The way to a man’s heart

I have often wondered about opening up a coffee shop or a restaurant. And lately I have heard so many of my friends share such similar ideas with me. I think I know where this desire comes from. You can establish the best restaurant in the neighbourhood; you can feel good about your work; your customers will get to know you, and they will love coming back if you delight them time and time again. You don’t need to have over 10 billion served; you don’t have pressures to IPO; you don’t have to have a Web site and market survey cards because you will know your customers - you can do a honest day’s work and you can put your heart into it, and your customers will feel this and they will support you and promote you.

A short time ago I met some people for dinner at the Grillhouse in Rosebank. Joel Katz and Saul Mervis were there as usual to look after us and we had such a great night out. The place was buzzing. Why do people love going there? Yes, the food is delicious and the service is fantastic, but more than this you always feel special there. They make such an effort to get to know their customers who keep coming back for more.

I remember at the turn of the century one of the giant fast-food burger chains in the US launched an advertising campaign that I want to re-visit here. A “restaurant style hamburger” was the new product in town and it was being sold at a non-restaurant price. The advertising was all over the place. It went like this, “How much would you expect to pay for this high quality restaurant style hamburger? 8$? 9$? 10$? Nope. It is now only 3.95$ And that’s not all – we don’t have waiters bothering you and you can be in and out in no time.” A restaurant burger without the restaurant - a quality meal in a hurry … stop! The whole point of a quality meal is the fact that you sit down in a relaxed environment with friends. Who would pay R100 for a take-out box of prawns from a fast food joint? If you are gonna spend the money then make a night of it.

The good things in life take time - quality is about what comes naturally; and we know we can’t cheat nature. The words “quality” and “fast” just don’t go together. A quality experience can’t be rushed. The progress paradox strikes again!

So, back to reality here in Johannesburg. Yes, you can have the no. 1 restaurant in town and feel good about your establishment. Compare this to the entertainment world where if you are not in the top 10 you are no where. The music and motion picture industries are very cruel this way. The media has conditioned us to judge someone because they have not made it into some list of highest grossing box office receipts. Have you heard some of the rubbish bubble-gum music that is raking in the money? This is not about quality – this is all about the mediocre mainstream and about mass marketing. The Grillhouse is tops and no Fortune 500 list can take away from this. And we should be applying this type of thinking to all businesses.

If you simply look at your bottom-line as a measure then you are never going to be on top. I am sure the people of the Grillhouse make a good living, but this is not what struck me when I was there for dinner. I saw a team of people who were excited, enthusiastic and full of smiles. Actually, the whole place was full of smiles. This is a business that one can clearly see has been built as a labour of love. And their customers love going there. This is what leads to true success.

A mentor of mine once told me that true success means doing today what you did on your first day. Just keep doing things from the heart; just keep being passionate about your work; just keep doing what you love doing and don’t ever think for a minute that there is something better out there. And if you make some money then that’s great, but don’t go changing – just keep doing what you loved doing back when it all began. There is nothing like a pile of money to give one the illusion of self-importance. And always try and remember these famous words, “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything”.

Look at the best doctors. I mean, look at the ones who have been treating a community of patients for over a decade. Look at the compassion they have. Watch how they listen to you the next time you go and see them. This is what they love doing. And this is why we trust them. When people make a difference to your life you keep going back for more. And the Grillhouse is one restaurant where people keep going back for more. Many restaurants have good food. What keeps us going back is that we are made to feel special when we are there. It is the overall quality of our experience that inspires us. Focus on delivering quality to your customers and the rewards will follow.

Nothing instant ever leads to anything good. Instant coffee, instant gratification, instant messaging, instant whatever – it is all crap. The good things in this world take time. Building relationships means being hands on. And that takes time. Switch off your cellphone and make time. Invest this time, not because it is the right thing to do, but rather because you love doing it. Invest this time with your customers and they will conspire to reward you. Someone sent me this great quote once: "If you find a job you love, you'll never have to work again”.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Success is a state of mind

What is the game of life all about? And it must be a game considering how so many people are trying to win. What exactly we are all trying to win is still a mystery. Someone sure has painted a picture of a grand prize because this game is taken very seriously. Perhaps it is more than a game. Considering how organised this event appears to be then perhaps it is even a sport. But sports generally have teams and this game seems to be more about every man for himself. So many people are running on this treadmill that I am surprised it has taken this long for people to start saying that the magnitude of this race has reached a point that is beyond belief. Where are we all racing too I ask myself. And why is everyone in such a hurry?

I hope to give some insights into true success today. True success comes from realizing one’s genuine purpose. And if it is really all about money then perhaps a bank guaranteed reality check is needed. Read on.

In these tough economic times one has to remember the fundamentals, because without them true success will never be attained. No one can deny that the business world is going through some major changes yet again. Sentiment is shifting and people are speaking about getting back to basics. Yes, I agree that technology has created new ways of operating. And yes, I agree that people are for more sovereign than ever before. And I definitely agree that one person can make a difference in an age where a Web site can cause an incredible shift. But no, I don’t agree that the fundamentals can change. That is why they are called “fundamentals”. No matter if you are a one-man business or a team of people, the work you do should be about making a difference and not just about making money. A business has a purpose beyond just making money. The visionary companies of the past 50 years all stood for something that represented far more than just the bottom line. And that is what a successful economy is about. As Henry Ford once said "A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business."

A wise man sent me this in an e-mail recently: When people want to free themselves from their humdrum workaday life, they go on vacation. They rent a cabin with half the rooms they have at home and sacrifice many of the conveniences they generally rely upon. They rough it. And then they feel free. When you let go of those material things you have become attached to, then you can start to be free.

I included this text above because it gives us a very compelling insight into what the measurements for success are about. Mother Theresa once said that we can't do great things in this world, only small things filled with great love. And this is what true purpose is about. When you really love doing something then that is when true success will follow. And remember, money is only one way of measuring things. One thing is for sure, that quantitative measurements only stimulate the treadmill. I will be the first to admit that having money provides one with an abundance of choices, but there is only one real choice, and that is whether you want to use your resources to help others.

I found this text on the Web called “What is success?” Let’s take a look: To laugh often; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; This is to have succeeded.

Perhaps the progress paradox is more about how we measure success than anything else. The renowned psychologist, Erich Fromm, provides some interesting insights into this menacing paradox when he wrote, “All our machines are designed for quickness; the car and aeroplane bring us quickly to our destination – and the quicker the better. The machine which can produce the same quantity in half the time is twice as good as the older and slower one. Of course, there are important economic reasons for this. But, as in so many other aspects, human values have become determined by economic values. What is good for machines must be good for man – so the logic goes. Modern man thinks he loses something – time – when he does not do things quickly; yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains – except kill it.” What really interests me about this text is the reference to speed. The rate at which so much new wealth has been created in the past decade has captured the world’s attention. And then the rate at which so much of it disappeared in the past year is even more intriguing. And this is what treadmills can do to you if you don’t take time out to smell the roses. Slow down. Remember that famous quote that goes, “Even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat.”

Treadmills, by the way, never really get you anywhere. Treadmills don’t even represent a destination - you always get off right where you started. Life is a journey – cherish it.

Let's end off with yet another quotation. One I used quite recently. Let's revisit it here and then end off today's VLOG. It is from Albert Schweitzer who once said "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Vottle Vooma

Another month whizzes on by, and with that, we are past the half-way mark of this intense year. Here are the highlights from Vottleland from the month gone by:

- we had a big drive to migrate parts of the site onto Ajax - this is very much in line with global Web 2.0 trends and has already shown significant increases in performance for us, both in terms of page loading times as well as saving many tens of thousands of database queries a day

- we are also on a drive to improve our 'natural SEO' (different to the 'paid-for' Google reach through Adwords) mainly through the use of SEO-friendly URLs - this again is very much the trend not only for the largest global players in the classifieds space, but on the Web in general - we already have the structures in place to support this and should be rolling this out gradually over the next week or so

- we are now live with Premium listings and Featured adverts - these are part of our paid for services whereby users can pay for premium Vottle space with their credit card - we are going to put some focus now on marketing these new services

- we are busy with a test for our first sponsored links campaign with Dial Direct – we’ve had a good initial response in the first two weeks - if the test phase is successful then the plan will be that they upgrade to a paid-for service - there are a couple of other potential customers in the pipeline, and we are looking at improving the granularity of our internal stats to help sell advertising to potential customers who require detailed per-subcategory stats

- we are busy making further strides in our effort to move completely towards a Linux based platform - we are currently busy migrating our automated data feed engine

- we are busy investigating various options to effectively identify and deal with abuse from an IP address level - this is proving challenging since it is difficult to determine the validity of a particular IP address (legitimate Web crawlers or malicious hackers) so we are also looking at throughput control

Posted by the Vottlers

Comic timing!

Are you in sales? Are you a salesperson? No, you may answer. Are you sure? Isn't everyone in sales?! Aren't we all trying to "close" all the time. Every time you convince someone of something a sale is made. We are all trying persuade people all the time. Selling is, as the saying goes, about the gentle art of persuasion.

To sell one needs to listen. Yes, selling is more about listening than about talking. And this has a lot to do with timing. One needs to know when to listen, especially in the context of selling in the corporate environment. Persuading a customer to buy a new service is more about listening than anything else.

To sell one needs to build trust. That is where listening comes in. If people trust you it is easier to persuade them of your point of view. How does one build trust? Well, for one thing, always be honest, and be consistent and reliable. And of course, listen! Making people feel comfortable is key. Humour always helps. Making people smile and laugh, as opposed to aggression and ruthlessness, is always a good thing.

So, with that introductory detour down stating the bleeding obvious lane, I want to introduce the hero of our story here today, the comedian. Comedy is all about timing. Now, time must be the ultimate story teller, because people always says that time will tell.

Let's see, we have scratched the selling surface, and now we are talking about comedians, time and storytelling. Selling is about listening, and, comedy is also about listening. Seriously, a stand-up comedian, for example, needs to listen more than they talk. They need to be "with" their audience all the time. Now this implies that comedy is also about selling, and it is. A stand-up comic has to close a deal every 10 to 15 seconds.

Let's look at the make-up of a comedian for a brief moment. Good comedians often have insight and vision – they see humour where others don’t and they show us a more colourful and funnier way of seeing the world. Comedians need entrepreneurial flair - like a photographer who is not afraid to get up close, they need to take advantage of exploitable moments. I was one told that greatest comedy, like the most inspired entrepreneurship, is about managing risk - the comedian needs to push the envelope, and manage the risk.

Now, a comedian also has to maintain the trust of their audience. If comedian looks at their watch or reads notes scribbled on their hand then the trust with the audience will be broken. A comedian can't take out notes on stage. Imagine David Copperfield taking out notes and going "So how do I make the lion disappear again". We all wonder how magic tricks are performed. If we ever see how the trick is done the illusion will be over, and our trust and curiosity diminished.

Stand-up comedy is like magic. The best comedians make it look so easy but it is not at all. So much work goes into each minute of the artist's performance. There is so much preparation and planning - it is a craft as well as an art. And a magician, like a comedian, can never show how the trick is done. If a comic pulls out crib notes then the illusion is lost and the magic disappears. A comedian ultimately has to memorize so much - this is part of the magic.

The other thing about selling, is one has to have fun. A comedian has to have fun with their audience - it can’t be clinical. One has to have heart! The guy on stage has to be laughing too. He has to be in to it. He has to be friends with everyone - he has to be a part of the group.

So, to recap, selling is all about persuasion, and, persuading an audience to laugh is about selling. Now, a person with a sense of humour doesn't necessarily make for a good stand-up comic. This has a lot do with discipline and practice. Even the best athletes, for example, who often make it look easier than it actually is, need to practice and practice. And so do comedians. And sales people! A sense of humour does not allow for a stand-up comedy show - practice does - the sense of humour lets you prepare your material.

Athletes aren't born to win races, for example. They are born with an inclination, a purpose. The rest requires discipline and practice - it requires training. In the same way, a comedian is born with an inclination - a sense of humour. Again, it requires discipline, hard work and training. Selling too is a discipline. The best sales guys have a system and a framework, a way to keep yourself on track. A way of discipline, and it requires a lot of hard work. Hard work that is made to look easy.

A comedian, like a sales person, needs something to sell. Something they believe in, something they would use themselves. We are talking about material. The sense of humour is what leads to the material. The passion is what leads to the products and services that a sales person touts.

Now, when it comes to delivery, less is more. Like saying I love you too often - it can be destructive, like you're making up for a lack of something. It is hard deliver less. It is easy to go on and on. Think of email, why do people send out such long emails? I once heard someone say "I would make my email shorter but I just don't have time". It takes effort to simplify things.

To conclude we better end off on a punch line. So, for starters, let's remind everyone that laughter is the best medicine. So, always go out on a high note. When you got their imaginations captured, end it, and say good night. When the sale is closed, that's it! Never push it too far (because we all tend too). And as for a funny ending, well, I am going to finish off and get home, I am not feeling quite myself today. I guess what I am trying to say is that I want to get home so I can feel myself.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

You don't have to be smart to make money

The one thing I learn more and more is that you don't have to be smart to make money. Now, not to say that life is all about making money. For from it in fact from my perspective. But, when it comes to making money, there are many interesting observations that have become more evident as I get older, er, wiser, or something.

People who make money are persistent, passionate, respectful, and whole bunch of things. But you don't have to be smart to make money. A good dose of chutzpah helps and being a mench is key. Charm never hurt, and of course, the most important ingredient, luck. But one does not have to be an academic to make money.

I know many many smart people who have no money and I know many rich people who are not smart. In fact I remember a very wise man once saying that making money is about 10% seichel (smarts) and 90% mazal (luck) and those you use more seichel always land up making less money.

Yes, when you get too clever for your own good we generally mess things up. So, don't mess with a winning formula! Don't forgot who you are and where you have come from - stay grounded, be humble!

And always remember to say what you mean and mean what you say.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Not pushing the envelope any more!

This story of Amazon.com not sending any more goods to our local post office from now on, here in South Africa, has received some incredible airtime yesterday. It actually made it a front page story on the Business Day and also got its own street pole notice all over the place. Check this out: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A786385

Also, have a look here too: http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=1518-24_2342462

This is not a good sign for South Africa but my friends at www.wantitall.co.za are certainly more excited than ever about what this opportunity represents. The demand for their service is about to go up a big notch or two!

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Pictures with purpose

Martin Luther King once said that there is no progress without struggle. All of the mountains we have to climb are what build our character. Every struggle we face gets us one step closer to our true sense of purpose.

Many years ago I was involved in a film making adventure in Los Angeles. I am referring to the story of “Purpose”. A moral fable for our times set in the high tech world of Silicon Valley at the turn of the millennium. This was an adventure in story telling of an all new American dream where quality continually seems to be pushed aside in the name of quantity. We shot the movie during October to December of 2000 and then we spent the first the next 5 months in post-production with the end result being a provocative and well timed movie.

“Purpose”, in my view, is a concise pop epic – a contemporary tale set in the world of San Francisco Dot Com startups. With the collapse of the then tech stocks, it was a innovative film to explore as fiction, the culture of greed that possessed a city associated in the past for its counterculture, romance and secular spirituality. But enough about the movie. Let’s move on.

Movies are about telling stories with pictures. They are about expression and they are about sharing a message with the world. At least, from a qualitative perspective that is what it’s all about. From an artist’s point of view, a motion picture represents an opportunity to inspire the world and provoke different thoughts in its audience. From a business point of view the commercial movie capital (like the rest of the business world today) seems to be all about the numbers. The purpose of the movie studios appears to be all about profits, fame and ego (not necessarily in this order either), everything else second, including the picture. That is probably the primary reason why there are so many bad movies out there (and along the same train of thought why there were so many Dot Bombs back then).

It is less and less about the message or the art and more and more about the money making formula. And that was my biggest struggle. Coming from a relatively sheltered environment and trying to comprehend this new world of slick talkers and shady dealers, where money is paramount, left me feeling very disappointed with Uncle Sam. Coming from South Africa the culture shock was quite overwhelming and the level of capitalism I was exposed to has left me feeling very anxious about the future. I always thought that capitalism was about free markets, competition, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit. The form I experienced was more about ruthless tactics, brute force and aggressive confrontational interactions. I learnt that there is a fundamental difference between making a movie and the business of movies. Considering we made a movie that explores the theme of making money VS making a difference I find that the end result of my newly acquired wisdom and knowledge to be a divine series of ironies. At the very least, there is enough material for another script.

I could write endless VLOGs based on what I was exposed to in America. But for today I want to focus on “purpose.” I went to Los Angeles with a purpose. The movie has a purpose. And this VLOG has a purpose. Each one attempts to make some kind of a difference in the world. And in my efforts to contribute a verse to the powerful play of life I learnt some very hard lessons that have shaped my thinking and set me on an inspired path.

The end result of my American misadventure, well, I had a very big bite taken out of me. I had to fight for my life. There were so many times when the pressure and stress was so bad that I just wanted to run away. But I didn’t. I spent weeks not sleeping and I spent days upon days practically making myself sick from anxiety. I sit here now typing up this VLOG, quite calm and content, with no regrets, and the message I want to share with you all is about team spirit and perspective. The most fundamental thing I learnt in the past year, the thing I always admire at IS, is that life is a team sport. I was gung ho and inspired on my movie making mission but I was trying to climb a mountain on my own and in doing so I almost lost my way.

Life is short and uncertain and it is rare and precious. The good things in life are those things that are born in love. Focus on the quality and the quantity will sort itself out. And when pursuing your purpose seek out those who share your vision and work together as a team. Work on relationships and work on trust. Remember, nothing that is done alone in this world is as fun as when it is done as a team with people you care about. So, let me leave you with a line from one of the world’s best movies, “Every man dies, but not every man lives.” Have the courage to follow your dreams because life really is short. And when you chose to climb that mountain then go find others who will embark on the journey with you. And don’t stop progressing. The pyramids are getting closer and closer. And with it, so is your true sense of purpose.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker