| This is a story of how a Fortune 500 company | | | | gained insights into some significant new |
| turned a failure into a spectacular failure (that | | | | technologies. Take the group contact feature of |
| shouldn't have happened) and what you can learn | | | | the pager. Motorola's Nextel phones have a group |
| from it for your own business. | | | | voice paging technology (which evolved out of |
| In the early 90's, I worked for Motorola as a | | | | this research and research on Walkie Talkies that |
| consultant on a project called EMBARC. EMBARC | | | | they produced.) Take the ability to download |
| was a 1 1/2 way pager with some pretty neat | | | | computer data reliably. Many Motorola phone |
| features. Like a pager, it could receive phone | | | | products can now be used as modems. |
| numbers but it could also receive text messages, | | | | So even though the project was a massive |
| had several news and entertainment feeds you | | | | failure, when looked at from a long term |
| could subscribe to and could even take in | | | | perspective, the project built great residual value |
| computer data like updated pricing spreadsheets | | | | for the company and the divisions liquidation was |
| from the corporate office. To facilitate the value | | | | not too painful for the company. In fact, the value |
| of this, it understood the concept of groups | | | | of the frequency and equipment deployed to |
| allowing the company to send the spreadsheet | | | | access it was a commodity that only grew in |
| one time and have it sent to all company | | | | value every year. |
| salespeople at the same time. | | | | As a small business person, you don't have the |
| It could hook up to a PC or a handheld computer | | | | luxury of deep pockets to take on such a project |
| so that the data could be extracted and so that | | | | with the hopes that if it fails, you will make it up |
| replies to messages could be made to people who | | | | on the back end. |
| sent you messages. This is what made it a 1 1/2 | | | | The lesson to learn as a small business person is |
| way pager. You needed to use a special program | | | | twofold. |
| on the computer and dial up a central computer | | | | The first is to control your growth. While there is |
| system to send a reply. | | | | always a desire to grow as quickly as possible, |
| This was an awkward aspect of an otherwise | | | | this often results in disaster. By growing slowly, |
| really neat technology but in spite of that, trade | | | | you don't get rich as quick but you solve |
| show demonstrations and ads in magazines | | | | problems like keeping inventory in stock when |
| (especially airline magazines) would draw | | | | they are small. I know from personal experience |
| thousands of people requesting an information | | | | that it is very easy to get buried if you get an |
| package be sent to them so they could evaluate | | | | unexpected boost from publicity and go instantly |
| the package further. | | | | from 10's of orders a week to 100's of orders a |
| In fact, response was so great that they | | | | week. If you don't have the infrastructure in place |
| constantly ran out of information packages to | | | | to support the volume, lots of problems happen. |
| send out. And since it was a big company | | | | Orders get lost. Orders get sent to the wrong |
| philosophy that was behind the project, getting a | | | | customers, etc. |
| budget to print more packages was quite time | | | | The second lesson is that you should always |
| consuming. | | | | work all your leads until they are dead. If instead |
| The end result of this conflict was that they | | | | of throwing out 1000's of leads at a clip they |
| threw out 1000's of leads at a time. And that | | | | worked them, chances are very good that |
| action turned a failure into a massive failure. | | | | EMBARC would have died due to obsolescence |
| The system was doomed to failure anyway due | | | | instead of red ink. Leads are the route to new |
| to the march of technology but in this case, | | | | customers for your business and must be |
| failure should have been a natural obsolescence, | | | | worked repeatedly until they are no longer |
| not a closing of the EMBARC division due to | | | | profitable. Only then should you remove a lead |
| massive cost overruns with no significant | | | | from the system. (And with email marketing, it |
| revenues to show for it. | | | | can take a long time before a lead becomes |
| There are some interesting lessons here - some | | | | worthless!) |
| of which are interesting from a big company | | | | Within all failures (your or others that you are |
| perspective and others which are of benefit to | | | | familiar with) are the seeds of success. We learn |
| the small businessman. | | | | from our failures but only if we take the time to |
| Lets look at the big company lessons first. As | | | | reflect on the lessons that are being offered to |
| part of this project, Motorola gained two valuable | | | | us. Taking a few minutes each week to reflect on |
| assets. First it gained a national network of | | | | past failures and how their lessons can be applied |
| transmission towers at a specific frequency range | | | | to your current business will pay tremendous long |
| (a very valuable physical asset) and second it | | | | term dividends. |