behavior

Book Review: Karma Queens, Geek Gods & Innerpreneurs

March 11, 2011 by Rosa Say

Karma Queens ~
Women of a certain age who combine a desire to be in harmony with the universe.
Innerpreneurs ~
Chief managers of their own ‘brand,’ they find their inspiration within themselves.

Let’s start with an abbreviated version of the Publisher’s Synopsis:

What really makes consumers tick?

It’s a question every marketer, innovator, entrepreneur, or trend-watcher strives to answer, especially in an age when certain types of consumers are increasingly instrumental in shaping national and even global buying habits.

Based on thousands of hours of consumer research, Karma Queens, Geek Gods and Innerpreneurs is your hands-on guide to getting inside the minds of the people who are setting the trends in art, music, technology, fashion, health, and every kind of consumer product and service. Consumer Eyes founder Ron Rentel not only helps you understand Karma Queens, Geek Gods and other consumer types on a deeper level in order to reach them more effectively in your marketing and advertising, he also offers fresh insight into managing your brand and your business.

The book’s goal is to share 9 different ‘C-Types’ — “a rich, three-dimensional portrait of a type of consumer derived from their key attitudes and behaviors, their social status, and other demographic factors” as defined by the Consumer Eyes Consumer Immersion process, which the author claims his company pioneered to battle “focus group speak” in market segmentation study. All sounded interesting as I scanned the Table of Contents: Besides the 3 types in the book’s title, Rentel covers “Parentocrats, Denim Dads, Ms. Independents, Middlemen, Culture Crossers and E-litists.”

Parentocrats ~
Act out of love to assure their kids security and happiness,
yet often deny them the classical joys of childhood.
Denim Dads ~
Family involvement means more to them than climbing the corporate ladder.

My Book Review as shared on Goodreads

Karma Queens, Geek Gods, and Innerpreneurs by Ron Rentel

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a platform kind of book (whereby the author get his ideas published as a platform to further build a business on) which also has the potential for possible self-coaching if you choose to very diligently go that route, though I don’t feel the author has made it that clear or simple. On one hand, it’s written to be the kind of book you can just breeze through for entertainment value, and I’m guessing that’s what most readers will settle for. On the other, you can read deeper, key in on the Consumer Immersion technique he speaks of, and study to learn more if you’re able to detach somewhat objectively, but without missing the emotional clues, something I did try to do.

If you deliberately make that choice, set some goals for yourself when you read it. Is there an inner sociologist, anthropologist and marketer in you? I did find each chapter to be more comprehensive than I’d expected, sprinkled with quotations, anecdotes of still-prevalent buying habits, and covering health and wellness, beauty fashion and home, design, food and drink, culture society and spirituality, and some unusual expectations and insights. Each chapter ends with a Marketing Checklist and “Dig a Little Deeper”— suggested resources for further study.

Trend watching, and capitalizing on trends is not that easy, much less the trend anticipation postulated here, which comes from consumer typing: We don’t know what will take off, and when, so we usually are content to ride the wave however we can. I understand the authors encouragements: As a business person it’s good to have the awareness of how trend-spotting signals a result of consumer type habits, versus simply flagging a singular event. I might notice something now, but then I stop there, and often dismiss it as some quirk: I don’t think about it deeply enough in regard to seeing what other commonality exists between people with that anomaly, or with that motivational driver.

As a point of clarity between trends and C-types, Rentel explains that “trends are valuable in making certain that you’re up to speed on the present, but they aren’t very helpful in guessing where consumers might turn next… Types illuminate the consumer psyche, while trends merely articulate consumer behavior.”

So why my relatively low rating, especially in writing this much about the book? Unfulfilled promise. I feel like I really had to work on this to like it, and to gain something from it: Rentel didn’t keep me as interested as I expected him to, and he didn’t make it easy enough for me to stay engaged.

I think the author was too insulting far too often, and you need a thick skin to get the most out of this book when you read it, but achieve objectivity, and it can be a great exercise in empathetic Mahalo appreciation instead: We human beings are complex and fascinating.

A subset study here, is a question if the book was quickly dated in light of our economic climate in recent years or not: How enduring have some of these trends been in spite of it? The book was published in 2007, just prior to our Great Recession, with many of us still reeling from it and adjusting as we can: Rotten timing for this author, I’m sure. I don’t know of anyone who currently thinks of themselves as an eager consumer, whereas Rentel writes that “today’s mainstream, middle-class U.S. population lives high on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” Not so now, early in 2011, however I continued reading with an open mind. I may no longer agree with the 9 different types profiled, however I remain interested in the methodology: For instance, I wondered how I could apply this to a better ‘consumer typing’ of the Alaka‘i Manager.

As a manager, the immediate parallel I instinctively wondered about, was Rentel’s consumer typing as a possible new framing for workplace demographics, and in fact, it isn’t much of a stretch to make those applications between consumers, co-workers and peers, your family habits, and a multitude of other relationships.

However as I explained above, I never got that far. I was willingly distracted instead by his claim to have pioneered Consumer Immersion as his process, and once through that exploration I had enough, preferring to switch my own study habits elsewhere (within our own MWA 9 Key Concepts :-)

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Why Goodreads? They have become an App Smart choice for me in 2011 for I want to return to more book reading, and have set a goal to read at least 36 books this year (this was book 8 for me). Read more about the Goodreads mission here, and let’s connect there if you decide to try it too! You can also follow them on Twitter.

Put that thing down!

January 10, 2011 by Rosa Say

This post goes with the value we call Ho‘ohanohano in Managing with Aloha; to conduct ourselves with dignity, honor and distinction. It’s a story leading to a New Year’s resolution I’m hoping more people will adopt.

I had a boss who was very anti-desk, and I learned a lot about the quality of attention from him. Attention isn’t just about getting into focus; it’s about hospitality, and always being ready to receive well.

His anti-desk feelings went beyond wanting ‘management by walking around’ from all of us, though that certainly was part of his coaching. They extended to the customer most of all.

I remember getting my first sense of how passionate he was about this in a construction design meeting. He wanted our builders to redo the counters of our spa’s reception desk so that all the registration computers would be dropped well below eye and shoulder levels: He insisted that arriving customers should never be greeted by the back of some computer terminal, and he simply wouldn’t listen to their cautions about the expense we’d incur destroying what they’d just built and doing it all over again. Nor did he care about the domino effect they described, and how the entire construction project might get delayed. He wanted it right, or not at all — he had a more critical domino effect in mind.

It wasn’t about the time, the desk or the money.

— It was about them doing a worthy job, so that every job following theirs would be done well too.
— It was about the customer knowing they were Job One with us, and that no barrier would ever be tolerated between us.
— It was about every Spa employee knowing people always trumped systems and processes, no matter what. Not just the customer, but with each other too.

There are lots of ‘service desks’ who get this wrong. They made it about the desk and the money, or a process other than service. And the time? Well, they’ve been stuck in years of keeping it wrong and not even noticing it anymore.

By the way, another interesting thing about this story is that the construction specs were right. This wasn’t a last-minute change my boss sprung on them. The construction foreman had made a correction during the build because “nobody else does it this way” it must be wrong.”

But you know what’s worse to me? Smart phones, and the other screens we look at instead of talking story with the people surrounding us. For goodness sake, put that thing down. You don’t have to rebuild an entire reception desk, you just have to drop your arm and lift your eyes.

Put down the techie gadgets, lift your eyes from the screens, and pick up the dignity and quality of your days. To borrow from the jargon of the day, keep your IRL channel open, your “in real life.”

Value Immersion, Value Steering… Why?

January 6, 2011 by Rosa Say

Have you been thinking about these concepts since I shared them earlier in the week? I hope so, for if you forge ahead with either one of them — and yes, you can do both at the same time — you’re choosing to employ values for the tremendous help and support they are.

Let’s back up a bit and review why value alignment may be tugging at you in the first place. Why can’t you stop thinking about this?

At the heart of the matter:

Values drive behavior. We do stuff because we believe in it, and we resist or refuse when we don’t. You can’t, and won’t pass Go if you don’t buy in.

Your personally held values put you on automatic pilot; they’re already strong, steady and sure. They make you sprint past Go because those particular beliefs have miles of proven experience behind them already, and you don’t need any pit stops to refuel.

In a business, value immersion and value steering will serve as refueling for what you signed up to do, and as a leader you’re making that pit stop much more interesting. You’re also pulling in those people in your organization you need to be on board: Their Go has been on a different game board even though they’re supposed to be on your team.

There are 2 primary reasons you opt for value immersion (valuing the how-to of everything) and/or value steering (valuing the what-and-why of specific projects):

You want to make a stand with a particular value.
You want your team to learn more about a particular value, so they can grow.

So if you’re still thinking about these two concepts, you want to do these things (managing better), and you know you need to (leading better.) — you’re the one ready to grow!

Make a Stand

There are certain things that shouldn’t be up for negotiation in any business. If you don’t choose what you stand for, your business won’t have much an identity. It won’t make anything very meaningful: Vision and mission are all about taking a stand, and doing so very passionately.

This all starts with the values the founders of a company believe in, and wear on their sleeve constantly because they take a stand for them. They do so knowing that they are driving effective, and unifying behaviors for their people. When people “left behind a legacy” they’ve left behind value-mapping; what we’ll more commonly call “a culture that lives on without them.”

Learn More

There must be growth in a business, even within one possessing a strong and clear legacy and culture. Alaka‘i Managers don’t want a workplace filled with robots or lab rats, they gain their personal reward from growing their people and watching them succeed and thrive.

So what does that mean, “growing their people?”

The definition I like in our workplace context, is that it means making space for more people to share in our business’s entrepreneurial spirit. To really share a business with founders, people must feel they do more than cooperate for a paycheck. More even, than collaborating for profit sharing. The ‘more’ is making space for true authorship. Think of it as sequels to the legacy. For that to happen, there must be room to grow (and sincere permission).

In the Go box, fueling this entire process, is learning. People can adopt a value they didn’t even realize was important to them before; they can begin to believe in it. When you introduce value immersion and value steering to your workplace, you’re being the Mea Ho‘okipa leading the way.

**Related Managing with Aloha reading:**

To review Value Immersion and Value Steering first, read: Value Alignment for Projects

The beliefs held when you have a Calling for Management: Reprise: The 10 Beliefs of Alaka‘i Managers
A preview of the book: The Core 21 Beliefs of Managing with Aloha
Book has been read, and you want another framework of study: Learning Managing with Aloha: 9 Key Concepts
Where do you fit in? Are you a manager or leader? (Link goes to Say Leadership Coaching)
Mission, Vision, and Values… how do they mesh in great businesses? The Healthy Workplace Compass (Also at Say Leadership Coaching)

Unconditional Acceptance, Nature and Nurture

February 5, 2010 by Rosa Say

In yesterday’s posting, You’ll Be the Company you Keep, I wrote,

Aloha accepts all people unconditionally as our fellow human beings, worthy of the Aloha we then give, within the values-held belief that all people are good, and thus worthy of our love. And remember: If you are to receive that beautifully authentic Aloha Spirit from other people, you have to be obsessed with giving them yours first!

Keep this positive expectancy, and optimistic belief close to you: If people seem less than good at any given time, it is a behavioural issue, or an expression of where their values are at a disconnect with yours; they are not irreparably “bad to the bone.” Everyone can always return to a place of their goodness.

Today, an excerpt from Managing with Aloha (you have it, right?) which tells how a very significant event in my life more than 25 years ago firmly cemented this belief within my mana‘o (the beliefs and convictions which become our truth, for they connect to our mana, and spirituality).

A very happy Aloha Friday,
Rosa

Correcting behavior, preserving self esteem

There is a parenting lesson that can help you be a great manager.

When I had my first child I was your typical obsessive new mother, seeking to find the perfect pediatrician for her care. My obstetrician tried to help me identify candidates to interview, but no one was quite good enough. So the day came that my daughter decided to arrive six weeks prematurely, and fragile as she was, she really needed that great pediatrician whom I still had not found for her. From the delivery room she was quickly taken from me to get the care she needed from some mystery man my own doctor summoned.

When I woke up in the recovery room two hours later, the mystery man was standing next to my bed, and he said, “Congratulations, and don’t worry, your daughter is fine.”

Still not fully awake, I asked him, “Are you going to be her doctor?”

He answered, “Well, that’s up to you, and I understand you give a tough interview. I think she’s really beautiful, and I’d like to be her doctor, so you can ask me whatever you’d like to know. Can I share something with you first?”

Not feeling much like talking anyway, I silently nodded, and this is what he said.

“I’m sure that the moment she is brought back to you, you will believe there is no possible way you could love another human being more completely. But being her mother will require a lot of you. Days will come that she will misbehave and make you furious, and you’ll have to be very careful about what you say to her. No matter what happens, you need to remember how much you love her at this moment, and never ever tell her that she is a bad person. You can tell her that you are disappointed in her behavior, but because you know how great she really is, you know she is capable of wonderful things, and she can behave better from now on. Then you ask her to, for she must choose to. Whether I’m her doctor or not, will you remember to do that for her?”

Again, I nodded.

No other question came to mind for me. As far as I was concerned, the interview was over, and Dr. Galen Chock became her doctor. Three years later he’d begin to take care of my son as well, teaching me even more about being a good mom for my children with every well-baby visit, immunization and yearly physical. Over the years I’ve kept my promise to him, telling my children how great they are whenever I can, and telling them I am positive they are capable of making good choices for themselves. I applaud like crazy when they do.

I’d recall Dr. Chock’s advice on a day I was stewing about what to do with a particular problem-child employee: It was one of those “aha!” moments in management for me. I realized that what Dr. Chock had said in the recovery room held the same promise and potential for the staff I managed. Love and respect the person, treating them with the dignity they will seek to earn from you, correct and guide their behavior. If there are any variables to be sought out, they are probably lurking in the reasons behind the choices that had been made; talk them out.

My problem child was summoned, and I prepared my thoughts for our meeting. I thought back to when I first hired this employee, remembering why I’d considered him such a great candidate, and why I had been so excited about making him the job offer. I thought about all his successes as he sailed through his introductory period, securing customer compliments, nailing his performance review with honors and graduating probation with flying colors. I thought about some great things he’d done just in the last few days.

When he entered my office, his feet did their duty, shuffling him reluctantly forward as his eyes avoided mine. He was embarrassed and filled with dread. He knew he’d disappointed me, and clearly he was disappointed with himself. This was an employee anticipating a lecture and bracing himself for punishment: He knew he’d done wrong and he expected me to hammer him for it. This was someone who clearly needed the arms of Aloha to reach out to him.

His demeanor did not change my resolve to tackle the problem head on, and that afternoon we did speak of why he’d made the wrong choice when he had other options. But I didn’t lay into him as he expected me to. Instead I told him I knew he was capable of better, I’d seen it in him on an almost daily basis, and I knew how good he was when he was at the top of his game. So I asked him please, could that be the way he conducted himself at work from here on in? And he did.

We’d come to an agreement that afternoon: If he struggled with a future choice for any reason, he’d raise his hand, and I’d be there to help guide him through it. As I write this today he is known as an informal leader among his peers, for he has learned to carefully evaluate the choices that seem obvious and dig deeper for those that should also be uncovered. His opinion is consistently sought by his co-workers and by his manager. He is no longer a problem child: He is a role model of outstanding performance.

Aloha was in my office that day. As I recall, the word “Aloha” may not have specifically been spoken. It was there as the outpouring of good intent between us. It was a value we shared, one that gave us a comfortable and workable common ground. It centered our purpose for meeting as two human beings, and it gave focus to our conversation, even when there were difficult things to be said. The day was yet another example of what values-centered leadership can successfully do for a manager.