Critical thinking, how to help consumers

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by  John Ryan

I remember when Williams-Sonoma launched the automatic bread maker.  It was quite a revolution.  With a couple of ingredients or even a pre-done box mix, you could make fresh bread with very little effort.  Fresh, homemade bread, what a wonderful way to feel like you’re doing something great for your family, right? Well, it didn’t come cheap or did it?  The price was $275 and this was a product that had no competition, so how do you know if the price is right or not?  Some people immediately think, measure sales, do they meet projections or sales trends of other ...

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Diagnose, then Prescribe!

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by  John Ryan

In medicine, prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.  That clearly makes sense and I am hopeful that most doctors follow that sequence.  However, why does it seem that other professions don’t follow the same maxim? Like most guys, I love electronics.  To me, technology is fun and exciting and it can be like a puzzle.  If you’re trying to connect things that are unrelated, it is a puzzle that can be solved if you have the right materials and understand the problem.  The solution for many of my electronic compatibility issues is, of course: Radio Shack! Whenever I need a connector ...

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Giving Feedback so it Assumes Success

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by  John Ryan

Ever had someone say to you, “keep up the good work” and you felt anything but encouraged or inspired?  This is not at all uncommon, especially if your relationship with the person offering this insightful feedback is a bit strained.  The relationship we have definitely impacts how we will interpret all the messages that come our way. Here’s a quick tip to help you begin to build a good relationship or even repair one that has some room for improvement.  After giving positive feedback, avoid those cliche phrases that can come across as patronizing.  Instead, end your positive feedback with ...

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A highly effective way to think about failure

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by  John Ryan

Mistakes happen.  And sometimes we’re the ones who make them.  Make mistakes consistently enough and some people start to feel as if that’s just what they do.  And they may even feel like a failure. Instead of feeling that way, here’s a point of view that I’d like you try on, in anything you do, there is no failure, only feedback.  Think about that for just a moment.  What does that mean to you? Of course, most of us would prefer to not make mistakes, but they happen and the key is to learn from them so you don’t have ...

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Framing is Everything!

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by  John Ryan

While in San Juan, I worked with someone who was the Strategic Sales Director for a well-known advertising agency in NY.  And we got talking about the importance of framing in communication.  And he shared a strategy the used consistently with his clients to make sure that they bought the campaign that he wanted them to buy. One of the things he did was to create a situation in which the client was clear about what they wanted and was ready to buy once they saw the solution that met their specific needs.  The challenge is that client’s don’t always ...

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