MCNews
welcomes back Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing,
Unleashing the Ideavirus, Survival
Is Not Enough, and Purple Cow. Godin
is a contributing editor for Fast Company magazine
and a frequent speaker.
His new book is Free
Prize Inside: The Next Big Marketing Idea.
Godin makes the case for "soft innovation" as
the best way to grow a business, instead of relying on
big ads or big innovation. He says that anyone can think
up clever, useful, and small ideas to make a product or
service remarkable, that is, worth talking about. He calls
this kind of innovation a free prize because it generates
much more revenue than it costs to implement.
Finding and implementing a free prize doesn't
involve standard brainstorming, but "edgecraft"
and a champion. According to Godin, "Edgecraft is
a methodical and measurable process that allows individuals
and teams to inexorably identify the soft innovations
that live on the edges of what already exists." Once
identified, a soft innovation needs a champion, or sponsor,
to help convince others of the value of the idea and show
the path to implementing it.
Godin believes "the future belongs
to people who can invent, implement, and sell the ideas--the
free prizes--that become purple cows."
We asked Godin how to apply the concepts
of the free prize, soft innovation and edgecraft to consulting.
MCNews: You've said that advertising
is no longer an effective way to grow a business. Why
do so many businesses, including consulting firms, cling
to advertising as a means for growth?
Godin: Because that's what the boss
used to do. Because it used to work. Because it's an easy
way to take action without taking responsibility. Because
it's not measurable. Because it's fun.
MCNews: Many consulting industry pundits
suggest that the lack of the "next big idea"
is stunting the industry's growth. Do you agree, or would
you suggest looking elsewhere for growth?
Godin: I don't think big ideas are
the answer. I think ideas are cheap and pretty easy, actually.
What's difficult is finding someone to champion an idea.
Simple example: Why don't major consulting firms seize
the opportunity to work with gurus who have hot books
and hot ideas (like Jim Collins), and unleash their hundreds
or thousands of consultants to implement those ideas for
their clients? Because they're stuck. And because the
people of influence who could implement an idea like that
are too afraid or too stuck to champion it.
MCNews: Is there a distinction between
a free prize and a gimmick? Could you think of an example
of a free prize a management consultant might uncover
and offer to clients?
Godin: A gimmick is just a gimmick
until people start talking about it and demanding it.
Then, like frequent flyer miles at the airlines, it becomes
a free prize. The idea I mentioned in response to the
previous question is an example of one for consultants.
Another might be a consulting firm that works only for
progressive non-profits. This needs a lot more thought,
of course.
MCNews: In the first sentence of the
introduction to your e-book, The Bull Market, you
say, "I actually don't think much of Consulting."
Why do you think most consultants fail to cause real change
to occur and what can a consultant do to address this
issue?
Godin: I don't think Consultants
(with a capital C) get hired because of the advice they
give. I think they get hired because it makes the hiring
executive look good. It also gives her a lever to help
her implement the changes she wants to have happen. Consulting
(capital C) is often about many feet on the street, detailed
spreadsheets, lots of "proof" and not an awful
lot of action. But if that's what the client wants, it's
hard to blame the consultant.
MCNews: You made the point that great
ideas need champions to make them happen. How can consultants
foster cultures that encourage champions, both in their
own organizations and those of their clients?
Godin: How do the big consulting
firms decide which consultants to promote? How do they
decide on splitting the profits with the partners? People
who are working their way up pay attention to stuff like
that. Until consulting firms put their money where their
mouth is, they shouldn't be surprised if their organizations
are astonishingly stuck and conservative--smart people,
all paralyzed, no one willing to take what feels like
a chance but is actually quite a safe strategy.
MCNews: Can you train people in what
you call edgecraft? What "edges" might, for
example, a strategy consultant look for?
Godin: Of course you can. It's not
very hard. It's about doing the difficult work of digging
deep and finding the next superlative, the way of being
bold and getting ever close to the edge of what your clients
want.
MCNews: What's on your personal reading
list these days?
Godin: Hmmm. Unstuck
by Keith Yamashita. The Skeptic magazine.
MCNews: Thanks for your time.
Godin's Free Prize: The Bull Market
MCNews readers can download Seth Godin's
free 500-page e-book, The Bull Market, by
clicking on the link below. His new e-book is a collection
of hundreds of resources to help you shake things up,
including freelancers, agencies and consultants. You can
download the book at http://www.sethgodin.com/bull/download.asp.
See the official Web site for Seth
Godin, his books and services.
Read a previous Management Consulting News interview
with Seth Godin.
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