It is a divided house at the very top with ‘management’ on one side of the table and ‘marketing’ on the other. And they don’t see eye-to-eye. Why so? Because the former is left-brained, and the latter, right-brained, say Al and Laura Ries in War in the Boardroom (www.harpercollins.com).

Al and Laura Ries in War in the Boardroom

The authors find that many boardroom battles take place between the two groups who have the same objectives but think differently. “As long as both sides understand each other, this diversity can be a good thing.” But the management-marketing gulf is getting wider, they report.

Even bright CEOs have an exceedingly warped sense of what marketing is all about, notes the Ries duo. “Unwarping those minds is difficult because almost everything logical, left-brain management people know about marketing is wrong. Company after company gets into trouble because they hire hard-charging CEOs with great knowledge and common sense, but little or no understanding of marketing.”

The book explores 25 sets of management-marketing differences, beginning with ‘management deals in reality, marketing deals in perception.’

Management people approach every situation in a sane, sensible way, with emphasis always on the product, and thinking that if their company can produce a better product at a better price, the marketing battle can be won.

In contrast, marketing people approach every situation from the prospect’s point of view, the authors write. “Their emphasis is on perception. ‘How do we improve sales by taking advantage of the perception of the brand?’”

Another difference is about launch. Management expects a ‘big-bang’ launch, while marketing expects a slow takeoff. The authors bemoan the enduring myth of left-brain folk that a brand has to take off in a hurry and enormous resources are to be devoted to it.

A hard-hitting divergence is about management’s obsession with verbal abstractions, even as marketing deals in visual hammers. “Left-brain managers are verbal, sometimes excessively so. They often elevate their language until their words lose their meanings.”

Content Provided by www.matris.in