The lessons from my vacation reading continue. This time it’s from a book recommended to me by Geno (WOM at work!) called Under the Black Flag – The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Cordingly, 1996).

In the vast majority of cases, pirates were violent and vicious – even barbaric. But for the sake of this post, allow me to put all that aside and talk about a handful of things that we, as practitioners of marketing, can learn from these dogs of the high seas.

1. Plunder and steal. Knowledge, that is. It’s all around us. But not just in marketing books. (Personally, I’m going on a marketing book fast.) Take what you know. Combine it with what’s out there. That equals new thoughts. Each time the pirates had an encounter, they learned from it. Adapted. Got smarter.

2. Realize that you’re in a democracy. One of the things that I found very surprising about pirate life is that each ship acted as a democracy. The captain was elected by the crew, who could oust him at any time. And before they went to a new location or attacked a ship, they voted on it – majority rules.

Like it or not, your company/customer relationship acts as a kind of democracy, especially now that your customers and employees have a voice. I’m not saying that you have to bow to their every whim, but at least listen. And if the majority of your customers are telling you to do something, then listen hard. Before they oust you.

3. Swiftness counts for a lot. Pirates looked for the lightest and fastest ships they could get their hands on. Because when they wanted to overtake a foe, they had the advantage. And when things got too sketchy, they could flee the scene and not get caught.

No doubt about it, small and fast is the trend these days. It’s the small and fast companies that are overtaking the lumbering behemoths on a daily basis. Big has it’s advantages (usually when it comes to budgets), but small and swift is hard to beat.

4. Break the rules. “Pirates were rebels against authority, free spirits who made up their own rules.”

Does this one really need an explanation? There’s a difference between thinking you’re breaking the rules and actually breaking the rules. You have to start by breaking your own rules. Then the rules of your category. Then your industry. Then the world. Rule followers never did anything for themselves but collected a paycheck and breathed. Rule breakers are few and far between. They disrupt. They forge ahead against all odds. They only listen to their gut. They check the wind, choose a course and set sail.

I guess you could say that they are pirates.

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