The Wizard Chronicle
How to Attract, Convert, and Delight CustomersBy: Wizard of Ads Partners Editor: Craig Arthur
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Entries from December 30, 2007 - January 5, 2008
Another Advantage of Doing Business in Australia
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.
It's already tomorrow in Australia."
- Charles Schultz
Designing the Company for Your Vacation
By Wizard of Ads Partner Chuck McKay
A long-term client called last week to brainstorm his next business venture. We talked about how to structure the business, and I suggested that he outsource as many of the operational functions as possible.
He fought the idea. Said it didn't give him enough control.
So I asked, “Are you trying to build a company, or to change jobs? Because it appears that you're designing a company which will require your presence.”
Isn't that the worst thing about self-employment? When you go on vacation, the office shuts down.
That's not owning the business. That's being the business.
Here's a simple way to plan your organization.
Systems The Ever Changing Business Model
"If you want to escape the cul-de-sac of diminishing returns, the first step is to admit that your current strategy, your dearly beloved business model, may be running out of steam. Strategy decay is not something that might happen; it's something that is happening."
"Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you're on a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."
However...
"The time to begin searching for new wealth-creating strategies is long before the horse stumbles."
- Gary Hamel, Leading the Revolution, page 55
Gravity of the Edge
By Roy H. Williams
Hear the memo, Gravity of the Edge.
Whether it exists in the public consciousness or only in my mind, I can't be sure, but there’s an anxiousness about 2008 that gives me pause. We seem to be pushing our way to the edge.
Presidency, economy, war.
What will happen?
I take a breath and close my eyes and remember the words of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus published 1800 years ago, “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
Anthony Hopkins shared a similar thought with James Lipton during a recent interview on Inside the Actor's Studio, “Today is the tomorrow I was so worried about yesterday.”
A client recently shared with me one of those amazing “weapons of reason” Marcus Aurelius spoke about:
I asked, “How is traffic trending? Are we ahead of last year?”
“Roy, I don’t measure traffic.”
“You’re kidding.”