Nate Riggs: Social Business Strategies; communication, social web strategies, & passion in Columbus, Ohio.

Out of all the presenters I saw at BMA Engage this year, Jeffrey Hayzlett wins first prize.  Hands down.

Not that it was necessarily a competition, but this guy is uber-sharp and seriously entertaining to watch.  He dominates the stage with a natural presence that is truly larger than life.

Hayzlett is the now former CMO of Eastman Kodak, resigning in good grace after a four-year tenure to launch his new book, The Mirror Test.  If you’re familiar with the CMO game, that length of stay is about twice the national average of big company CMOs.

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Hayzlett was one of the driving forces behind the strategic rebirth for the Eastman Kodak global brand marketing initiatives.  This corporate giant had built an entire business model on the production and sale of film.  Enter the digital camera and aside from photography enthusiasts, the market for film has all but died.  Imagine how that challenge must have felt.

Hayzlett has been credited with leading Kodak into the development of new and innovative products, and with it, year-over-year record business growth.  He was heavily involved in the product development behind the Kodak Zi8, one of my absolute favorite video products on the market today.

I also think it’s interesting that the Zi8′s key feature – it’s external microphone port – actually came from a suggestion Hayzlett received in a tweet from a consumer.  He acted quickly, turning the idea into a product innovation that has positioned the Zi8 as one of the market leaders in HD pocket video devices (against the once-dominant Flip brand).

(And just for the record, both videos you are about to watch were shot with the Zi8.)

Here’s my interview with Jeff on his new best-selling book, The Mirror Test:

Two of the key points I’ve taken from The Mirror Test, aside from chuckles at Hayzlett’s stories on his own business ventures, are the idea that passion without planning is simply not enough and if your business is not growing, it is dying.  That’s where the idea of the mirror comes in – looking at the realistic reflection you see and not necessarily the distortion you want to see.

To me, The Mirror Test almost stands as the antithesis of Gary Vaynerchuck’s recent book, Crush It. While I totally dig Gary’s work, it seems his key message in Crush It is that passion is everything.  But is passion alone really enough?

Read both books and make your own call on that.  Personally, I would LOVE to see these two charismatic speakers debate their ideas on a stage somewhere.  That would just be interesting to watch and one hell of a good time.

One More Video

I think you need to see Hayzlett on stage to fully get what he talks about in the book and where I was going with the comparison between Gary V. and Hayzlett’s different opinions.  His talk grabbed my full attention because it was spot on and very entertaining. When you think of passion alone versus passion with planning, consider Hayzlett’s pheasants.

What do you think?  Are you reinventing the film business or simply chasing pheasants?

nateriggs

I advise mid-sized & large organizations on how to adopt and use social media to market through organizational culture and better serve their clients. I'm also a blended family dad who enjoys music, photography and distance racing. When I'm not writing here, you can find me writing over at the Content Marketing Institute. Like what you've read so far? Then why not subscribe HERE?

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