The underdog
There is a great article in the May 11th issue of the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell about the full court press, the art of unconventional war and how David beat Goliath. Statistically in a lopsided battle, the weaker foe wins roughly 28% of the time, but when an underdog recognizes their own weaknesses and fights an unconventional battle their percentage of victory increases to approximately 64%. As an emerging name trying to break into a new market, this got me thinking about the fundamental pieces of the traditional marketing campaign and how to augment the proven methods (the printed portfolio, direct mail and email pieces, online portfolio and the scheduled release of all this collateral) with an unconventional approach. I’ve also just finished reading through Paul Arden’s fantastic little book “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.” A few of my favorite chapter titles:
When it can’t be done, do it. If you don’t do it, it doesn’t exist.
Don’t covet your ideas. Give away everything you know, and more will come back to you.
Both make for very insightful reading at a time when ingenuity will trump convention.
Thanks to Chase Jarvis for putting me onto the book.
Malcolm Gladwell, weather revered or reviled for his panache for stating the obfuscatedly obvious, is always a good read; this new New Yorker article did not disappoint. I also took a moment to grab a copy of the Paul Arden book… will comment on my thoughts when all is said and done. Thanks Tait!