As I was designing the feature set of JibberJobber, about two years ago, I picked up a book on inventions.
The book seemed to be about twenty years old but was written buy a guy in Colorado who worked in some kind of small business environment, meeting with tons and tons of inventors.
One of the things that stood out was one of 10 critical points for a retail buyer, let me paraphrase:
your product has to be something that people in the store can look at and say “oh yeah, I know what that is! I need one!”
So, value proposition aside (although, it’s not really aside… that’s what the whole contest is about), here’s another problem.
Let’s say that you “get” JibberJobber. You understand what it does, what the features are, what it’s all about.
There’s still education needed, to compel you to actually use the system.
Think about it – many of you have been reading my blog for quite a while. I try and encourage you to manage your career. To take your future into your own hands. I want you to care more about your career and future… more than anyone else.
And JibberJobber is a great tool for that. Isn’t it? Even so, with the constant encouragement, many of my blog readers are not JibberJobber users. There is an education issue, and it’s big.
You don’t need education on why to use toilet paper.
You don’t need education on why to use toothpaste, or a hair brush, or a TV, or anything like that.
But you do need education on using, or “buying” JibberJobber.
How can my brand upgrade change that?
This contest is sponsored by:
- JibberJobber, of course!
- Deb Dib – Personal Branding Expert for Senior Executives
- Walter Akana – Career and Life Strategist and Personal Branding Expert
- Megan Fitzgerald – Expatriate Career and Personal Branding Expert
- Louri Russel Boilard – Executive Resume Writer and Career Psychologist/Counselor
- Makini Harvey – Career and Resume expert
- An anonymous corporate sponsor – donating The Planet Earth DVD Set
- Mark Hovind – Job Bait: The #1 Way to Land 6 and 7 Figure Jobs New!
Jason, I’ve been thinking more about this and a comment you made in your post of 2/6 struck me. You say “I’m a blogger, an author of two books, a columnist for The National Networker, and contributor to various publications (online and offline). I’m also an entrepreneur, etc. etc.” Classic “slashie” career, yes?
But if you drill down, and drill down some more, and drill down even deeper, can you identify ONE word that defines what drives you to do all that (and, no, it’s not money ). The answer is “yes†you can do that. It takes time, tenacity, insight, and the help of others to give you “outside-in†feedback, but if you work it hard enough and want it enough you’ll get there. And when you think you have it, you might still be wrong. Let it gel, sit with it for a week or two, and then think again. Your gut will tell you when you’re right — when you’ve really got it.
Once you know what drives you to do all that you do, you’ll likely have your brand. That’s when you can separate out the market-facing activities you do every day – JJ, your writing, blogging, etc.– and figure out the value proposition for each of those. But without knowing the bedrock foundation, without knowing their genesis, you’ll be working with a big handicap.
Think about great brands – Fed-Ex is valued for getting it there overnight, but what underlies that? What vision and passion drove Fred Smith, the founder to build that business model and make it happen after he developed the model in his famously-rejected college term paper? Would it have happened without that?
Think Bill Gates, no matter what businesses or foundations he runs, what underlies his determination to do what he does? What do Microsoft and the Gates Foundation have in common? Certainly a sense of purpose. And seemingly a sense of “make it happen†and we can fix the glitches along the way—let’s just get it moving.†What drives that? What drives that is likely Gates’ personal brand, and Microsoft wouldn’t be the same without that foundation, no matter who is running the company.
Steve Jobs, on the other hand, is all about “make it innovative, beautiful, seamless, easy, bug-free (or nearly so), and then make it happenâ€. In a sped-to-market, profit-at-the-expense-of-quality world, would Apple be that focused on innovation and quality were it not for Job’s brand? Hard to say, but we can’t imagine Apple without it.
What of Jason can we not imagine JibberJobber without?
Now, on to your education question of today’s post –
My ramblings above really do relate to that because once Jason’s/JJ’s brand and value are clear, the education part becomes far less complicated. You’ll have the “what and why†pinned down so clearly that the value (why use JJ) is obvious. You’ll just need to solidify the “how to.†And the “how to†needs to be simple to start and get more robust as you drill down. You’ll need a “JJ snapshot / quick start†so you don’t lose people before they even begin.
Deb Dib ~ The CEO Coach (and Jason Alba fan / JJ contest sponsor)
â€Unabashedly passionate about helping visionary, gutsy, fun leaders with a conscience build great careers, mold great companies, and even change the world a bit!â€