{"id":178,"date":"2004-05-26T18:59:43","date_gmt":"2004-05-26T18:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/2004\/05\/26\/article1-20\/"},"modified":"2023-08-13T18:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T18:27:19","slug":"article1-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/2004\/05\/26\/article1-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond My Comfort Zone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"javascript:\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/local\/images\/local-banner-5-26.gif\" border=\"0\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/local\/','','')\"\/><\/a><br \/>           <a href=\"javascript:\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/local\/','','')\">Indie            Telco Local Content Workshop advertisement<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                 Quick                    Jump Menu to this Issue&#8217;s Articles                   May                    26th, 2004 Overview                    Beyond My Comfort Zone                   <strong>Dream Big, Work Hard, Have Fun<\/strong>                   <em><strong>The Freedom to Choose Any Telecom Provider <\/strong><\/em>                                                                          <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\"><b><b><a name=\"conf\"\/><strong>Beyond            My Comfort Zone<\/strong><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\">by Ken Pyle (ken.pyle@viodi.com),            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/alliance\/\">Viodi, LLC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>       \u00a0        <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/alliance\/','','toolbar=yes,location=yes,status=yes,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes')\"><a href=\"javascript:\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/images\/smalllogo.jpg\" border=\"0\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/alliance\/','','toolbar=yes,location=yes,status=yes,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes')\"\/><\/a><br \/>           <a href=\"javascript:\">About Viodi, LLC<\/a>          <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>May 26th, 2004 Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/newsletter\/signUp.htm\">Subscribe            to Viodi View<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/newsletter\/040500\/index.htm\">Last            Issue<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"article2.htm\">Next Article<\/a><\/p>\n<p>         \u00a0                   <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoBodyText\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.ustelecom03.com','','')\">[<strong>Background:<\/strong>            These were the comments that Ken intended to make at CTA\u2019s Technical            Symposium in San Diego on June 21st. The opening to Ken\u2019s presentation            was rather unusual and required the assistance of a trained actor, Dave            Hood\u2026.Ken was way beyond his comfort zone in performing this opening].<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong class=\"MsoBodyText\"><a href=\"#thinking\">What              Was I Thinking<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"MsoBodyText\"><a href=\"#alike\">Bits              Are Bits and All Service Providers Are Alike\u2026.Or Are They?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong class=\"MsoBodyText\"> <a href=\"#marketing\">Marketing              Will Always Rule<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#event\"><strong class=\"MsoBodyText\"> The              Big Event<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoBodyText\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.ustelecom03.com','','')\">            What you have witnessed is probably one of the strangest starts to a            telecom conference wrap-up session that you have ever seen or ever will            see. It all plays to the point of this presentation, which is \u201c<strong>Beyond            the Comfort Zone<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, you might be asking, how does a kid\u2019s video and my bad acting            have anything to do with what we have learned the past two days or even            the theme for the next 40 minutes?<\/p>\n<p>Well, there are several ways:<\/p>\n<p>First, it may not seem like it, but I am very <strong>honored<\/strong>            to be here. That puts me way beyond my comfort zone\u2026.standing            before 150 people and not being certain if I could pull off such an            unorthodox opening had me a bit nervous. <\/p>\n<p>Second, whether this skit worked or not, I wanted to leave a lasting            impression. And this is the same challenge that independent telcos face            as they compete to get <strong>mindshare<\/strong> of their prospects            and customers. <\/p>\n<p>Lastly, since this conference is in San Diego, it affords the independent            telcos the opportunity to hear from a truly independent producer,<strong>            Dave Hood<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>So, we will talk to Dave in a bit and learn from him first hand what            life is like for an independent producer. But first, I will look back            over the last few days and review a few of the things that will cause            us to be \u201c<strong>beyond the comfort zone<\/strong>\u201d going            forward. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"thinking\"\/><strong>What Was I Thinking <a href=\"#top\">top<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, it was a conversation I had with Dave a few months ago, that got            me thinking about the theme of this talk. Every morning, I wake up a            little <strong>uncomfortable<\/strong>. No, I don\u2019t mean physically            uncomfortable from sleeping on a friend\u2019s couch because I was            too cheap to get a hotel room. Everyday, I am chartering new territory            for myself. I am stumbling, but learning, falling down occasionally,            but I think I am moving forward\u2026.slowly, but surely. <\/p>\n<p>Everything we have heard the last two days should probably make us            all a little uncomfortable. Whether it is technology, content or regulation,            we are all doing <strong>new things<\/strong> and will <strong>continue<\/strong>            to do new things as we all face the onslaught of <strong>competition<\/strong>.            If there is one thing that I got out of the conference, it is that competition            changes it all. And make no mistake, competition is here. When you hear            a talk radio station discussing Voice over IP in a matter-of-fact-way,            you know competition is here. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a name=\"alike\"\/>Bits Are Bits and All Service Providers            Are Alike\u2026.Or Are They? <a href=\"#top\">top<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I met someone the other day who resides up the coast from here. He            is a <strong>Cox<\/strong> customer for telephone, high-speed Internet            and basic cable. He has <strong>DirectTV<\/strong>, because it offers            NFL Ticket (an exclusive to DirectTV). This guy could be considered            a \u201chigh-end\u201d customer. The bad news from a telco perspective            is that he has completely <strong>disconnected<\/strong> his local <strong>incumbent            telco<\/strong>. I guess that is one reason why the 2nd and 3rd largest            telcos in California are MSOs. <\/p>\n<p>As was pointed out, the <strong>services<\/strong> being offered can            effectively be <strong>duplicated now<\/strong>, whether cable provider            or telco. The presentations on regulation were very interesting, because            it really highlights how difficult it is to adjust regulation to stay            current with technology. <\/p>\n<p>It is sort of like a car race, where each car is slightly different,            but they all basically do the same thing. Because each car is a little            different and maybe left from a different start line at a different            time, they each have different rules. Then, to make things \u201cfair\u201d,            whatever that is, the rules are changed while the race is running. <\/p>\n<p>With these circumstances, I don\u2019t know how the political and            regulatory bodies can ever create a <strong>truly level playing field<\/strong>.            As Mr. John Reagan said, these will continue to be interesting times            as the various bodies tackle these issues. <\/p>\n<p>           I am glad I am not in the shoes of the independent telcos. There are            so many choices in technology, it must be extremely difficult to make            a decision that not only will impact your company\u2019s future, but            could <strong>impact<\/strong> the very <strong>communities<\/strong>            of which the telco is an integral part. <\/p>\n<p>And we saw many interesting technical approaches over the past few            days. My only advice is that <strong>marketing<\/strong> should have            a big <strong>influence<\/strong> on the <strong>technical<\/strong> path            that is chosen in that they should be defining the customer requirements            for the technology. Defining the customer requirements, current and            future, is no easy task and that subject is probably worthy of a day            long conference<\/p>\n<p>But, technology marches on and with it go the customers. One of the            key messages I got from this conference is that you <strong>can never            wait<\/strong> for the perfect technology\u2026it will never be here.            So, you will have to take some calculated risks as you balance economics            with current and future customer requirements. <\/p>\n<p>In doing so, you will be a little, \u201cbeyond your comfort zone.\u201d          <\/p>\n<p><strong><a name=\"marketing\"\/>Marketing Will Always Rule <a href=\"#top\">top<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The times they have always been changing. Maybe now, they just change            much faster than in the old days. <\/p>\n<p>I realized yesterday that I am on the <strong>old side <\/strong>of            a <strong>generation gap<\/strong>. First, the other day, I asked a friend\u2019s            18 year old whether she could imagine life without a cell phone \u2013            she could not. Next, I had no idea that kids use their cell phones at            concerts for curtain calls. Lastly, watching <strong>Joshua Wong\u2019s<\/strong>            presentation regarding gaming, makes me realize that the generation            playing these games are looking at a world from an entirely different            viewpoint from this middle-aged guy. <\/p>\n<p>But this is nothing new. The youth have always been the first to adopt            new things. And just like the baby boom generation changed the world,            this new generation will change the world as well\u2026let\u2019s            pray for the better. We may never fully understand it, but we need to            be able to <strong>embrace<\/strong> the <strong>change<\/strong> and            go with the flow, so to speak. <\/p>\n<p>I believe what <strong>Russo<\/strong> of <strong>Calix<\/strong> said            when he suggested that we are moving to a demand side environment, where            the customer will control what they want, when they want and where they            want. What is going on in gaming may seem foreign to us now, but it            and the multiplayer role playing activities will probably morph into            <strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/newsletter\/040501\/index.htm#golf\">applications<\/a><\/strong>            that we will all be using in a few years. And this will lead to more            peer to peer activities and will drive bandwidth needs. I am sure <strong>GigE            to the home<\/strong> that is <strong>Susan Estrada\u2019s<\/strong>            vision will be necessary much sooner than we think. <\/p>\n<p>Wong\u2019s comments were reinforced by my conversation with 27 year            old <strong>Gabe<\/strong>, the AV Wiz who was helping me with my audio            recordings. He was giving me all sorts of interesting insight about            technology and the games he plays. He uses <strong>Microsoft\u2019s            X-Box<\/strong> online service and, for <strong>$6 per month<\/strong>,            he is able to get full VoIP communications to anyone else on the X-Box            network (in addition to being able to online games). He says the voice            quality is as good as dial-up. <\/p>\n<p>Through all of this upheaval, the one thing that will never change,            is that, <strong>marketing<\/strong> never <strong>ends<\/strong>. When            I use the word marketing, I mean the whole enchilada. Marketing should            be driving the entire telco\u2019s operation. This is a huge shift            from a regulated environment, where essentially, regulation drove the            company\u2019s product and strategic decisions. <\/p>\n<p>Marketing has to be concerned about all of the \u201cPs\u201d; Product,            Pricing, Position, Promotion. To this last point, it is very, very tough            to be noticed. I submit that the <strong>biggest competitor<\/strong>            we all face isn\u2019t from another telco, it is from the world. How            do we gain <strong>people\u2019s mindshare<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>Even if you have tons of money and a huge name brand behind you, it            is difficult to get your point across and then have people act on your            point. <\/p>\n<p>As an example, at the beginning of this week, I spent some time near            Palm Springs with a friend and colleague. He knows volumes more than            I will ever know about video and marketing. In general, he is one of            the smartest and most informed guys I know. <strong>Time-Warner<\/strong>            is his cable company. I asked him if Time-Warner had VOD on his system.            He told me, \u201cno, but they are planning on adding the service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A day later, I saw an ad promoting the attributes of Time-Warner\u2019s            <strong>VOD service<\/strong>. Apparently, Time-Warner does have that            capability. The point is, even when someone, like my friend, is looking            for a particular service, it can be very difficult to get the message            across. Pounding the message in over and over and over is one way to            prompt someone to have an epiphany. <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"event\"\/><strong>The Big Event <a href=\"#top\">top<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The other way is to have some event that makes such an impression that            prospects are immediately called to action. <strong>Event-driven<\/strong>            marketing is a good way to make something like that happen. Creating            an event is a challenge as it requires some guts, some creativity and,            maybe even some luck to make it a success. This conference is a perfect            example of an event done well. <\/p>\n<p>Creating the event will put you a little beyond your comfort zone,            but it could be the thing that <strong>differentiates<\/strong> you from            your out-of-town competition as it further endears you to the community.          <\/p>\n<p>So, I hope we have made this a very memorable experience for you. I            know that it will be memorable for me. As we all continue to stretch            beyond our comfort zone, take a second every now and then and realize            how much <strong>fun<\/strong> the experience is. I have heard of telco            personnel who have decided to stay on beyond retirement because of the            exciting opportunities set before them. <\/p>\n<p>And it is an exciting time for all us. So, I would like to leave you            with three thoughts to close today\u2019s session:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do something that will take you \u201cbeyond your comfort zone.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Have fun doing it.<\/li>\n<li>And, as a former boss, <strong>Jerry Laufer<\/strong> used to say              to me, \u201cbe creative\u201d. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Thank you<\/strong> Jerry for your encouragement\u2026.it means            a great deal. Dave, thanks for your help in getting me through this            talk. Thank you CTA for this great symposium and thank you everyone            for sticking around. Lastly, please thank the sponsors by visiting them            at their booths. Without them, none of this would be possible.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"article2.htm\">Next Article <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoBodyText\"><a href=\"#top\">Back to Top<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoBodyText\"><a href=\"index.htm\">Back to Main Page <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoBodyText\">All displayed trademarks, logos            and service marks are the property of their respective owners. \u00a9            2004, <a href=\"javascript:\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/alliance','','')\">Viodi,            LLC<\/a>. All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n<p>       \u00a0                  \u00a0        <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"javascript:\" onclick=\"MM_openBrWindow('http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/local','','')\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/05\/local-1.jpg\" width=\"144\" height=\"500\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>             \u00a0       \u00a0                                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indie Telco Local Content Workshop advertisement Quick Jump Menu to this Issue&#8217;s Articles May 26th, 2004 Overview Beyond My Comfort Zone Dream Big, Work Hard, Have Fun The Freedom to Choose Any Telecom Provider Beyond My Comfort Zone by Ken Pyle (ken.pyle@viodi.com), Viodi, LLC \u00a0 About Viodi, LLC May 26th, 2004 Issue Subscribe to Viodi [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":596,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}