Dear Daughter (IV)- How to nail interviews & Naming the baby

It's great to hear you nailed your interviews with three universities. Once they get to know you, they will be convinced. You will face situations where the challenge is to get into the interviews, not acing it. You are a natural and probably don′t need my help, but I will give you a few pieces of advice anyway:

• If you want an interview – really, really want an interview – you can always get it. I repeat you can always get the interview. You might get “no” and then “no” 54 times, and then a “yes” on your 55th try. When you get a “no,” it is up to your creativity and determination to get a “yes.” The most straightforward approach is to use determination. It means calling or showing up every day or every morning until you get your chance. There are so many examples of successful people not taking “no” for an answer by just showing up every day for two months until they finally get an interview or a job. In doing so, you are not only being a pain in the ass, but you are also showing determination, a character trait most find attractive. If you don′t want to go with determination, you must use creativity. Step 1 is to see if you can use some connections to land an interview (don′t be afraid to ask your dad. If I cannot help, maybe I know someone who will). Step 2 – Get their attention – You can always reapply with a new creative twist. Do an analysis of their business and opportunities (this is a challenging way to impress, but possible), do a market survey of some of their customers or potential customers. This is always valuable and should pique their curiosity. You might not know, but in addition to owning a retailer, I also built a distribution company, selling to other retailers. A month after it was established, we had an exciting visit from a drinking bottle company and their head of European distribution. They had amazing, non-spillable coffee mugs and great drinking bottles for kids and athletes. I felt they liked our plan, so I was very surprised and frankly a little pissed off when he called me after lunch on Friday to explain that they had chosen someone else. I couldn't get it out of my head. At 7:50 PM, just 10 minutes before the TV show Norwegian Idol was about to start and we were getting ready to have tapas (we had Tapas Fridays at that time, not Taco), I had an idea. You and Juli were sitting on the sofa, and most of the tapas were ready, but I could not wait. I opened my email and started typing like crazy: "In ancient times, there was an island that had never been conquered. A general was given the mission to capture it, and when they arrived at the shore, he ordered all the ships to be burnt. With no way to escape, the soldiers had to either win or die. I do not want to be in the war business, but I want to be in the bottle business. My commitment and me burning the boats is placing an order of 10,000 bottles tonight.”
• When you land the interview, you want to stand out while being yourself. Here are a few things to consider:
• Always dress as well as or better than the people doing the interview. One of the smartest people I worked with at BCG was almost rejected because he showed up in torn jeans and a T-shirt.
• You should practice your handshake. A strong handshake creates an awesome first impression. If you are meeting a man, always press as hard as possible. If you meet a woman, squeeze as hard as her.
• Look the person in the eyes. Most people let their eyes wander too much. Fix your eyes on the person you are talking to, and they will feel important and appreciated.
• Repeat their last 2-3 words back when you start to talk. This is a technique you can use in any setting and will make them like you since it shows that you are listening. This is a diamond of advice; please pay attention. Here′s an example: “The interview will be about 45 minutes. First, a few minutes on your background, then a case, and finally, you may ask questions. Does this sound OK?” You then repeat, “This sounds OK to me.”
• In any interview and in many conversations, you are either buying or selling. Most interviews start with them buying and you selling. After some time, you may notice a change. Instead of evaluating you, they switch into sales mode to convince you to join. This should boost your confidence. Now it is your time to buy. Keep giving great answers, but now you should be a little less eager and more cool and let them pursue you a little bit without being arrogant.?
• In the end, there is often some time for your questions. You can ask three types of questions. The worst is if you ask stupid questions, then no questions. However, to set yourself apart, ask interesting, non-obvious questions. There are two types. The generally interesting: “Let′s assume 2 years into the future that I have succeeded here. What have I done differently than others that fail?” “What are you most proud of in the work you have done here, and what company achievements make you proud?” Prepare 5-10 of these questions and mix them up. Then you have the questions that show you have done research, “You have grown from 50 to 100 employees over the past year. How has that changed the culture?” “Generally, consumer spending is trending down. How does that impact your revenues and margins, and what actions are you taking?” If you want the job, doing an hour of research is a small investment. Since you might have misunderstood some of the information, don′t be too specific, but generalize a little like the two questions above.

Naming the baby

Now, back to the memory product. It needs a name. A name makes the concept immediately more real, and now we need real. By the way, did you know that if you had been a boy, your name would likely have been Neo? I have given hundreds of names to products and companies. Why so many? The reason is simple. When I started a retailer, the focus was on seniors, and I offered products from all over the world. I did not want the customers to price-compare products, so I gave each product a unique name. This forced me to come up with hundreds of names. Some were bad, some good, and a few were great. I′ll tell you the story of probably the greatest name I came up with.

I thought I had found the Christmas present of the year back in 2012. It arrived in a grey package by DHL, and I tore it open from share excitement. I ran into the bathroom, took off my shirt, and lay face down on the bathroom floor (I know it wasn′t very hygienic, but I didn′t care). Then, I placed the Whee Me Massage robot on my back and turned it on. It started driving around on my back, squeezing my skin with the wheels while tickling me with some rotating whiskers. I could not hide my disappointment. “Can they really call this massage?” I was thinking to myself. If we sell this, I will not be surprised if we get 30% returns from people complaining about the non-existing massage. My head was slumping when I closed the bathroom door behind me. I had such high hopes for this to be a Christmas hit. On the way back to my office, a crazy idea struck me. “This is terrible massage, but in a way, It felt good. It is no massage robot; it is a robot that cuddles you, caresses you, or is described best by the fantastic Norwegian word “kos.” Then I think of the name – it is a “Koserobot” a robot that does the same for your back as a boyfriend. Everyone likes “Kos,” and it would be a super funny and an amazing gift. So, instead of selling a massage robot – we should sell a “Koserobot.” That year, I believe the Whee Me massage robot made 30.000 in sales in Europe, outside of Norway. In Norway, we sold 45.000 units in just 60 days, and it became one of the Christmas gifts of the year. I would guess 80% of the sales, 25 MNOK, was due to the name alone.

I have also made some stupid naming mistakes. I sold trolleys to carry groceries and found an Italian trolley with 6 wheels (3 on each side). Whenever it hit an obstacle, the wheels started turning, making it easy to drag up stairs.

“What would be a good name for such a product?” I came up with the name “Trip-Trap-Trolley.” It sounded good to me, and I didn′t give it another thought. Then, one day, a letter arrived, and I knew it was trouble. I had never felt such paper quality touching an envelope before. I opened it with trembling fingers. It was from BAHR, the most prestigious law firm in Norway. The tone was very serious. On behalf of their client Stokke (the producer of the famous Tripp-Trapp chair – Shit – I had not thought about this), they said we were in serious breach with their trademarked name. It took me less than 5 seconds to change the name of the trolley in the web store, but there was one big problem. I had purchased 5.000 catalogs and had already sent out 2.000. This was worth about 45.000 NOK, a huge sum at the time. If I had to dump the remaining catalogs, it would be a huge hit to the business, and even worse, what about if they sued me for damages?

Sweat was pouring through my shirt, and I could see the wet marks under each arm expanding. If I waited another 10 minutes, the 2 wet rings might meet at the buttons in the middle of the shirt. “Hello, my name is Sverre Steensen, and I′m an entrepreneur. I have made a mistake without knowing, and as soon as I got your letter I changed…”

After a minute, I understood that this letter was more of a routine thing and that I did not have a red laser dot jumping around on my forehead, putting me out of business. I asked very politely if I could send out the remaining 2.000 catalogs. He said, “No!” I said that I would call him back in 24 hours. Then the next day, “What if we use a marker to mark out the word “Tripp” so it only says “ **** Trapp-Trolley.” He finally relented to this, and Arild, my first employee, had to open the catalog on page 18 and hit the text with the marker. ??

Before I start to brainstorm names, I always try to first answer these three questions:

1. International or Norwegian name? The advantage of a Norwegian name is that it is easy to understand for your initial market, you can use local references, and it′s much easier to get the domains you want. The disadvantage is that if you go international, you either have to go with a strange name or create a new name for each market. For the retail company I started, I selected one name for each market, but for most of the products, I went with international names. For the memory product, should we go with a Norwegian, Nordic, or international name? What do you think? I am leaning toward an International name since I believe the Norwegian market is too small (6 million people – 20% in the target group and a 1% market share of that group is only 12.000 units. Maybe the market share would be higher since this is our home market, but still…)
2. Words with meaning/Words with no meaning? If you come up with a name that is related to your product and easy to remember, you will spend less time and money on branding. For example, Improved Memory is easier to get off the ground than a made-up word. The drawback is that it is often impossible to protect (trademark) and that it may limit the company if you want to take it in a new direction. A made-up name can be protected, you can often find domain names for it, and you can fill it with your own meaning. So, should we go for something like Super Memory or Hakuu for the memory product?
3. Describing the product or the effect? Whenever you are coming up with names for a product or company, you can either focus on what the product does or its effect. Theodore Levitt, one of the founders of modern marketing, famously said, “Are you selling the hole or the drill?”? Are we selling the “Scent Machine” or “Improved Memory”?

Word brainstorming – When you have answered the first 3 questions, you are ready to brainstorm. Generally, shorter words with few syllables, ideally two, are better than longer ones. To come up with a great name, you have to come up with many. Here′s how I brainstorm:

• Think of 50 different relevant words and try to combine them in new and interesting ways.
• Use AI to come up with 100 names.
• If you like parts of a name, you can use a domain generator to expand the name.?
• Use pen and paper – sometimes, seeing the word in writing may help you see new alternatives.
• How are competitors naming their products?
• Change perspective – If Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Bill Gates led the naming process, what would they select?

Screening your top picks - When you have a list of names you like, you have to screen them. The first screen is the domain screen. Are the important domains available? The most important domain is .com. Then you have country-specific domains like .no. Finally, you have some workarounds like .ai, .app, .net, etc. The second filter is to see if others have registered the name. In other words, if the name has been trademarked for your type of product, you cannot use it. Many databases are freely available to make this search easy.

So, I have come up with a name, or at least a working title; I′m calling it the Nightbooster. I like the name; it describes both the product and the effect. To give it a real name so early is actually a mistake. Whenever you quickly come up with a new name for a product or a project, you should always go for something ridiculous, something that you, no matter what will not call it. Sounds strange? The reason is that for many projects or products, whenever you start using a name, you get used to it. Then, much later, when you are dead tired from all the work and the release date is approaching, you end up going with your initial name, which wasn′t carefully picked. I guess I should have called it Pink Elephant, but I′m not learning…

With all my love and support,

Dad

P.S Watch the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It is a beautiful movie about a man who has dedicated his life to making the perfect nigiri. What can you learn about his attention to detail and perfection??

P.P.S?To win in rock, paper, scissors, follow this simple strategy - Losers tend to switch, and winners tend to stick. If you just won, then play what your opponent just played. If you lost, then play the third option (which neither of you has played). Trust me on this - I′m your dad.