[Official “Smarter Wine” logo etc.]
At Stormhoek, the wine company I work for, our basic schtick is this philosophy we call “Smarter Wine”. This is what Mark Earls would call the “Purpose-Idea” of the company; i.e. the reason we get out of bed in the morning and go to work every day. Here are some thoughts on what Smarter Wine means, in no particular order:
1. Smarter Wine does not imply that we’re “smarter” than anywhere else. It’s an ideal that we aspire to, not that we embody. The idea is not something Stormhoek will ever “own”, like a tagline in an ad campaign. It’s an idea I think EVERYBODY in the trade should get their head around, be they makers, sellers or buyers, large or small. But hey, I would say that.
2. Everyone’s definition of “smarter” will be different. I’m OK with that. To me, it means continually engaging the customer at a higher level, continually raising the bar.

3. The brilliant thinker, Russell Davies identified four keywords that will govern the future of the advertising business. About as succinct a list as I’ve ever seen:

Blurry.
Useful.
Interesting.
Always In Beta.

“Always In Beta” is a popular term in Silicon Valley. In an ideal world, it would be equally popular in the wine trade as well. It’s unfortunate that this is not the case.
4. A word people like using in the wine trade is “innovation”. Some companies pay it only lip service, some companies actually try to embrace it full-on. But it’s harder than it looks. Wine is one of the oldest products in the world; change happens slowly and with great reluctance. Sure, putting wine in funky-dunky plastic or aluminum bottles might be technically “innovative”, but does the average wine customer actually want that? A more interesting question for me is how the wine connects with people on an emotional and intellectual level. That to me is where the real action is.
5. Big ideas start out as little ideas, and lots of them. What do companies like Apple, Nike, Innocent Drinks and Starbucks have in common? Superficially, very little. But one thing you’ll notice about them is that they’re constantly coming up with new stuff. Constantly trying out new ideas, seeing what happens, and if it doesn’t work out, they move on quickly. Their schtick is all about taking frequent small steps in the right direction, as opposed to betting the farm on the annual Superbowl ad. Creating a constant stream of “Social Objects”. We take a similar approach at Stormhoek [We’re a small wine company, frankly, so we have no other choice]. Different branding ideas, different cartoon label ideas, different sponsorship and PR ideas. On one level it’s a highly unpredictable way to go about it. On another level, it’s amazing how certain we are that SOMETHING good comes out of it eventually.
6. Eighty per cent of vineyards in the world do not make a profit. Eighty. Per. Cent. Other fun stats: There are 50 countries in the world that have wine industries. Italy alone has 500,000 vineyards. Sicily has ten times the vineyards as Napa Valley. Conclusion: The competition is off the scale. Besides making good wine [obviously], the only way forward is to somehow figure out, by any means necessary, how to rise above the clutter. The only way to do this is to speak to people in a way our industry has never spoken to them before.
7. I am not a wine expert. I am not a wine snob. I am not a wine bore. I am not even a wine geek. When I think of the business I’m in, I do not think of the vineyards, the lifestyle porn that’s famously attached to the industry, the “hummingbirds gathering nectar in the morning dew” palaver. My thoughts are more prosaic. I think about a person pushing a shopping cart through a supermarket, a teacher or a nurse, perhaps, who’s there buying food because she’s cooking spaghetti for her boyfriend that evening, who just wants a good bottle of wine for under ten dollars to go with it. Her needs, as simple and basic as they are, interest me FAR MORE than satisfying the vast sea of social pretentions that lives inside the wine trade.
8. Not everybody inside the trade will “get” the Smarter Wine idea. In marketing terms, it not that big a deal. As Oscar Wilde once quipped, “A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.”

B.L. Ochman’s 12 Tenets of Social Media Marketing. Including:

I. The public is the Lord thy God
Ultimately you can only succeed if your communications produce results, which shall be known as return on investment, by reaching the greater public. This can only be achieved only if your product doesn’t suck and your communications are not only clear, but also interesting.
Verily, if you can become a useful source of information, your message may be heeded, or at least looked at ever so briefly.

IX. Thou shalt not refuse to comment when thy company is under fire.

Diggeth a hole and put in thy head only if thy care not that thy brand image will then turn to do do. “No comment” is a fine phrase for royalty, criminals and celebrities, but not so great for corporations who have a responsibility to shareholders, clients and consumers.
Unfortunately, in difficult situations it may be impossible for representatives to tell the media the whole truth. Try thee to be honest about which subjects thou wilt be able to talk frankly about and which you may find difficult to comment upon.
In accordance with the sixth tenet, it’s better to give a concise response that is straight to the point, than one that is evasive, lengthy and obviously spun.

[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

Saw this one from Josh. Beautiful:

How to be creative in architecture
Being an architect in and of itself is supposedly a creative endeavor. But, it’s not. The business model, the approach — not creative. It has become a commodity. Architects undercut each other to the point of insanity, creating a “low-baller’s profession”. The good architects transcend all of this. Joe Schmoe will not undercut Daniel Libeskind. You have to be creative, not just in your designs, but in your approach and mentality.
* Understand that anybody can be an architect. Being an architect is different from being “the” architect. It’s worth your time to become “the”.
* Understand your strengths. Know how good you are, and demand that people recognize it. The best of the best demand the best, while the everyone else takes what they can get.
* “Your plan for getting your work out there has to be as original as the actual work, perhaps even more so. The work has to create a totally new market. There’s no point trying to do the same thing as 250,000 other young hopefuls, waiting for a miracle. All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one.” Thanks, Hugh.
* Don’t even think for a second that you will be discovered. Architecture is not really a “discovered” kind of profession, but to an extent, some people think waiting around to be noticed for being exceptional will happen to them. No, it won’t. You’re not an actor. Your plan has to be unique. Do something different.
* Don’t be afraid to change. The world is changing, are you? When it comes down to the come down, what will stay with you throughout your career is how you help other people, and how many people trust you.
* Evangelize the profession. Do not bitch and moan about architecture and how terrible the pay is. You decide what you get paid, as stated above. It makes architecture look bad. Do something that is good for the profession, and you will be heralded.
* This is not your grandfather’s architecture. It’s not 1890. We need to move forward. Do something about it. Think about your heroes…did they regurgitate the same old stuff? The guys at the top of this field in 25 years will not be thinking about the “new” same old skyscraper. Are you capable of being somebody’s hero?
* Realize that any creative endeavor will be subject to scrutiny. Do it for yourself. Nobody will care about you until you are OK with what you are doing.
* “The best way to get approval is not to need it.” So very true in so many ways.
* Don’t be a hermit. Get to know people. Help them.
* Not everyone will understand the power of good architecture. It’s your job to make them understand.

Thanks for the mention as well, Josh. But it would’ve been just as good without me in there etc.
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

It seems the gapingvoid mainfesto thread has inspired a Parenting Manifesto Project, courtesy of RebelDad.
Very cool. I think it’s wonderful. Heads up to Superha for pointing me to it [She’s got a great little Mommy blog, by the way. Ashley’s a real cutie…].
Yes. I like kids, believe it or not.

Many thanks to Guy Kawasaki, one of my “writer heroes” for saying such nice things about “How To Be Creative”, which he recently read for the first time.
Guy read the ChangeThis version [PDF file], though if you prefer you can also read it in its original blog format here.
[Bonus Links:] Guy’s ChangeThis manifesto, The Art Of The Start, which is excellent, and his book of the same title.
Thanks again, Guy…
[P.S. I wrote HTBC in Summer 2004, but as you can see from Technorati, it’s still doing the rounds.]

Random thoughts on being an entrepreneur.

I wouldn’t say I was an authority on entrepreneurship, certainly not in the same league as people like Fred Wilson or Jason Calacanis. That being said, the last couple of years haven’t been too shabby, either. With that in mind, here are a few thoughts I have on the subject, in no particular order. The list, by the way, is far from complete– I’ll probably be adding to it sooner than later etc.

1. Everything takes three times longer than it should. Especially the money part.
2. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
3. People want what they can’t have. In fact, that’s pretty much all they do want.
4. Once you become an entrepreneur, you find the company of non-entrepreneurs a lot harder to be around. You’ve seen things they haven’t; the wavelengths alter, it’s that simple.
5. In a world of over-supply and commodification, you are no longer paid to supply. You’re being paid to deliver something else. What that is exactly, is not always obvious.
6. Word of mouth is the best advertising medium of all. The best word of mouth comes from disrupting markets.
7. People buy your product because it helps fill in the narrative gaps in their lives.
8. You can either be cheapest or the best. I know which one I prefer.
9. Some people think that once they secure venture funding, their problems will be over. Wrong. That’s when your problems REALLY begin.
10. It’s better to be underfunded than overfunded.
11. If an average guy in a bar can understand what you do for a living, chances are you’re halfway to becoming a commodity.
12. It’s easier to turn an ally into a customer than vice versa.
13. If you’re happy in your career before the age of thirty, you’re probably doing something wrong. Heck, if you’re happy in your career before the age of seventy, you’re probably doing something wrong.
14. Smart, young, artistic people are always asking me which is a better career path, “Creativity” or “Money”. I always answer that it doesn’t matter. What matters is “Effective” and/or “Ineffective”.
15. Write the following on a piece of paper, have it framed, and stick it on your office wall: “Have you hugged your customer today?”
16. People will always, always be in the market for a story that resonates with them. Your product will either have this quality or it won’t. If your product fails this test, quit your job and go find something else. Just making the product incrementally cheaper or better won’t help you.
17. Products are idea amplifiers. The molecules and/or bytes are secondary.
18. People remember the quality long after they’ve forgotten the price. Unless you try to rip them off.
19. Markets serve entrepreneurs better if the latter can keep the former undersupplied. Oversupply is the kiss of death.
20. I personally know a former CEO who, once he attained control of the company, ran an EXTREMELY profitable business into the ground in less than two years. From a market cap of $100 million to ZERO, just like that. Why? Short answer: He loved being “The” CEO, but he didn’t much care for being “a” CEO.
21. In terms of becoming an entrepreneur, probably the most useful thing I learned in the last twenty years was how to enjoy my own company for long stretches of time.
22. One successful entrepreneur I know well has a wonderful quality, namely that he never, ever compares himself to other people. He just does his own thing, which actually serves him rather well. Just because his competitor has bought himself a bigger motor boat, doesn’t mean he feels the need have a bigger motor boat. This quality helps him to build his business the way he sees fit, not the way the motor boat people see fit.
23. Running a startup is full of extreme ups and downs. Which is why so many successful and happy entrepreneurs I know lead such normal, stable, unglamorous, “boring”, family-centered lives. Somehow they need the latter in order to balance out the former. Extra-curricular drama looks great in the tabloids, but that’s all it’s ultimately good for.
24. MBAs are conditioned to use their brains in much the same way as sex workers are conditioned to use their genitals. Nice work if you can get it.
25. Bill Gates may have a million times more money than me, but he isn’t going to live a million times longer than me, watch a million times more sunsets than me, make love to a million times more women than me, drink a million times more fine wines than me, listen to a million times more Beethoven String Quartets than me, nor sire a million times more children than me. Human beings don’t scale.
26. F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “There are no second acts in American lives.” F. Scott was a drunkard and a fool.

[Click on image to enlarge/download/print etc. Licensing terms here etc.]
Christopher Carfi is one of my favorite marketing bloggers. His writings are mostly based around the following:

THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER MANIFESTO
* I want to have a say.
* I don’t want to do business with idiots.
* I want to know when something is wrong, and what you’re going to do to fix it.
* I want to help shape things that I’ll find useful.
* I want to connect with others who are working on similar problems.
* I don’t want to be called by another salesperson. Ever. (Unless they have something useful. Then I want it yesterday.)
* I want to buy things on my schedule, not yours. I don’t care if it’s the end of your quarter.
* I want to know your selling process.
* I want to tell you when you’re screwing up. Conversely, I’m happy to tell you the things that you are doing well. I may even tell you what your competitors are doing.
* I want to do business with companies that act in a transparent and ethical manner.
* I want to know what’s next. We’re in partnership…where should we go?

Thanks, Chris! Always an inspiration.
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

After publishing his “Future of Learning Manifesto” and getting a lot of feedback on it, Christian Long went ahead and created a new blog around the same subject, appropriately entitled “The Future of Learning Manifesto”.
What a great idea. Godspeed, Christian!
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

Well done to Sig, for writing The Thingamy Manifesto, which is all to do with a new generation of enterprise software he’s working on i.e. Thingamy. He also includes a ton of links, pointing to where these ideas are discussed in greater detail.
The manifesto has eleven points. Here’s a taster:

1. The Organisational Hierarchy is kaput — as single purpose executor of the Business Model it requires reorganisation every time you need to get better, an utterly futile exercise most of the time. Replace it.
2. Managing is a waste of time. Leadership I need, getting out of bed in the morning I can do myself.
3. Legacy software models the “way we always did things” — usually a model from the days of paper, quills and desks. Model reality instead.
4. Tree-structures are faulty. “Where it resides” is only two dimensional and suitable only for places. Use tags and any other means to enhance the knowledge and make finding easier.

Thanks, Sig!
[Disclosure: I have a small stake in Thingamy.]
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

Christian Long wrote “The Future of Learning Manifesto”. Short version:

1. “Playing Small Does Not Serve the World.”
2. What Would Socrates Do?
3. Nobody Cares if You Walked Up Hill Both Ways Barefoot in the Snow.
4. Got Passion? If Not, I’ll Tell You What To Care About.
5. My Memory Is Only As Big As My Heart. Otherwise, I’ll Stick with Google
6. Look it Up or Die.
7. Collaboration Ain’t About Holding Hands. It’s about Going Cool Places Fast.
8. This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record.
9. It Ain’t About the Technology. It’s About Being Inside the Story.
10. Nobody Knows the Answer. Get Comfy with the Questions.

You can read the entire long version here. Thanks, Christian!
PS: Yeah, I know, the long version is much longer than 500 words, which is the maximum I normally “allow” for the manifestos. Then again, the abridged version he e-mailed was me was well under 500 words, so I thought, what the hell, cut him some slack etc.
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

The Super-Smart Women’s Love Manifesto
1. Come here often?
2. You work for Sun Microsystems? Never heard of them.
3. You? Make more money than me? As if.
4. To hell with your mind. Where are the big boobs, tight ass, long blonde hair and cute little giggle? Jeeze, get with the program, Girl.
5. Can I have your phone number anyway?
[Inspired by Nia.]
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

[This cartoon is one of my old favorites.]
Based on some some thoughts she had after reading my recent post about super-smart women and dating, Nia Andino sent me this one:

Overachieving women and love.
1. No one can tell you how to find a partner. Don’t ask for advice: every case is different and if you listen to other people’s love advice, you’ll end up feeling guilty and confused. This includes this manifesto.
2. This is not the 1950’s. This is not Cinderella. This is the real world and having a partner is like having a car: it has advantages AND disadvantages, and whatever the marketing makes you think, the fact that you want one does not mean you need one.
Now, for women who are already with someone.
3. Ask yourself if you want the rest of your life to be exactly like the last six months. If the asnwer is yes, congratulations. If the answer is no, break up with him today. You are not going to make him change.
4. You have increasing chances of making more money than your partner. Don’t fool yourself: he cares. He hates it. Maybe in a generation, children will get used to the idea that mommies sometimes earn more than daddies. In the meantime, be very discreet and get yourself a pension plan. Your extra money will be invisible that way, and besides, the statistics say you are going to outlive him, so the savings will come him handy in 30 years.

Thanks, Nia!
[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]
[Bonus Link:] Some very dry humor from John Dodds.

Thanks to Matthew Homann for this one, which was originally published here:

The Lawyer’s Client Manifesto
1. You have wants. You have needs. Focus on the needs first. Wants are bonus.
2. If you are seeing a lawyer because your dispute is “not about the money, but about the principle of the thing” don’t be surprised if your lawyer runs away. You can never be satisfied. Also, it’s really about the money.
3. Your case/matter is the most important thing happening to you right now. It is not the most important thing happening to your lawyer right now. It may not even be in his top ten.
4. If you think your lawyer is trying to kill your deal, remember this: though there may only be a “one percent” chance your deal will go bad, your lawyer sees that “one percent” over and over again. She’s looking out for you. She cares about you and your business. She also doesn’t want her malpractice premiums to go up.
5. You want to buy results, not time. Most lawyers sell time, not results. Make sure you both understand the difference before your first bill arrives. You will certainly understand the difference after.
6. If you want to find a lawyer who sells results, look hard. There are a few of them out there. They are the ones who can still smile because they get to see their children before 9:00 at night.
7. Big firm lawyers are not more efficient. Or smarter. Or cheaper. They are certainly not cheaper.
8. Make sure your lawyer understands your business. If your lawyer doesn’t understand your business, find out if he’s going to learn about it on his time, or yours.
9. You are your lawyer’s boss. You are not her only boss. She has hundreds of other bosses too. Each one of them thinks their matter is more important than yours.
10. How messy is your lawyer’s desk? When they bill you for thirty minutes of “file review,” how much of that time was spent looking for your file?
11. When you call a lawyer for the first time, how long does it take for him to return your calls? After you hire that lawyer, expect it to take at least three times as long. Same goes for e-mails.
12. Does your lawyer have reputation for being a “bulldog?” That probably means they are an asshole. To everyone.
13. Look for a lawyer with a technology IQ no more than fifty points less than yours. If you live in e-mail and your lawyer doesn’t, learn to like your mail carrier.
14. If you hate your lawyer, fire him. He probably deserves it, and you aren’t getting his best work anyway.
15. You wouldn’t automatically marry the first person you date, so don’t automatically hire the first lawyer you see. A great lawyer-client relationship can last a lifetime. Your lawyer can be your advisor, counselor, confidant, and friend. Find one you like, stick with him or her, and spread the word. Oh, and stop telling lawyer jokes. They aren’t really that funny.

[Manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

Danny V. sent me this manifesto, however it came without a URL:

The End-User Manifesto
Things that need to be in the mind of anyone building software, particularly for the Web.
1. Don’t waste my time.
2. Help me do the right thing.
3. Respect my decisions.
4. Design well, and guide me to make the right decisions by that design.
5. Don’t lie to me — if I see something in front of me, then I should be able to act on it unless the interface tells me I can’t.
5.1. If I see a text area, I expect to be able to type as much as that text area holds.
Scrollbars indicate to me that it is bigger than can be displayed in the space available, and I’m ok with that up to a point.
If there’s a character limit, show me that by stopping me from typing past a certain point.mIf there are limits on the types of characters I can enter, tell me that before I move on to something else.
6. Keep your pop-ups to yourself. The only thing that’s helpful in a pop-up format is your help system, where I can learn something without losing my place.
7. Advertising.
7.1. I have music, thanks. No sound effects or music with your advertisements, if you must have them.
7.2. No flashing colors, mini-videos, strobing effects, blinking idiot cartoons, or anything else that’s the equivalent of yelling at me.
7.3. Don’t confuse loud with appropriate. Google appears to understand context and content, and shows things that are SOMEHOW RELATED to what I’m doing. No, I will never want a mortgage from you.
8. Get to the point. Put the focus of your page on what I’m looking there to learn, not on someone else’s advertising with your information hidden below the flashing duck.
9. I can print things without your assistance. When I click on “Printer-friendly”, I really just want a page of the text I’m interested in saving to my computer without the blinking advertisements.
10. W3C standards compliance. How I get to your site is my decision. No, I’m not buying a specific type of computer just to fill out your form because you decided that ActiveX components were the quick way out of the development cycle. If you’re going to be Web-based, then attempt to understand that the Web is not yours.
11. Test your stuff. I’m not your employee, and you’re not paying me to test your site or your software. Please re-read 1–4 above.
12. Please also proof-read what you’ve written, or have someone else do so.
13. Keep the noise level lower by not using animated graphics to illustrate your mood, or plug you into social networks. Yes, kids in junior high think it’s cute, but it gets very old very quickly.
14. Tell me a compelling story. This applies to weblogs, corporate sites, fan sites, any site. I’m visiting you to learn something, even if it’s just a good story about something you’re selling or the day you had. Good stories inspire conversations, and markets are built on those.

Thanks, Danny!
[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.] [Manifesto archive is here.]

Thanks to Dennis Howlett for this one:

The “Nobody Cares” Manifesto For Accountants
* It’s important to remember debits are on the left and credits on the right — nobody cares. Probably because the system was invented in 1494 and hasn’t changed since.
* We work hard to earn letters behind our names — nobody cares. Importance isn’t derived from academic achievement but what you do for others.
* ROI is an important concept — nobody cares. ROI calculations are something you do when you really don’t want to help your client but to demonstrate to him/her how important you are. For which read 2.
* It’s important to keep good records — nobody cares. Clients aren’t in business to be administrators. If you can’t figure out how to help clients then expect to be outsourced. Probably the day after tomorrow.
* A tidy office implies a tidy mind — nobody cares. A tidy mind is often compartmentalised to the point of tunnel vision. You don’t see tidy at the edge of innovation. Which is where you should be when your clients come up with great ideas.
* Professionals should always wear top quality suits — nobody cares. How you look may be important if your name’s Anina but it sure as heck doesn’t matter when you’re traipsing around a pig farm. You do that occasionally don’t you?
* Your professional status among the community demonstrates integrity — nobody believes you. Professional status is over-rated. Those schmuks from KPMG in court on fraud charges sorted that one out once and for all.
* Adding value is the most important thing you have to do — nobody believes you. Clients can read a 1,000 websites and see that same vacuuous statement. Stuff your website with client stories, preferably written by clients and not some PR outfit.

[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]