Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

During my recent European river cruise, I was herded guided through the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz. I had been looking forward to the museum, since Gutenberg’s entrepreneurial venture literally changed the world. Moveable type combined with innovations in paper started a revolution that is still going on today on the Web. However, our guide didn’t talk about any of that. She focused on the mechanics of printing and how to create colored ink. Then she got upset with me when I was (very quietly) talking about said revolution with my friend in the back of the room. “If you’re bored, leave.” Which is exactly what we did (and others followed.)

Too bad. She could have had us riveted if she’d talked about the world-changing implications of Gutenberg’s funky little metal bits.

And so it goes with many technical developments. The inventors/entrepreneurs are often so focused on the mechanics, they don’t see the bigger picture. Then they wonder why potential investors and customers yawn and wander off.

(Oh, and Gutenberg had the typical entrepreneurial problems with partners and creditors. The more things change…)