Optimistic fast companies are inflected with the same marketing foolishness, setbacks and tragedies as the slower more pessimistic companies. The difference is that optimistic fast companies have a tendency to bounce back faster from defeat than their slow counter part pessimistic competitors.

Running fast without missing a step, appear to be the mantra, for the more competitive optimistic company. However, neither the optimistic nor pessimistic company has a corner on marketing foolishness. Running at the speed of light marketing is a strategy that piles risk on top of risk used by optimistic companies -- many times, foolishly launching a major marketing program without consideration to testing various factors.

Whereas, the pessimistic company, is hunted by apprehension of catastrophe -- tiptoeing into conservative testing with little risk or rewards of effort. The upside for both is that pessimistic companies can learn the skills for moving faster with less apprehension and the optimistic companies can benefit from changing and using the fundamentals of marketing – TEST, TEST, TEST, before a major launch.

The best strategy and guidelines for implementing optimism within your companies marketing is simply to ask – what is the cost of failure?

If the cost of failure is high -- an optimistic strategy is the wrong solution without testing. If the cost of failure is low --then an optimistic strategy without testing may be the right solution.

I once heard a story that before Henry Ford hired someone in an executive position for the Ford Motor Company, he would have lunch with him or her. It has been told that Mr. Ford would not hire anyone, while at dinner, if they salted their food before eating. His thought was that anyone salting the food, before tasting it, indicated the person would implement a plan before testing it.

Marketing Foolishness sparked a consumer revolt when Coca-Cola tried to replace Classic Coke with new Coke. Excedrin assumed if strong is good – stronger must be better.

People with an average headache didn’t need a stronger medication. All they needed was a milder pain reliever like aspirin. Excedrin lost millions in market share.

Avoid “Marketing Foolishness” and test different variable in your live selling presentations, advertising, web sites, sales letters, guarantees, pricing points and public relations campaigns.

Test all the variables for different response and performance levels and when you think that you have arrived at a winner – test again.