Summer NAMM 2012 - Day 2

This post is a few days late, sorry about that...it's been a busy weekend!  The show floor looks the same everyday so if you want to see pictures of that, head over to my Day 1 post.

The morning session at Summer NAMM day 2 was with Joe Calloway (pictured)...the author of "Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Create and Sustain Success".

This session was all about getting new ideas, differentiation, competition, and setting yourself apart in the market (wether it's youself, your product, company, etc.).

Here are my favorite lessons from the day:

- "Be better tomorrow than you were today".  It's simple - to improve and grow yourself or your business, you must ACTUALLY work towards it.  You have to constantly strive to achive greatness...never settle.

- "Ideas have no value...unless you DO IT".  This relates to the previous point as well.  You must act on your ideas in order to find out if it will be successful or not.  If you have an idea and just sit on it, you will never know.

- "Mistakes are opportunities".  You have to know what doesn't work.  If you make a mistake, you realize something doesn't work, then you can try adapting it or scrapping it alltogether.  Don't be afraid of mistakes, see them as opportunities to fine tune your product/business.

- "Be great at what you do, love everyone, have fun".  If you follow these, you will stay on the right track.  In order to stand out, you must be great at what you do...people will notice this.  Love everyone...all of your customers, your employees, etc.  They operate your business.  Lastly, having fun is a must.  If you are miserable, why are you doing it?  If you are always unhappy, do you really think that your customers and employees are going to want to work for you or buy your product?

Posted via email from Jason's Posterous

Summer NAMM 2012 - Day 1

[[posterous-content:pid___1]]This was my first time at Summer NAMM, which is not nearly as big as the show in Anaheim...but it was still pretty big and very cool.

As you can see from my pictures, the exhibits spanned from drum companies (my specialty lol), to guitars, to violins, to computer gear.  Tons of instruments and audio gear all under the same roof...what's not to love about that?!

Today's breakfast session featured Joe Lamond (NAMM CEO) and Chip Averwater (Chairman of Amro Music).  Amro Music is one of the largest music retailers in the U.S. so it was quite interesting to hear how he grew his business, utilized new technology, and attracted customers.

Here's a few of my favorite points from the session:

- "It's not wether we can do it, it's wether we can do it best" = the winner takes all and second place gets nothing.  Perform better than your competitors.

- "Planning is simple.  Execution is the challenge".  Knowing how to do something isn't hard...putting it to the test is what will proove wether or not it can be called a success.

- "Complaints are opportunities to create loyal customers".  This is a great piece of advice, and it is definitely true!  Think of how many times you have been upset by a company that has a crappy return policy or warranty...you are MUCH more likely to go back to a company who gives you a full refund or replacement item...right?!

- "Good management is an attitude, not a technique".  I worked under some pretty terrible managers in my first couple of jobs.  It was easy to tell what person was in it for the money, or who really cared about the employees or the customers, etc.  Attitude is EVERYTHING!

Day 2 is tomorrow - excited for another great day in gear heaven!

Posted via email from Jason's Posterous

Summer NAMM 2012 - Day 1

See the full gallery on Posterous

This was my first time at Summer NAMM, which is not nearly as big as the show in Anaheim...but it was still pretty big and very cool.

As you can see from my pictures, the exhibits spanned from drum companies (my specialty lol), to guitars, to violins, to computer gear.  Tons of instruments and audio gear all under the same roof...what's not to love about that?!

Today's breakfast session featured Joe Lamond (NAMM CEO) and Chip Averwater (Chairman of Amro Music).  Amro Music is one of the largest music retailers in the U.S. so it was quite interesting to hear how he grew his business, utilized new technology, and attracted customers.

Here's a few of my favorite points from the session:

- "It's not wether we can do it, it's wether we can do it best" = the winner takes all and second place gets nothing.  Perform better than your competitors.

- "Planning is simple.  Execution is the challenge".  Knowing how to do something isn't hard...iputting it to the test will proove wether or not it can be called a success.

- "Complaints are opportunities to create loyal customers".  This is a great piece of advice, and it is definitely true!  Think of how many times you have been upset by a company that has a crappy return policy or warranty...you are MUCH more likely to go back to a company who gives you a full refund or replacement item...right?!

- "Good management is an attitude, not a technique".  I worked under some pretty terrible managers in my first couple of jobs.  It was easy to tell what person was in it for the money, or who really cared about the employees or the customers, etc.  Attitude is EVERYTHING!

Day 2 is tomorrow - excited for another great day in gear heaven!

Posted via email from Jason's Posterous