The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. Alanna Nash. Simon & Schuster. 416 pages.
by Richard Pachter
Several years back, I had a brainstorm; so I wrote up a proposal for a book, The Management Secrets of Brian Epstein and Colonel Tom Parker. How could I lose? After all, The Beatles and Elvis were the biggest entertainment acts in history, and I could surely glean a few relevant chestnuts from their (deceased) managers' experiences to spin into a pop biz book. Instant bestseller!
A consultation was set up with a very big agent who quickly brought me back down to earth and suggested (among many other things) that maybe these two guys' careers weren't the greatest templates for business success.
As I revised, then abandoned, the proposal, I realized that in many ways these artists probably succeeded in spite of these two supposed management masterminds! Epstein, for example, gave the Fab Four's merchandising rights away to a casual acquaintance for a pittance, costing him and his unknowing clients untold millions of dollars.
Then there's The Colonel. He was a carnival huckster, and that's not a euphemism or hyperbole, but an accurate description of what he was until his last days. But his story — and how he interacted with his client and the world of business — offers a fascinating lesson, several, in fact.
In this new book, journalist Alanna Nash tells the tale of the man the world knew as ''Col. Tom Parker,'' and that's where the lies begin: with his name. It has been an open secret for more than 20 years that ''Parker'' (not a colonel in any army in this world) was really Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, an illegal alien from The Netherlands.
The Colonel's immigration status may have been the reason that he never allowed Elvis to tour outside of the United States. It could also explain why Parker never visited his charge during Elvis' celebrated two-year hitch in the U.S. Army. But Nash posits a bigger, darker reason for the fake Colonel's fear of transoceanic flying: He had committed murder in his native Holland and lived in mortal terror of being discovered.
He also possessed a thoroughly autocratic management style, which effectively killed Presley's chances for diverging from the former carnie's exploitative formula for success. And despite the huge sums Elvis earned, Parker demanded tribute — payment beyond even his admittedly exorbitant fees and commissions — from anyone who wanted to do business with him.
The manager also had an interesting view of his role; when a journalist asked if it were true that he took 50 percent of his client's earnings as a commission (a typical percentage is 15 percent), Parker replied, "That's not true at all. He takes fifty percent of everything I earn.''
It's all a very fascinating story, and Nash's diligent research keeps her narrative as far away as possible from supermarket-tabloid territory. For business people, she provides a vivid illustration of the notion that talent can be just as easily mismanaged as it can be handled correctly — and often more profitably, at least in the short term.
In the absence of each of their handler's flawed guidance, perhaps The Beatles might have been relegated to England's cabaret circuit, and Presley might have continued to drive a truck in Memphis, but maybe not. After all, in business, sometimes the best move of all is the one that you never make.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The one you never make
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tribes
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Customer Service books reviewed
As promised...
Customer service isn't just for dealing with complaints.
Two new books show how to use it to strengthen loyalty.
BY RICHARD PACHTER
published 7/28/08 in The Miami Herald
Business is more challenging than ever. Competition, consolidation, inflation and other economic pressures make it difficult for any company to survive, let alone thrive. Adding to that is the ubiquity of the Internet and the shift of power to the consumer, with more choices and the ability to subvert traditional distribution channels in unprecedented ways.
But the number of firms who still conduct business in the traditional manner without taking the Web into consideration is amazing.
Sure, they may have shiny websites, and some provide e-mail addresses for ''feedback,'' but the majority seems to either ignore or minimize the potential benefits of customer interaction. The prevailing notion that ''customer service'' exists only to deal with defective products or unhappy customers is equally odd.
Two new books examine how discontent can often be transformed into opportunity.
Blackshaw, of Nielsen Online, is kind of a guru on customer interaction and invokes a bunch of well-publicized horror stories, including blogger Jeff Jarvis' online counterattack against shoddy treatment by Dell Computer, critic Bob Garfield's similar crusade against Comcast and an AOL user who wasn't allowed to close his account despite numerous requests, so he recorded the interminable and frustrating phone conversation and posted it online. All of these episodes received considerable publicity, much to the embarrassment of the companies involved.
The resulting losses of good will and sales are impossible to quantify. (The author also recounts episodes where companies treated customers well, but those occasions, unfortunately, rarely receive much amount of publicity.)
In addition to the anecdotes, Blackshaw provides suggestions for taking a more proactive stance in dealing with unhappy customers. Given the high cost of branding, marketing and advertising, retaining customers would seem to be more cost-effective than recruiting new ones.
The Internet provides numerous opportunities for companies to develop closer relationships with customers. E-mail, for example is essentially free and one-on-one, even when sent out in bulk, yet few firms understand how to use this interactivity to cultivate positive relationships.
Barlow and Moller have a healthy and somewhat unusual perspective. They view complaints as gifts. Sure, it sounds goofy, but the passion evinced by unhappiness can be an entry point for further dialogue. Like Blackshaw, they recount tales of customers' bad experiences and how the companies responded. It's interesting, of course, to read about these tales of woe, but it's also instructive to see how even a hint of humanity trumps the usual corporate-speak. That's the paradox of high-tech — it allows an unprecedented level of human contact when correctly deployed. But at best, it's only an expression of genuine consideration.
It's not that surprising, though. People generally prefer to be treated well. In his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell observed that doctors who spend more time and were friendlier with patients were sued less frequently for malpractice than doctors who behaved in a more authoritarian and curt manner. Trust is a function of being treated like a person, which seems to also be good business.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, Monday
Two books advocate change on Mondays
Monday may be the best time to alter your outlook and improve the way you work and live.
BY RICHARD PACHTER
originally published 1/21/08 in The Miami Herald
I dislike Sunday nights more than Mondays, but that's just me. It's probably the vestige of my youth. But for some people, Monday is the worst time of all, like it was for that murderously disturbed youth who inspired The Boomtown Rats' ode, I Don't Like Mondays. For others, it's a bittersweet, unreliable occasion, like The Mamas and Papas' Monday, Monday.
As a symbol for the beginning of the workweek or the genesis of a new endeavor, Monday will more than suffice. Two new books use the day as a starting point for ideas on effecting radical and empowering changes in one's work and life.
Monday Morning Choices: 12 Powerful Ways to Go from Everyday to Extraordinary. David Cottrell. Collins, 208 pages.
I'm always skeptical of self-help manuals and avoid them like the plague that most of them are, but I'll occasionally encounter one that rises above the genre. This is, thankfully, among those.
Cottrell takes three types of choices — ''character,'' ''action'' and ''investment'' — and divides them into 12 subcategories, using them as starting points for a discussion about conducting oneself in an ethical manner in order to be effective while also tending to material needs. There's nothing especially new or earthshaking here, but Cottrell has a wise and light touch, employs language well and keeps everything simple and meaningful without preaching or proselytizing.
He also has a good sense of history and uses events such as the fire that destroyed Thomas Edison's workshop to serve as examples of his ideas by placing them in context with his little lessons. He invokes anecdotes from the workplace to make points without being heavy-handed, and he recounts turning points in his life that reflect the types of choices he advises others to make.
Cottrell recognizes that emotion and intellect are the key elements that motivate us, and he demonstrates that we are perpetually faced with choices that test our resolve and character. 
No More Mondays: Fire Yourself — and Other Revolutionary Ways to Discover Your True Calling at Work. Dan Miller. Currency/Doubleday. 272 pages.
Miller wants you to stop working at a job you hate, with people you don't like, doing things you can't stand. He believes that most of us have traded our freedom and happiness for security, but the security we think we've attained is an illusion. Anyone who has been laid off or has had his or her position ''eliminated'' knows how true that is.
His contention, then, is that each of us ought to stop working at gigs we dislike, figure out what it is that makes us happy, and then do it. The money will come, he says, and the book is packed with tales of folks who did just that. Some became millionaires — multimillionaires, even — so what are you waiting for?
Well, he's a bit more serious than that, and cites Dan Pink's great Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind, as well as a number of other insightful and thoughtful works. But for those who need a bit of humor, folksy wisdom and gentle encouragement, Miller has plenty of stories, tips, observations and cartoons to convey his ideas in a pleasant, unthreatening and possibly empowering manner.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
More Geekery
The cast and director of Watchmen: Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Director Zack Snyder, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup and Patrick Wilson.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Todd Rundgren "Arena" Update
After careful consideration, reflection and chocolate cake, I'll post a review here and maybe... something else.
U.S. release date is now supposedly 9/20 btw.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: 9/23 release.
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