“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” — F Scott Fitzgerald, American writer
The Cosmic Spider Web I was an event marketer even before I knew I was one. That’s
because I’ve always been as interested in creating and providing an experience for customers as I was in delivering a product. Sure, products are important components of the experience, and, ultimately, marketing is all about sales. But for as long as I can remember I’ve been process-oriented. Even as a high school football coach, my |
philosophy has always been that if you execute effectively between the goal lines, the score will take care of itself. Of course, the conventional business wisdom holds that, to be successful in any marketing discipline, you need to be results-oriented. This wisdom” suggests that process is for right-brain, creative types, the “soft,” artistic disciplines (the ones that are typically expendable during tough economic times). When it comes to crunch time, and you really need to make those numbers, it’s the no-nonsense, linear-thinking, results-oriented, left-brain analytical types who really understand what needs to be done to make a profit. So goes the conventional wisdom. But, like most rigid world-views, the process-oriented, results-oriented duality is an oversimplification that tends to drive a wedge between two approaches that should be complementary.