This Blog has Moved

I have moved to www.pablobertorello.com, where I can better publish with my Mac.

Salesforce.com Ignores Customers, Pays Price

As my executive friend Ana gets a pink slip from Salesforce, I can't help but think that this is a consequence of the whole company's incompetence with its customers.  

Based on confusing information provided by Salesforce, I bought a software package for $995 that I believed included access from my Blackberry.  When it didn't work, and Salesforce tried to upsell me $2,000 for Blackberry integration, I asked them to refund me the money.  They refused to do it no matter what I said.

Bad corporate karma does catch up with employees.

What Makes Something Fashionable?

Ask Tim Gunn, of Guide to Style, and he will tell you: "if I knew, or the industry knew, we would already be there. There are so many things that can trigger a trend. It might be something from the street--witness hip-hop. It may be something from a fashion show."



But, here is a more concrete test to tell you if you are slated for greatness:

• The service is not useless for the first set of users, its useful enough for their set of circumstances
• The more consumers use it, the better the service gets
• The service only gets good enough for everyone when a lot of people are using it
• The service provider identifies the drivers of exponential growth, and actively pursues them

Heart and Soul of Viral Effect

At the Nikon outlet in Gotemba, Japan, I helped this guy close a deal.  I said to the the potential buyer what I believe: "the D40x camera is awesome". Five minutes later, she was shelling out $1,500, thanking me for the recommendation.



Then it hit me, the reason why I assisted their conversation was because this sales guy had spent an hour helping me choose a camera bag. He enthusiastically took me through all the choices, even though none would ever meet my criteria: waterproof to summit mount Fuji, easy to take the camera out and take pictures, small. All I spent was $99.

Nikon has an excellent product, and excellent service on top, no wonder they have been in business since 1917.

If You Could Stop, What Would You Do Next?

Be who you are, invent it only as a function of who you want to be in the future. Do what you care about, while pursue only what matters. Acknowledge the past while not letting it rule you now.  

Clueless Off to Japan

The End of Populism

It used to be that dictators, even if democratically elected, could use the wealth of the State to broadcast their message. Some people would follow, and plazas would be filled, while the rest of the population froze at home.

Today, email and SMS messaging, and obviously social networks, make it possible for anyone with an authentic call to move hundreds of thousands of citizens--in a split second. Enter marches bigger than those called by politicians bent on self-aggrandizing.

Vive la Democracia! 

(Image of Peron & Evita in the 1950s in Argentina)

Tansforming Your Life: The Landmark Forum

Got Power? Got Freedom? Got Self-Expression? Got Peace of Mind? Have them all...?

There is no substitute for taking the Landmark Forum, it is not about learning something.  

An New Way To Sell Travel Services?

Some months ago, a horse ride to a summit home of Andean Condors inspired me to create a new web experience that could facilitate selling such adventurous experiences internationally.  Playing with it today to help a Patagonian bird watching specialist, I packaged his passion in a workshop format.  Soon I learned a few non-obvious things:

• In the future, people will make money via their passions exclusively 
• Anyone can become an aggregator of those services
• Advertising can be addressed cost-effectively via Facebook
• Workshops could become a new way to sell airline tickets and hotel accommodations

Needish Attracts Solutions

redwood cathedral
Patagonia BBQ photos by Emiliano Kargieman

Today I had Oskar Hjertonsson, CEO of Needish, over at my "Redwood Cathedral". His concept's secret weapon: channeling the Law of Attraction.