Maurilio Amorim

Category: business

  • Could Art Be Your Best Business Tool?

    Most of the day had dragged on, slower than my fast-paced norm. But suddenly I looked up and two hours had passed without my knowledge. Instead of tired and restless, I felt energized by the task at hand. I had just spent time doing something artistic. I had offered to take head shots of a friend and had lost myself in getting it ready. While I can’t quantify it, the pursuit of art for its own sake transcends my mind from tasks and deadlines into the realm of infinite possibilities. I’m convinced that an artistic endeavor will make you a better professional, no matter your field.

    Mitch Ebie portrait Maurilio Amorim
    I shot this portrait of my friend Mitch Ebie for his blog

    I remember dreaming up what became The A Group during a week-long beach vacation. I had purchased 5 business books and was ready to start on my first one when a stranger walked up to me and said, “you’re not going to read this on vacation, are you?” Shamed,  I decided to pick up a nearby stick and build sand sculptures. I began with a simple turtle and five days later and five sculptures later, I was up to the elaborate 7 feet long mermaid with Medusa-like hair. These sculptures took 4 to 6 hours to make, but I was lost in time. Somehow during the course of that week, the idea for my new venture was formed.

    Billy Williams Design portrait
    I did this head shot for my friend Billy Williams is for his board picture at the Jenn-Air Advisory Board

    I’m certain science can make a correlation between how people use their right brain activities (creative, conceptual) to impact their left brain decisions (processes, systems). I just know that whenever I find myself lost in photography, painting, sculpting or even cooking, I seem to have my best ideas.

    What’s your artistic outlet?

    Is there an art form you’ve always want to try?

  • The Day You Become Obsolete

    I couldn’t help but to eavesdrop during a conversation at the gym locker room last week. I heard a man named Jim asked someone whom I figured was a owner of a marketing agency, if his business was still doing full marketing campaigns. “Yes, we do.” The interested party then followed up with another question, “even social media?” The man’s answer was puzzling to me in its dismissive nature, “we do all that stuff.” By then I was fully engaged in their exchange. Jim went further to prod, “you know social media is a very different strategy.” Then came the confession, “I’m older than 30, so I don’t get social media,” said the business owner. In my opinion, his days are numbered as a professional marketer. Sometime ago, he decided to stop learning and growing. He’s now obsolete.

    I’m a life-long learner. I have made that commitment years ago when at the ripe age of 15,  I taught an 80-year-old cook how to prepare a dish. That day settled one of the most important lessons of my life: I would never be too old to learn. I might not embrace every new communication or technology idea or tool that comes around, but unless it’s illegal or immoral I’ll probably give them a try.

    Where should you be investing your time?

    What should you be learning?

  • 5 Books Every Entrepreneur Must Read

    “I’m thinking about starting a business but I’m not sure how to go about it.” I hear this phrase quite often these days. People who find themselves out of a job and contemplating starting a new business, or  those who are trying to pursue their dreams, often find themselves at the brink of a new venture not knowing what to do next. In my experience most new businesses fail not because of lack of talent, work ethic or drive. I have seen a lot of hard-working, talented people fail because they don’t understand the “business” part of their craft.

    Figuring out how to deliver a great product is only part of your business dilemma. You need to understand concepts like scalability,  sustainability, and cash-flow management. While those things might not be the “sexy” part of you do, they are vital to its survival.

    Here are 5 books every business owner, ministry leader, entrepreneur should read. If you’re thinking about starting a new business, then this list is a must.

    EMyth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber . I don’t care who you are, if you’re leading or thinking about leading any organization, you need to read this.

    7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. This book has helped me tremendously through the years on setting priorities.

    How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The title says it all.

    Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill . Don’t let the title fool you, this book will help you understand the power of a vision.

    Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne  If you’re ready to be a “game changer” you need to read this book.

    What other book should this list include?


  • Have You Settled for Good When You Can Achieve Greatness?

    I don’t know what it is about the human spirit that often finds itself restless with the status quo. I’m not talking about ingratitude, that elusive never-pleasing, never-ending quest for affirmation, money, power, control or prestige. That, I’m certain, is a condition of the human heart searching for fulfillment outside the Creator. I’m talking about reaching a point in your career, business or even in your relationship with your family that by most standards would be considered successful; however, deep inside you know you could do better. You’ve settled for good when you know you could be great.

    I’ve been through this cycle so many times in my professional life: I reach a new comfortable plateau and decide that there’s nothing wrong with setting up residence there. After all, my reasoning goes, this is a much better plateau than the one before and some would love to have it. But in the process of establishing permanent residency “it” happens. The nagging feeling of restlessness grows to the point I know I can no longer stay. I must move on.

    For me, the process has more to do with the potential than with expectations. After all, I have gone beyond my parents’ expectations, I have a very supporting, low maintenance wife, and a fairly comfortable life. But deep down, I know I’m not finished. I know there’s more that I can accomplish, there are dreams that I need to bring into reality and new lands to conquer.

    Good is the enemy of great. You and I shouldn’t be happy with only good, if we know we can reach greatness.

    I have been living on a plateau lately. But as I write this post, I know I have to move forward. It’s not good enough to look back and enjoy what has been done. I must seek what’s ahead and climb to the next level.

    What motivates you to move on? How do you do it?

  • Can The Local Church Help Save Christian Publishing?

    Traditional publishing is not what it used to be.  The digital revolution has now reached book publishers and for the first time ever, electronic titles outpaced hardcovers on Amazon.com. Publishers everywhere are downsizing, and even long-time NYC headquarters are being moved away from the city to cheaper rent  in nearby Connecticut.  Christian publishers are not exempt from this industry-wide shake up. I’ve sat through many meetings, taught seminars and have consulted with several different Christian publishing houses. I believe the Church is going to play a key role, if the role, in keeping publishers afloat.  However, publishers better deploy the right strategy or they won’t prevail.

    Christian publishing church strategy

    Over 56 million people attend a Christian church  (excluding Catholics) every week in America. That’s a lot of resources needed for preachers, teachers and small group leaders,  and a lot of money for publishers and content providers. With the digital revolution flattening the distance between authors and end-users, the church is literally a gold mine of opportunity for publishers. Every week, Christian content consumers look at their churches for guide in their search for resources.

    In this month’s edition of FastCompany Tony Hawk talks about his successful ride not as a sport’s figure or cultural icon, but as an entrepreneur who controls a very lucrative brand. Speaking about one of his greatest challenges in working with corporate types, Hawk says:

    “The real problem is that some people put in charge of product development and marketing aren’t beholden to their products–it’s just their job. But passion really shines through.”

    Tony’s assertion resonates with my experience in marketing to and for churches. It always amazes me that people who have never worked on a church staff, some of whom don’t even attend church regularly are in charge of product development or marketing efforts of church-related resources. There are serious differences between a small church and a mega-church dynamics when it comes to product development and sales strategy. Like any other sector, if you are not actively engaged, or as Tony said it, “beholden” than you’re not likely to be successful.

    If you came to me and asked me to market you widget that helps ordinary violins sound like a Stradivarius, my first question would be: where can I find the most violin players? It’s a simple and obvious question. You know where this is going.

    But even if Christian publishers understand the need to reach out to churches, they will not break into that market by deploying the same tactics they do for their trade products. They will not likely succeed if they put their church strategy on the hands of people who often don’t attend church, much less understand mega-church dynamics. If Christian publishers are going to be around in the near future, they’ll have to successfully address the church market opportunity. And they won’t make it happen by buying a full-page ad in Publishers’ Weekly.

    Have you ever had someone try to sell you something they obviously knew nothing about? How did that make you feel?

  • The A Group Brand and Development Division: Answer to a Modern Problem

    When I first began The A Group some nine years ago, it was designed to fit a need within the Christian landscape for strategic marketing solutions. Being strategy driven instead of product, we birthed The A Group Technologies as communication shifted from print to online, to social media and now into mobile platforms. We have worked with authors and publishers from early on, but over the past few years the publishing world has gone through a major transformation as more and more content providers and brands try to navigate uncharted territory. The A Group Brand Development is our answer to that need.

    Whether we’re working with an established brand or an emerging one, we’ll help our clients in these key areas:

    • To find the intersection between publishing, marketing, and technology that elevates the brand
    • To fill the gaps in a confused, changing industry
    • To emotionally and intellectually connect mission and message to market place need while being effective, relevant, and authentic.
    • To use agile team dynamics to maximize emerging trends
    • To leverage our technology to create platforms that can fulfill all aspects of driving message and products.
    • To focus on the entire brand and not only on a single product.

    But a promise is only as strong as the team behind it, and the most dynamic part of this new division is its leader: Tami Heim.

    Besides being one of the most delightful people you’ll ever meet, Tami has served as the executive vice president and chief publishing officer at Thomas Nelson Publishers and president of Borders, Inc. Her experience in retail, publishing and working with international brands allows her a 360° view of a changing industry. I’m honored and thrilled to be working alongside Tami and her wealth of knowledge and experience.   Shannon Litton, who’s been a critical part of The A Group since its inception, joins the team as part of the strategic team that together brings over a combine 60 years of experience to our clients.

    Our business environment is changing, and we are changing to meet its new challenges and great new opportunities. We’re already seen some amazing results with some of our new strategies, but that will be the subject of another blog post.

    What do you see as the biggest challenge or opportunity in publishing today?