No Silver Bullets and 4 Other Things I’ve Learned About Marketing

According to military historian David Chandler the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte consistently rose above the expected. For more than 20 years Napoleon showed genius and skill as a general on the field of battle.

To what did Chandler attribute Napoleon’s great string of successes? First, he was a master of translating theory into action. And second, in addition to being a man of action Napoleon was not concerned about being original. He borrowed from history, developing and perfecting the ideas of others.

Napoleon made no secret of this secret of his success. “Read and meditate upon the wars of the great captains,” said he. “This is the only means of learning the art of war.”

Success in marketing is precisely the same. There is no need to re-invent the wheel, the chariot, or the smart phone. Marketing successes and failures are well documented. Books on marketing are abundant. Those who read them, and learn what is valuable through trial and error, action and evaluation, will become increasingly powerful.

THE SEARCH FOR SILVER BULLETS

In my three decades of experience thinking about marketing related problems, a number of observations have impressed themselves upon me so that they’ve now become personal…