically created the personal handheld market decades ago—become a mere asterisk? The image was okay—although it never advanced more than the original design—but the substance was relatively limited for customers beyond a calendar and address book.

3. Winning Customers: Hard work, consistently

Attaining customers is hard work. Keeping them shouldn’t be hard if you are doing things well, communicating well, listening well. Customers want to be impressed, cared for, and basically appreciated. There is always a “Scott Brown” in the wings willing to be there to reap the rewards of unsatisfied customers. This is good news if you are an entrepreneur. This should be a wake-up call if you are an established company.

Customers are earned step-by-step, with thoughtful interactions over time. Scott Brown went door-to-door listening and communicating his message. He worked to earn the vote from each and every customer/voter—and as a 30 point underdog, did not assume he could win any other way.

All companies should design a strategy as if they were 30 points down—that would help them make sure they were doing everything they could to win.

Pausing to Appreciate The Nirvana Zone

Every year for the past five years a group of ten couples got together, it was one of those magical events where we all could be who we are and relax, joke, tell stories, dance, cook, toast each other and, well, just have fun. It was a nirvana of place and people. This year that event didn’t happen with the same group of people. Personal dynamics, changes in life, new friends all entered the equation. There was sadness that manifested itself for some—but in the end it was, for me, about the sadness of change. We all know it is inevitable-but when things are so good it just makes it that much harder when it is not the same any more.

It made me think back to all the times of my life that I was in the Nirvana Zone—company successes, camps, sports teams, summer events, family reunions, summiting a peak, places in Africa... While I know I tried to realize at that moment how special it was—it usually wasn’t until it disappeared or changed that I gained full appreciation.

Red Sox…Patriots. We have had some great Nirvana Zones with those two teams over the past few years. And then poof— now the highs are gone.

A recent news story on the island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya hit home. This island with streets (really alleys) 6 feet wide, one car on the island, rich culture, white sand beaches and not a care in the world is now targeted to be a major shipping port and oil refinery with all the trappings of the 21st Century. Truly a paradise lost (see NY Times story about that here ).

The reality is that we can not assume anything will last forever.

So while I may not put this under a New Year’s Resolution, I am going to make more of a concerted effort to pause, breath in, capture visually, emotionally, and spiritually those moments in 2010 that are in the Nirvana Zone knowing that they do not last forever. Even if I get 30 more seconds of joy as a result—I will have that to hold on to when the magic fades.

Of Santa and Practical Inventions

Maybe it is just because this past weekend I had to unscrew several drain pipes in the bathroom to unclog the drains and reach down into dark places with my fingers and a use a coat hanger to get even more...Maybe it’s that I almost got sick looking at the dark yuck I pulled out.

But I just saw this—what seems to me—“why did it take so long to invent” drain pipe from PermaFLOW (it is their “Never-clog drain”). Their claim is “The PermaFLOW's patented design ensures that you won't need to open your drain, call the plumber, use harsh chemicals, get out your plunger, or wrestle with your snake the next time you have a clog--just turn the external knob on the PermaFLOW's integrated, drain-clearing wiper to clear out blockage”. Now that is a BIG promise.

Now I’m thinking about the Christmas dinner including the uneaten brussel sprouts and heavy mashed potatoes in the sink. Is it too late to get this on Santa’s list?

Maybe the real thing I want from Santa is the 3am “eureka moments” to think of great solutions to basic problems like this!

Happy Holidays and Best wishes for 2010 to all of you Big Bad Rhino Blog Readers (and thank you for reading and commenting!)

Boy, come to think of it, there aren’t too many people sad to see 2009 in the rearview mirror!


To see the drain in action check out the VIDEO

AT&T: Better Customer Service Too for its iPhone Customers?

Okay I don’t want to get carried away since ATT still does not rank on my personal top list of customer service.

However, they have just launch an iPhone App called “Mark the Spot” (link) which allows customers to flag an area (s) where calls were dropped, failed, or had no coverage. It also allows marking of data failure and poor voice quality with the additional ranking of how often.



One could argue that this is a faster way than the poor man from Verizon who walks around the country testing their system by saying, “Can you hear me now?”!

As with anything, major kudos for being smart enough to (a) collect the data in an accurate and meaningful way and (b) making the customer feel like their voice is heard---well in this case NOT heard.

The REAL proof of the customer service improvement is what ATT does with the information. Will they actually speed up the installs of new towers or stronger signals?—and will they make this information transparent? Wouldn’t it be great to go to a map and see not only where you mark the spot—but see if others did, how many, and where? THAT is a TRUE connection with the customer. Likewise they should show where they HAVE made changes as a result of this data.

Otherwise it reminds me of the fake thermostats bosses used to put in office buildings to give the appearance that the employees had control over the temperature by letting them adjust the dial-- when in truth it had no connection to the HVAC system at all.





Let's hope this is a real change in customer service.

Home Depot: Who Knew you COULD Teach Old Dogs New Tricks

My first walk into a Home Depot outside of Boston in 1995 was like a dream come true. Everything and more that I thought I would ever need for my home. Now it didn’t hurt that we had just bought a 150 year old house—read many fix-it projects.

My torrid love affair soon waned.

Every time I walked in the store—without time to walk up and down every aisle—I would look to catch the eye of one of the folks on the floor to ask a question. Almost as if they were trained to, they would get that look like they were already on a mission and couldn’t help you. I was always left alone, feeling a bit like Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound. When I actually did get someone, they had NO idea where to find something, let alone what it did. I had to do the work—and take the time—if I wanted to give them my hard earned money.

I am not the first to write about this “phenomenon”.

A few years later, a Lowe’s Home Improvement opened a few miles away. Clearly a better focus on customers and at least they could tell you what aisle something was in.

Maybe it’s the high unemployment. Maybe it’s the bad economy. Maybe it’s that the old CEO, Robert L. Nardelli, who took his $210mm “fired package” is not there anymore and went to Chrysler to drive that into the ground further. I am not sure.

But in the past month I have had two occasions to go into The Home Depot in two different towns. I had to look around to make sure there were not some hidden cameras and I was being P’unked! I couldn't believe what was happening.

The first time I was looking for a new door knob for an outside door. Not only did the woman first ask me—even before I had the puzzled look on my face—“Can I help you find something”—she actually walked with me, down the aisle to the spot where the door knobs were. Then she started educating me on the differences between the products. WOW!

Likewise, last week I was looking for some brackets to hold the storm door glass in place. The same thing happened. The man took me down the aisle and showed me two options. THEN he walked to the other side of the store with me—at his suggestion—to SHOW me how the brackets worked in a storm door that was on display in the door section. Mind you this was only a $1.75 purchase. BAM! I was sold.

My hat is off to The Home Depot—and a great reminder to us all that old ways can be mended. Start with what the customer says is bad…and fix it! It is just that simple.

Watch the Unemployment Rate Grow Graphically

"A picture tells a thousand words" is an often used expression.

Take a look at this graphical represenation of the unemployment rate growing in each US county from 2007-2009. It is striking. That which we read is shown in mere seconds as to the impact of this Great Recession. Watch it a few times and see where and how fast things change in certain areas. Michigan looks to be static--only because they already were with higher unemployment before 2007.

Geography of a Recession

Driving a Car Using Your IPhone

For something a little fun and right out of a James Bond movie (well almost) Waterloo labs shows how you can drive a car using an iPhone and a McGuyver like set up... The power of technology and a little imagination