Check out this recent article by Al Ries that appeared on the AdAge website. Ries calls the clash between left-brain management and right-brain marketing " the biggest problem in business today."
Other gems of insight include:
- "Most entrepreneurs -- think Howard Schultz, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell -- are right brainers. When entrepreneurs grow up, however, they often fall into management mode and let their left-brain subordinates take over.
- "Before Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull, introduced his unique beverage, he tested the concept. 'People didn't believe the taste, the logo, the brand name ... a disaster," he was quoted as saying at the time. But he introduced Red Bull anyway, something a right-brain entrepreneur would do but not something the logical thinkers at most big companies would do."
- "...a marketing person has to sell a marketing idea to management in management terms -- not in marketing terms. Forget the dog and pony shows. Use analytical tools to sell holistic concepts. Use facts, figures, market shares and other data to sell intuitive ideas to a logical thinker.
And don't just sell a concept; sell an analogy. "We should do what Grey Goose did -- launch a high-end brand." Or "We should do what Apple did -- launch a second brand like the iPod."
Right-brain marketing people should think conceptually but present those conceptual ideas to left-brain management with analogies buttressed by logical, analytical explanations."
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