The Fluff Cycle (And How To End It By Solving REAL Sales & Marketing Problems) - Softcover

Wahba, Brent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1470020742 ISBN 13: 9781470020743

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012

Synopsis

The business writing and consulting industry is built on two faulty premises: 1) we always have a problem in one of their areas of expertise and 2) we can successfully copy their solutions into our specific situations. Both lead to a never-ending “Fluff Cycle” of trying to implement pre-packaged solutions, failing to solve our real problems, and then seeking the next silver bullet. We end up propagating a similar cycle with our customers because our unsolved problems are still impeding the creation and delivery of real value. To break the cycle and evolve faster, we need to identify and solve our own problems. Given our central and constant interaction with customers, strategic planning, product development, and operations, Sales & Marketing is in the ideal organizational position to lead this. But first we need to understand why problems exist, and that starts with the incredibly powerful, yet often fallible human brain. Because of the way the brain evolved, it acts like 3 interconnected brains that constantly change our thought and behavior patterns based on stimuli, needs, and memory. Despite the way it feels, the vast majority of our thinking and decisions occur unconsciously through a series of mental shortcuts that favor speed and efficiency over accuracy and thoroughness. As a result, we are very biased and easily influenced by others and our surroundings - leading to complex problems that just cannot be solved with gut feel or conscious logic. To solve these types of problems, we need to be more scientific and experimental than we typically have been trained. But when we do solve our problems properly, we will produce far better business results with significantly less waste and frustration (and our work might even become enjoyable again).

About this title

About the Author

After overcoming the childhood stigma of his last name, Brent Wahba spent over 20 years in the automotive industry where he saw the world, led many teams and functional groups, and learned all about office politics and dysfunctional organizations. Though quite anxious to leave, when a former boss called and asked him to consult, he promptly said $@#% NO!!! Not deterred, this gentleman convinced Brent that there really was a different model of consulting - one that helps clients uncover and solve their own problems and it actually works. Brent went on to start Strategy Science Inc. (www.strategyscienceinc.com) an "anti-consulting" network that does just that in Adaptive Strategic Planning & Execution, Product Development Process and Culture Change, and Sales & Marketing Problem Solving. Today he helps start-up through Fortune 500 companies in R&D, healthcare, pharmaceutical, power generation, architecture, engineering, construction, production, controls, software & IT, military, consumer products, agriculture, materials, legal, banking, investment, and transportation industries (to name a few). He also gives talks, teaches classes, participates on professional group boards, and is a volunteer small business mentor with SCORE. When not living in airport terminals, Brent spends his time cooking, travelling, and shoe shopping with his lovely, intelligent, and very tolerant wife, Patty; teaching their snarky yet adorable cat, Sophie, tricks; and having meaningful business theory debates with his sheep, Jesús.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1470020742
• ISBN 13: 9781470020743
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 188