Product Feature Requests - A Sloppy Guide
A fabulous read!
Six months ago, I was asked to send an email to several members of our service organization to help them work through feature requests. Someone turned my email into a Google Doc and I stumbled across it this morning.
Six months of perspective made this a fun read for me. It’s sloppy, but the gist…
It may have been awhile.
But, as Shirley MacLaine said…. “I’m still here!”
Lots of exciting things going on. Then I shall continue spewing forth product wisdom. Honest.
35 Marketing Buzzwords/Phrases
- “A perfect storm”
- “At the end of the day”
- “Boots on the ground”
- “Connect the dots”
- “Crunch the data”
- “Deploy our new long-term strategy”
- “Dialing for dollars”
- “Down in the weeds”
- “Expanding our footprint”
- “I’m going to Toplist that item”
- “In our DNA”
- “It’s not about effort, it’s about results”
- “It’s not rocket science”
- “Join the conversation”
- “Let me do my due diligence on that”
- “Let’s look at this from all angles”
- “Let’s take a top down view”
- “Let’s talk about that offline”
- “Low-hanging fruit”
- “Meeting customer demand”
- “On a going forward basis”
- “On steroids” (as in that’s “a hamburger on steroids)
- 23. “Open the Kimono”
- “Pivoting to embrace the challenge”
- “Push the envelope”
- “Reach out…”
- “Share of voice”
- “Soup-to-nuts approach”
- “Table that discussion”
- “Take it to the next level”
- “The 10,000 foot view”
- “The elevator pitch”
- “This is my ask”
- “Use the social graph”
- “We’ll need to “circle back” on that”
Bonus! – “Let’s put that in the parking lot”
Bonus x2! - “Let’s not boil the ocean…”
Fancy a new Death Cab For Cutie song? Why yes you do, right?
What do you think?
Aw yeah!
Sweet track. One of their better ones in a long whiles.
(via joshuanguyen)
On Product Positioning
Can you tell your customer why they should care about your product in 10 words or less?
Can license agreements be inspiring?
The license agreement for Eugene Blanchard’s 2007 textbook “Introduction to Data Communications,” is a rather extraordinary document: Mr Blanchard will let you do whatever you want with his book provided you live a fairly ethical and honest life. I like the idea, and it’s quite a cute provocation in light of the abusiveness of your average EULA.
Introduction to Data Communications since Revision 2.0 has the following licensing agreement. You are allowed to use it, view it, modify it without permission of the author Eugene Blanchard, provided that you agree to the following:
- That you will try to be a better person today than yesterday.
- That you will exercise your body as well as your mind.
- That you will tell the persons dear to you that you love them.
- That you will defend the rights of those who are unable to defend themselves.
- That you will not hurt your family members emotionally or physically.
- That you will respect your elders and care for them in time of need.
- That you will respect the rights of others in their religious beliefs.
- That you will respect the rights of others in their sexual orientation.
- That every man, woman and child has the right to be here and is equal regardless of race, creed or color.
- That you will act honorably in all aspects of your personal and business life.
- That your family is first and foremost the most important thing in your life.
- That when you make a mistake, that you admit it and make amends.
This book is available online in the hope it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
I just watched Rubber today, a movie about an inanimate tire that discovers his destructive telepathic powers and sets his sights on a desert town; in particular, a mysterious woman becomes his obsession.
It’s a very… slow… movie to say the least. But it’s terrifically random, it’s incredible! Plus it has Jack Plotnick (Evie from Girls Will Be Girls) in it!
If you want to scratch your head in bewilderment, enjoy some dark comedy and say “what… just… happened?” at the end, then I highly recommend it!
In the Stephen Spielberg movie E.T., why is the alien brown?
No reason.In Love Story, why do the two characters fall madly in love with each other?
No reason.In Oliver Stone’s JFK, why is the president suddenly assassinated by some stranger?
No reason.In the excellent Chainsaw Massacre, by Toby Hooper, why don’t we ever see the characters go the the bathroom, or wash their hands, like people do in real life?
Absolutely no reason.Worse - in The Pianist, by Polanski, how come this guy has to hide and live like a bum, when he plays the piano so well?
Once again, the answer is - no reason.I could go on for hours with more examples. The list is endless. You probably never gave it a thought. But all great films, without an exception, contain an important element of no reason. And you know why? Because life itself is full of no reason.
Why can’t we see the air around us?
No reason.Why are we always thinking?
No reason.Why do some people love sausages and other people hate sausages?
No fucking reason.Ladies, gentlemen, the film you are about to see today is an homage to the no reason - that most powerful element of style.
Nordstrom's Employee Handbook
For years, Nordstrom’s Employee Handbook was a single 5×8” gray card containing these 75 words:
Welcome to Nordstrom
We’re glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.
Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use best judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.
Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.
During this time, Nordstrom had the highest sales per square foot performance in the retail industry – by almost double.
