In large organizations most of the money paid for projects goes to overcome organizational friction (or bureaucracy). I have seen organizations where as little as 20 percent of the money goes to actually do real work. Seth Godin writes that it is an art and skill to work in an environment like that. In his experience 40 percent of the fee is for the work and 60 percent to lubricate the system. It is a huge waste and waste is not an art or skill. I wonder if there is a way to reduce the waste of organizationa fiction.
Seth Godin posted a video where people were aked what is a browser. The point is that if you film real user reactions it gives you a lot more understanding than just dry statistics that only 8 percent of people know what a browser is.
About the video: What is a browser? was the question we asked over 50 passersby of different ages and backgrounds in the Times Square in New York. Watch the many responses people came up with.
I like trains. I guess there are many others who like trains but I know why I like trains. Like most people I didn’t have an extreme view of trains one way or the other. But then my son started to really like the trains. Every time we saw a train somewhere he was excited and happy. My mother even took him to train-rides to random locations and back just so he could enjoy the trains.
But I got some marketing insight out of it. One day driving my car next to a railway I saw a train coming. I thought, WOW! Trains are so cool! I started to think about why I had this reaction and everything pointed to my son’s “celebrity endorsement deal” with the trains. I was amazed how well that worked. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about sponsorships and endorsement deals. This experience opened my eye to how well these marketing tools can work.
Here’s a real life example from the olden days (not a specific person, thou). More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette.
I loved the habit-forming hook a 0:47 “change to Camels for 30 days…”
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