Biz Bits
The latest essential buys for business travelers.
I Spy
iMage USB webcam
www.ecamm.com $59.95
The iMage is the world’s first driverless USB webcam for Macs, delivering high-quality 640×480 video to your favorite Mac applications, including iChat AV, Yahoo! Messenger and Skype. Just plug it into your USB port and get chatting!
Get Heard
Plantronics Discovery Bluetooth 655 Headset
www.plantronics.com $149.95
The sleek, ultra-light design of the Plantronics Discovery Bluetooth 655 Headset is ideal for business travelers on the move. Weighing in at just 9 grams, the set features Digital Signal Processing (DSP), reducing noise levels to help make your conversations crystal clear—and includes a AAA charging pocket that provides up to 10 hours of talk time. the system also supports last number redial and voice activated dialing.
Color Control
Saitek USB Multimedia Keyboard and Optical Mouse
www.saitekusa.com $29.95
Check out this new multimedia keyboard and mouse combo. the 
bright green ergonomically designed duo is ideal for adding a splash of color to young, trendy office buildings—and with controls for multimedia functions, they do their job, too.
Bookshelf
A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell
Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. (Amacom $15)
Every manager has had experiences with problem employees, but it’s the good ones that come out of the ordeal with something positive. In this guide, Scott—director of Changemakers and Creative Communications & Research—gives advice on handling a whole range of problem workers, grouping them into such categories as “the Party-Time Performer” (employees who turn work time into fun time) and “The Bull in the Office China Shop” (confrontational employees). A helpful and funny handbook.
Picture This
Economic Event Calendar
www.econoday.com $15.25
Brighten up your desk and get organized with this economic event calendar from Econoday—complete with laugh-out-loud cartoons from Go’s favorite cartoonist, Jack Guinan (see below). Key market events are noted, and there is a monthly resource section highlighting a key market-moving indicator in easy-to-understand terms.
The Grand Brand
This month, Marty Neumeier— president of Neutron, a firm specializing in brand integration for clients such as Kodak and Adobe—publishes ZAG: the #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands, a book which deft ly illustrates how to stay one step ahead in today’s ubiquitous corporate branding wars.
Can you sum up the concept of Zag in three words?
I need only two—“radical differentiation.” In a cluttered marketplace such as the one we have today, differentiation is not enough. You need radical differentiation to be competitive. The new rule is: when everybody zigs, zag.
Can you give an example of a brand that has successfully “zagged?”
A successful zag is Mini Cooper. Mini positioned itself against the biggest competitor it could find—the gas-guzzling SUV class—and captured a loyal tribe of buyers who will pay a premium to “motor” instead of lumber.
What tips would you give a brand trying to compete in today’s business environment?
First, find uncluttered market space where you can be number one or two. Second, develop a powerful “trueline”—the one true thing you can say about your brand that makes it both different and compelling. Third, use your trueline as a filter for all your company’s strategies, behaviors and communications.
How much do you think the average customer has changed in the last decade?
We’ve gone from top-down branding, where companies decided what people will buy and for how much, to bottom-up branding, where customers control brands. Managing a modern brand with a traditional model is almost certain death.
Do you think companies have adapted to this change?
Most companies are still shackled by top-down, command-and-control organizational structures. They need to organize around brand, which will lead to differentiated, compelling value propositions. This is what my company helps clients with. It starts by being different—really different!
