Hughtrain/Cluetrain... and Jeff

Hugh added this to yesterdays post:

"We live in very amazing and exciting times. I hope to God you concur."

Mmm, I don't think Jeff does (see my comments from yesterday):

"Does it matter to you at all that there are honest people just trying to do an honest day's labor to feed and house and educate their families inside the companies you want to destroy? Truly, I'd like to understand this. Do you not get the connection or do you not care that gunning after companies is gunning people's jobs? Is this just "war" and that makes "collateral damage" okay?"

Memo Jeff:  Read Cluetrain and you will see that no-one is trying to destroy your existence.  Nor is it a war, quite the contrary, it's an invitation for you to come and play!

It is all about letting YOUR company know that markets are getting smarter; they are talking a new language and exchanging knowledge like never before.  We want YOUR company to move down from the Ivory Towers and join the conversation (it's already happening!), and talk our language.  We hate how YOUR company pitches to us, sells to us, preaches to us, positions toward us.  All we want is for you (ie not YOUR company) to talk- straight- to us, to take yourselves less seriously, to find a sense of humour,   If you don't or your company won't let you 'cause you are too busy,that's cool, we'll find someone who will find the time to talk.  We'll get back to you.... actually, no we won't:

Cluetrain Manifesto #88:

"We have better things to do than worry about whether you'll change in time to get our business.  Business is only part of our lives.  It seems to be all of yours.  Think about it: who needs whom?"

Cluetrain Manifesto #89:

"We have real power and we know it.  If you don't see the light, some other outfit will come along that's more attentive, more interesting, more fun to play with."

The answer is simple, Jeff.  Talk to us, and you will survive, you can keep on keeping on earning your "honest living".

And if you dunno how to talk to us, grab Hughtrain, and read it.  Read Part Seven (How to Have Smarter Conversations) a couple of times.  It'll get you thinking about how YOU and YOUR company can talk to it's market (who are people you know, not a demographic).  For some more meat on this bone check Signs Never Sleep.

This isn't a war Jeff, but some companies will die for no other reason than they say nothing of interest to anyone, or they refuse to join the conversation.   As a result all their customers doddle off somewhere more interesting.

Ask your boss if he can still provide you with a job that allows you to earn the cash necessary to "feed and house and educate" your family, if you have not customers....

Comments

[Mark Hughes]

So, Jeff... Who ever promised you a living doing the same thing for the rest of your life? If they did, they were lying to you.

If you can't adapt, you die. That's always been true, ever since the second single-celled life form killed and ate the first one. This may be cruel, but it is not a bad thing (except in the very limited perspective of the first amoeba). It is how things get better.

[TonyD]

Employees give something up when they decide to ignore parts of the world and make an honest living. They also typically get something in return, not just wages, but security and the chance to rest easy that some things (like the long term viability of the business) are taken care of. Unfortunately, it’s easier for the boss than the employee to exploit this relationship. The employee has to be smart, the boss can get away with being stupid, at least for a while. In fact, it doesn’t even have to involve exploitation. One day the employee discovers that the business has changed and they’re laid off (me!) in a world they haven’t kept up with. So I guess it’s about being smart. Conversations are smarter than speeches.