With the overflow of information at your fingertips, it’s easy to get the idea that whatever you want to know is instantly accessible. “There’s an app for that,” has now evolved into “There’s a cut-and-paste process for that.” But is process knowledge enough by itself? Just access, copy and apply, and all your needs will be fulfilled. Right?

By the time you figure out that the quick fix doesn’t achieve your desired results, the damage has been done. You are out both the fees you paid and the time you invested. You realize that the knowledge you attained was inadequate for the outcome you had envisioned.

Because you have been inadvertently “trained” by the very searching and training process itself, to copy examples, it is easy to miss out on the principles behind those examples. When you learned that process, did you really understand the commonality of principles that can be applied to other situations? “Who cares if there’s an overriding principle,” you might say, “I’ll just cut and paste a new example when I need it, and never have to learn the principal behind it.”

To learn and appreciate those overriding principles, lessons should start with a good solid foundation in the basics. But this may take more time than you were willing to invest. You may have to learn some things that apparently don’t immediately apply to the problem at hand. This would take time, too. So, you skip all that in favor of applying the process without the principles. You have knowledge without wisdom. You got the “how” without the “why.”

But the digital marketer, the preacher, and the politician are glad you’re impatient and want quick, simple answers. It’s easier to sell you a process than a philosophy. It’s easier to sell you a sensational headline than a history book. And it’s easier to blame and marginalize minorities when you’re looking for simple answers. Basically, you’re easier to manipulate if you let today’s over-simplified approach to knowledge dumb you down.

With all this knowledge, so readily available, why does the “crowd” continue to make so many mistakes? The crowd is knowledge hungry, but as history unfolds, we are seeing demonstrations of how easily the crowd can be, and has been, manipulated. The crowd can be easily spooked. Its weakness is impatience.

Sourcing the crowd for navigational assistance is one thing, but sourcing the crowd for instant decisions that impact our social behavior is quite another.

Simply put, is the crowd wise enough to rule directly? Will they be manipulated by ads that play into their suspicions? Will they elect one demigod after another in search of a quick fix without ever learning why the government has checks and balances? Will they allow the environment to degrade while they are transfixed by the latest trending story?

Without patience, healthy skepticism, and a thirst for principle over process, the crowd is limited to reporting status. True, this is very helpful. But before the crowd can be relied upon for guidance, it must embrace strategy over tactics, principles over examples, and history over headlines.

We’ve never before had so much knowledge at our disposal. The fact is, we are all quite new at this. How many disasters will it take for the crowd to gain the long-term wisdom it needs, and then use that knowledge wisely and not be corrupted by its ease of access? True wisdom takes time. Will we give it the time it deserves?

If this all sounds like an ad for classical education, it is! Until the crowd understands the basics, the big picture, and the implications of its own periodic stampedes, it will be relegated to telling you where the next road hazard is, or the room for rent.

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Is a Knowledge-Hungry Crowd Finally Ready for Wisdom? appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

When we began the Barefoot Wine brand, we were using calculators, and ended up with the internet and social media. We saw and used every iteration of digital technology as it proceeded, developed and improved. Now we can’t live without it! And we are chomping at the bit for the next big thing. But are we still, in the scheme of things, in the barnstorming days, like the airplane was for so many years?

Are we ready for the “advantages” that technology brings? Has social networking actually hurt our social skills?  Has the sheer amount of information impacting us reduced our attention span? Have we become so impatient we will act on over-simplified answers?  Have we gotten to the point where what’s new or sensational is more important than what ultimately effects our health and well-being? Do we have a reliable independent source of news beyond our “friends” on Facebook?

These are the challenges we face now, in the early days of the information revolution. Like the early days of the airplane, we are still “barnstorming” with tools that have a much greater potential.

The improvements required to meet that potential are not so much in the technology, but in us! We need to realize how much technology has changed us in just the past decade. By returning to time-tested classic values we have a better chance at getting the most out of technology. Here’s our short list of classic values which we think should be driving technology:

1. More Visual Communication. Text is a great tool when you need to get picked up at the airport. Email is great tool for documenting what’s been said. But live video is the best tool for first meetings (if you can’t do it in person). Voice is second best. But real-time visual and audio communication conveys reactions, feelings, and queues you just can’t pick up in virtual communication. You can avoid misunderstandings by demanding and using more real-time communication.
2. Less “News” from “Friends.” Prevent yourself from being manipulated by fake news sources and network ads that are designed to exacerbate political differences. Realize that as a society, and as an economy, we need the cooperation of those with whom we disagree – to maintain our livelihoods, and our freedom. Open your mind to understanding opposing ideas by talking to “the other side.” Demand fact-checking before you pass along information to your network, and be skeptical when you get “news” from your “friends”. Respect science!
3. More History and Civics. Regard history as a teacher, a warning, and a path toward wisdom. Don’t look at it as something old, outmoded, or irrelevant. There is a vast difference between retro and classic. Learn and understand how entire countries have been subjugated by misinformation and the exploitation of prejudices. As the Irish statesman Edmund Burke said, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” This is as true today as it was during his lifetime, 1729-1797. By learning civics, you will understand what our governing bodies and offices can and cannot do. You will be less likely to vote for candidates who promise more than they can legally deliver.
4. Less Simple Answers. Appreciate that there are no absolutes. There’s lots of grey! Learn the nuances before you act. Don’t let the current state of technology pander to your impatience to quickly “get to the bottom of it.” Stop saying, “Just tell me the one thing.” The real answers are never simple. Seek sophisticated answers that discuss various sides of the issue. Stop looking for who’s to blame, or how to make 6 figures in 6 months!
5. More In-Person Conversations. Don’t “hide” behind a technological “shield” to protect you from personal contact. Have a meeting, talk to some people, become vulnerable. Learn some lessons about human-to-human, in-person interactions. People will appreciate your undivided attention. Your social, business, and cooperative relationships can reap many benefits. Stop using social media as a substitute for real social interaction. Social media is a great way to let folks know what you’re up to, but don’t let it atrophy your social skills.

Realize that technology, and more important, how we use it, is still in its infancy. Our standard of living, our economy, and the peace and tranquility of our lives depend on it.  Let’s take control of this “airplane” before our impatience lets it take control of us! Get out there and say “Hello!” to a real, live person!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 5 Ways You Can Steer Technology in the Right Direction appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

With face-to-face contact, you have the opportunity to establish who you are and demonstrate your undivided attention toward your prospect. You are building a relationship that may result in a purchase and perhaps long-term business in the future.

Next to face-to-face, we like video conferencing for the first meeting and any important meetings after that. It reminds everyone that we are all human beings, and allows us all to make adjustments based on physical and visible feedback signals.

The next best form of communication after that is, you guessed it, the telephone. Why? Because you can at least hear the other party’s intonation and sometimes the silent breaks, which in themselves will give you a big heads up as to their level of interest, understanding …or confusion. Again, you can make those crucial adjustments on the fly, giving you the chance to still win them over.

Our client Jeff Stevenson at VinoPRO is in what he calls, “the relationship selling business.” He likes to say, “We have mastered an ancient form of communication: the telephone!” He has the premier outsourced, out- and in-bound telephone sales company in the wine industry. He tells us that a phone number is worth 108 times as much as an email address.

Seemingly everybody is focused on email marketing. You know, coming up with the best subject line just to get folks to open your emails. Starting with tens of thousands of people just to get down to the 50 who will actually buy. And no matter what you say in an email campaign, it comes across as impersonal and the receiver knows it. The “funnel” is no fun!

So, how’s Jeff doing with his old-fashioned telephone sales? He is currenting building out his third call center, has 3 years on the Inc 5000, and has even made the Inc 500. Why? Because when it comes to luxury items (like fine wines), people want to talk to a real person, especially someone who they have spoken to before; someone who has demonstrated they have their client’s best interests at heart; someone they have a relationship with. In other words, it’s more personal, and people want personalized attention.

As folks who were in business for years before the information revolution, we had to rely on snail mail, faxes, and the telephone. And those ancient technologies worked! Sure, we are thrilled with the technologies that have made our lives easier since then – and we can’t live without them. But because we have had experience with face-to-face and live, real-time voice, we know what form of communication to use when and where. For instance, email is great to document what was said in a live call or meeting, but terrible at straightening out a misunderstanding. We rely on the records email provides with the string of correspondence that gives us a history of the conversation, but we hate the fact that you can’t un-say anything in email. No question about it, sometimes it better to just pick up the phone!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Want to Get Stuff Done? Pick Up the Phone! appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

The media capitalizes on our natural self- preservation instincts and the bad news can become down right addicting. But in the process something else is happening. We are getting conditioned to expecting bad news. And that conditioning can easily make us less likely to look for and celebrate what’s going on that is right.

We actually play a game with the news every day. It’s called “Find the good news!” We each take a section of the paper or news site over breakfast and hunt for the good news. First one to find it wins! We have to really dig because it’s usually hidden in the back somewhere. Yes, it’s quite challenging and some days we have to settle for a department store ad as the only “good” news.

But we often find 2 or 3 great uplifting pieces of information. It’s not only better for digestion but it gives us some hope and a positive attitude to start our day. If the bad news will really affect our personal security, you can bet we will hear about it from our friends, family, neighbors or colleagues. So we don’t worry about missing something important to our survival.

Today was especially challenging, but Bonnie won the ”Good News” game with an article she found on the back pages where a team at the University of California in Irvine may have discovered a way to eliminate malaria. Malaria! The mosquito born disease responsible for half the deaths in the history of man! Last month Michael won with “Flowing Water Discovered on Mars!” Also in the back pages.

We also face daily personal and professional frustrations that can affect our outlook. To keep ourselves pumped up, we keep a log of all the milestones we have achieved toward each goal. When we get a little depressed, we go back and read the litany of our progress. Never mind if there was no progress one week. Taking the larger view of history, we regain our positive perspective that we are in fact making progress.

We use these and other techniques to prevent us from getting into the victim mindset where we view ourselves as helpless and powerless to make a difference or a change.

We are convinced from our own personal experience, that when you acknowledge what you want when you see or hear it, you get more of it! Why? Because you are conditioning yourself to expect solutions and you are looking for them. That expectation can keep you going through the difficulties and challenges. You keep a sharp eye out for solutions.

You are less likely to overlook a solution just because it wasn’t a shining diamond presented in a velvet box. In fact it’s often a mud-covered rock that conceals an uncut diamond that requires you to work with it. Maybe you catch a glimpse of a tiny spark of light out of the muddy rock. But you are tuned in. You see it because you are looking for it.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! More of what you are grateful for is coming your way!

Probably the greatest way to condition yourself to expect solutions and to tune in to opportunities is to acknowledge what you already have and give thanks. You can’t give thanks without recognition, appreciation, and a wish for whatever good news you find to endure.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Here’s to getting more of what we are thankful for!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Gratitude Gets You More of What You are Thankful For appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.