This is an object lesson to all those who don't audit their promotional tactics.
Ever since public relations player Bob Dilenschneider put out there a book on power in the early 1990s, he has been using publishing print books as his MO for marketing his firm The Dilenschneider Group. That first book had done well.
On December 31st, 2019, he was at it again. Out came "Decisions." It never caught on. Today, one year later, it ranks below the one million mark on Amazon - 1,138,306.
Meanwhile, Dilenschneider had a growing number of options to enhance his branding, boost influence, prevent client churn and develop new business. Among his advisors is his long-term assistant Joan Avagliano.
For example, podcasting was catching fire. He has a good speaking voice, is skilled at interviewing and has a network of contacts to interview. That audio medium would have been perfect for him. This week I published on Odwyerpr.com an article "Podcasting in 2021."
Instead of moving the needle on his business objectives, Dilenschneider plunked himself in the Amazon corridor of shame. That's where authors wind up whose books don't sell.
What this clinging to old success formulas might remind us of is Ben Horowitz's seminal leadership essay "The Peacetime Vs. Wartime CEO."
In it, Horowitz depicts the peacetime CEO as settled-in, no longer hypervigilant about threats as well as opportunities for victory. Of course, that CEO could be a sitting duck for attack. He or she isn't sleeping with a gun, one eye half-open.
On the other hand, the wartime CEO is downright paranoid about the possibility of attack. That's exactly how the leader should be in an uncertain economy with lots of upstart competition. They are always assuming the enemy is trying to outfox them. They expect both stealth and big-bang competitive action. And, no, they won't fight this war as they fought the last one.
The Horowitz message is, however, nothing new. Rattling around since the beginning of civilization has been the old adage: Nothing fails like success.
It's during success that all promotional tactics should be audited for current results and the odds of future ones. "Decisions" does not seem to be the product of such an audit.
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