Passion and Teamwork always win!!!

Two of the most usual complaints in my classes, seminars, in-company training or start-up meetings in order to define (or redefine!) their (OUR???) business model …. are

A) But Jordi, one segment of specialized tourism is not big enough. So, do I have to manage 100 segments? This is too difficult!

I always reply the same; NOT if you add two magic words:

1.      International: If all your tourists are local, it can be difficult to achieve a decent number of customers but, when you think as a Touristologist does and you feel deep inside that the world is your office then, you can get 100 tourists from Brazil, 50 from Austria, 60 from Japan, 200 from you-name-it…
2.      Pro-Am: In order to manage a high number of segments you need to provide scalability to your Business Model, and scalability comes from Pro-ams. In this post, I tried to explain this idea…. “Scalability, in specialized tourism, can seem difficult to obtain for untrained eyes. You have to focus on small segments and then rely on long tail ideas in order to communicate and commercialized your services in small Social Networking Sites, virtual communities, blogs…  It seems difficult to manage 10, 20, 1000 segments BUT only if you don’t use the pro-am ideas. That means, inside any segment, finding the people able to help you to create, communicate and commercialize your services. Then you have to integrate them into your chain of value and, in this way, you will transform your business model into a scalable one!”

Sometimes, after finishing my arguments I got good feedback, others regular ones and sometimes… Well I will never know because some attendants are too focus on chatting on facebook, twittering like crazies or trying to prove that they are multitasking organizing a meeting/party and pretending they are listening… Frankly, I don’t care about the last ones! My capacity to focus on the future of Touristology and forget about Mr. I-don’t-know-why-I-have-to repeat-this-subject and Miss How-it-is-possible-that-my-start-up-fails is legendary.

B) Another issue that appears over and over is related with the first one. International? Pro-ams? Do you, really, think that I can do that?

In order to achieve that you need two ingredients: Passion and Teamwork, both are closely related. In order to get a team you have to throw passion away like a sprinkler!

Passion is like a magnet for talented people, furthermore, it keeps away the naysayers!

So, begin to work.. forget about “what I have now is not enough”. You have passion, passion brings a team… Passion and Teamwork always win!!!!

Make up your mind, you have to choose to activate your passion and then your dreams will come true OR, otherwise, you can complain all day long, looking for excuses and scapegoats and letting your nightmares become reality.

The world, motivated and trained people, investors, TOURISTS don’t answer complaints… They answer passion!!!

So, remember Touristologists! Passion and Teamwork for specialized tourism but not only for that…To improve your English, your programming skills, to set up your killer star up, to have better personal relationships, to live a better life!!!

I will ask for a big shipload of passion from The Three Wise Men. I recommend you to do the same!!!
Not convinced yet?  Maybe this ad can help me to convey the idea.... Passion and Teamwork always win!!!

Tearing Touristology’s wall down!

After finishing the first term, I have some extra time to focus on my second love. Obviously, I am talking about Web-Engineering, Touristologists!!! I have the opportunity to provide advice to a big consultancy firm about the best approach to deal with a multiple-device world.
It is an interesting project and I work with my favorite A-team BUT the project is NOT related to Tourism!!!
But, Jordi. At the end of the day, an enterprise is an enterprise, isn’t it?
- Ask the usual one that appears in my Touristology’s classes because a hole connects “Veterinary University” and “Touristology” ones.
Of course not, Vet, I mean Touristologist!
How is possible that people with no education, experience in Tourism…dare to give their opinion. Do they also opine about quantum mechanics?
Calm down, Jordi - I hear Touristology’s voice talking to me - Don’t you seduce people from around the world to go to a specific hotel/lodging or tourism destination? Why don’t you use your skills to seduce the brightest minds to the best sector ever?  Ummm… maybe I growled, but first, let me finish…
So, what kinds of alternatives, do we have in order to deal with a multiple-screen world?
1) Responsive Web Design (RWD). I mean a web site that adapts to different devices and browsers.
2) A mobile web application. A web site focused on mobile devices.
3) A native application. An application aimed to make the most of a direct connection with the operative system (IOS, Android, you-name-it….) of a mobile device.
-What is the best approach, Jordi?
As I, usually, say to my Touristologists, an intelligent answer begins with …. “It depends”.
For me, it is difficult to find black or white situations in life. I did my doctoral thesis about Fuzzy Logic and I learnt that even in a digital world things are not 0 or 1. Modern computer science seems to agree!  If you are interested “A shortcut through time by George Johnson” can be very enlightening about Quantum Computing ideas…
So, “it depends” it is a good beginning but, it would be a know-it-all answer if you don’t add…
It depends ON…
In general, it will depend on the kind of device your customers use WHEN they deal with your company. (NO, it doesn’t have to be the same as they usually use! For instance, my Touristologists are chatting like crazies with their mobiles all day long BUT, usually, they prefer their laptop to do a videoconference).
You have to define the kind of operations and processes that you want to offer to the Tourists then, based on the kind of device they are mostly using, you have to make up your mind.
For instance, let’s consider that we want to deal with the creation of a dynamic package. So, it will be the servuction (process) of the creation of a product, one of the famous 4P’s in marketing operation.
As you know, apart from the 4P’s E. Jerome McCarthy coined in the 60’s (It’s so funny, to see how people try to create new Ps. The P of people the P of process, the P of post-sale…), in Tourism we have to add two ambits: Space and Time, where the 4P’s have to be applied.
There is a powerful reason to add these two ambits to the 4P’s, Touristologists!!! What is the biggest difference between the tourism sector and others? We don’t send something abroad… We seduce tourists from around the world to come a specific place. So, if we want to provide backup for them from the beginning to the end of the trip, we have to adapt the 4 P's to…
1) Space: Actions of the 4 P’s in the country of origin and in the tourism destination.

2) Time: Actions of the 4P’s before, during and after the trip.
Do you believe that Tourists will create and modify their Dynamic Package, basically using smartphones?
Then, better to use Jquery Mobile. It is (almost) perfect for mobiles and, furthermore… it works well with Apache Cordova / PhoneGap allowing you to create a hybrid app and enjoying most of the benefits of native apps.
Do you believe that Tourists will create and modify their Dynamic Package using, indiscriminately, desktop devices, tablets and smartphones?

Then, it is better to use Bootstrap which is good for any devices. Yes, I know that it can be too heavy for a hybrid app (Apache Cordova / PhoneGap), but we have to make a decision, right?

BUT, Jordi, then a Tourism enterprise, their operations and processes (including Marketing and the 4P’s) are different from other sectors!

Finally, you got it Vet, Sorry Touristologist!!! Ummm, maybe it is a good idea not to cover up the hole, BUT instead do, exactly, the opposite!!!! 

- This is what I was telling you before - Begin to claim Touristology’s voice…

Tear Touristology’s wall down!!! Let’s welcome and embrace Consilience’s era that Edwars O. Wilson foresees.

Nobody better that Mr. Wilson himself to talk about Consilience and passion for science… I hope you enjoy it!!!

There are plenty of opportunities for real Touristologists and we need the best minds! So, feel free to join us. As long you agree that… 1) Touristology is a science and 2)  YOU are the best minds working in the best sector ever… You are welcome aboard… Let’s enjoy the race!