elephantorfeather.com

Which wolf to feed?

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:09:01 +0000

A friend of mine, Faythe Murphy, posted this on facebook a day or so ago. It really stuck with me and fits the elephant or feather paradigm.

An old Cherokee told his grandson, “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, & ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, & truth.” The boy thought about it, and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?” The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed…”

Image: Evgeni Dinev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Object of Desire

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:17:22 +0000

It has been a while since I have had a chance to think about my shed inspired elephant or feather. Yes I know that does happen once in a while. However, some ideas just take a bit of time to get traction.

Ideas are not the only thing that can take time to get traction: Brands and products are like that too. One of our brands that has got traction and is in straight ahead and give er mode is the Presso. Over the last month our sales in Australia have gone through the roof. We achieved some serious lift off. Over the last twenty five years I have been part of quite a few PR hits that have turned elephants into feathers but I have never seen anything like this before.

A few months back we were contacted by a journalist who was interested in the presso. Our mate Jason let us know that this guy was a heavy hitting Aussie journalist and that it would be worth sending him a presso. Alison sent one off right away. A month or so later he got in touch with us looking for some high resolution images. We could not get what he was after for a few reasons; a small lesson that we have learned from. There is allot more to the story which I may fill in one day as I turn this event into the first chapter of the Elephant or Feather book. For now here is a a scan of the article, which I saw for the first time yesterday believe it or not. A month after it came out. We have been so busy scrambling to get product and keep presso people patient that we did not have time to chase it up. Like all good things it eventually came to us.

Just to give folks an idea of the impact this article had (and continues to have) on the presso brand have a look at this graph extracted from our most excellent shopify dashboard.

Feather icon ideas

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:09:15 +0000

Same drill. Here are some istock feathers for your rating and ranting pleasure.

Elephant icon ideas

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:57:43 +0000

Here are a few fast selects from istock.com

Would love to get elephant or feather feedback on them. If you click on the elephants you can rate them. To get things started and to make sure it works I have already rated them.

Vernacular-Spectacular

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:30:48 +0000

My brain has been cursed with my metaphor of elephant or feather. Frankly I have been stuck figuring out how to get some lift off with this idea. My latest “aha I think its figured out” was a few days ago when I came up with: riding elephants and blowing feathers. This captures the essence of harnessing the power of the elephant by riding it (instead of pushing it). As for the feather it’s about blowing them (not chasing them). More metaphors connecting this idea to traditional Push (elephant) and Pull (feather) marketing.

The answer you are looking for will generally come to you eventually. Quite often unexpectedly and out of the blue. Here is what landed on me yesterday. I have been working on Project Blaze with an old mate from Upper Canada Brewing and my daughter Kaleigh’s boy friend Jon Sturge (often referred to by me as 1/2 son). We have not got this project off the ground and typically I am getting a bit impatient. Yesterday Jon referred to Project Blaze as a bit of an elephant. This sparked something. Literally.

A rating and ranting system based on elephant or feather. Post an idea and then get people to vote the idea as an elephant or feather and if they wish to they can contribute a few short words as to why they feel that way.

Vernacular-Spectacular: “That’s an elephant of an idea–it won’t fly” ;”That feels like a feather–go for it”

Greg Bottrell likes this

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:29:51 +0000

My good friend Greg Bottrell, who Alison and I have known for 20 years, passed on a link to me this morning. When Greg sends me something I always take the time to check it out. Greg and I know each other from the bar and restaurant scene in Toronto going way way back to the 80′s. Queen Street West was were we met for the first time. It was the backroom of the Rivoli where he worked the bar and then worked his way into managing and booking bands.

With that intro here is the link. What caught my attention in Josh Ritter’s words in this blog was his take on the elephant or feather metaphor.

Have a read and let me know what you think.

http://www.bookofjubilations.com/2010/10/making-life-in-music-vol-2-goals.html

Push Marketing and Pull Marketing

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:30:13 +0000

Child pushing an elephant into his wagon

Trying to grasp the difference between push marketing and pull marketing could be easier if you thought about what is like to push an elephant compared to pulling on a feather. You can look forward to these concepts being explored further in a chapter one day. While you patiently wait have a read of this great article that explains the difference between push and pull marketing very well. Note this article was written before the advent of social media marketing. I would be very interested to know if you think social media is push (elephant) or pull (feather) marketing.

Published August 14, 2006

Push Marketing Versus Pull Marketing

Published August 14, 2006, http://www.morebusiness.com

All marketing falls into two categories: push marketing and pull marketing. To marketers, it’s as basic as breathing in and out. But that doesn’t help the millions of would-be business owners who have left (or will be leaving) the corporate world to start their own businesses without the benefit of a marketing education. So consider this a quick marketing course: If you think of your store as a doorway, and just on the other side of the doorway is your product. And reluctant to enter the doorway is the prospect. How do you get them to come in? With marketing. Think of marketing as a type of force on the prospect. You can choose to pull the prospect through the door or you can push them through the door.

What is pull marketing? Pull marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies that are meant to entice the prospect to buy your product or service. Some classic examples are “half off!” or “bring in this coupon to save 25%” or “buy one get one free”, etc. With pull marketing, you are trying to create a sense of increased, time limited value so that the customer will come into your store to buy.

What is push marketing? Push marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies geared toward your marketing and distribution channels to entice them in promoting your product. As consumers, you rarely see this type of marketing when it is directed to the distributors. It might include wholesale discounts, kickbacks, bonuses, and other types of support. It’s all designed to have the retailer promote your product to the end users over a different product. In recent years, I’ve seen a nearly exponential increase in the past decade – another type of push marketing is taking over. It’s the referral and word of mouth marketing. When companies encourage happy customers to spread the word to their friends and families, that’s a type of push marketing. Or, when companies make ads that are controversial, cheeky, or downright shocking, they create a little buzz – that’s another type of push marketing. Why you need both. Just one strategy will not give you as good of a return. I believe you need to balance both strategies to create a great marketing mix that powerfully entices customers to come through your door. Some customers react to one type or to the other. For example, the bargain hunters might react to the pull marketing tactics while the socially-aware buyers might respond to the push marketing. Or, if you have a product that requires a lot of convincing to buy, the “double barreled” approach will help to ensure that they can’t resist your offer. Here’s how to build both into your business: When you are working on your annual marketing plan, make sure that you are scheduling marketing 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. But when you do, don’t just stop at one effort: plan to do both push marketing and pull marketing throughout the entire year. Identify your marketing efforts as push marketing or pull marketing. Schedule them into your year at a glance calendar. Then, get out two colored markers and mark your push marketing in one color and your pull marketing in another color. You’ll see that they overlap sometimes and other times where you are only actively doing one. Make sure that 365 days a year you are doing both!

Two types of marketing efforts through the year? It will be worth it!

wikihow.com

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:56:08 +0000

Hard to remember life before wiki. If you have not heard of, our used, wikipedia this review might go over your head. In a peanut shell wikis are powered by people using open source software from wikimedia

With that information as background if you are ever wondering how to do something type wikihow.com into your browser and see what you can find. Wikis are inherently feathers because the core of the paradigm is about open participation. Let people share what they know in a fun and easy way. This site is a classic example of what web 2.0 has done to using the internet: easy to use, fun, informative and begs you to participate.

Here is just one of the many features that make this website so featherific. Below will be how I found wikihow– I want to get my rocks off (our paddocks) and use them for functional features.


How to Build a Dry Stack Retaining Rock Wall
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Are you looking to add another dimension to your property with your own two hands? Dry stack rock or rubble stone walls add a great touch to flowerbeds and landscape projects. Fortunately, building one is easy enough that you can do it yourself!


Steps

 Lay out the wall area and direction. You may be cutting away a bank as can be seen in this project, or building the wall and back filling as you go, to create a terrace effect. Pull a string line the length of the wall (about 8 inches (20.5 cm) off the ground level) to define the front of the wall .
Dig a ditch the length of the wall that is about a foot wide and 8 to 12 inches (20.5 cm - 30.5 cm) below the ground level. This ditch will act as the wall's footing and prevent the rocks from sliding forward due to pressure from the earth behind.
Stack the larger rocks in the ditch. Place the flat side facing forward, and slanted back about 8 degrees. The rock should just miss touching the string line, and be supported by dirt filled in behind it. Do this the length of the wall, with each large rock touching the one next to it.
Fill dirt behind the large rocks and tap the earth firmly, while letting the 8 degree slant hold the rock in place by gravity.
 Find complementary rocks to fill in the spaces in between the large rocks. These rocks may be smaller, but need to be a shape that fills the void between the large rocks. Lay the rock flat side out and support it with earth filled in behind it. These rocks also lay back by 8 degrees.
 Continue placing the second layer of rocks, so that spaces between the first layer of large rocks are filled. You can add water to the fill to make it settle.
 Square off the top of the wall with smaller stone to give it a neat, straight and flat appearance.


Tips

Before you start this (or any other) digging project, call 811 if you're in the U.S. This is a new, federally-mandated national "Call Before You Dig" number. 811 was created to help protect people from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects. In other countries, many similar services have been set up. If in doubt, contact your local municipality for details and assistance.
You can overfill the void with dirt and then tap the rock into place with a small hand-held sledgehammer.
Use a wheelbarrow or trashcan (rubbish bin) dolly to move the rock to the wall location.
Cutting into a slope is easier than back filling.
The first row of rock should be larger than a bowling ball but small enough to move by yourself or with a helper.


Warnings

Call before you dig if there is a service provided in your country that helps to identify underground utility lines. This will help save you from damage, injury, and fines.
Don't lift rocks that are too heavy or you may cause yourself back problems.
Walls should be no higher than three feet.
Many cities, towns and municipalities require a professional engineer's sign and seal or some other form of certification for any retaining wall that exceeds three feet. Make sure to check with your local building department or local government sector responsible for building.


Things You'll Need

Rocks
Earth for filling
Tools for cutting away embankment


Related wikiHows

How to Build a Stone Fence
How to Build an Adobe Wall
How to Repair a Sinking Stone Patio
How to Make Fake Rocks With Roof Sealant
How to Construct a Raised Planting Bed
How to Make a Pond

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Build a Dry Stack Retaining Rock Wall.  All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

the northern byron bay

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:03:36 +0000

The Northern in Byron Bay is one of the best venues going in my opinion. Over the years it has hosted some of the biggest names in the music business. Bands and musicians just love to play at the Northern. What makes the northern such a feather? How did it’s reputation spread across the globe?

Before I start answering these questions I am going to get some feedback from muso mates so I can credibly complete this review. Don’t forget this website is like and open stage so please feel free to chirp in with comments.

Book and domain name Update

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:53:57 +0000

Pondering some fine tuning or expansion of the elephant or feather concept. Of course I am. Below is a recreation of a diagram from the white board in the shed. I know its not as rustic as getting snap from inside the shed — but you have to keep some things private. Some preamble before you have a look. The current working name for the book is elephant or feather (hence the domain name). What came to me last night is that the idea is not about one or the other. Its about one and the other. Credit for this way of thinking goes to my leadership coach Kate Ramsay whose business is named after the And way of thinking. As Kate puts it…AnD Consulting is named for an and/both way of being in contrast to the either/or way our western conditioning taught us.

the elephant or feather paradigm drawing

Before I went and registered more domain names I spoke to Alison about where my thoughts were going and she summed it up beautifully.

“Its not about one being bad or good–they are just different.” Based on this I have just registered elephantandfeather as well as theelephantandthefeather. Any feedback on which domain name is best and which book name is best would be very much appreciated.