As for stop trying to be the best and focus on getting noticed – I totally agree. Often we spend our time trying to be the best because it’s a form of ‘I’m not good enough’ and when we feel we haven’t achieved that or someone comes across as being ‘better’ than us then we beat ourselves up about it. The important thing is to recognise that personally ‘you’ve done everything to the best of your ability for the skills and talents you have right now, and that’s good enough’. Seconldy, never stop learning and growing.

I’d rather think that Louis Walsh was bonkers than that the whole thing was a manipulative and cynical ploy. Ultimately, Simon Cowell has to ensure the integrity of the show, and that it doesn’t descend into sensationalism and idiotic publicity stunts for the sake of them. BECAUSE he has to prove that this show does find genuinely talented stars in the making – AND he has to prove it both sides of the atlantic – because a lot of people across the pond are watching.

I’m not sure I agree with the pretext of the post. Did J&E really have the “buzz” factor B4 they got into the top 12, or BECAUSE they got into the top 12? I agreed (as ever) with his royal Cowellness – they were awful and not even that likeable, frankly.

I’m not entirely sure how this translates into a workable idea for small businesses. At its most literal, you could go and do an illegal skydive off your local town centre multi-storey carpark to see if you could get yourself on the news. But what does that say about your services, or the results you deliver? Does it even reach your target market, and if so, does it do it in a meaningful way?

I think we have to get some proportion about “being noticed”. It seems to me that traditional thinking on the subject is that it’s good, at any price, to be “noticed” in the general public, or even in the general business world. But so what and does that achieve anything much that contributes to the bottom line? I would suggest not in most cases, unless you’re market is the general public and you’re selling parachutes!

For those of us in niches, would it not be more to the point to maintain a sense of decorum and to build relationships with the people who would buy our services, rather than create sensationalist publicity for the sake of it? Which probably doesn’t reach the target market and sends no useful message about what we do whatsoever.

But I’m willing to be proved wrong! Let’s get out thinking caps on – how can a consultant do a publicity stunt in front it their target market that not only gets them noticed, but gets them noticed in a “good” way – like dramatically demonstrates how what they do produces results for their clients. Any other message would probably be a bit trite and pointless.

It will just prove that you don’t have to have talent to be successful!!

I understand what you’re saying about having a buzz, but I wonder what will happen to these boys when they do finally get voted out. OK, there’ll be chat show interviews, maybe a cheesy Christmas realease, but how will they deal with the aftermath when they wake up one morning to find that their 5 minutes of fame has gone and everyone has been laughing at them?

Hopefully they’re shrewd enough to have already realised they don’t have “the X factor” and will cash in on the comedy of their act (Panto, Children in Need, Comic Relief) etc. and spend their income on some singing lessons. But what if this really is their dream and they believe that everyone loves them and that they can win the competition? Because of the hype that surrounds them, their fall will be far harder than that of the other contestants.

Penny