Trizle

1. A movie gets pirated.
2. The movie's company makes $0.
3. They cry.

How do movies combat that?

• They place hidden advertisements throughout their movie.
• They use piracy as a weapon to get value from pirates.

If Item X gets stolen like a mofosoko-on-roido, do this:

1. We have more eyeballs.
2. How do we increase revenue from those eyeballs?
3. Go accordingly.
   

For example, say you sell a digital book that gets stolen like-always-and-always:

• Pitch an advertisement for Service X.
• Increase $.

Adobe, makers of the most pirated software on ^%$^%$ Earth (Photoshop), exposes users to a marketplace where they can buy add-ons, complementary software from its Suite, books, training sessions, etc.

Microsoft used to do something similar when you could easily replicate its software on multiple machines.

Use piracy as your competitive advantage to sell more goods.

Leverage eyeballs.

1. Business X closes itself from hiring outsiders.
2. It needs Person X to do Task X.
3. An insider does the task in 20 hours.

An outsider in Arkansas could've done the same task in 10 hours -- and let Person X focus her 20 hours on more productive and efficient tasks.

Result:

Everyone wins.

• Your company win more productivity.
• Your employees win by strengthening their more competitive weapons.
• Your new vendors win with new work.
• Your customers lower prices.

Isolating your company from the surrounding world drives up your costs, drains your productivity, and keeps your earnings stagnant.

Business X shouldn't confine its office to the productivity of its employees in-house; instead, it should see the world as its freakish work force, and find the most efficient person/team to complete Task X.

Leverage The World.

1. MySpace = King in 2005.
2. Facebook = now kicking MySpace's %^@, taking names, and juicing-up one-legged ostriches.

What %$^%$^ happened?
The people happened.

While MySpace focused on maintaining its community, the Facebook management team focused on recruiting the most talented engineers and executives to grow its freakish sleeping giant.

Facebook recruited a revolving door of highly talented Google alumni, the best undergrads available, and top experts within their respective fields.

Facebook brought in:

1. Better viral experts
2. More efficient programmers
3. Stronger usability coders
4. More influential public relations teams
5. Faster HR personnel

For instance:

• Facebook recruited Sheryl Sandberg, the head of sales at Google.
• Facebook also got Jonathan Heiliger, the former engineering head at Walmart.
• Facebook then recruited David Ebersman, the former CFO and VP of Genentech.
• Facebook got Elliot Schrage, the former PR head at Google.
• etc.
• etc.
• etc.

It became like the New York Yankees vs. the local high school baseball team.

When you have a position filled with better talent than your competitor, you kick your competitor's boo-tay in that position; for example, if you have a better marketing executive, you'll have stronger/smarter/better marketing.

Yet, in Facebook's case, it had Positions A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. filled to the brim with more talented people than its rival.

While MySpace tried to maintain its status quo, the Facebook team invested in a team that would annihilate  any social network in its path.

Ultimately, like how Google overtook Yahoo, more talented people will find a way to kick ^%@ of Competitor X in every facet of buisness.

Great, enduring, and thriving businesses fill their organizations with great talent.

The People.

1. Football Team Z plays conservative football.
2. They throw little 5-yard passes.
3. They never take chances at throwing deep.

What happens?
S.U.C.K.I.N.G happens.

By practicing little 5-yard dump passes, you become super ridiculously very good HIGH FIVE at throwing 5-yard passes.

• BUT, you start S.U.C.K.I.N.G at throwing deeps passes that will win you games.
• ...and get you on magazine covers.
• ...and get your million-dollar endorsement deals.

By avoiding take risks and winning big, you avoid practicing the skills that will help you WIN BIG HIGH FIVE.

Take these mofros:

1. Bubba practices hitting home runs.
2. He hits more home runs.

Or:

1. Billy practices beating chessmasters.
2. He beats more chessmasters.

Or:

1. Boobimzzle practices closing Fortune 500 clients.
2. Boobimzzle closes more Fortune 500 clients.

By practicing winning big, YOU WIN BIG OH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Take chances.

1. Bob complains.
2. Business X ignores him.
3. Management thinks: "Hey! Bob is just a complainer! ^^@ BOB!"

Think bout statistics for a sec:

• You determine the winner of an election by examining a small sample size.
• The sample size lets you generalize the overall population.

So:

• If Bob complains, chances are: Billy, Beanie, Bobby, Betty, Bumbazhozoolo is complaining too.
• As well as peeps with names that don't start with B.

If Bob complains, you know that YOU = S.U.C.K. to your other customers too.

1. You Item X to 4 customers.
2. Two complains.
3. Even with that freakishly tiny sample size, it's a good indicator that half of the people who buy your Item X will hate your product too (and the other half might hate it but won't complain to you).

Resolve, Resolve, Resolve
Take the initial customer complaints as representative of the freakish more 98756957995807945545 peeps that have-hated/is-hating/will-hate your service if you maintain status quo.

Fix X to ensure that you viciously reduce or completely eliminate those complaints.

Fix to eliminate.

1. Go to a flea-market/foreign-country/somewhere-obscure/yadda.
2. What's selling like bonkers?

BAM GREAT LICENSING MOMENT 4 U.

Adapt the product to your own market.

Starbucks's modern concept started with Howard Schultz visiting Italy and recognizing the freakishly popular coffeehouses as "third places" for the Italian community.

If X is popular in one market, and X is unknown where you do business, X might be one ridiculously promising idea to adapt to your market.

Speculative = The Suck.

Win by proof.

(Happy Halloween!)

Bam Shmam the CEO of Big Company X speaks at 9896584905694065654389 different conferences.

• "This guy must be insane!"
• "They must not be getting work done!"
• "How will they survive?!"

The Greater Plans

But, Bam Shmam the CEO has greater plans. While you're watching him speak, he's actually doing his magic:

• implicitly marketing his business to the influential leaders
• ...which will increase his company's exposure to more target customers
• ...as well as to a wider audience of potential superstars for his company
• ...as well as getting wide press coverage to those that matter within his industry

The Sweets

Speaking normally gets you free airfare, hotel stay, the yaddas -- but even more importantly, the plethora of ridiculous networking and marketing opportunities that come with your speaking engagements.

Every conference also gives you a bump in your company's expert status too.

WIN SON.

Speak.

Why do people like showing off their:

• luxury watches?
• freakishly expensive cars?
• expensive purchases?

Status symbols.

Human peeps crave status.

It's that feeling that if you're the top dog in the room, you feel good.

For instance, the richest homeowner in a poorer country feels more content than the cheapest homeowner in a rich country.

Tap The Human Need for Status

Great economies take the human tendency to look out for one's self-interests and channel it for the greater good.
 
To do that for your company, design a company where people can increase their status through work that benefits the company.

Highlight status symbols (e.g., Ohio State football players get stars on their helmets, innovative Googlers are rewarded with the Founders Fund, etc.)

You'll make your crack team feel happier, retain those superstars, and ensure only the ones that benefit your company most feel most content.

WIN.

Highlight the best.

1. You get SOOOOOO SUPER OMG OMG OMG OMG excited when you search for a new car to buy.
2. When you finally buy the car, you aren't so happy.

Why?
Expectations of rewards make you happier than actually receiving those rewards, according to research from neuroscientists.

Since you know that you won't be so happy when you actually receive Reward X, what do you do to motivate yourself?

Embrace your chase for the rewards.

Try this:

• List out the sweet rewards of achieving X in ____ minutes/hours/days/etc.
• Post the list somewhere in front of you.
• Watch your magic self rock the world with happy confidence.

BAM.

Expectation of rewards.

Says Bob:

1. "I see myself with a 10-rating."
2. "I am perfect."
3. "Anything that ruins my self-image, I avoid."

So, Bob:

• avoids looking at his late fees
• doesn't open his credit card bills
• doesn't check his client emails
• yadda, yadda, yadda

Bob wants to maintain his self-worth, and avoids anything that dents how he perceives himself.

Why do people avoid taking advice from others?

Status, status, status.

• "If I take your advice, I am lowering my status."

The next time you avoid something, ask your-bad-self that you're probably doing it because you want to keep yourself on that little pedestal.

"WHY AM I BEING SUCH A BEEEEEEEYOTCH?" you might ask yourself.

And then, you might learn to accept stepping off that pedestal and confront the things you've avoided.

Pedestal.