April 27, 2004
My Two Cents'
No Monuments for Adams
by Michael Nikolich
The next time Tech Image updates the “Read Our Minds” section of our web site, I’ll provide a brief review of John Adams, the best-selling book by David McCullough. I bought the book a year ago but never felt compelled to open it. Once I finally did, I was absolutely astounded by the depth and breadth of the accomplishments of America’s second president.
Adams is one of the great unsung heroes of the American Revolution and the post-war framing of the U.S. Constitution. He developed many of the political philosophies that drove the Declaration of Independence and served the nascent country as a diplomat, promoter and visionary.
Yet many view Adams as a historical footnote – the guy who was President between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. You won’t find a monument for John Adams in Washington, D.C., nor will you see his likeness on coins or currency. In fact, it took more than 200 years for him to receive the recognition he was due.
While Adams was a brilliant thinker and a prolific writer, he was regarded as a maverick by his political peers. His flabby physical demeanor and gruff personality were stark contrasts to Washington’s regal qualities and Jefferson’s aristocratic and refined persona.
Although Adams played a major role in developing the Declaration of Independence, he delegated the chore of writing the document to Jefferson. Talk about your bad career moves! Adams may have had the vision, but Jefferson had the command of the quill. Once the document was presented to the Continental Congress, it was Jefferson, not Adams, who received the acclaim, and Jefferson was only too happy to take the credit and bask in the limelight.
There is definitely a lesson to be learned here by technology marketers. How many companies with great product ideas have struggled to sell them simply because they couldn’t clearly articulate their products’ features and benefits? How many service providers get so caught up in talking about their methodologies that potential customers have no idea of what the company does or why they should hire them?
It’s not enough to have a vision. You have to be able to communicate that vision credibly to your audience in terms they can understand. This is especially important when you’re talking to a reporter or industry analyst.
Today Microsoft dominates the browser space. But do you remember the name of the company that commercialized the web browser?
Successful product launches aren’t something that happen by chance. I attended a seminar by nationally acclaimed speech coach Kevin Daley and I was facinated by the effect something as simple as hand gestures can have on an audience. While what you say is important, how you say it often is more important, and it takes coaching and practice to make yourself an effective communicator.
Because many technology companies are engineering-driven, there is a tendency to get caught up on product features and acronyms.
Unfortunately, reporters often could not care less and many have the attention spans of gnats. Reporters, readers and viewers want to know one thing – what’s in it for me? The more you obscure that message with techno-speak and details, the less likely you’ll turn readers and viewers into customers, regardless of how impressive your technology is.
Creating a clear, interesting and powerful message begins with a systematic approach. My partner, Dennis Collins, discusses in this newsletter how Tech Image works with clients to help them develop compelling market definitions, value propositions and messages for various audiences.
Although this will come across as shameless self-promotion, I’m positive John Adams would have benefited from a messaging session with Dennis. Despite his genius, Adams was vilified by the news media for his Federalist views. This was due in no small part to a whisper campaign that his former friend, Thomas Jefferson, launched against him. Adams tried to fight Jefferson by writing a three-year series of rambling and incoherent editorials for the Boston newspapers, but by this time, he was dismissed by the public as a doddering old fool. He used his era's version of "technospeak" and wound up losing his audience and his credibility
Fortunately, the story does have a happy ending. After Adams’ wife, Abigail, died, he patched things up with Jefferson and the two started writing a string of letters to set the record straight. Many of these letters are considered national treasures.
In a final twist of irony, Jefferson and Adams died hours apart on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. John Adams’ final spoken words were: “Thomas Jefferson Lives.” Jefferson, on the other hand, left no doubt of how he wanted to be viewed by future generations by insisting that his epitaph read: “Author of the Declaration of Independence.” Even in death, Jefferson knew how to get in the last word.
Anyone who doubts that getting the message right is important need only search for the Adams Monument the next time they visit Washington, D.C.
Anyway, that’s my two cents’ worth.
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