Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman's Blog About Surprise

Legal Advice--Pow! Goes To Court

"Surprise ain't for everybody."

That's the caveat I usually get from naysayers.

"It may be good for outlandish guys like you, people in multimedia or showbiz, but it doesn't apply to MY industry!"

That said, here's a totally unsolicited, Surprise post from lawyer, legal marketing consultant (and author) Tom Kane who--judging from his picture--is my polar opposite when it comes to sartorial splendor...but on the same wavelength when it comes to Pow!

It DOES work everywhere...only depends on how you choose to apply it.

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Surprise Your Clients!

If there is one thing I have preached over the years is to NEVER surprise your clients. In conducting client interviews over the years, I have consistently heard from law firm clients that they HATE surprises. So, what’s up with the title to this post? Have I gone mad? I’ll leave that to others.

By way of explanation, I ran across an interview by Dan Schawbel at Personal Branding Blog with Andy Nulman, author of a book about profiting from the power of surprise when it comes to developing your brand. What I gather that Nulman is talking about is standing out from the crowd, being distinctive…yes even shocking to your target audience.

It got me thinking about what kinds of surprises by law firms would actually “shock”clients in a good way. What immediately came to mind includes:

• Not just meeting deadlines, producing your work product early;
• Returning calls promptly, like almost immediately;
• Discounting a bill without being asked;
• Raising billing rates only after discussing it with the client;
• Understanding – really understanding – their business;
• Letting clients determine the value of a project; and
• Seeking feedback, and then acting on what you hear.

Maybe surprises are not always a bad thing. And undoubtedly some firms actually get it and have surprised their clients in some of these ways.

So, yes, surprise your clients… but pleasantly in ways that matter.

Pimp My Wikipedia Entry!

Given the current brouhaha over the banning of Scientologists from applying their obviously impartial editing skills to Wikipedia entries, I took a peek at my own to ensure no funny business from no nasty Scientology member.

The end result?  Well, I wish L. Ron Hubbard himself had applied his considerable creative writing skills to give me a makeover.  Jeez, after all I've said and done, you'd figure there'd be something more entertaining than this (and that would mention this blog, and the Pow! book and what have you):

So, here's a challenge for all you FOPs out there--Pimp My Wikipedia Entry!

What to say?  How to say it?  Aw...just Surprise me.

Go crazy...

Making Meetings More Memorable

One of the challenges thrown at business authors is to adapt the expertise, theories and tactics contained within their books to different industries, usually in the form of op-ed pieces or lengthy blog posts.

The following is both.  I wrote this for Pow! on a rainy Sunday back in March, but it just ran last week in SuccessfulMeetings.com (and in the Successful Meetings magazine).  You can link over to the post here...or just enjoy in below, courtesy of yours truly, author of both the book and the article:

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Surprise: The Secret to More Memorable Meetings

Let's face it—most conferences are stultifyingly boring. Sessions are the perfunctorily-attended "necessary evil" between networking opportunities at the bar. Conference floor booths are aisles of sameness; pamphlets, people in logoed shirts and takeaway promotional items that run the gamut from bouncy balls to mints to keychains. We attend, but we tend to forget as soon as we leave.

But it doesn't need to be this dire, because the element of surprise is the antidote to stale, stuck meetings. Not only do surprise tactics wake up a moribund crowd, but they bring attention to your company, product, panel discussion, or event, and more importantly, ensure that attendees talk about you and your event long after the physical gathering is over.

You don't need big budgets to pull these off, either; in the world of surprise, little things mean a lot, and guts are more important than bucks. Here are a number of tricks and tips to delightfully surprise your meeting's attendees, and create Pow! moments that will get them talking, keep them motivated, and ensure they remember.

1. Beat the Clock

A small tactic that will have an epic, exponentially disproportionate effect: Let people out 15 minutes to 20 minutes prior to a session's scheduled end-time. This is a meeting's equivalent of a three-day weekend. In all my years, I've never heard anyone complain: "Man, that meeting was too short."

2. The Best Booth Giveaway Ever

We all have enough pens, keychains, t-shirts, and the like to last us a lifetime. The best premium items I've ever seen in a booth were doled out by Austin-based Bazaarvoice—a series of adhesive, tongue-in-cheek tags to personalize those bland and clunky badges conference-goers are forced to wear. The ribbons shouted out slogans like "I Need Coffee" and "I'm Kind Of A Big Deal" and solicited smiles from everyone who saw them. More importantly, they also solicited cries of "Where'd you get them?" and drove traffic straight back to the booth.

3. Taking The Mountain To Mohammed

Speaking about giveaways, some people are still shy to plunk their hand in your booth's fishbowl for a chocolate or fridge magnet. Don't wait for traffic, go to where the traffic is and hand out your stuff. Wait for people in elevators, hit 'em up in line at snack booths, or hang around for them in the washroom. Radical, yes. Effective, also yes.

4. Hidden Agendas

Most conferences are like big boxing matches—there are a couple of headliners, and a whole lot of undercard. Rather than try to sell the less-than-famous speakers, hide them instead. Describe them, and their topics of discussion, wildly and cryptically and reveal the name (and face) behind the hype only when they take to the mic at the podium or table. Yes, they may still be unknown, but the proper intro and walk-on will set the stage a whole lot better for them ... and for your audience.

5. Mismanage Expectations

Yes, the meeting may be called for Conference Room B, but it doesn't have to stay there. Like the late Andy Kaufman did when he took his entire Carnegie Hall audience out for milk and cookies, start at point A, but take your attendees somewhere obtuse and/or exotic. Or better still, start them off somewhere different. Set up chairs in a pedestrian mall, in a bookstore, coffee shop, or clothing boutique. Sorry Mr. McLuhan, but the location may be the message.

6. Break The Dress Code

Clothes make the man. And the woman. And the meeting. Customize your meeting by costumizing it. Unveil your road map in a formal, black-tie setting. Call a pajama party to discuss the 24/7 nature of modern communications. Break out the '60s-wear for a keynote from an industry old-timer. Like Halloween, half the fun will be seeing what the other folks will be wearing. Instant buzz.

7. Power Pointers

Give an underworked actor (which describes most of them) a break—hire them to act out your speech's salient, important points. Improv comedians will provide you with something far more memorable than PowerPoint.

These are just starting blocks. The end results depend on your imagination, risk tolerance, and sense of adventure. But no matter what tactic you choose, the goal of any surprise is to generate what I call "Euphoric Shock," that moment that expands the boundaries of delightful extremes and is the difference between "Holy Jeez!" and "Who Cares?"

And trust me on this, whatever business you may be in, I guarantee it'll work better with a "Holy Jeez!"

The Electric Car of The Smoking World

Been sitting on this one for a while, discovering it in April--in all places!--amongst handset manufacturers and mobile media publishers at the semi-annual CTIA telecom/internet conference.

Incongruous positioning aside,this is either one of the world's most brilliant innovations, or one of its most crass and idiotic (would've leaned heavily on the idiotic side but given the influence of Joshua Cooper Ramo's "The Age of the Unthinkable," I'm now perplexedly hovering in the middle):

NJOY--The Electronic Cigarette

The digitalcig promises "all of the pleasures of smoking wihout all the problems," namely open flame, smoke, carcinogens and stares from people like me as one pollutes my environs.  It's the Beatlemania of the smoker's world--No Tobacco, Just an Incredible Simulation! (To answer the curious, the product creates a water vapor and mixes it with nicotine for a smoker's rush.)

Now, I'm an anti-smoker and dislike everything big tobacco stands for.  I unfortunately know how even one cigarette can screw up the most pastoral scene (case in point--while taking my dogs on a crisp late night walk last week, some guy walking his dog a block in front of me was puffing away, and the smoke overpowered all other--and I mean ALL other--scents for the entire walk).

But I also know that to many, smoking is their life's pleasure.  Some--most I'll reckon--are also hooked, which is a shame, but a reality.  NJOY may be the more-than-reasonable alternative.

So...wacky gimmick, or a puffer's version of the electric car? 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

How To Pow!--Ignore The Consensus (Theory 24)

Was asked a provocative interview question by the shinin' bright Paul Williams of The Idea Sandbox. 

As much as I dug his question, I dug my answer to it even more.  Hope you will, too.

Q) So... how do you really know if what you're doing is 'Surprising' or Pow-worthy? Many companies think their services or products or marketing is awesome... when it's really humdrum. Is there a b.s. rule-of-thumb you can offer?

A) There's an easy barometer: Ignore the consensus. 

Here's what I mean:  If the proposed idea--any one!--is universally adopted and admired within your company, you know it's not just humdrum, but a loser.  Surprising ideas shock, challenge and enrage the public, but usually start their "dirty work" inside company walls.

That said, you know you've got something good when your own colleagues get pissed off at it, bark "I won't put my name on that!" or, better yet, threaten to quit because of it.  Every time I see a great Surprising marketing move, I say to myself "I wonder who quit or got fired over that one?"

Thoughts Spawned by "The Unthinkable"

Spent last weekend devouring Joshua Cooper Ramo's "The Age of the Unthinkable."  Joshua is way smarter than anyone has a right to be, and while he frowns on those who render the complex and intricate into the simple and easily-explained, he does just that with such heady subjects as the new world order and the public policy needed to deal with it. 

Yeah, my usual weekend reading.  Can't wait to get back to it later today. 

So much of what Joshua, a former high-ranking editor at Time Magazine, has to say is brain-expanding, but given this blog's raison d'etre, this passage, about the credentials needed for today's foreign policy careers, was particularly appropos (bullets mine):

• "(They) should be able to speak and think in revolutionary terms.
• "They should have expertise in some area of the world where fast change and unpredictability are the dominant facts of life.
• "They should have mastered the essential skill of the next fifty years: crisis managment.
• "Most of all, however, we need policy makers and thinkers who have that intuitive revolutionary feel for the inescapable demands of innovation."

For years, one of the theories I've espoused is that proactivity is overrated and that being reactive is not just underrated, but the more desirable and essential skill, particularly these days.  How does one plan in a world of increasing unpredictable chaos?  Well, happy to see these thoughts valdated and vindicated by someone way wiser than yours truly.

And now, back to the Ramo opus...

Growing Their Business

One t-shirt.

16 variations on a very basic design.

And one of the best web experiences in selling it.

Well, selling the agency that created it, that is

From Grow Interactive in Norfolk, Virgina comes this ingenious self-promotional tool; a show, a treasure hunt, a freebie, a showcase.

And once again to paraphrase the old Lay's Potato Chips slogan, betcha can't watch just one.

Post This Read Should You

In the oft-metioned Pow! book, Surprise-generating Tactic #5 is "Look in the Rear-View Mirror," explained as:

"By looking, and doing things, backwards,
you may stumble upon the idea
that can drive the future."

I love it when people take me verbatim. 

Check this out--an ad for the Eating Disorder Education Organization, a group that helps the sufferers--most who do so in silence--deal with, and find help, their illness. 

Nothing to make fun of, and this spot certainly doesn't.  What is DOES do though, is make a very powerful, and visual, statement, about the abnormality of eating disorders.

It's simply entitled "Cream Ice," and can be viewed, I suspect repetitively, below:

Sweet End to the Day

Just back from a dinner appointment, and the Google Alerts have picked up two whup-ass reviews of the Pow! book:

Jeremy Epstein's Never Stop Marketing Blog and a hysterical take by Jeff Brainard over at the very off-beat Catch Your Limit (which is part of the Post-to-Post blog tour set up by Paul Williams).

A fine digestif indeed.  Happy you liked it, guys.

Pining For More Pow!

I've worked with Comcast's Troy Ewanchyna for a number of years when he was at the NHL.  One of my fondest memories is the walking to a lunch meeting with the Prairie-raised exec during a bone-chilling, minus-27-degree winter's day.  I was bundled up beyond recognition, he was in a four-season business suit.  They grow 'em tough on the plains.

Yet Troy seems to have a soft spot for Surprise.  He sends over this lament in a recent email:

Your book strikes a chord in a strange but neat way. I swear that for the past year or so I've been telling people that "I feel like there are no surprises in life anymore... we're lazy and don't think enough." 

Some cases in point that I've used:

- We don't remember phone numbers any longer. Everything is programmed into Outlook and cell phones.

- I go to an AC/DC concert and there's a printed playlist sitting there in the suite...I know the whole concert before the first song is played. People even plan when to take a bathroom break or whether to stay for the encore.

- I'm at a college hockey game and just when a penalty expires the announcer says "The teams are now back at even strength!"  I remember the good old days when the goalie had to bang his stick so his team knew the guy was coming out of the box. Surprise d-man!... You weren't paying attention, I'm picking your pocket and going on a breakaway.

- I worked at a GPS company and saw a lot of this first hand: How crazy iit that people will blindly follow their in-car navigation systems and nearly drive over a cliff before they stop and think?

Good points all, Troy.  But there's a big difference between an over-reliance on technology (points 1 and 4) and the elimation of the unknown (points 2 and 3). 

What would be fun is if the announcer made his call 15 seconds BEFORE the penalty is over, or if AC/DC veered off the set list a bit and covered a Billy Joel song or something (not as crazy as it sounds; on his last tour, Billy and band backed a roadie named "Buzzsaw" who sang a truly inspired version of "Highway to Hell). 

The beauty of Surprise is that when one door closes, it just forces you to find another one to open.  Except in the cases of your points 1 and 4; trust me, you don't want the Surprises those babies can bring!

Using Cards to Get Ya Credit

One thing I love most in advances in digital technology is that it forces the analog world to step up its game.

Case in point are these business cards, sent along from most faithful FOP Cary Goldwax.  I may have these people in my Outlook (or or more notably and recently, in my Xobni, the best damn email plug-in ever), but their digital data could never pack as much punch, could never speak as loud, could never tell a story as well, as these:

Think these are anomalies?  Well, here's a link for 98 (!!!!) more over at WebDesignerDepot.com.

Enjoy.  But more importantly, get your atoms inspired.

Airborne Re-born

A little awkward in the pic department, but a great article on Airborne Mobile in today's Financial Post.

That's my biz partner Garner Bornstein on the right, and our great friend and investor Chris Arsenault of iNovia Capital sandwiched between us.  Not a bad way to start a long weekend...

Not Funny, But...

Just back from my high school reunion, and as is the case at such events, talk turned to "Whatever happened to ______________?" (fill in the blank with classmate who hadn't shown up).

Well, very sad to say, in the case of one such absent classmate, he had recently passed away. 

But here's why this fits in this here blog--when I checked my classmate's  online obit, not only was I shocked with the fact that banner ads are sold atop the "Remembering" page, the selection of said ad was mighty unfortunate indeed:

If the name of the show wasn't bad enough, the accompanying visual made things even worse.  I know these placements are auto-generated, but with all the customization advances made over the past couple of years on and for the 'Net, you'd figure that this can be avoided somehow.

Pow! The Complete Late Late Show Interview

Without Craig's enthusiasm and sense of fun, I would've been a stiff.  He made me comfortable, and made the interview a joy.  Was every bit as fun as it seemed.  (By the way, the jacket I walked on with was a hand-painted, one-of-a-kind work of art by artist and former Andy Warhol assistant Steve Kaufman.)

Hope you enjoy watching as much as I did yapping!

Pow! Goes Arty & Finds It Voice

In addition to last night's appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, here are the shocks of the week at Surprise Central:

• This review from Marianne Ackerman on RoverArts.com.  This is what happens when someone from the artistic community takes on a “business book.”  Warts and all, she really gets it, and understands the expansive—and underused—power of Pow!

• And go figure—Pow! finds it voice with Audible.com.  Despite the dulcet tones of my vocal chords, I am honored that someone with a golden throat like Peter Ganim has been chosen to read my words out loud.  Can’t wait to hear him enunciate one of my frequent “Holy Jeez!”es.  Coming soon to an iPod near you.  Will let you know when it's out.

Pow! Goes Late Late This Tuesday--What Goes On Behind The Scenes

Well, I wasn't delusional, nor was it an April Fool's Day joke.  Just found out that the segment I taped for the Late Late Show on April 1 will air this Tuesday, May 12.  I figure there may be more than a few people tuning in--model Paulina Porizkova is the main guest.

While some of you FOPs followed the escapade via my Tweets that day on Twitter (as if people "Tweet" anywhere else), here are a couple of other behind-the-scenes insights accompanied by these superb photos from celebrity portrait photog Francis Specker.

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First of all, I must admit that--despite my wardrobe--my appearance was somewhat subdued and understated throughout the entire seven-minute sit-down (and when I say seven minutes, I mean seven--there was a timer that read 6:59 the second I turned the corner from backstage onto the set). 

I had a few Surprises up my sleeve, but Craig was so over-the-top on his introduction of yours truly (repeatedly flinging the book directly into the camera lens and shouting "Pow!", see below), any craziness on my part would be construed as overkill. A quiet Andy?  Perhaps that was the greatest Surprise of all...

Given that he kept the book on his desk throughout the interview, read from it, showed pictures from it, well...how could I possibly out-promote that?  I simply answered his questions, reminisced about times we spent together...and cringed when I realized that I had left my fly open (just before going on stage, I debated whether to enjoy a last-minute pee, or let the bladder tension keep me on edge throughout the seven minutes.  In retrospect, perhaps I should've held it in...).

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Craig's guest who taped immediately prior to me was actress Jennifer Tilly.  And speaking about "over-the-top," it was a miracle that perky, bouncy Jenn managed to stay within hers for a full seven minutes. 

Craig couldn't help but fixate on her cleavage (to see why, look to your left), a valley of puffy, undulating flesh which would've sent his show directly to pay cable had it plunged a millimeter lower.

Following her, what I thought of doing was stuffing my shirt to mountainous proportions for my walk-on, which I think would've brought down the house...but would've also been irrelevant to a TV audience since our air-dates were weeks apart.  Damn that time delay!

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One of Craig Ferguson's trademarks is the hand-written note he leaves in each guest's dressing room prior to their appearance.  Mine read (and I quote):

"Oh fuck you?  Welcome Andy, love Craig"

Somehow, I don't think he wrote the same thing to Reverend Desmond Tutu, but then again, that's the liberty you can take with someone who you know for over 20 years.

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Ever wonder what goes on just before someone goes on?  About a minute before, you get a knock on your dressing room door (mine came from Jeff, the show's guest-relations guru) and you're met by your segment producer (mine was the ageless, petite Lisa Ammerman). 

In a scene reminiscent of The Green Mile, you walk down a corridor to the back of the studio, where you wait on a painted yellow line amongst various electronic gear, wires, ladders and gaffer tape. Just before he introduced me, Craig bounded backstage, gave me a hug and said "This is gonna be a surreal moment for both of us."  Seconds later, he was jabbing the camera with my book...and then I heard my name called.

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I didn't know much about Martina McBride, the award-winning, chart-owning country singer who also taped a Late Late Show segment that day, but with my tie-dyed t-shirt, overabundance of jewelry and round sungalsses, everyone on set at the show assumed I was with her band. 

In fact, when I was introduced to Craig's producer, he asked me what instrument I played.  We looked at each other as if each other was crazy until someone pointed out "I think he's 'The Author'." 

"The Author."  That killed me.  I've been called a number of things in my life, but never that...until then.

Wonder what I'll be called tomorrow?  ;)

A Disturbing Story

As per Thursday’s post about Alan Webber’s “Rules of Thumb” book, one of my faves was Rule #16, which goes “Facts Are Facts; Stories Are How We Learn.”

And to that end, take a gander at this double-sided “Do Not Disturb” sign I, uh, "borrowed" (sorry!) from the Sandman Signature Hotel.  I was at the chain’s Toronto Airport location last weekend for a family affair (by the way, this was, by far, the BEST Airport hotel I’ve ever stayed at; a boutique feel in the middle of industrial-land) and was enamored with the hotel’s attention to detail, even with something like said sign, which most havens of hospitality sadly take for granted.

With it, the Sandman adheres to the adage "There are two sides to every story."  If you can’t read ‘em, here’s the text.  One side gives it to you in detail:

(The Long Story)

Hello.

We might be sleeping or not, could be working or relaxing, taking a shower, any number of things…

…OR maybe, just maybe, while looking for some ME time, I mean really, is that too much to ask.  Just a few minutes, it’s not like we’re asking for something crazy like our own island or anything, just a little bit of time to ourselves.  It’s not an unreasonable request.  We’re usually quite friendly and sociable, almost always polite and so, all we ask, this one tiny little thing…

…please do not disturb.  Thank you.

See, told you we were polite

On the other side, slightly more succinctly:

(To make a long story short)

…please do not disturb.

The End

Not the biggest thing in the world, but when was the last time you noticed a “Do Not Disturb” sign…let alone stole one?

So tell me, what stories are you burying under a blanket of boredom?

World-Wide Webber

Have to say that I’ve been enjoying the romp through Alan Webber’s book “Rules of Thumb.”  Ostensibly, the co-founder of Fast Company sliced up his reams of real-life wisdom (or “Truths,” as he calls ‘em) into 52 segments so that they can be digested one-per-week for a year, but paraphrasing that classic Lay’s Potato Chips challenge, betcha can’t read just one.  I defy you to put the book down without plowing through six or seven of said “Truths” at one sitting.

Webber writes authoritatively and accessibly, delivering the goods in a friendly yet comprehensive manner.  No wonder Fast Company changed the way a new generation took to, and understood, business.  Frankly, given how much I’ve learned from the mag over the years, “reviewing” Webber’s book feels more like evaluating one of my favorite profs.

While much of what Webber writes is common sense, the accompanying anecdotes, usually star-studded with corporate giants or their leaders, adds luster to his claims.  And the problem with common sense is that we sadly tend to forget it before acting on it, so a refresher every now and then is always welcome.

I still read, and enjoy, Fast Company on a regular basis.  But after reading “Rules of Thumb,” I realize that the voice that was Webber’s is blatantly missing from his baby.

And how can I not love a book with these words of wisdom:

"Customers like doing business with smart companies and avoid doing business with dumb ones.  When you surprise them with an insight about themselves they didn’t realize until you revealed it, they put you in the category of really smart companies. 

"That’s the highest compliment a customer can pay you.  And it makes it more likely that the customer will keep paying you more than compliments."

Wish I had been able to quote that in my book…

Pigging Out

The new millennia's version of "You stuck your chocolate in my peanut butter!" I suppose...

Given the panic around swine flu, perhaps not the best time to launch a cocoa and pork-product hybrid, but high-end chocolatier Vosges has come out with this--Mo's Bacon Bar, which is indeed what is says, a bacon-infused chocolate bar.  Check out the site's product description:

"Breathe…engage your five senses, close your eyes and inhale deeply. Be in the present moment, notice the color of the chocolate, the glossy shine.

Rub your thumb over the chocolate bar to release the aromas of smoked applewood bacon flirting with deep milk chocolate. Snap off just a tiny piece and place it in your mouth, let the lust of salt and sweet coat your tongue."

Makes it almost sound palatable.  And if you won't eat it, you can always use it as a lube. ..

Nonetheless, it follows one of the Pow! tactics of "Taking Things Out of Context," indeed Surprises...and somehow fits within the strange bacon obsession of this blog (like this post, this one and this one), which is weird since said blogger is a health-conscious, fat-phobic, calorie-counting Jew. 

Connect The DOTS (Egging You On...)

• I promised you an Easter Egg, so to be true to my word...

• To those who bought my Pow! book, there's a secret site you can access ONLY by cracking the code that starts on page xix (the one entitled "10 Surprising Things About Me").

• The code is an acrostic, and starts with the first dot.  Connect the dots throughout the book (and ONLY the dots) and you'll be taken to a special place.  For what is a book about Surprise without one or two within it?

• And for those of you who HAVEN'T bought the book yet, this is another reason to do so.

• I hope...

One More Easter Egg To Crack Open

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, part of the fun of Wired's Mystery ish was the plethora of hidden games, codes, Easter Eggs et al buried within the mag's 138 dense pages.

The New York Times did a great job summarizing the hidden extras, and Steven Bevacqua did an even better job as the first person to successfully crack the code and solve the mag's most extensive puzzle. 

But Easter Eggs aren't new...in fact, one of my favorite books of all time has one that very few people know about.

Until Monday...where we crack the egg's shell in public for the first time.

Have a great weekend, and see you back here bright and early on May 4!