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Articles from Geoff Ficke | Selfgrowth.com
- The Simple Road Reflector Saves Lives And Provides A Great Teaching Template - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One wintry night in 1933, Percy Shaw found himself driving his automobile on a remote country road in England. The night was moonless; the fog hung densely and there was a persistent mixture of rain and snow belting against his windshield. The road was little more than a lane, ...
Views: 2570 - How to Snatch Commercial Failure From the Jaws of Victory - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke As readers of my articles well know, I run a marketing and product development-consulting firm. We review hundreds of novel consumer products, new service concepts and prototypes each year. The level of creativity contained in some of these offerings is truly stunning and ...
Views: 1215 - Imagine What the World Would Be Like Without the Simple Screw - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke We take the simplest devices for granted in our modern technologically advanced world. We turn a tap and water is delivered, hot, temperate and cold. We hit a wall switch and darkness is overcome by light. We open the refrigerator door and peer into a compartment that contains ...
Views: 1349 - This Great Warrior King Always Thought Outside of the Box - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Prospective entrepreneurs are always encouraged to think outside of the box when striving to commercialize their idea for a new business. The ability to see things differently and identify a niche for a product is so essential. Unfortunately, there is no book, course or advice ...
Views: 1069 - The Great American Whine - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Recently, Michelle Obama famously commented that for the first time in her life she was proud of her country. Her remarks were widely critiqued and rightly so, as she is potentially the next First Lady of the United States. Her delayed burst of enthusiasm for the land of her ...
Views: 1102 - Adding Features to Products Can Create Blockbuster Opportunities - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke I have written in the past about the huge commercial opportunities afforded divergent products and inventions, as opposed to convergent features added to existing products. Divergent products are truly groundbreaking, destructive, disruptive breakthroughs. However, very few ...
Views: 1230 - Problems Are Arriving In Great Batches And That Can Be a Very Good Thing! - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke William Shakespeare” famous quote from Hamlet, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions”, is particularly relevant today. All of the news seems bad. The negative numbers are huge. The human devastation seems interminable. Governments everywhere seem ...
Views: 1250(1 vote) - We Miss the Eloquence and Logic Of Milton Friedman Now More Than Ever - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One of the signal economic thinkers of the 20th century was the Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman. His many books and papers, interviews and television specials have left us a valuable trove of thoughts and observations that should serve as guideposts during our ...
Views: 1132 - An Exclusivity Strategy Can Be Crucial To Successful Brand Marketing - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Many of the inventors and entrepreneurs we deal with in our consumer product marketing business approach us with dreams of selling product to the masses. This can be lucrative and a proper launch strategy in cases where all of the stars in the galaxy line up properly. How ...
Views: 5017 - Nicholas Barbon, Insurance Pioneer - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke For most of history natural and man made disasters were treated as simple “Acts of God”. After the event, the effected populations were left to fend for themselves. They rebuilt their lives as best they could but there was no agency or provider that could be approached for ...
Views: 1662 - Ancient Egyptian Lessons Learned Then Forgotten - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Any visitor to modern Egypt, or viewer of a travelogue on this amazing country is awed by the antiquities visible everywhere. The Sphinx, hundreds of pyramids and mausoleums, temples and statuary are testament to the brilliance of this 4000 year old culture. These relics have ...
Views: 2537 - The Invention of the Wheelbarrow Made the Great Castles and Cathedrals Possible - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby:Geoff Ficke Virtually every modern household has a basic wheelbarrow stored away. The use of the wheelbarrow is ubiquitous in construction and basic home chores. The design, form and function of the wheelbarrow has not appreciable changed for 700 years. And yet, this simple tool is one of ...
Views: 3317(1 vote) - Our Demise is Greatly Overstated The United States’ Future is Incandescent - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke As we slog along under the full weight of the current financial calamity, there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth about the future of the United States. Many of our countries fiercest enemies and critics are gloating over their perception that our wave has crested and we ...
Views: 1299(3 votes) - The Art and Modern Importance Of Roman Cement - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Cement is the most widely used building material in the world and has been for thousands of years. The historical record confirms that the ancient Persians, Assyrians and Babylonians used cement in the binding and affixing of mud bricks. The Egyptians also used cement in ...
Views: 2027(3 votes) - The Origins of Modern Banking Are Inter-twined With an Ancient Military Order - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe world is currently fixated on the international credit crisis and the role banking has played in this debacle. We take it for granted that commerce flows quickly and accurately across borders and frontiers. A resident of Maine can purchase a tank of gas at home, or in Italy with the same ...
Views: 2585(2 votes) - In a World of Mass Market Indifference There Is Still Room for Bespoke Quality - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One of the most illuminating professional experiences of my life was my first visit to the elegant center of British Bespoke male haberdashery, Saville Row in London’s exclusive Mayfair district. I was a young man, just starting my career in the international cosmetic business ...
Views: 1062 - …And We Want the Government To Do What? - by Submitted on Sep 06, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke I am always amazed when I see well educated, seemingly worldly people make themselves look and sound silly by promoting ever more aggressive expansion of government. We are currently in our national election cycle, admittedly the silly season for politicians. This year, ...
Views: 1261(3 votes) - How Henry Ford’s Invention Inadvertently Caused the Depression - by Submitted on Sep 06, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke In early 20th century America the vast majority of people living in rural areas eked out a living in agriculture. Farms were small, often sharecropped. The planting and harvesting was labor intensive and horses provided the only source of energy for mechanized tilling. The ...
Views: 1859(1 vote) - Eric Hoffer: The Obstacles We Face Daily Present Our Greatest Opportunities - by Submitted on Sep 06, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke As a young, struggling college student in the 1960’s I became entranced with the life, philosophy and writings of the great American thinker Eric Hoffer. Hoffer’s life story was almost mystical, his thinking so lucid and the concepts he presented were so fresh that I could not ...
Views: 2143(2 votes) - Aztec Technology That Still Sweetens Our Taste-Buds and Outlasted the Conquistador’s - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Any reflective student of history is often amazed at the products and processes invented and discovered in the ancient world that we take for granted today. Paint, gunpowder, weaponry, cement, the arch, beer, silk, papyrus, champagne, and so many others remain at the center of ...
Views: 1700 - The 4000 Year Old Egyptian Mystery That Teaches To This Day - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff FickeOne of the great entertainment values available to almost anyone with a cable television service is the History Channel. The volume and quality of wonderfully instructive and entertaining programming on offer is amazing. I have never watched a reality show, or a celebrity dancing display, but I ...
Views: 1134(1 vote) - Energy Independence? Yes We Can! - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke My Company routinely reviews more than 600 new product ideas, concepts, prototypes and models during most years. During a soft economy, such as today’s, we see even more as people become more desperate to chase a dream. Pursuit of the “American Dream” almost always involves ...
Views: 1373(4 votes) - Water Lessons Learned, Lost And Re-learned today? - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke I recently visited the exciting, ancient city of Rome, Italy with my family. Of course, we all know that this city by the Tiber River is basically an open-air museum, with stunning historic relics every where one looks. The Forum, the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Borghese ...
Views: 1098 - 10 Reasons to Be Passionate About Your New Business Idea - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One of the qualities that we look for when evaluating prospective clients for our consumer product marketing consulting firm is PASSION. If an entrepreneur is not passionate about the product or business idea they are attempting to commercialize we cannot help them. Passion is ...
Views: 1364(2 votes) - New Commercial Opportunities Require a Crisply Polished Elevator Pitch - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Each week we receive a number of unsolicited business proposals in our marketing consulting business. Some are submitted by mail, some by e-mail and a number are the result of phone contacts. We have developed a methodology of quickly weighing the commercial viability of each. ...
Views: 1072(2 votes) - Measurement of Time Is One Of History’s Important Achievements - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke In the modern world we take for granted the availability of innumerable sources providing accurate measurements of time. Telling current time is so readily available that we have lost sight of the profound importance of knowing time, to the hour and minute. For most of human ...
Views: 682(2 votes) - Essential Lessons for Today From a 13th Century Friar - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One of the greatest literary and science works of the ancient world, rarely studied today, was the Opus Majus. The amazingly futuristic content of the Opus Majus was virtually a modern tutorial, written in the 13th century, on an array of literary, scientific and philosophical ...
Views: 1355(4 votes) - How To Invent A Billion Dollar Product and Personally Gain Very Little - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke In 1930, a young engineer was sent by his supervisor to spend time working on the floor of a Minneapolis auto body shop. The reason for the working visit was to review the performance of his employer’s principal product, industrial grade sandpaper, in actual use as a car door ...
Views: 2093 - A Novel Way to Get An Innovative Product to Market - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke This week I had the opportunity to launch a new product at the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association’s annual trade show in Orlando. This is an annual fair that brings together the manufacturers of all size to present and introduce new wares for the youth market. As in ...
Views: 1109(4 votes) - An Alternative, Inexpensive Way to Penetrate the Market For a New Product - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2009 from Geoff FickeAn Alternative, Inexpensive Way to Penetrate the Market For a New Product My consulting firm receives an average of 2 new product submissions from entrepreneur’s each day. Last year we viewed almost 700 such offerings. They ranged from the silly to the spectacular. The majority of these ...
Views: 1337(2 votes) - It’s Time To “Just Say No More” To Intrusive Abusive Government - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2009 from Geoff FickeA fitting metaphor for the young 21st century, and the ever-increasing intrusiveness of government at all levels, is this weeks news stories detailing the total lack of progress in rebuilding the World Trade Center. This is the cherry on top of the proverbial bitter bureaucratic sundae. Is this ...
Views: 1044(1 vote) - A Real Time Case Study On How to Fail - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2009 from Geoff FickeI am going to relate this true story out of a sense of frustration. Hopefully, my experience, and disappointment at seeing a wonderful opportunity torched by sloppiness, will enlighten others to maximize the chance to succeed in their chosen endeavor. Great ideas need to be properly fertilized, ...
Views: 1121(3 votes) - The Sales Theory of Relativity:ABC = Always Be Closing! - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Albert Einstein’s famous “Theory of Relativity” (e = mc2) is as familiar to many millions of people as a popular modern commercial limerick for a soft drink or a jingle for a candy bar. Even though very few amongst these millions actually understand the scientific premise of ...
Views: 2054(3 votes) - Why First World Entrepreneurs Are the Third Worlds Best Friend - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Many years ago I watched a television news interviewer allow Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, the de-facto dictator of Ghana at that time, to rant about the absolute rape of his tiny, poverty stricken west African nation, by multi-national companies like Nestle. Ghana’s major ...
Views: 1144(2 votes) - Occam’s Razor Offers a 700 Year Old Rule of Great Import to Modern Inventors - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2009 from Geoff FickeKISS Is Just A New Turn On An Ancient Theorem Most of us are familiar with the colloquial term “keep it simple stupid” or KISS. The phrase, often used derisively to pan a complex over-analysis of a problem, is part of the current idiom. The assumption that simplicity is the preferred route to ...
Views: 1064(2 votes) - Great Entrepreneurs Build Strong International Brand Names - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2009 from Geoff FickeTheir Successors Often Lose Focus And Greatly Damage These Franchises If you are of a certain age you will vividly remember the following names: Helena Rubenstein, Faberge, Germain Monteil, Trigere, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor, Schwinn, W. T. Grant, Montgomery Ward and Chuck Taylor. ...
Views: 1959(3 votes) - The Human Genome Project Is One Of The Worlds Great Scientific Achievements - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2009 from Geoff FickeIt Also Offers Entrepreneurs an Amazing Lesson About Competition Mapping the human genome had been a goal that modern bio-scientists yearned to conquer for decades. Human genome, basically a map of each humans cell make-up, if properly researched and documented, could provide the answer to ...
Views: 1087(1 vote) - Industries Pioneered by Immigrants Prove America Still World’s Center for Opportunity - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2009 from Geoff FickeIndustries Pioneered by Immigrants Prove America Still World’s Center for Opportunity My first job after service in the Marine Corps was with the Revlon Cosmetic Company. Revlon was founded by the iconic business man and fashion arbiter of the day, Charles Revson. The business in the 1940’s, ...
Views: 1379(1 vote) - Thomas Jefferson Is Rightly Remembered As a Great Founding Father - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2009 from Geoff FickeHis Contributions as a Practical Inventor Should Be Equally Revered Every school child is imbued with a history of the American Revolution that glorifies the great accomplishments, political, military and social, of the famous founding fathers. We learn that George Washington; the Father of ...
Views: 1533(1 vote) - Why Students Make Excellent Entrepreneurs - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke During my many years of lecturing university business school students on entrepreneurial topics I have been pleased, and surprised, at the relatively large numbers willing to take the plunge and pursue new business opportunities. The surprise is that modern students are ...
Views: 1055(5 votes) - Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla - The Difference’s Between Fame and Forgotten - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke I recently saw the movie “The Prestige”. The story is about two ferociously rival magicians and is set in the 1890’s. A sub-plot in the movie concerns the largely forgotten rivalry between scientists and inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Entrepreneurs today can learn ...
Views: 5132(6 votes) - “What Is Our Aim? Victory, Victory at all Costs..! - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeWinston Churchill’s Famous War Cry Is Fully Applicable for Today’s Entrepreneurs Arguably, the courage and moral leadership provided to the western world by Winston Churchill was the key instrument essential to keeping World War 2 from ending early, and ever so badly for the cause of ...
Views: 2167(5 votes) - Make Your Passion for Fun A Key Part When Seeking New Product Opportunities - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeMost people lead rather ordinary lives, built around family, job, church and hobbies. This is fine for most. The need to pay the bills leads many to engage in work that is unfulfilling, boring and stifling. That so many people work at energy sapping employment should be a motivating factor in ...
Views: 945(4 votes) - How to Turn an Ancient Scottish Peat Bog into Marketing Gold - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeHow to Turn an Ancient Scottish Peat Bog into Marketing Gold Many years ago, as a young entrepreneur seeking to launch my very first consumer product, I discovered the importance of having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to establish my brand’s niche. My partner and I had developed a very ...
Views: 2601(6 votes) - “Mad Men” Provides a Market Concept Tutorial on Television Each Week - by Submitted on Aug 26, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe hit television drama “Mad Men” recently began its third season to rave critical reviews and spectacular viewer ratings. The program, which is focused on the professional and personal lives of the associates of a New York City advertising agency in the early 1960’s is a magnetic period piece, ...
Views: 1442(4 votes) - Hit the Prospects Hot Buttons to Close More Sales - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeAt the conclusion of every sales presentation the salesman will have achieved one of three results: a sale is made, a sale is lost or valuable information is gleaned that can result in building a relationship. The third result can be called identifying the “hot button”. Obviously, the purpose of ...
Views: 5399(3 votes) - Do Not Shortchange Funding Needs Too Little Is Worse Than Too Much - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeThere is an old adage in the funding community: “Investing $1,000,000 to fail is expensive, investing $5,000,000 to succeed is cheap. Investors will respond to funding needs based on real world assumptions. They will be very cautious when assessing a venture’s real funding requirements. ...
Views: 1173(1 vote) - Keep Business Operations and Logistics Simple, Streamlined and Agile - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeMost of the entrepreneurs we interview in our consulting business have a very unrealistic conception of what excites and disappoints investors. The dream of many inexperienced inventors seeking to fund their opportunity is to build a substantial infrastructure. Their business plan identifies the ...
Views: 1175(1 vote) - The 16th Century Entrepreneur Who Created the Concept of the Taxi - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe 16th century was a time of amazing transformation in Europe. The Dark Ages were gone, the Black Plague had run it course and Middle Age fears and superstitions were slowly disappearing. The printing press had been invented and it was completely revamping the way people communicated. Columbus ...
Views: 1550(2 votes) - Why Are Successful Entrepreneurs So Darn Lucky? - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeWhat is your definition of the word “luck”? Not the Webster’s Dictionary definition, your definition. Is it being in the right place at the right time? Picking the right dealer in a casino? Turning up at a party where you meet your current wife (could be good or bad luck)? Entrepreneurs seem ...
Views: 1437(2 votes)