I am not trying to be comical here. This is a real question that we should think about.Kamikaze, which means "Divine Wind" in Japanese, was Japan's last attempt to balance the ever increasing technological and material advantage of the American forces advancing to Japan. Kamikaze pilots would attempt to intentionally crash their aircraft (usually laden with explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks) into Allied ships with a goal of causing greater damage than a conventional attack such as dropping bombs, torpedoing or using machine guns. It was consider a great honor to sacrifice yourself for your country.
So what does this have to do with business or eCommerce. I submit that a lot can be learned from the Kamikaze's. These were honorable men that believed it what they were doing was right and just, but in the end the overall theory is fundamentally flawed. The flaw is the belief that you should sacrifice yourself (translate in business; key assets) to attain your goal. Or the theory that you should win at all costs. In my mind some costs are too high.
The flaws are strategic in nature, there is no substitute for a sound strategy and execution. This is true in war and in business and specifically eCommerce. If your firm does not have a sound strategy with goals and metrics, you are wasting your eCommerce investments.
You might have a beautiful website (translates to helmets for kamikaze pilots) but if you aren't converting your visitors or have actionable plans to increase your conversion rates it is useless and wasteful.
I mean no disrespect to the memories of kamikaze pilots and their families, I do however condemn the leadership that engaged in this practice. There is a parallel here too, leaders who preside over their eCommerce organizations rather than run them as an active sales channels are guilty of waste.
The analogy in this post to some might be a stretch, but think about it. Think about what is important for your eCommerce site. When it is all said and done, it is about the fundamentals; attraction and conversion. Fix these first else there is no need for helmets.
Bob
3 comments:
Speaking of the insanity of why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets, why do humans in general do what we do without first asking the question, what am I doing here or why am I here? We assume our parents, ancestors, superiors, relatives, ministers and everyone else already has that answer so we follow along 'believing' 'they' know what they are doing so we do it too. Hm. Would we be destroying ourselves and our home so insanely if we made this the most important question and/or quest in our lives?
I recommend Eckhart Tolle's book 'A New Earth". It has limits, but for the most part it is pretty good.
Much love to you brother Bob. I hope you find what you are looking for.
Dave
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Ecommerce Australia
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be really something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
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