Information - can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

An interesting book came out a few years back by a guy named Andrew Keen called the Cult of the Amateur “How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture.” While I didn’t agree with everything in Keen’s biting critique of what he considered the “Cult of the Amateur,” I found the book thought provoking.

Ever read forums? I sometimes read marketing and copywriting related forums. Often I can see Keen’s ideas played out -  amateurs distributing information second or third hand without stopping to consider the validity of the information. It’s like that game where you stand in a circle and tell someone a story and by the time the story comes full circle it’s another story. We’re all guilty of taking things for granted to some extent simply because we can’t check everything.  But one of the things I notice in the forums and in my work is the “Cult of the Guru.”

I notice this because I deal with clients who have bought info products and are listening to gurus and taking their word without ever questioning whether what the guru is saying is applicable to the individuals particular market, situation, etc…

From a sales or marketing perspective of course there are principles of influence and persuasion that are universal such as social proof, the ability sight, sound, and smell to paint images in our minds, reciprocity,  like-with-like, etc… On the level of strategy and tactics is where blanket application of the gurus needs to be rethought.

Last week I attended a marketing meeting. Towards the end of the meeting the host mentioned he’d been influenced by Cory Rudl, Dan Kennedy, and others and asked if we would like to go around the room and share our mentors. As we went around the room one of the attendees named his mentors as observation and common sense.  Wow…what a revelation right? In the “Cult of the Guru” world who is this maverick to rely on observation and common sense? Phooey!

Brilliant really. I have my mentors, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel impacted by the ideas of  Dan Kennedy, Tim Ferriss, Peter Montoya, and others. But, I have witnessed tactics from various marketing guru’s fail in practical application and witnessed success with things that seemed illogical or counter intuitive.

The problem isn’t always the tactics, rather it is believing the tactic can work applied the same way to all markets. And, while most guru’s encourage people to think for themselves and experiment, people don’t always. It’s like religion. It works great until people follow blindly.

I get overwhelmed with new information and swept up with the sea of ideas that surround me. I’m guilty of learning the hard way not to apply certain tactics without thinking them through too. This post is to acknowledge that in myself as much as it is to remind you of the same thing.

Sometimes the information we need to grow our business comes from the inside. We find it when we stop assuming others have the answers to our million dollar questions…when we take a deep breath and instead of looking for an answer just take the next most logical step.

I am curious to hear your thoughts.  You know…I’ve heard many a guru mention the value of commenting on blogs. Why not give it a try eh?

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