Chris Writes.

Click for my Pics from Bring Yur Own BigWheel!

This was a riot, exactly why San Francisco is a fantastic place to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. A twisty steep hill. A hundred-or-so BigWheels, and similar kinder-intended rides. The chaos was nothing short of brilliant, and the crashes spectacular. M’lady did a fine job, racing all 5 heats without anything disastrous happening, save for a skinned knee.

So what about this made it work? I think a few things:

1. The weather. It was awesome out. [external]
2. Participants and observers all smiled for a solid 90 minutes. Not many things do this.[internal]
3. There was noise, and not just any noise. It was the nostalgic noise of childhood, those hollow echoing plastic wheels and squeals of delight. [external]
4. A distributed network of bloggers and websites to spread the meme.[internal]
5. Did I mention the weather was awesome? It was. You should have been there.[see above]

Sometimes, social networks work because they’re a good idea, but in almost every case they need an array of external elements that the network doesn’t create, and rather instead relies upon. I think this might be why some networks work, while some don’t. It could also help to explain the slow death of Facebook we are witnessing: the external element of curiosity and reconnecting with lost pals has become banal. The external elements can make all the difference. BigWheel racing is an awesome idea, but without the nostalgia and that first perfect spring day that we all remember, it’s not as exciting.

I write this while I’m currently on yet another jet-propelled aeroplane, en route to Portugal. I’ve since left Portugal, arrived in Holland last night. Then off to Prague on Saturday. And amid the chaos of what I call “my job”, I have started to develop a few axioms that make these trips to visit international markets immeasurably more effective.

First rule: I do my best to enjoy what I do. I’m always enthusiastic to work more closely with new people & cultures, and to tackle the challenges and opportunities that many organizations never even see. If a global business runs without any apparent problems, it’s probably for a lack of listening to the right people, rather than an overabundance of acumen. But when you make the effort to listen, newfound acumen follows in ways one might never expect, sometimes in unprecedented abundance. These discoveries are delightful, and addictive.

Second rule: I’m about to visit the offices of our Portuguese and Czech Republic distributors for the first time ever. It’s the first marketing-specific trip we’ve made, and I’ve prepared by not making big lists of what they should do, but rather, by consciously making space in my head for their ideas.

Third rule: Take the time, and dedicate the time to making a difference. I’ve now gotten into the habit of booking at least a few days in each place, because I’ve done the one-day-per-country whirlwind tours before, and they marginalize the sunk cost into travel time, and worse, result in a very polished collection of meetings and handshakes that don’t represent what normal, day-to-day life is like for these guys. A short visit does not get under the skin, does not discover the unwashed imperfections that might represent the greatest opportunities for collaboration. And, not insignificantly, a short visit does not allow for the unexpected delays that can occur, such as the one that had me on this trip arriving at my first destination a full day late, spending unplanned nights in hotel airports of Washington and London. These are the realities of travel. Getting stressed out does not get anyone there any faster.

Fourth rule: understand that the tap of global integration and collaboration only works in one direction: that is to say, if you offer to get involved, it’s not easy to back away later. Once the faucet starts to flow, shutting it off isn’t an option. Promises you make to other markets will be expected to be repeated annually, or more. All expectations will increase with time. And the results will be worth it, but they are not without cost to effort or expense. Every new partner in the collaboration towards global brand consistency will improve the broad picture, but will require its own steady stream of effort. So make sure that solutions are scaleable, flexible for localized adaptation, and above all follow the:

Fifth rule: to the greatest extent possible, chose collaboration partners based on the talent and eagerness of the actual people you get to actually work with. This single thing makes more difference than anything else, and often defines the boundaries of success.