There is one stretch of my cycle routine I now call the gauntlet. It’s a long narrow space where I can’t fully see what’s coming up and this is where the street dogs greet me. My first experience was eventful. As these street dogs caught me by complete surprise, I felt this cold flash starting from the back of my spine all the way to the back of my head sort of the fear that can dogs smell. Pretty ironic for a dog lover but I can tell you that the fear although automatic, was real even though I did not want to show it.

As they surprised me I then got into survival mode and I did what comes natural: I pedal faster.

I’m thinking, ‘I can do this’ so I start to pedal even faster as they start catching up to me. Two of the 6 dogs gave up, then 2 more and even with the last two on my tail (pardon the pun) I am pedaling even faster. By this time I am feeling like Lance Armstrong trying to win another Tour de France or dodging the anti-doping officials, depending on when you read about Armstrong.

Then I think Uh-oh. I need to come back through this gauntlet to get home. Turns out they were too busy looking for breakfast and did not want to wait for me. The next trip I gave the dogs some food while moving like a ‘bat out of hell’ and that did not work either.

The last time I was pursued something unusual happened. As I saw them running after me (showing teeth and not being too friendly) I slowed down to offer them some food. What happens? They run away! It seems that as I stopped pedaling and became a pedestrian, it was their turn to be scared.

I had done the complete opposite of what I thought was the solution and it worked!

Business is like that too.

How many times does this happen to you when you are trying to finish a project, or you are dealing with a difficult peer or boss or you are trying to close a deal before a deadline? What do you do in these circumstances ? You pedal faster. You do what comes natural to you thinking this is the solution.
Try doing the complete opposite.

Ask yourself; are the project and its direction really the best for you or your organization?

Instead of fighting or avoiding a peer…listen, process and then reply, as opposed to mixing up this order.

Is this deal good for all parties? Sometimes ‘No deal is better than a bad deal’.

We all get caught up so much in what we do or what is keeping us busy that we miss the obvious. We never really pause, process and say to ourselves… what if I did a complete 180 degrees on this product, project or sales call? It may very well be what the business needs. Sometimes obvious is not obvious enough.

Sometimes, it’s worth stopping, stepping back, slowing down and re-assess if you are following the best route and ponder…what if I did this differently? In fact ask your boss: What if we could do this differently?

How will you know if you don’t try? It takes courage to stop and re-assess.

Like in my case, you may be surprised to find out that to pedal faster is not always the solution.

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Colin Shea
Vice President for Strategy, Planning and regulation, Vodafone Czech Republic

Colin is a Marketing Wizard! He mixes bold pricing with innovative leading edge services and… Presto! Cool services that customers can’t get enough of. Find out how this strategist goes against the wave, use the ‘basic’ and transforms it into the ‘compelling’ and …generates revenues in the process.

What has he done?
Colin came to Vodafone with extensive consulting experience in Business Intelligence, telecommunications and market research. He participated in the foundation of financial advisory firm belonging to the Core Group working in Central and Eastern Europe. Before that he worked KPN Mobile, where he was responsible for strategy of mobile data in the retail customers segment.
‘To think well is wise, to plan well is wiser. And it is even wiser if you add corporate strategy to the planning’. Colin manages all these activities really well. At Vodafone he is responsible for corporate planning processes, inorganic growth and business development, relations with other operators, regulation, legal affairs and external relations. He is also responsible for transformational programs and implementation of processes leading to streamlining activities of the operator.

What will you learn?
You will learn about Product development and pricing.
1) Product development and innovation seem to be the key difference between competitors.
How much is too little and how much is too much? How do you know if you’re developing products fast enough?
2) The right pricing has an immediate effect on revenues. What are some tricks of the trade where you increase price and still retain customers?

Actionable learning for you to take home?
“One of the most important choices for a company to make is to what degree product development and innovation is core to its value proposition. It is not a strategy to be taken lightly; meaningful product development means meaningful investments in technology, people, and customer insights. It is not necessarily bad to be a fast follower, or even a slow follower in some cases. However, what definitely does not work is claiming to be an innovator or product leader but dimensioning as a follower.”

Colin’s favorite Quote
“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than to initiate a new order of things. The initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones. ” – Machiavelli

How someone quoted Colin
“He has this strange ability, that the more outrageous and dangerous his ideas are, the more reasonable and enlightened he makes them sound”.

Join us at Leaders in Marketing on October 18, 2012 in Bucharest, Romania to hear more about Colin Shea and our roster of international Marketing heavyweights.
See http://leadersinmarketing.ro for more details.

Leaders in Marketing
Get Smart …stay Smart!
Smart people welcomed

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Michael Ruckman
Relationship Centricity Pro, Founder, President and CEO
Michael presents a framework for building mutually beneficial relationships with customers. This man has a vision, a different approach. Although using a banking approach first, Michael’s holistic approach to reaching out to customers and securing relationships can apply to other industries as well such as telecoms, broadband, cable and utilities.

What has he done?
Michael worked in his twenty-year career both as a banker and as a consultant for retail banks in over twenty five countries around the world. He is also known for his leadership in promoting the value of Customer Experience in retail banking, he has a tremendous experience in distribution network development, alternative channel roll-outs, sales development, alliances and ventures, systems implementation, and corporate culture development.
He has authored a unique methodological approach to operationalize the Customer Experience principles in practical use, resulting in greater customer loyalty, increased sales, and better customer service. He regularly writes articles for a number of professional publications in Europe and the United States and makes appearances in international conferences as a guest speaker. In addition, Michael has been a guest professor at an Eastern European MBA program, introducing students to modern economic theories and their practical implementation in the business field.
Michael’s work portfolio includes a number of large-scale transformation projects for brands such as Abbey National, Alfa-Bank, Atlantico (Millennium BCP), Banco Venezolano, BNP- Paribas, Citibank, ING, Vneshtorgbank, Bank Menatep SPb, Nadra Bank and many others.

What will you learn?
Like in any business, the most important stakeholder is the Client. Michael explains that relationship-centricity is the concept that a provider and a customer can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Learning what your customers really want just might be the key to creating a relationship-centric relationship.

Actionable learning for you to take home?
“We must stop selling products. Instead, we need to sell solutions that help people to achieve certain results. Regardless what can be found in the package, it is important to that it offers a solution for a specific purpose. First, we should find out the customer needs and then start developing a plan for ways to achieve those goals. And I am not talking just about the goals that the customer has today, but those that he may have in six months, a year or two…”
Join us at Leaders in Marketing on October 18, 2012 in Bucharest, Romania to hear more about Michael Ruckman and our roster of international Marketing heavyweights. See http://leadersinmarketing.ro for more details.

Leaders in Marketing
Get Smart …stay Smart!
Smart people welcomed

The post Leaders in Marketing: Speaker Profile appeared first on .