Even “Silly Mistakes” are more expensive than they used to be.

In what has perhaps proven to be one of the most embarrassing typos of the year, Penguin Group publishers in Australia is set to reprint a cookbook containing the word "people" where "pepper" should have been.

Calling it "nothing more than a silly mistake," the Penguin Group head of publishing said the book that called for "freshly ground black people" versus "freshly ground black pepper" was a typographical error that should have been caught by their proofreader, but was unfortunately missed, reports AP. The problem is, that “silly mistake” could cost millions of silly dollars in reprinting, possible lawsuits and someone’s job position. And in this economy, that’s silly.

It’s frightening to think how much the cost of silly mistakes has risen in these last decades. In 1992, Dan Quayle’s spelling mistake only cost him a second term as Vice President. In January 2010, the State Department overlooked the Underwear Bomber’s VISA due to a spelling mistake, which almost cost us another plane bombing. But then, how many of us would be able to spell ‘AbdulMutallab’ correctly in a spelling bee? And then, there’s the mistaking of AIG’s name to mean the American International Group, instead of its true meaning: “Ain’t I Greedy.” That silly mistake cost us about 12 million jobs and oh, around $4 trillion.

While silly mistakes do happen in business, I’m beginning to wonder what they’ll cost us five years from now. Should we start thinking about budgeting annually for silly mistakes? Should we be thinking about applying for silly mistake insurance? Or should we simply slow down our thinking? If we did, we’d probably avoid more mistakes, along with the added cost of making them. In my company, I don’t have a silly mistake budget — for starters, I can’t afford one; and secondly, I don’t view any mistake as silly when it costs money. Hmm, maybe that’s why I’m still in business in this silly economy.

Business at the speed of trust

I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been hired by a client because of my unique perspective — only to proceed with the project and be told that I need to see (and do) things their way. And they wonder why their brand is stuck in the mud. Hmmm.

Sounds like yet another case of GO vs. EGO. Too many companies cannot pass go due to the egos of the people who are at the helm. Founders, CEOs, presidents and whatever else you want to call them are scared that if they loosen their grip on the reigns and trust someone else to steer their brand in the right direction, they’ll look bad. Ergo, their ego keeps them from doing what they spent big money to do in the first place — shift their brand into “go.”

Yet, when you look at the most enduring brands — which belong to the most resilient of companies — you need only to look at their leadership for examples
of what to do: put your trust in the right people, and let them do what they do best.

I call it “business at the speed of trust.”

In this economy, especially, CEOs are filled with skepticism about any new approach to their marketing. They love the approach one day, and shut it down the next. And the bigger their ego, the bigger their self-doubt.

My point in all this? Relax. Park your ego for a while, put your trust in the people you hire, and trust that you made the right decision. Then, let go. And when you do, you’ll be amazed at the positive effect it can have on your business, and the timeliness by which things get done.

When in doubt, take action.

If there’s one thing entrepreneurs have learned to do well in this economy, it’s dance. We call it the entrepreneurial waltz, and it goes like this: One step forward, two steps back, two steps forward, one step back. And then repeat until you get that dizzying feeling that you’re not going anywhere other than around and around.

We’ve all been caught up in that dance more than once. But the longer we keep dancing, the easier it is to succumb to fear. Yes, fear — that evil feeling that stops us from moving forward. So what is fear? Well, according to Webster, it’s a distressing emotion brought on by impending danger, pain, concern or anxiety. It’s that dread of losing our business, money or property, and it can cause us to lose sight of the one thing we can’t afford to let go of — our purpose.

When we begin to fear, the first thing we seem to forget is the one reason we became entrepreneurs in the first place. Therefore, that’s the one thing we need to focus on every time fear creeps in the door. Focus on your purpose, and take action. After all, fear is nothing more than an opportunity to move forward.

I remember reading about an interview of Will Smith, who said “you gotta be motivated by fear.” He went on to say that our fear starts out as seemingly enormous, because we magnify that fear in our minds. But the second we take action upon it, it’s suddenly not as scary as we envisioned it. So here’s the most important part: we must make sure our actions are aligned with our purpose. Otherwise, any action we take can lead us further from our goal rather than toward it.

So the bigger the fear, the more massive your attack. Stop dancing around and use that energy to your advantage. And when you do, watch it melt like sugar in your coffee. Soon, you’ll be drinking fear for breakfast, and asking yourself what’s for lunch.

Oprahvangelism: The purpose-driven team behind you-know-who

Q: You know you’ve made it when …__(insert your most compelling answer here)___.

A: … when Harvard Business School spends years preparing a case study on you.

For years, Harvard Business School has studied industries that have huge consumer followings. The techies, the eco-groupies, the auto afficionados -- and now, the Oprahvangelists. Apparently, Oprah’s empire has gained more followers than any computer or car company in the world. Combined.

Harvard professor Nancy Koehn presents Oprah not as a celebrity or talk-show guru, but as a case-in-point of a shift in business trends. “Consumers have always been interested in how a product or offering meets a specific need or satisfies a given want,” states Koehn.” But with the new century comes an increasing interest by consumers in looking at companies’ business practices. How they treat their employees, how they create a sense of community and justice. In other words, the company’s purpose is becoming every bit as important as the company’s product.

(Ahem. My point exactly.)

As I have stated in a number of my seminars, we’re now competing in a world where emphasis on the self (and self-promotion) is no longer enough. A company’s strength and level of satisfaction hinges on their core purpose -- on how they connect not only to a customer’s needs, but the needs of a community. The more you can connect with others, the more they become not just customers, or employees, but followers.

Oprah has been unbelievably successful at modeling leadership with a small “i,” and creating an environment where people love to work. There is little turnover, and employees truly want to come to work every day. According to HBS, you can feel the passion when her executives talk on the phone, and you can hear the vast scope of their knowledge about the business they support.

When you get a chance, check out hbs.org. For $6.95, it’s money well-spent for the Harvard case study on Oprah Winfrey, by Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox.

Oscar’s Purpose Discovery

Now, don’t quote me on it — but I’m willing to bet good money that Oscar must have been through one of our Purpose Discovery workshops. Oscar (yes, that little gold naked man on a pedestal) seemed to have rediscovered his true purpose as an Academy Award statue, and went home that night with men and women who respected the power of film as a tool to convey messages with heart.

Take the first woman director ever to win an Oscar. Her statue was well deserved not because she was a woman, but because she fought so hard to make a film that paid tribute to the dangers encountered by those who have fought so hard for our country. She had a purpose to tell the story of soldiers who have a hard time returning to life-as-normal after their tours of duty. She stayed true to her purpose, and succeeded because of that.

Another woman committed to producing and starring in a film, solely because of its message of love and hope. Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech included a special thank-you to those who take in children who need homes, regardless of the difficulties it could bring to their lives. That Oscar win had purpose written all over it.

Okay, so Jeff Bridges played a down-and-out drunk and won an Oscar for it. You can’t say it wasn’t a performance of a lifetime, though, and the man behind the role has also been a man of a higher cause long before it became so hip for celebs to be charitable. Bridges founded the End Hunger Network back in 1983, and has devoted much of his time to the organization’s purpose — to create and support media projects, programs and events to raise awareness and generate action to end U.S. child hunger.

Oscar also went home that night with two members from the film Precious, a film that was created to raise awareness of the tragedy of domestic and family abuse.
Kudos, Oscar.

I’ve got to hand it to that little gold naked guy for really getting his act together this year, and rediscovering why he took on his job in the first place — to award those whose films questioned the standards, challenged people’s perceptions, and encouraged people to create positive change for this world.

The R4 Method: Four steps for turning purpose into profits in 2010

Business owners get so caught up in “go” mode, they forget that taking time off (for) their business is as critical as taking time off (from) their business.

Just as R & R is good for your own health, some serious R4 is imperative for your company. And yet, this is exactly what people neglect.

The R4 (Retreat, Review, Refuel and Repeat) Method should be an established practice in every company that takes place right at the beginning of each year — and more importantly, at the beginning of each quarter. It’s easier to work “in” your company, rather than work “on” it. But if you step back once a year and reflect on our business for a few days (ideally seven), you’ll gain valuable insight into the nuts and bolts of your company that you don’t notice on a daily basis.

So here are the four “R”s to start the year — and the decade — on a positive, profitable course:

Retreat: Take one-to-two days to retreat from your business. Recharge your mind, body and spirit, so you can focus on the next steps. Force yourself if you have to!

*Review: Now it’s time to dig! Make a numbered reflection list that includes 1. Values, 2. Vision / Mission, 3. Purpose, 4. Analyze strategies that worked, 5. Analyze strategies that didn’t work, 6. Review your **CUSTOMER SERVICE** (capitalize and star that one), and 7. Re-asses your own knowledge (are you up to date with technology? Best practices?).

* Your Review process should take at least two or three days. The further you dig into each reflection item, the better the insight you’ll have. Also, get a team of two or three to review together — be as objective as possible.

Refuel: Now that you’ve spotted the good, the bad and the ugly in your mode of operations, get set to strengthen and support your conclusions as you implement them into your business. This is an important step that will help transform employees and customers into your loyal followers.

Repeat: Take a mini-R4 retreat at the beginning of each quarter to track your reflections and results. Don’t wait another year to give your company some well-needed R4!

Who is Ben Done, and why should he be assassinated?

Whenever I see a Reebok ad, I laugh. Reebok advertising is hysterical — not because their ads are funny, but because their ads are the same ads Nike ran ten years ago. Personally, I don’t blame Reebok’s agency for this. I blame that annoying jackass, Ben Done.

A while back, Dell computer ran an ad that (hmm … coincidentally?) echoed an ad previously run by Apple. Both ads promoted their new paper thin monitors, both ads featured a similar layout. Apple Computer’s glorious headline: “Where did the computer go?” Dell computer’s tawdry ripoff of a headline: “Can you find the PC?” If you see the ads side by side, it’s actually funny. But again, I don’t blame Dell’s agency. I blame Ben Done.

Whenever I see a concept that’s “been done” previously by a competitor, I see Ben Done again. Ben Done is the Satan of the marketing industry. (Yes, marketing has its very own Satan.) I hate that guy. He’s always around, tempting clients to fear originality, whispering in their ear “pssst … that idea worked for them, it’s proven effective, and if it worked for them, it will work for you …”

Time after time a client will bring with them an ad, a brochure, a logo that belongs to a competitor, or a major global brand. “This is what we want,” says the client “Look how well it worked for their company, so we think it’ll work for ours.” (Of course it worked for their company! Because it’s theirs!) And every time a client does this, I know it’s not really them talking. It’s Ben Done.

You copy their brand, and guess who’s brand you’re actually selling: Theirs! When a consumer sees that your brand looks just like the other guy, they’re going to recall that other guy, and more than likely support their brand, not yours. This is exactly what Ben Done wants. He doesn’t want you to Get Noticed, he doesn’t want you to succeed — remember, he’s the ad Satan.

Next time you feel tempted to model your brand after another brand, that’s you’re warning that you’re being possessed by Ben Done. So before your head starts spinning, put down those other ads, logos and brochures. Be courageous enough to stand apart from other brands. And tell Ben Done to go to ad hell where he belongs.