Book review: The Power of Alignment

This is an absolute masterpiece that reminds all business managers that if an activity is not aligned with the overall objectives of the organization then it should abandoned or not embarked upon and that profits come only after relentless focus on people and service.

The authors describe the overall objective of the business or organization as The Main Thing and remind us how critically important it is to make sure that The Main Thing remains the main thing in the business otherwise the forces and efforts exerted in the business are at risk of working against each other. Yes, departments can meet their immediate or departmental goals and objectives but actually not get the business any closer to its overreaching goal if things are not properly aligned. I've seen far too many businesses operate with a silo mentality where silo goals are almost completely detached from overall corporate goals. This condition has lead to devastating results in management, branding, marketing and acquisition strategies. The authors remind us how important it is to make sure everything is aligned and remains in alignment.

Does everyone in your business know how their objectives are tied to the overall objective or mission in your organization? Do they really understand how all other employees' objectives are tied to the overall Main Thing? If not then "The Power of Alignment" will help you understand how to bring about organizational and cultural change that will allow your business to prosper and endure.

Loaded with great quotes from business leaders and plenty of examples, this book will show you how to make sure everyone in your organization is working together to hit the main target and why it doesn't actually matter if that main target changes from time to time when market conditions change. In fact, if your organization is aligned to hit targets then the target can be just about anything.

I highly recommend this book and hope that one day it is required reading at all business schools and executive management courses.

How to Use Facebook to Drive Higher Sales

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/03/how_to_use_facebook_to_drive_h.html
"As Facebook has grown to more than 600 million users, many companies have been struggling to figure out how to leverage it to help their businesses.

Most have limited themselves to advertising or establishing company pages on the platform only to discover that while these methods allow them to engage their Facebook fans in a dialogue and increase brand awareness, they do not necessarily lead to increased sales..."

continue to article @ Harvard Business Review.

Just exactly what is a brand?

Brand - Direct Marketing

In my humble opinion, the integration of brand marketing and direct marketing is the way of the future.  With online and digital marketing more important than ever and traditional (paper) direct mail nearing extinction, savvy marketers will look for ways to generate a direct response (a click, collection of user contact information, purchase, etc.)  while creating a brand supporting impression at the same time.  The core brand values will be communicated while trying to elicit a direct response in some fashion.

Look for it.

http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/directmarketing/brand_direct_marketing_10182006/