The Kmiec Ramblings

Tag Archive: Business

Successful Negotiations Come From Philosophical Alignment

Written on November 20, 2010 by Adam Kmiec in Misc.

Ready any white paper, book, article, etc. about negotiations and the first thing they mention is finding a common ground. They’ll also talk about the need for compromise; I’ll touch on why compromise is a bad idea in a later post. Inherently, I understand what these pieces of advice are trying to get at. However, I’ve often felt they overlook the single most important aspect of any negotiation: philosophical alignment.

You might be scratching your head right now. Let me explain. Tribes A and B send negotiators to the table for the purposes of determining the name of God. Tribe A, believes God’s name is “Joe.” Tribe B doesn’t believe in God. That’s going to be a tough set of negotiations for Tribe B. Think about it, he/she has to try and talk Tribe A not just out of the name Joe, but out of the concept that God even exists. Not likely.

Another example that might be more practical is a husband coming home to his wife to try and get her to agree to buy a Boxer (breed of dog). Only one problem. No, not that she prefers a Lab, but, instead she’s allergic to dogs. Think about that. This guy is not just trying to convince his wife about the breed of dog, but dogs in general. Ouch. Good luck!

Before I enter any negotiation I push myself to examine if the other party is philosophically aligned with my thinking…and vice versa. If not, I’m generally inclined to walk away from the table. There’s no sense in investing time and effort into a negotiation that won’t yield a positive result. Granted, people lose negotiations all the time. And when you lose, it stings. But, at least the conversation in those losses was worthwhile because you had a chance to win. But, when you invest in a negotiation that starts with not being philosophically aligned, you’re asking for some serious irritation. Trust me! The next time you’re headed to the negotiation table, whether the stakes are big or small, make sure you’re philosophically aligned.

Tags: Advice, Business, Negotiations

The ROI Of Doing Nothing

Written on August 22, 2010 by Adam Kmiec in Marketing & Advertising

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Everybody wants to know the ROI. It’s the first question every marketer is asking when evaluating an idea. We’ve been trained to think of ROI as the output of an input. For example, if you spend $1,000,000 on paid search, how many “widget” sales will you generate? If each widget yields a profit of $1.00, you’ll need to generate 1,000,001 sales to from that paid search campaign to be ROI positive.

I realize that’s a very simple and linear example. But, it works for the purposes of this argument; and here’s why. If I told you the paid search campaign would only generate 500,000 widget sales, there by generating $500,000 in profit, you’d call the $1,000,000 investment unwise since it’s an ROI negative program. On the surface, you’d be 100% correct. But, what if I also told you that if you didn’t do the program, your competition would generate 750,000 incremental widget sales at your expense. In other words, you’d lose 750,000 widget sales to your competition if you didn’t spend the $1,000,000 on the paid search program.

Sure, the paid search program was ROI negative, but not doing to the program was even more ROI negative. Rarely do we consider what happens if we did nothing. From the very simple example above you can see why not doing anything could be the most ROI negative decision you could make.

Chew on that.

Tags: Business, Marketing, Risk, ROI

Credit Card Relationships

Written on July 28, 2010 by Adam Kmiec in Marketing & Advertising

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I broke into the agency business young…crazy young. Fallon (at the time Fallon McElligott) took a flyer on me without an internship (unheard of back then) and basically let me grow at my own speed. I was a young and getting enormous opportunities that were well above my experience level and pay grade. While I was succeeding at those opportunities, I still had much to learn about the business, our clients, our heritage and how to be successful long term.

To say that I was getting a little full of myself might have been an understatement. Well you can imagine the size of my head when my boss (Paul Schield) invited me to lunch with our CMO (Mark Goldstein), our CFO (Irv Fish) and CEO (Pat Fallon). If the grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes, my head grew 10 sizes. We went to an old school steak house called Murray’s. This was literally your classic 3 martini place that I had read about when studying the history of agencies. Most of that studying was done on my own, since most business schools just don’t offer you any real education on how to succeed at an agency. The lunch was tasty, the drinks stiff and the conversation light-hearted. I couldn’t believe the situation I was in…20 years old, riding a rocket to the top and having lunch with the senior leaders.

When the check came, I completely expected Irv to grab it. After all, he was the finance guy, right? Imagine my surprise when the check was passed from Pat, to Paul to ME. My brow started to sweat, my hands got clammy and a nervous sensation overtook my entire body. I had one credit card to my name…and it was in MY name. It wasn’t a corporate card and I certainly didn’t have an expense account. With trepidation I opened up the folio holding the check and gulped when I saw a nearly $350.00 bill. That was basically 3/4 of my rent…and we ate it. But, then a great wave of calm overtook me. It dawned on me that I could just expense this lunch as a business expense. Paul would sign off on it and I’d get reimbursed. Sweet!

While all of this was going on in my head, the other 3 simply carried on their conversation as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I placed my credit card into the folio and signaled for the waiter to come over. A few minutes later he was back. I added the tip, signed the check and then said, “shall we.” I thought I was with it. Oyve. On the short walk back from Murray’s to the office I was starting to doubt myself. Would Paul really sign my expense report? Should I have ordered the Filet Mignon? Side note, since this experience, I have NEVER ordered a Filet Mignon at a restaurant. As I was in deep thought, Mark Goldstein pulled me aside and said loud enough for everyone to hear, “you know, you can’t expense this lunch.” My worst fear had been realized. That sinking feeling swept back into my gut. Ugh.

We walked a few more steps and then Pat gave me a lesson that to this day I hold near and dear to my heart. He said to me, “You realize, all you bought was lunch. You didn’t buy our friendship, our respect or our trust. You bought us a meal. This business, as is life, is built upon relationships. Relationships require an investment in time, effort, listening, learning and discovery. Real relationships last. You can’t manage relationships through a credit card. Too many people in our industry think they can build a relationship with clients through buying fancy dinners or taking them to amazing events. Those relationships are hollow and will never stand the test of time.”

I put quotes around Pat’s advice, because that’s how I remember it. I’m sure a few words are incorrect.

Tags: Business, Career Advice, Lessons, Relationships

Stepping Down From the Social Pedestal

Written on December 18, 2009 by Adam Kmiec in Marketing & Advertising

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I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

“The reason social media is so difficult for most organizations

It’s a process, not an event.

Dating is a process. So is losing weight, being a public company and building a brand.

On the other hand, putting up a trade show booth is an event. So are going public and having surgery.

Events are easier to manage, pay for and get excited about. Processes build results for the long haul.” – Seth Godin, December 10, 2009

Respectfully, I have to disagree with Godin. In fact, I think it’s this thinking that’s caused organizations and businesses to fail in the online space. You see, social media isn’t an event; it’s not even a process. Both of these classifications give too much credit to the social space. Social media is simply an extension. It’s as simple as that – a mere extension of already existing business functions.

For the past year, the entire “social space” has been given too much credit and too much hype. I’m as guilty as the next person, as I fell victim to its noise as well. You spend enough time on Twitter and you’ll be inundated with ponzi-like “get rich quick” talk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing social media. I think it’s highly effective tool and it’s something I spend a lot of time and effort trying to get businesses to understand. But if you spend any time online, you’ll think it’s the second coming of Christ.

Social media is not its own entity. It’s not new. Its not innovative. Like I mentioned above, it’s merely an extension. I’ve come to realization that people don’t work in social media. There’s no such thing as a social media specialist, or guru, or expert, or whatever title you want to attach. Depending on what your goal with social media is, the space is simply marketing, communications, sales, etc. Frank Eliason (@ComcastCares) doesn’t work in social media for Comcast, he works in customer service. There’s marketing folks, communication folks, folks in sales. But there is not a single “social media [fill in the blank]”. It doesn’t exist.

We’ve all heard, or personally had, the stories of uphill battles with c-level suites that put hurdles in front of social media implementation. A lot of those hurdles were results of “experts” or enthusiasts approaching the online space as a separate entity. So if you had difficulty getting management to begrudgingly accept your entrance into the social space, why do you continue to treat it like a separate entity?

We’re finally beginning to accept the fact that while social media is about building communities and conversations, it ultimately comes down to sales and profit (see Adam’s post on conversion). With this reality check, I think it’s time to let a little wind out of the social sail. As people continue to trend toward mobile and online applications, it’s a natural progression for various business departments to follow. But let’s stop placing social media on its own pedestal. It’s time to go back to the basics and foundation that got us here. It’s about integration.

So quit talking about social media like it’s a separate entity. Stop acting like social media is this new revolutionary and magical department within an organization.

Until we stop trying to prove ourselves and make a name for ourselves online, social campaigns will continue to fizzle. It’s not rocket science, folks. Take a step back, integrate it with your traditional business plans, and watch the $$$$ come in.

Kasey Skala, owner of the consulting firm Interactive Revolution, focuses on integrating new media and emerging technology with traditional communication strategies for small business and nonprofits. Prior to Interactive Revolution, Kasey spent four years in the financial industry in various marketing and communication roles. He currently maintains the blog, The Electric Waffle. Follow him on Twitter at @kmskala

Tags: Advice, Business, Guest Post, Integration, Social Media

ReThinking Mixing Friends And Business – Part II

Written on September 9, 2009 by Adam Kmiec in Marketing & Advertising, Misc.

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This is part II of a three part set of posts on ReThinking Mixing Friends And Business. Part I can be seen here.

Eventually, if you’ve been around long enough you’ll have the opportunity to hire or work with your friends. It happens all the time. On more than one occasion I’ve been involved in a conversation that leads to someone saying, “we should just get the band back together again.” When you’ve created magic, fought battles, and seen each other succeed it’s tough not to get nostalgic about the opportunity to work with those people.

But for every Eagles Hell Freezes Over moment, there’s a New Kids on The Block reunion. I’ve got to tell you, there’s nothing sadder than seeing former teenage stars, now in their 30s, trying to recapture the magic of their youth. But think about it. All they’re doing is getting the band back together. They’re trying to get lightening to strike in a bottle.

When we’re trying to put the band back together we often forget about the bad times and the problems each person brings to the table. We get swayed and influenced by the nostalgia. We get caught up in the moment and only focus on the positive. We’ve seen this happen time and time again in sports and music.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with several previous co-workers and colleagues. Many times I’ve passed. Several times, I wished I had passed. And on a few occasions it’s worked out perfectly. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years about working with your friends:

Develop a really solid set of role requirements. Focus on that role, not the person. Once you’ve identified the role, you can evaluate the person against the role. Don’t try to shoehorn the person into a role.
Leverage and learn from history. The nice thing about considering a friend or former colleague for a position is that you have history. You know the type of skill set and attitude they bring to table. You know the good, the bad, and the ugly. Apply that history when considering the person and don’t be afraid to ask them to acknowledge and account for that history.
Realize that people change. While history is important you also need to remember that people grow, learn, evolve, and change over time. Ask them pointedly, how they’ve changed since you last worked together.
Politically, it’s safer to bring in your friend at a level above you. Why? Because they provide air cover. They can save your ass. This is especially true on the client/corporate side. There’s simply more value in hiring someone above you than below you.
The dynamics of managing a friend are challenging, but setting those clear expectations from the very beginning are critical to making it work. They need to understand that they have a role to play and your job is to make sure they play that role very well. Lines and boundaries need to be established. Most importantly, they need to understand that they earned the job/position and were hired based on merit, not because they were your friend. And, that fact needs to be true. If you hired them because they’re your friend and they aren’t qualified, you’ve made a serious mistake.

Make no mistake, at some point you’ll have the opportunity to hire a colleague or friend. There’s nothing wrong with getting the band back together so long as all the people/players are filling roles you need. Never force a hire because someone is your friend. Granted, I’ve had friendships strained by not hiring or recommending them for a role. A real friend will be able to absorb your candid and honest feedback. If they can’t, they probably weren’t your friend to begin with. That’s just the facts.

Part III is coming later this week and will focus on working with your friends, when they’re the client or vendor. Trust me, that’s an interesting one.

Tags: Advice, Business, Career Advice, Friends