A slinky, a coyote, and your business walk off a cliff…
What if I told you that Wile E Coyote’s ability to walk on air is (sorta) based in scientific fact? (It is)
And, then, what if I told you that there are two important business marketing lessons to be learned from it? (There are)
I was recently revisiting one of my favorite radio pieces and was struck by how we at Chief Seconds can apply the lesson in the fabulous Radiolab’s “What A Slinky Knows” to our clients’ success (btw, if you want to feel the joy of discovery and learn something super cool, click HERE to listen to it). It’s one of those “driveway moment” shows and will take you from a simple trick with an old toy to the infinite reaches of the universe in about 15 minutes. For our purposes, here’s the long and short of “What A Slinky Knows" in a simple experiment:
Hold a Slinky from the top and let it full extend and achieve equilibrium (no more bouncing)
Let go of the top
Observe that while the top starts falling immediately, the bottom doesn’t move. It appears to hover in midair.
Why? The bottom, you see, doesn’t know it’s falling, so it doesn’t fall (like our friend the coyote). It’s not until the coil that immediately precedes the bottom falls — as a function of every one that fell before it— that it “knows.” Here’s a video to demonstrate what I mean:
What a Slinky Knows - Demo
So, Bruce, what does this have to do with my business? Let’s explore that with two questions:
What if you’re falling (behind) and just don’t know it yet?
Like our friend Wile E. and like the bottom of the slinky, ignorance can be bliss…but not for long. In the end, what’s bad for coyotes is bad for for you. What can you do to make sure that your organization is “looking up the slinky” to anticipate the coming forces of change? This type of intelligence can and should come from various parts of your business but marketing must be one of them. Here’s my challenge to leadership: How are you equipping your marketers to foretell the future and preempt it? Are you rewarding the behavior and thoughtfulness that it takes to “look up the slinky” from your marketers or could you do more to encourage it?
Leaders, you have the right and obligation to demand this of your marketers.
Marketers, you have the right and obligation to be more than a fulfillment department.
What if you’re on your way up but just can’t feel it yet?
It is super common for Professional Services leadership to feel some impatience or even frustration when they make investments in their firm’s marketing. ROI (which we can dig into in a whole ‘nother post) weighs heavily on their minds and they’re just not seeing the results…yet. While there may be things you can do to change the temperature of your brand and business development, in the immediate term most proven, validated, totally legitimate, and smart marketing investments and actions simply take time to hit the bottom line. To put this in the context of our conversation: The top is moving, you just can’t feel it yet. Be patient and disciplined. All things are possible thru mass and velocity.
Listen, we can always be first: First ring in the slinky, first to market, first to technology, first in, first out, whatever. But there are concrete actions you can take not to be last, not to be blindsided, not to be the bottom ring of the slinky. At the highest level, there are a few things you can do:
Foster a culture of curiosity, debate, and collegiality. Never expect someone to gamble their bonus (or worse, their job) in order to bring your next new idea.
Read, write, listen, watch— consume new data. There are only so many ways to work static data sets. You’re going to need to add new information in to the mix in order to have new results.
Seek out peers, mentors, coaches. There are folks out there who have broad vistas on your industry and marketplace. Unburdened by your daily trials, they may also offer fresh perspectives on existing challenges and future strategies. We’re one such place but there are others. Find ‘em. It’s money well spent.
I hope that you found this interesting and, at least, I hope that you had a chance to listen to that Radiolab piece. It’ll make your day.
As always, I’m around to talk.
Be Well,
Bruce & Lefty
