I was pleased to learn through Simon Young’s Leadership blog that Idealog, the magazine which yours truly endorses in a big way (and have done since it began), has hit a 12,221 circulation here in New Zealand. In a small country, that is a hit, especially for a business magazine. The Jack Radar is faultless.
   I am glad the Idealog folks thought highly of my comments, too, and I hope I helped in some way to get them to this circulation. A few weeks ago, I noticed they used something I wrote (‘it is the strongest début issue of any magazine I have ever seen’) as a quotation to help promote the magazine. Being facetious, I started a blog post below, but was afraid people would not get the humour and thought I was being a braggart:

   Idealog, the business magazine that I have waxed lyrical about, has talked up its sponsorship of the Australian version of Dragons’ Den here. I was chuffed to note that the folks there have quoted me as an endorser, followed by Kevin Roberts.
   Bit like when my friend and colleague Charlie Ward began his coffee-table books on branding: I wrote the first one, Kevin the second one.
   And Beyond Branding: How the New Values of Transparency and Integrity Are Changing the World of Brands predated Lovemarks: the Future Beyond Brands by a year.
   Thanks, Idealog, for getting the order correct. It is nice to lead the pack on an endorsement list as well. At least you blokes know who is first with these ideas, and inject them with a dose of forward thinking.

   I am glad I didn’t post it, because on the magazine’s subs’ page now, they have put Kevin before me, darn it.
   Oh, guys, how come Kevin and Robert Roydhouse have their company names underneath theirs and I get ‘Publishing entrepreneur’? Ahem, I do own a few companies, and I would have thought the Medinge Group directorship could be a fairly marketable claim. Ironical the only brand expert there doesn’t have his company brand mentioned. But small matter: your success is what I am raising a glass to: well done!
   Idealog’s success illustrates that people are interested in business, especially entrepreneurship—and Māori in New Zealand are among the most entrepreneurial races in the world. I imagine we have to be self-starters, since we aren’t going to get that much help from government.

Speaking of serving, I have seen my three mentoring clients now. Each has an interesting business, and I seem to fit in perfectly. The ideas are not obvious—if they were, these business people would have tried them already. All I am doing is opening eyes, not telling them how to run their businesses.
   Three months ago, I wrote:

I volunteer for government bodies and tell them I will provide my exporting, branding and marketing knowledge for free. I am, after all, still the only active antipodean at Medinge. My record is pretty sharp. But, as with my lament over exports, no one has ever taken me up on my offers.

   Since the exporting bodies do not want me, I am doing the next best thing: through the mentoring programme, all my clients would not mind exporting. You can’t keep good Kiwis down, no matter how hard some of these government departments try. Idealog is contributing to that effort, respecting free enterprise and championing Kiwi ingenuity. Posted by Jack Yan, 11:36  permalink

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