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Harry Truman once said “its amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”  This is the same guy that ordered the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, which led to the end of World War II.

It seems a real hunger for authentic leadership avails in today’s uncertain economic environment. When it seems there are no real answers, it is time to look for real (authentic) leadership.

Authentic leadership looks toward tomorrow and considers the condition of the world to come rather than the world present.  When most people are seeking answers for their present condition, authentic leadership considers the long-term interest and moves as quickly as possible.

I am privileged to live near Kansas City where President Truman remains a hero and is honored for his contributions to society.

This article was written by Warren Buffet and printed as an op ed piece in the New York Times today.

BUY AMERICA. I AM.

By WARREN E. BUFFETT
Published: October 16, 2008

THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

So … I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.

Why?

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.

Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.

You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.

Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.

Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities.

Warren E. Buffett is the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.

Watching the MTV Music Video awards this year was like witnessing a sincere best-effort attempt that failed. Let’s see, they only give out 8 awards on the broadcast and Britney Spears won 3 of them. Hmmm? Somewhere between Britney’s comeback speech and the outright disparaging remarks toward the Jonas Brothers’ purity rings - the program was dying a slow death. And they knew it.

And they have so many resources to work with. It remains an in-demand event. Filling seats with superstars is not a problem - yet.

Someone, who will remain nameless, walked into the room while I was suffering through the program and politely said,”too bad they have no Talent to work with!” I responded ratherly frankly, “there’s a big difference between Talent and Bravery. Bravery trumps Talent every time.”

I am continually amazed at the genuine talent in todays society. When I was in high school there may have been 3 of us that played guitar in the entire school. Today, two out of every three kids play guitar. And they really are better than we were.

With so much talent to go around, it’s simple - bravery wins out. Those who find opportunity do so because of their bravery toward exposing their talent to the masses. Real talent doesn’t dismiss stage fright.

So where does this leave MTV. To blame, I guess. It’s obvious to all of us, they had plenty of brave people in the room. This thing died long before it aired.

So I’m asking myself the question, “can presidential candidates actually be affinity brands”?

I spent a few hours on the road today and saw plenty of political bumper stickers. It appears that everyone driving a Toyota Prius is voting for Barrack Obama? What does this mean?  Is this reality? Scientific? Is Toyota passing out bumper stickers with every new purchase?

I realize not everyone driving a Prius will vote for Obama, but what I saw today would pass the test of market sampling, including margin-of-error.  Sure, I am intrigued by data and too often ask the question, “why?”

Of course Lifestyle ‘perception’ is a large part of affinity brands, but what is the basis for this connection with Obama? Is Obama the affinity brand, or Toyota Prius, or both?  I’ve heard both candidates suggest they will attract all audiences. Is this really possible?  Not for affinity brands!

And apparently not for Prius owners.

THE WORLD’S BUSIEST AIRPORT

I’m currently sitting at the Atlanta International Airport (Hartsfield Jackson). As we flew in from Florida a few minutes ago, the pilot welcomed everyone to Atlanta calling it, “the worlds busiest airport”. I wasn’t sure what he meant by busiest. Busiest as in the most planes arriving and departing? Per capita? Per gate? Per people working on their laptops (like me)? Most crowded hallways?

BUSY MEANS WHAT?

After spending this past week sitting on a beach, not being busy, it is a rude awakening to be reminded how busy life can be.  My friend Matt regularly reminds me that we are happiest when we’re really busy.  (Unfortunately, what he really means is we are distracted.)

For years I believed that busy was directly related to my ‘to do’ list.  Was that ever a farce?  I now believe “busy is as busy does” (Thanks Forrest!). It’s not about the length of your ‘to do’ list, rather it’s your ability to manage your to-do’s efficiently, within an expected time frame.  Okay, maybe not genius talking, but for those of us who’s ‘to do’ list are rather long, be encouraged - it’s up to you - busy means what? Busy is as busy does.

HOW DOES THE WORLD’S 24TH RICHEST PERSON SPEND HIS MONEY?

With an estimated fortune of around $22 billion, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is launching a new consumer magazine called SNOB. Along with the magazine, he is launching a web site and broadcast channel. It is expected that he will invest upwards of $150 million in the new venture.

So, how do you define “Snob?” According to the dictionary, “A person who has an exaggerated respect for high social position or wealth and who looks down on those regarded as socially inferior“.

In Russia alone, according to Forbes, there are 80+ billionaires. Interestingly, there is already a SNOB magazine based in Lebanon (of all places).

Let’s assume he is a consumer of best-in-class brands.

Larry Light, chairman-CEO of Arcature, a management consulting firm, said it best, “my concern is that some companies just view Earth Day as a marketing event, like Thanksgiving or Christmas! Then they’ve fulfilled their obligation for the rest of the year. The whole issue of sustainability means that a commitment also has to be sustainable. If it’s only for one day, then it’s a marketing event.”

April 22nd came and went, somewhat overshadowed by the anticipation of the Pennsylvania primaries. And yes it was Earth Day! And, we were reminded at every turn. But not necessarily for the right reasons.

Every marketing campaign was in full force to take advantage of the ‘new’ Holiday - well maybe not yet - but give it five years.

The majority of the ads and emails I saw were crossing the fine line between marketplace responsibility and blatant brand building. However, those who used their resources to raise the awareness of environmental stewardship should be applauded! Those who simply, once again, took the opportunity to say ‘look how green we are’ - shame on you. You only create skepticism among consumers.

Try again next year…

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) meet once a year in Las Vegas. We usually come for two reasons;

1) We learn about emerging technologies.

2) We enjoy watching the battle between ‘old model’ and ‘new model’.

This year was no different, however it appears the phrase “new model” has been now replaced with a new term…”traditional”. Go figure. What was new only two years ago is now called traditional?

Overall the event was great. The theme of the event was ‘content’. I think they should have called it, “Does Anyone Remember Standard Definition?”

High Definition technologies were no doubt the main entrée, and we had our fair share of servings. Check out; RED, SONY, AVID, SONIC.

On Wednesday, Starbucks announced My Starbucks Idea. It’s basically an online suggestion box (with the trappings of Dell’s Ideastorm), and allows visitors to submit, rate and vote on their fav’s.

This is a true, grassroots outreach effort. I wonder if last month’s sabatical had anything to do with it…hmmm. I’m liking the idea that Starbucks is going to the source and directly involving the customer in “where we go from here.” I’m also impressed with the direct interchange that is happening. Some of the top ideas are pulling 50+ comments. There is also a section that will show some of the ideas in action, which currently displays some candid responses from Chirs and Howard.

Big Kudos to the effort.

Now it’s a wait and see. I’m sure there will continue to be some great ideas…and I’m sure there will be much conversation and interchange. With it’s track-record of customer service and innovation, I’m confident Starbucks will put these ideas in motion and build an even stronger Brand Experience that will garnish even more champions than ever.

Starbucks will do well to remember the key component to the Brand Experience. Start with the product. If the product isn’t cutting the mustard, then any amount of brilliant outreach is for not. It would be well worth the effort to step back and look at the latte…concentrate on the coffee…mend the mocha. I’m not sure a 3-hour training session will accomplish this…but I applaud the efforts in tapping the public for guidance. This transparent conversation is another fundamental factor in creating a solid Brand Experience. I trust it will bode well in the pursuit of building a better brand. I’m looking forward to the coming months.

UPDATE

Chrysler is also “joining the conversation” at chryslerlistens.com. Here is a great article from our friends at AdAge for reference. I’m really liking what I’m seeing…companies opening up in a big way.

Bold Moves.

American Idol is back in full swing, and this has proven to be one of the best seasons in the making. Last night’s program was no exception. Two things happened that warrant comment (at least for me).

1. David Cook went Pete Frampton on us, and broke out the talk box. Gutsy move, but he pulled it off…dubbing him the “cool-guy” of the line up this year.

2. Idol continues its blatant Branded Entertainment. AT&T, CocaCola and Ford have all strongly participated in the Idol branding phenomenon. Throughout the show you get a huge dose of placement that is anything but subtle.

I make point number two for one main reason. Apple is still king in Brand Experience.

Seacrest brought up an iPhone from the audience and shamelessly plugged Apple for it’s ability to stay up on Idolatry. He held up the device and said the words “This is an iPhone.” What was even more amazing was the immediate and fairly significant response from the crowd…for a phone.

I’m trying my best to be as unbiased as I can (being a big fan, and all)…but Apple gets it. They have officially replaced all other options for personal mobile devices (and really everything else that computes in my book. ) That they took a very simple approach to placement within the single largest Broadcast Entertainment Spectacle is one thing. That the phone brought applause is a whole other tub of grease.

I can’t think of another brand that would cause as much excitement in that type of setting. Not to mention the iPhone’s sad competition. The approach certainly wouldn’t have worked with any other device on the market. “This is the T-Mobile Wing.” It doesn’t even come close to the same ring(no pun intended). We would have heard nothing but the sound of iPhones being pulled out of pockets and purses for a responsive visual display.

Apple can pull this off because it not only has a very loyal and excitable audience. It has fans. Fans that applaud their source of gadget love any chance they can. Even in a setting like Idol, Apple can be cool. So cool that the mere mention of its name can create instant and tangible Brand Experience. Another thought that this congers up is the fact that iPhone’s applause represented something more than just LOVE for a product. When I attend one of my kids functions, and they perform well…I get so emotionally excited that I can hardly contain myself. I want to applaud so loud that all can hear me. I want them to know “that’s my son!” The same is true for Apple fans. The connection with the brand is so strong that they weren’t simply applauding because they like the phone. They were applauding to support, encourage, cheer and champion the brand…THEIR brand. They wanted the world to know that they are a card-carrying member of an elite society. They were celebrating their “kid” performing on the largest stage in the world. If you didn’t believe it, or know it before…you do now.

Apple doesn’t need much help from me. They’re doing EXACTLY what a strong brand should. Looking for every opportunity to engage and create Brand Experience for their fans. The product is a given. It’s unmatched. All Apple has to do is “walk into a room” and it gets applause. Everytime.

All Aboard

Two days ago I flashed my passport and sea pass papers and stepped aboard the ultimate brand experience; a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship (Liberty of the Seas). They tell us this is the biggest boat on the ocean (and they are also building a bigger one). It’s a floating city.

Someone told me today that the ship is connected via satellite with Johns Hopkins Hospital and onboard doctors can perform open-heart surgery, if necessary. What’s more amazing is that I can access the Internet for .55 cents a minute! That’s much better than my last cruise two years ago, when it was 2.95 a minute.

The Age of Engagment

Royal Caribbean is more than a brand-experience. There is something to do 24 hours a day and everywhere I look I see ‘RC’, reminding me that I am still on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Every hour the brand engages the customer. I could not begin to accept every invitation for brand participation. Engagement is everywhere I turn. I think I gained about 2 pounds of engagement at dinner this evening.

They have closed a circuit broadcast called RCTV which is an in-house channel showing ship information and interesting documentaries about the making and delivery of the ship. The programming intrigues me. Instead of wonderfully shot footage of this magnificent vessel arriving in Miami for its maiden voyage, they show the trip to Miami and all the challenges they faced to bring this product to market. Nothing seems too sacred to show.

There are employees arguing about their roles and responsibilities. They show emergencies; for example a water pipe leaking in the computer server room. It’s an amazing example of engaging customers for brand discussion. Several times throughout the day I have overhead someone repeating what they’ve heard on RCTV. Each time it has been about the challenges the ship faced coming to market. This is absolutely brilliant. It’s the age of engagement and customers want the truth.

This is post-reality TV and I am the contestant on a journey.

Recently, I read a few pages from a book titled: “Managing Organizational Culture” by Davies. The book focuses on how to determine and nurture the overall health of an organization. I find this especially true for managing the ever challenging creative process.

The premise of the book suggests that every organization has two kinds of beliefs: Guiding Beliefs and Daily Beliefs.

Guiding Beliefs are the principle foundation on which the company was built…or is continuing to be built upon. They are the fundamental precepts of the organization. They rarely change, steadily drive the over-arching strategy, and are all about the way things “ought” to be. Daily Beliefs are the daily decisions that are made in the heat of the moment to best fit the immediate strategy. They ebb and flow with the circumstance. They are the rules and feelings about everyday behavior, and they tend to be situational.

Healthy organizations are absolutely driven by their Guiding Beliefs. Daily Beliefs flow directly from Guiding Beliefs. Daily decisions and tactics support and sustain the foundational principles upon which the organization stands. The main course does not bend, and every decision makes sense within the overall context of where the organization is headed.

Unhealthy organizations are driven more by their Daily Beliefs. There is no foundation that anyone can remember. These organizations tend to have departmental battles, there is little unity, and ultimately the tail is wagging the dog. This approach ultimately promotes an atmosphere where the creative process will no longer thrive. And this can be the underlying reason for why many projects go or don’t go.

I know from experience that a healthy project, or creative strategy will have a clear, definable scope. No matter what your circumstances throw at you, these principles will hold true, and in the end you will have fulfilled the core direction of the project. It takes everyone doing their part; making regular decisions and having regular conversations that point back to that original direction.

An unhealthy project will be driven more by the daily decisions we make. Sometimes you’ll focus on something that is trendy, or flashy, or what you saw on the latest “best of” list. You might have a “brainstorm” and run in a direction that isn’t taking into account the main point of the project. Cool as it may be, you are dancing on a very thin line of contributing to an unhealthy creative process.

I recently likened this to a boat pulling a skier. The boat moves in a constant direction….always focused on what’s ahead…unwaivering in it’s pursuit. The skier is also headed in the same direction, but she is taking more liberty to swing outside of the path a bit. “The wakes are a little more punchy on the other side, so I’ll zip over there and check it out.” The skier is exploring more than the boat has mandated. She is determined to make the experience more exhilarating simply by taking personal initiative and stretching herself. The skier is in a constant state of taking risks, all the while being tethered to where the (hopefully) experienced captain is headed. In the end, she has made a one-of-a-kind run that she can be proud of.

I believe this constant back and forth can be very healthy…and should be a fundamental part of the creative process. Pushing the edges of the original creative direction can be a good thing. It stretches you, and (hopefully) the final execution as well. All the while…you are staying true to what your original purpose is. Every project is an opportunity for us to bring a personal approach. It warrants a certain wiggle room that allows for growth. It is the “stuff” that makes each project special, and makes the experience much more meaningful to the team. These daily decisions can be exhilarating and fun…but they can also be challenging.

We need to remember not to weave too far from the boat (Guiding Beliefs). Danger looms! Sand bars, trees, stumps, rocks, weeds and the like are all waiting for us out there. We don’t want to fall victim to wavering too far from the original direction. It could be very costly…even fatal…to an otherwise healthy project.

I really tried to watch the whole thing. Three hours and fifteen minutes of self-congratulatory hype. It is a little much for handing out only 24 awards. This equates to just over 8 minutes per award. It’s amazing they would ever think of cutting off an acceptance speech. Which they did! I loved it when Jon Stewart invited Marketa Irglova back out to the stage following the commercial to complete her speech. Check out the Thank You Cam on the Oscars web site.

My favorte moment was when “ONCE” won for best song, “Falling Slowly”. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova accepted shortly after singing the song live. It was pretty special considering it was an indy film, shot on two handy-cams in three weeks. Glen said the budget was 100k. Simply amazing.

I would love to know what the budget is to produce this event/awards presentation?

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 57% of Internet users watch video online, and among users ages 18-29, that number jumps to 74%. So, “how do we make money on the internet with video content?”

Interestingly, most consumers mindset is that Internet content mirrors the decades-old model of free television. For 75 years television content was free. It was the audiences that were being bought and sold. Sound familiar? In the early 70’s with the introduction of HBO and similar premium channels, it was finally accepted that some programming content could render additional revenue. The value-exchange was that this premium content would be free of advertising.

With the onset of the Internet and access originally coming through the major telecom providers, the Internet was seen as something similar to telephone service (a 20th century model - way back when…). The idea being that you pay a base rate for accessing the technology (local calls) and then pay per-minute on top of that for long distance (higher value exchange services). Over time, and with deregulation, telecom providers have adjusted their model to converge voice, video, and data into a single digital stream.

Consumers are more than willing to pay for accessing the technology because the value-exchange is the expanse of free content afforded them. Over time the perception of this value-exchange has increased and perceived costs for access have decreased.

Making money with video content on the web is simple, you must sell eyeballs. The days of paying subscription rates are over. The days where technology-providers are willing to share their fees with you because consumers demand your content have passed. So it’s back to the original model of buying and selling audiences. Today, these eyeballs (in pairs) are selling for around $20 per 1,000 (CPM). So if your content is attracting 100,000 viewers per month, advertisers would be willing to pay you $2,000 per ad.

Enter YouTube. Millions of viewers accessing amateur (user-generated) content each month? So where are the ad dollars? YouTube reports the far majority of its ad dollars are generated primarily from professional content. Parent company Google is investing a lot of energy in turning YouTube into a profitable venture. But when it comes to advertising, amateur content draws less sponsorship interest than video developed by professional media outlets. YouTube is currently running ads on videos from more than 3,000 professional producers and 70 independent channels. While amateur content may be what YouTube is best known for, it’s not necessarily what advertisers are looking for.