thinks

I spent the last few weeks shopping for a new interactive agency at my day job. Throughout the process, each of the candidate agencies has talked about their capabilities addressing the mobile market, all taking about the promise of the market overall. But a change occurred this past week. Each presenter, during their mobile segment, digressed to talk about Apple introducing the iPhone. And each one told us why the iPhone was doomed to fail. They included the same reasons you’ve probably seen lots of places: no 3G, restrictive network options, closed system, limited battery, etc. And then each one told us the same thing. “Still, I’m going to buy one.”

The point here is simple. If you load your product with enough positives, enough folks will overlook its negatives to buy it anyway. The iPod lacked a number of things that later - as well as earlier - MP3 players included: FM tuner, larger screen, Wi-fi “squirting,” whatever. But the iPod continues to outsell them all. It does its job well and folks want it.

The dialogue around the iPhone reminds me of the Apple Newton. If you remember the Newton, it was a portable device, the original PDA. Lot of folks wanted one. No one bought one, mind you. But everyone wanted one. The iPhone brings back that memory for me. Lots of cool features, lots of negatives. While it’s too soon to make a call, its limitations may outweigh its benefits enough to kill its sales. Still, I’m going to buy one.

Over the holidays, I finally finished reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”. It is not a great book. But, it is a very good book. It’s not an easy read. Still, some parts will have you laughing out loud. While it’s dense, sometimes digressing for pages providing context and color, Goodwin provides a clear picture of Lincoln and his mastery of the political arena of his day. The author does an excellent job illustrating lessons Lincoln learned throughout his career that still matter today. For example:

• Your friends represent your greatest asset. Take care of those relationships.
• Those friends may not always represent the best talent around you. Choose your team based on the skills they bring to the table, not friendships alone.
• Give your team the freedom to do their jobs. If you’re worried they’re not right for the job, they’re not right for the job.
• Do well by others. It doesn’t guarantee they’ll work alongside you down the road, but it may prevent them working against you.
• Cherish every moment with your family. Life moves too fast to take it for granted.

If high school taught history as effectively as Ms. Goodwin does, we’d all have done a lot better in history. And who better to learn leadership from than one of the United States’ greatest presidents? Check it out.

Have you heard about Les Moonves’ keynote at CES? Does it sound vaguely familiar? Admittedly, it’s way too soon for me to start gloating (even with yesterday’s Yahoo/MyBlogLog micro-deal). But when one of the old media bastions suggests “…there’s no such thing as old or new media anymore. We’re just media,” maybe the first shoe just dropped. This may amount to nothing more than posturing. Posturing, however, will only result in CBS playing catch up as the world changes around them. Now CBS needs to follow-through. Keep your eye on the outcome.

One of my most popular pieces last year talked about why it’s important to do what you love. Sam Decker has started a great series on just how to figure out what that is. I can’t wait to see the rest.

Om Malik reports that Yahoo bought MyBlogLog yesterday. Should be a nice shot in the arm for one of my favorite companies. Bring on the micro-deals!

Am I the only one who appreciated the irony of Ohio State’s marching band playing the theme from “Titanic” during halftime of tonight’s game? When you’re sinking, you might think about changing your tune.