Scott Monty

Simple vs. Complex: I'll Take Simple, Please

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You've probably heard someone older than you in your family yearn for the past. Maybe they see how customers are handled at a restaurant or that movies are too expensive. <br />
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Then they get a far-off look in their eyes and wistfully sigh, "Things sure aren't the way they used to be." <br />
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Of course they're not. Bread isn't a nickel. A movie isn't 10 cents. And your banker doesn't know you by name. <br />
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It's human nature to want to return to what we knew. It's comfortable. It's familiar. It's home. <br />
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But as Nick Carroway told Jay Gatsby in <i>The Great Gatsby</i>, "You can't repeat the past." The past is just that. It occupies an important but distant place in our minds. <br />
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Which is why it's so powerful when we get a glimpse of the way things used to be in the context of a business setting today. <br />
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Amid the flurry of notifications and emails, two-factor authentications and e-commerce, Apple Pay and Amazon, the old-fashioned seems quaint and comforting. Like going home. <br />
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<b>The Power of Simplicity</b></h2>
There's a great power in simplicity. Boiling down a complex problem to its core. Making a user experience that's intuitive. Using language people can understand without pulling out a dictionary. <br />
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We've got a temptation to make things more complex than simple. Part of it is a self-preservation mechanism: like academics who use unnecessarily flowery language in peer-reviewed journals, it's a matter of elevating ourselves to seem smarter and "own" the topic. <br />
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I recently heard of a CEO who prefers to be vague and cerebral in his approach. The result is predictable: employees can't get a read on what he's saying, and they don't feel a sense of rapport with him. As a result, morale is down. <br />
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I was fortunate to serve fairly closely with a CEO whose style was all about simplicity. Not in a dumbed-down way, but in a friendly, collaborative sort of way. He ensured that everyone understood the company's mission and how they fit into the puzzle of a global organization. <br />
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He knew that it was his job to meet employees where they were – physically, and philosophically – and bring them to where he wanted them to go. <br />
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That CEO was <b>Alan Mulally</b>, and his strategic plan for <b>Ford Motor Company</b> was called "<a href="https://www.slideshare.net/scottmonty/one-ford-strategy/secret/Hw7Y6RheYkURgl" target="_blank">One Ford</a>." It was quite simple: One Team, One Plan, One Goal – an exciting and viable Ford delivering profitable growth for all. <br />
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Sure, the details below each section made it a little longer. But it was in plain language that fit on an I.D. card. Everyone could recite it, because the message was so simple, and because Alan spent so much time repeating it to everyone. <br />
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Alan recently told me, "If you want to be successful, you have to have a plan, and you have to communicate about the plan." <br />
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Alan knew that simple communication was the most effective. And how refreshing when everything else around us is complicated! <br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">“One should use common words to say uncommon things.”</span></i></b> </div>
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– Arthur Schopenhauer [<a href="https://ctt.ac/eU4go" target="_blank">Tweet this quote</a>]</div>
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People don't expect the common and simple these days. </div>
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They don't expect a handwritten note when they're barraged with emails and text messages. </div>
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They don't expect that you'll remember their name when they're required to give three forms of I.D. to make a deposit at the bank. </div>
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Sometimes, that's all it takes. Say hello. Use language they can relate to. Remember their name. </div>
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It really is that simple. </div>
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Simple vs. Complex: I'll Take Simple, Please

You've probably heard someone older than you in your family yearn for the past. Maybe they see how customers are handled at a restaur...

The Power of Brevity

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karel_Dujardin_-_Boy_Blowing_Soap_Bubbles._Allegory_on_the_Transitoriness_and_the_Brevity_of_Life_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" target="_blank">Boy Blowing Soap Bubbles. Allegory on the Transitoriness and the Brevity of Life</a> by Karel Dujardin, 1663 (public domain)</span></i></td></tr>
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There's great power in keeping things short.<br />
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It's one of the reasons I changed <a href="https://www.fullmontyshow.com/p/show-archives.html" target="_blank">my podcast</a> to be about 5 minutes long each week.<br />
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Of course I could go on for longer. But no one wants to hear that.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />"As great minds have the faculty of saying a great deal in a few words, so lesser minds have a talent of talking much, and saying nothing."</span></i></b><br />
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– Francois de la Rochefoucauld [<a href="https://ctt.ac/bq6Kj" target="_blank">Tweet this quote</a>]<br /></div>
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When you write or speak, pick the words that matter, say what you need to, and get out of the way.<br />
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If people want to hear more from you, they'll ask.<br />
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The Power of Brevity

Boy Blowing Soap Bubbles. Allegory on the Transitoriness and the Brevity of Life by Karel Dujardin, 1663 (public domain) There'...

What CEOs Do That Sets Them Apart

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When you're stuck for an idea, where do you go? <br />
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If you've ever watched Mad Men, you saw Don Draper, the consummate creative director, try to hammer out his ideas by taking a nap, or leaving his office to head to a matinee at a nearby theater. <br />
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Some people choose to listen to music. Others open a book. And yet others take a walk. <br />
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Whatever it is, we make those choices to break up the monotony or try to jolt our thinking. <br />
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In all of those moments, opportunities present themselves: opportunities to take in and appreciate the creative work of someone else. It might be something centuries old. Or it might be a creation from this morning. <br />
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When you reflect on something beautiful, something deep, something funny <span style="text-align: right;">–</span> you never know where it might lead. <br />
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As a professional, you needn't be consumed by your industry and your industry alone; you should be able to find inspiration everywhere.<br />
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<b>Improvisation as Inspiration</b></h2>
I was recently reading a biography of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Shepherd">Jean Shepherd</a> (<i>Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd</i>). You may not know Shep, other than his crowning achievement to pop culture: the now-classic holiday film <i>A Christmas Story</i> was based on Shepherd's semi-autobiographical stories in his 1966 book <i>In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash</i>, with some elements from his 1971 book <i>Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories</i>. <br />
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For years, Shepherd had a radio show on WOR in New York, where he was on the air from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. And during those four hours, all he did was tell stories. But he also liked jazz. And from his apartment in Greenwich Village, he had access to some of the best jazz bars in the city. <br />
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So what did Shep do? He found inspiration in the jazz he listened to. He used the improvisational style of music to hone his storytelling, so that soon, he was improvising on a topic in the booth. He became the jazz artist of the monologue. <br />
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It's that kind of cross-pollinating that leads to creative breakthroughs. Where polymaths use their knowledge of vastly different subjects to bring together the unusual or unexpected to produce results. <br />
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As you can imagine, it doesn't happen without the prerequisite inspiration. And you've got to want to seek out other sources to inspire you. What does that take? <br />
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Why, nothing less than curiosity. <br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." </span></i></b></div>
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– Dorothy Parker [<a href="https://ctt.ac/QHDC4" target="_blank">Tweet this quote</a>]</div>
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If you're curious, you're constantly wondering "Why?" or "How?" or "What else?" You want to expand your sphere of knowledge, wide or deep. You want to understand the weak connections, the conditions in which an artist worked, the inner workings of the human mind. <br />
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Adam Bryant has interviewed 525 chief executives through his years writing the 'Corner Office' column in <i>The New York Times</i>. Over those 525 interviews, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/business/how-to-be-a-ceo.html" target="_blank">here's what he has learned</a> about those CEOs: <br />
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"[T]hey share a habit of mind that is best described as 'applied curiosity.' They tend to question everything. They want to know how things work, and wonder how they can be made to work better. They're curious about people and their back stories."  </blockquote>
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And yet, at the same time, in Digiday's "Confessions" series, an advertising veteran noted that lack of intellectual curiosity and rigor around <a href="http://digiday.com/uk/confessions-advertising-vet-obsession-newness-mess/" target="_blank">shiny object syndrome is ruining the ad industry</a>. <br />
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Shiny object syndrome <span style="text-align: right;">–</span> or GMOOT ("Get me one of those!") <span style="text-align: right;">–</span> is the bane of any industry's existence. Chasing the latest trend and trying to capitalize on it, whether it's GDPR, virtual reality, chatbots, influencer marketing, the latest social network, CDP, DMP, CMS or whatever <span style="text-align: right;">–</span> without the prerequisite expertise in using or running a program on any of those. <br />
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Isn't it time that we took a step away from the desk, like Don Draper did? Maybe we can immerse ourselves in art, music, or literature that pierces the very heart of human nature <span style="text-align: right;">–</span> that evergreen and immutable part of ourselves that is consistent from generation to generation, from century to century. <br />
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It's one of the reasons you'll see the #pastprologue hashtag here and my social accounts (<a href="http://facebook.com/scottmontyspeaker" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://instagram.com/scottmonty" target="_blank">Instagram</a>). I'm sharing quotes and other content that identifies timeless wisdom from great figures of the past. <br />
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As Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, <br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"What's past is prologue." </i></b></div>
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If you're curious enough to spend time to dig into the past, you may find you have a whole course charted out for your future. <br />
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And who doesn't need more of that? Taking ourselves away from the digital distractions and looming pressures of life. A chance to be inspired. </div>
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And perhaps to inspire others as well. <br />
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What CEOs Do That Sets Them Apart

When you're stuck for an idea, where do you go? If you've ever watched Mad Men, you saw Don Draper, the consummate creative di...

Sherlock Holmes Knew the Secret to Standing Out

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No, it wasn't by wearing a silly hat.<br />
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As we're nearing the close of August, it's back-to-school season. That means there are a lot of disappointed adolescents as summer comes to an end.<br />
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While children (and let's face it, many adults) are loathe to see summer fade, it's a reminder that in our own professional lives, there's really no back-to-school season.<br />
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We should always be learning.<br />
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The company or industry you work for today is different than the year you started, and that means you need to stay up to speed too. You need training, <a href="http://smonty.co/execbrief" target="_blank">workshops</a>, conferences, books, articles, <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/speaking" target="_blank">thought-provoking speakers</a>.<br />
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My great-grandfather immigrated from Poland. He purchased hundreds of acres of land and set himself up as a farmer, raising 10 children (<span style="text-align: right;">ostensibly to act as cheap farm labor). So when one of his younger sons announced his desire to go to college, his father, in a heavy Polish accent, said, "<i>School don't buy bread. WORK buy bread.</i>"</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: right;">And so my great uncle had to self-educate, eventually becoming a watchmaker.</span><br />
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There are so many more opportunities available to every single one of us today, from traditional universities to Udemy to anything you'd care to teach yourself on the Internet. There's no excuse for not improving your knowledge.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last."</span></i></b> </div>
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– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [<a href="https://ctt.ac/z8fYR" target="_blank">Tweet this quote</a>]</div>
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Knowledge doesn't always find us; we have to find it. And it may be in unexpected places. Sherlock Holmes knew this, as he created his own profession and educated himself to be the best consulting detective the world has ever known.<br />
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Seek out mentors. Find things that inspire you. Be a student of the world.<br />
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But above all, be a lifelong learner.<br />
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<i>Image credit: "Shoscombe Old Place" by Frank Wiles (1927)</i><br />
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Sherlock Holmes Knew the Secret to Standing Out

No, it wasn't by wearing a silly hat. As we're nearing the close of August, it's back-to-school season. That means there ar...

Influencers Are People Too

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How much money would you say goes into influencer marketing?<br />
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On Instagram – that bastion of vanity – brands are spending $1.6 billion on influencers this year. Overall, one analyst estimates the market may be $5-10 billion by 2020.<br />
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In recent years, advertising teams – who have already ceded control of social media from communications teams – have turned to contracting influencers to spread their story.<br />
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There are a couple of challenges with that: there are plenty of influencers who have gamed the system to arrive at large numbers; and in some cases, brands treat this as a transaction – a media spend.<br />
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It's worth recalling the words of the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca:<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Fidelity purchased with money, money can destroy." – Seneca</span></i></b> </div>
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[<a href="https://ctt.ac/EaN4Z" target="_blank"><i>Tweet this quote</i></a>]</div>
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And now there's a call for more transparency and trust in the industry, from some of the largest brands. We're seeing influencer marketing software companies
increasingly emphasize <a href="https://digiday.com/marketing/influencer-marketing-platforms-making-fraud-obvious-brands-identify/" target="_blank">their abilities to detect fraudulent behavior</a>, with some
vendors even redesigning their systems to that end.<br />
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Frankly, this could all have been avoided if influencer marketing were treated more like influencer relations. Yes, brands can (and should) have contracts. But outside of the campaign, regularly and consistently, brand managers should be interacting with influencers on their platforms.<br />
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That means following their activities on a variety of platforms, commenting on photos, perhaps tagging influencers in their own posts.<br />
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Because influencers, just like many people, love attention. And they tend to skew a little more vain than the rest of us, as Rochefoucauld knew:<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Flattery is a counterfeit money, but which for vanity, would have no circulation." – François de la Rochefoucauld</span></i></b></div>
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[<a href="https://ctt.ac/_INUM" target="_blank"><i>Tweet this quote</i></a>]</div>
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If you create things, it's likely that you want an audience, not merely customers. The same applies to influencers.<br />
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Consider how you, as a brand representative, can become an active audience member and an influencer of customers – not just another customer of influencers.<br />
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Influencers Are People Too

How much money would you say goes into influencer marketing? On Instagram – that bastion of vanity – brands are spending $1.6 billion...

What Is Influence?

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Influence is not a destination, but a journey. <br />
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It's not a job, but the by-product of doing something well. <br />
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It is not the size of the audience, but what they do because of you.<br />
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Pythagoras of Samos was an ancient Greek philosopher (whom you likely know from geometry because of his theorem). He was an influencer in various areas of Greek life: science, math, philosophy, astronomy, and art.<br />
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But two students were most influenced by his philosophy. You may have heard of them: Plato and Aristotle.<br />
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And that is how influence works.</div>
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<i>Image credit: <a href="http://john-petrov.livejournal.com/939604.html?style=mine#cutid1" target="_blank">Pythagoreans Celebrate the Sunrise</a> By Fyodor Bronnikov, (1827—1902), <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2591309" target="_blank">Public Domain</a></i></div>

What Is Influence?

Influence is not a destination, but a journey. It's not a job, but the by-product of doing something well. It is not the size of ...

The Fuller Brush Credo

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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuller_Brush_Company" target="_blank">The Fuller Brush Company</a> was ahead of its time.</div>
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It's well known for the army of door to door salesmen that peddled its wide range of brushes, brooms, and other associated goods.</div>
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For a time, "the Fuller Brush Man" was synonymous with salesman. It didn't hurt that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fuller_Brush_Man" target="_blank">a movie of that name</a> was made in 1948, starring Red Skelton and another one named <i>The Fuller Brush Girl</i> was made in 1950 with Lucille Ball.<br />
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did a company that was founded by a 21 year-old out of his sister's basement go
from a one-man operation to a nationally-recognized brand? And what was the
secret to the success of the Fuller Brush man?</div>
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And as you can imagine, selling brushes out of a suitcase or car trunk was hard work that required tenacity and creativity.</div>
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But more than their sales techniques, the company was legendary for its guarantee:</div>
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<b><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Make it work, </span></i></b></b><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>make it last, </i></b></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>and guarantee it. </i></b></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>No matter what.</i></b></span></i></b></div>
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Other companies have since offered a no-haggle guarantee, but it was The Fuller Brush Company that stated it so plainly and made it the credo of the company.</div>
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Every employee knew what it stood for; every customer knew what it meant. We should all be so succinct in our messaging.<br />
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But more than that, the secret weapon in Alfred C. Fuller's possession was how he hired and trained his salesforce. It was all about the culture at The Fuller Brush Company. Because he knew that every employee needed to be held to the same high standards he held himself to when he started the company in 1906.<br />
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Insisting on uncompromising integrity, Alfred Fuller made every salesperson sign what was called <b>The Pledge of the Fuller Brush Man</b>. They pledged to “realize that my obligation is one of <b><i>service </i></b>to the <b><i>customer</i></b>, to the <b><i>company </i></b>I represent and to the <b><i>community </i></b>in which I live and work.” Each Fuller Brush Man also swore: “I will be courteous; I will be kind; I will be sincere; I will be helpful.”<br />
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Now think about the last experience you had in which your expectations were not met and you raised a concern. Were you triaged to another department or employee, or was that employee authorized to handle your issue?<br />
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Companies that are the best in customer service – Disney Parks, Zappos, Nordstrom, and more – train <b>all</b> of their employees to handle customer service needs. It doesn't matter if it's not their department, if they aren't customer service representatives, or if they have no knowledge of a particular product.<br />
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At great companies, the customer is <b>everyone's</b> responsibility.<br />
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And along with the simplicity of message like Fuller Brush credo – make it work, make it last, guarantee it, no matter what – that's really all you need to create repeat customers who'll tell the world about you.</div>
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<i>Top image credit: Tichnor Brothers, Boston Public Library via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Fuller_Brush_Co.,_Hartford,_Conn_(78040).jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></i></div>
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The Fuller Brush Credo

The Fuller Brush Company was ahead of its time. It's well known for the army of door to door salesmen that peddled its wide ...

That Word Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

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Do you want happy customers?<br />
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It's hard to imagine anyone answering "no" to that question. And yet, every single day, we see businesses that do things – perhaps through policy, because they're lazy, or they need to save money – that disenfranchise customers.<br />
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If your goal is customer happiness, what makes you think you can do anything that frustrates them?<br />
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If you're customer-centric, why are you causing customers to jump through hoops for <i>you</i>?<br />
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If you want to create customers for life, why are you making it so hard for them to want to come back?<br />
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<b>One Industry Example</b></h2>
Anyone who has owned a car has been notified of a recall every now and then. Some are trivial, but others are potentially life-threatening. Some even come with warnings: DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR. LEAVE IT PARKED IN YOUR DRIVEWAY.<br />
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It's great to know that an automaker (or OEM) is so interested in the well-being of its customers. And they typically tell you that your dealer will take the car and fix it, at no cost to you.<br />
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No <i>monetary </i>cost, that is.<br />
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Because inevitably, it'll cost you in other ways, as you run into issues like:<br />
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<li>They're booked solid for the next two months, because everyone with the same model is trying to get the service done; or</li>
<li>The part is back-ordered and the supplier won't have it for another three weeks; or</li>
<li>You need to bring your car in and leave it for some period of time (a day, two days, a week...);</li>
<li>The dealership is 35 miles away and needs you to bring it in at 11:00 a.m. on a Tuesday.</li>
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I guarantee you almost every OEM has a Customer Experience practice and they're in their meetings, talking about being "customer-centric" or wanting happy customers. And yet we run into the above.</div>
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Do any of the above challenges sound customer-centric?</div>
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Of course not. Because the <b>culture </b>at the company isn't aligned up and down to revolve around customers. It's designed to meet the needs of shareholders and management, who mainly look at profitability, or risk mitigation, or market share.</div>
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The funny thing is, while there's a cost to doing things for the customer, if you're making customers happy, you'll spend less on new customer acquisition. You'll have a sterling reputation. They'll even refer other customers to you. Yes, it may cost a little more up front, but you'll become unassailable.</div>
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Taking the above situation, here are some remedies:</div>
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<li>Use the data within your company (perhaps even an app, if your customers use one) to do a phased roll-out of the announcement; recommend customers go to other dealers to have the service done, to spread out the volume.</li>
<li>Align the communications with the supply chain (this is where that newfangled blockchain might come in handy) to eliminate gaps.</li>
<li>Pick their car up for them, or provide a free loaner for as long as they need it (something that luxury automakers already do).</li>
<li>See above, plus provide additional staffing to keep service center open 24/7, rather than maintaining regular hours of operation.</li>
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Most of those are being done in one place or another. But it's inconsistent and it's loosely patched together.</div>
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If the <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2018/08/the-fuller-brush-credo.html" target="_blank">culture is clear to all employees</a>, there should be no doubt about doing the right thing for the customer.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better." – Jeff Bezos</span></i></b><br />
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There's a reason Amazon's logo has a smile in it. They recognize the role of a good host. And they also know they're eating your lunch.<br />
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The question is whether you <b><i>really </i></b>want happy customers.</div>
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Because if you do, it's going to take more than words.</div>
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=183029" target="_blank">The Voyage of Life - Childhood</a> by Thomas Cole via the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., online collection (Public Domain)</i></div>

That Word Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

Do you want happy customers? It's hard to imagine anyone answering "no" to that question. And yet, every single day, we s...

Change Your Leaves, Not Your Roots

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We're all driven by something – a goal, an inner desire, a set of objectives. This applies to you as an individual and to the company you work for.<br />
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You need to decide what's the most important to you and what you want to be known for. It can be any number of things (and there's no judgement here): volume of customers, the quality of your product, profitability, ethical practices, creativity, customer experience, etc.<br />
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Everything you do should reflect back on your number one priority and should underscore your values.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Change your opinions, keep your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots." – Victor Hugo</span></i></b></div>
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[<b><i><a href="https://ctt.ac/7aYh8" target="_blank">Tweet this quote</a></i></b>]</div>
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Facebook recently announced a slowing of growth – of users, of revenue, and of profit. Its stock tanked on the news as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-25/facebook-fb-earnings-financial-facade-develops-serious-cracks" target="_blank">reality finally caught up with it</a>. Facebook has backed itself into a corner, having spent the last 10 years becoming the biggest social media platform on the Internet, where it could bring in the most money: $40.6 billion in 2017.<br />
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Facebook's priorities were simple: users, revenue, and profit. And now that it wants to try to address the problems it has caused, the market doesn't like it.<br />
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Meanwhile, Twitter reported earnings and said it <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-results/twitter-to-prioritize-fixing-platform-over-user-growth-shares-plunge-idUSKBN1KH17X" target="_blank">decided to improve its platform rather than focusing on growth</a>. It is removing suspicious accounts and reducing hate speech and other abusive content, instead of choosing other projects that could attract more users, and lost one million active users as a result.<br />
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The reward? Its stock dropped by 20 percent.<br />
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Twitter is doing the right thing as it attempts to make the platform less harmful. But again, the market values growth over societal improvement.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Sin is a queer thing. It isn't the breaking of divine commandments. It is the breaking of one's own integrity." – D.H. Lawrence</span></i></b></div>
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[<b><i><a href="https://ctt.ac/5V768" target="_blank">Tweet this quote</a></i></b>]</div>
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Makes you wonder what might have happened if Facebook and Twitter had each been forthright and focused on creating a platform that adhered to the Hippocratic Oath: first, do no harm.</div>
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This midstream about-face that they're taking shows that they realize what's at stake. But the market already placed bets on their first priorities of growth and profit.</div>
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Integrity has a price.<br />
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And we're seeing how it's valued every day.<br />
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<i><b>You can listen to this update as well. It's part of <a href="https://www.fullmontyshow.com/p/show-archives.html" target="_blank">The Full Monty podcast</a>:</b></i><br />
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Change Your Leaves, Not Your Roots

We're all driven by something – a goal, an inner desire, a set of objectives. This applies to you as an individual and to the compa...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor