Video is playing well in Midtown Miami Art Fairs

At Art Miami, Red Dot and Scope, video works are prevalent, with some more captivating than others, drawing crowds that linger.  Pieces at Scope, Art Miami and Red Dot drew my attention.

“Dornen” by Marck presented by Licht Feld of Basel at Scope

“Girl with Pearl” aging into woman at Scope

Cynical Diptych at Scope

“Translucent Blue” by Susie Lee presented by Myers Contemporary at Red Dot

“Holding” by Susie Lee, presented by Myers Contemporary at Red Dot

At Scope, as can be expected, the pieces are a bit edgier than at Red Dot and Art Miami. Three of the Scope pieces in particular were interesting.

The first, “Dornen” by Marck at Licht Feld of Basel, incorporates sculpture into the image, as a woman moves up and down the video screen in between posts that are physically protruding from the screen. She doesn’t grab the posts, just moves her head, arms, and torso up and down the screen, in between the posts. As she contorts to fit between the posts, you can see her digital body flexing, hair moving, shirt wrinkling when she rubs past the physical posts. The posts appear as three dimensional objects that retreat from their protrusion back into the screen, as deep as the body they are shaping into bended willows. The optical illusion mesmerizes—for a bit. While the illusion of the three dimensional posts, and the depth of the digital image is technically quite well done, the piece could have taken the movement a bit farther. The positions of the posts limits the options for contortion, and when her hands reach the top of the frame, I was disappointed to see them retreating so quickly.

The last two pieces at Scope that were intriguing were a pair of works. The artist begins with Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and over four minutes, slowly ages the girl to an old woman, with the paint changing ever so subtlety. The second piece is a diptych with a piece of art on one screen and people sitting on a couch in the other. Eventually, the art disappears from the first screen and appears as a framed piece above the couch, with those on the couch seemingly oblivious to the addition of the art above their head. The oblivion continues as oversized insects begin to march across the wall above the couch. The cynical commentary on obliviousness—whether it be art or insects—fits nicely within Scope’s attitude.

Exploring the context of art works continues in two compelling pieces at Art Miami. Gregory Scott at the Catherine Edelman Gallery has two pieces that drew in viewers. Both pieces use multiple media, mostly painting, photography and video, within the video. The different media interact—what is a painting in one frame of the video is a photograph or a video in the next. So as not to spoil the visual illusions, here are hyperlinks:

“Fabrication” is a mind boggling puzzle as art becomes video becomes photo becomes art.

“Myopia” takes place within a gallery setting. With both pieces, gasps are heard and smiles are seen as viewers respond to the changing dynamics of the “art” and the “audience.”

While watching Scott’s video, I was quietly smiling, admiring his ability to play with the concept of art as perception with such insight, while at the same time delivering on a highly polished and aesthetically appealing level. My hat is off to you, Gregory Scott.

The final pieces that caught my attention were by Susie Lee with Myers Contemporary at the entrance to Red Dot. One of few video pieces at Red Dot, Lee’s approach to these video works is contemplative and compassionate. These video portraits are gentle and insightful looks at the relationship of the subject to the camera and lights in the field of portraiture, while at the same time creating a quietly powerful profile of the subject.

Similar to Bill Viola’s works that evolve slowly and subtly over time, Lee’s videos change slowly, rewarding the viewer with subtle shifts or a different image with every glance. Unlike Viola’s slow motion installations, Lee’s portraits are real time, spanning 30 minutes in the life of the subjects. The length of time creates works of depth, revealing themselves over time, offering something new each time they are viewed.

By asking the subjects to hold poses for an extended period of time, as they would in photography, sculpture or painting studios, Lee is recreating the time-honored tradition of portraiture posing. By videoing the session, Lee captures an intimacy in the subject that is not possible in other media. As a young girl moves her leg or an old woman moves her head, the viewer is drawn into an emotional connection with the subject. Less abstract than a captured moment in time, a viewer is drawn more deeply into the subject as they watch them over time, quietly posing for their portrait, blinking, taking breaths, thinking, being.

All of Lee’s poses are based on master works by Picasso and Goya. The lighting and posing is delicate and refined, as are the videos themselves. The sensitivity and compassion with which Lee approaches her subjects is evident in the willingness with which the subjects reveal themselves over time. Susie Lee’s powerful video portraits are best seen in the evening, when light from the entrance to Red Dot does not overpower them.

Palm Trees and Paintings; Videos and Ocean Views

And the warm breeze … A long day and a short trip–just got back from Miami to check out some of the midtown arts fairs at Miami Arts Week for a client, Myers Contemporary.

Scope, the edgiest of the three, Red Dot featured Annapolitan Mark Myers at their entrance,  and Art Miami the most refined (which also frowned upon picture taking). Of the three, I liked the vibe and art at Art Miami the best, and I hope Mark’s art will be in there next year. You can click on these to get a better view.

Myers Contemporary’s art is all online.

More tomorrow–I wrote an essay about the video art I saw …

Lockstep Leadership

Driving home from a meeting a few minutes ago, I heard the breaking news that President Obama has relieved General McChrystal of his duties.

Obama had to. And the reasons why apply to business leadership, too.

1. Senior leadership, to be effective, needs to be in lockstep. Followers need to know what direction to go in. Especially in a crisis, there needs to one message, maybe coming from many different sources, to guide an organization, a company, a country.
2. Leadership needs to be respected. For McChrystal to be respected, he needs to show respect to Obama. Without respect for leadership, the chain of command crumbles. If Obama had let McChrystal stay on, he was inviting insubordination from others.
3. There is a difference between debate and dissension. Debate is healthy. Sometimes it’s healthy for debate to be behind closed doors, and sometimes out in public, but it should always be held respectfully–with respect for others’ opinions. Dissension is not respectful.

When I heard about McChrystal’s comments, my first thought was that he must not have wanted his job. He’s got too much experience and intelligence to have sabotaged himself like that. One commentator I heard this afternoon surmised that it was McChrystal’s way of dodging responsibility, as in, “Yes, Obama and I are on the same page, but I need more men, more time.” He was passing the buck for the outcome to Obama. Whatever his motives,  he succeeded. He doesn’t have his job any more, and he certainly won’t get the credit or the blame for the outcome in Afghanistan.

Obama’s saving grace in this situation was that he could move quickly because he had an excellent replacement for McChrystal in General Petraeus.

Are you in lockstep with your leadership?

Power to the People? Social Media and Public Relations

Here’s an interesting story about how social media is making it harder from companies (BP, in this case) to do damage control. Power to the people!

Or is it? Previous examples such as Exxon Valdez shows that time can heal all wounds when it comes to customer loyalty. And Toyota’s recall actually leveraged social media to rec-establish their image.

But remember the “United Breaks Guitars” YouTube video? I love how their anger was fueled into a great song that generated 8 million views. In the song he sings he argued with United for over a year.

So, short-term or long-term, social media does give power to the people. Use it wisely, friends.

And good luck, my public relations friends. It is not getting any easier.

What are you trying to say?

(And why are you trying to say it?)

Strategic marketing applies to social media. And there are a couple of concepts about social media that I find intriguing.

• A client felt he shouldn’t delve into social media because his kids used twitter. Now, his kids don’t have the budgt to rent a billboard, but if there were cheaper price points, do you think they might? His kids are using phones and websites, but that’s not stopping his company from using phones and websites. He shouldn’t use twitter the same way his kids do, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t use it.
• What are your goals for social media? Just like every other marketing tactic, figure out why you are doing it, and come up with a strategy and metrics.
• The social media landscape is changing quickly, and so should your strategy. You may want to stop twittering before everyone else already has.
• Original thought and original content is king.
• Saying something just to say something is as annoying now as it was before social media.

So, what is it you are trying to say? And why are you trying to say it?

Different approaches to two client websites

When my then-fiancée and I got our wedding invitations back from the printer, I was so excited. My husband was surprised at my excitement-I had seen the proof after all. He couldn’t understand why I was so excited since I’d been developing print and web materials for years.

No matter how long you’ve been doing this, there’s nothing like seeing the final results in print or live on the web.

Voila! Here’s some background on the sites.

Clever Online Content Ideas

Are you struggling with fresh online content ideas?

Fresh online content helps you you achieve several things:

• stay in front of clients, customers, and prospects
• position yourself and your company as an expert
• increases your website’s value to search engines

You can write thought leadership pieces about your industry as I do in my newsletter, helping your readership better understand your industry and how they can be benefiting from it, with or without hiring you.

You can write about what other companies are doing in your industry–awards, new business, promotions, etc.. And it doesn’t just have to be your vertical, it could be synergistic companies. Here a marketing director for a construction company blogs about what is going on in the architecture and design world–these are the construction company’s clients. 

You could write about companies in your geographic region. A PR firm in Anne Arundel County blogs about business activities in the region.  

Here are some other ideas:

• Become the expert on career development in your industry: career opportunities, job openings, people searching for jobs, interviewing hints, logical career paths, finding or becoming a mentor.
• Be the event expert in your industry: create THE go-to calendar for events–local, regional, and national ones people should be attending, and then get attendees to review them.
• Become the expert on vendors: quality, service, price–give reviews and get others in your industry to chime in.
• Business process: how could your customers do business with you better? Become the expert on optimizing your supply chain to your customers by educating your customers about how to be prepared to do business with you to save themselves money and get a better quality result. “How to hire a marketing consultant/lawyer/architect” “How to get the most out of your designer/engineer/contractor”
• Become a funding/financing/pricing expert–what are the available contract vehicles for your industry, who is offering the best loan rates, what are the pros and cons of various pricing options in your industry?

Thanks to Lance and Chris for sharing ideas this week. Have you seen any other clever online content ideas? Please share–I’d love to be inspired, and I’m probably not alone ….

Top 10: Why smaller businesses can be better

Being bigger isn’t always better. Sure, it helps in basketball and a few other situations, but there are plenty of times when being small and nimble is a benefit. In a time when lots of companies are being forced to downsize and people are setting off on their own, it might help to look at ten reasons why smaller businesses can be better.

Getting Bold

Someone once said to me, “If I’m going to the effort of making a plan, I’m going to make it a bold one.” In this economy, and in this economic transition, playing it safe probably isn’t going to get you very far. People and companies are re-evaluating everything, and stickiness isn’t what is used to be.

It’s time to get bold and get out there. Good, let’s do it! So, how do you get smart about getting bold? Some thoughts on strategic boldness and how lessons from sailing can be translated into marketing.

Stickiness in 2010

Stickiness is a word to describe customer loyalty—how likely your customers are to “stick” with your brand.

Stickiness is as dynamic as the forces around it including economic uncertainty, brand integrity and personalities. When the economy tanks, big brands (Toyota, GM, and Lehman Brothers) falter, and people have lost or are afraid of losing their jobs, stickiness is going to fluctuate, also.

Some people will shut down out of fear or a sense of being overwhelmed. They will blindly follow those brands that have not blatantly failed them on their brand promise. They will avoid like the plague those that have been publicly flogged.

Other people will become brand skeptics or cynics, and re-evaluate every transaction they are engaged in. These people are as “un-sticky” as they can be.

And many other people will fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.

How can you take advantage of this fluctuation?

• Realize that you can’t take your loyal customers, much less your other customers, for granted. You have to live up to your brand promise for all your customers. And you probably need to strengthen your brand promise.
• There are probably some customer segments out there that will be more open to your offer than they were before. Make sure you are exploring customer markets you thought you were shut out of before.
• People that wouldn’t have even considered switching are probably proactively shopping. Make sure you are visible to them—where and how are they shopping?
• You may be able to get more meetings and sales presentations, but it might be harder to win them. Focus on your value proposition and your sales presentations.

Intellectual Property & Creativity

Advertising Age has an interesting story this morning about ad agencies owning intellectual property for creative ideas until they have been paid for them. When you pitch an idea to a potential client, the client doesn’t have the right to do anything with that idea until the agency has been paid–either hired to do the work, or paid for the idea.

This concept doesn’t just happen in the advertising and marketing arena.

I’ve been working with several architecture and design firms lately, and they often present potential clients with ideas about their project. Making it clear that they own the idea until money has changed hands reinforces the value of the designer’s ideas. Don’t undersell yourself.

Is Your Vision Bold Enough?

I’ve been working this week on updating my Vision and Purpose statements, as well as the audience I want to impact. This morning, I was told I didn’t really have enough emotion attached to mine. This, of course, resulted in a lack of power and passion attached to it.

I struggled for maybe 25 minutes after that comment because I walked into my dentist’s office, picked up a magazine, and started reading an article about a man who climbed Everest (and the Seven Summits) and conducted an eye clinic camp in Ethiopia, conducting 800 cateract surgeries in 5 days.

That woke me up! I’m refining my Vision statement … how will I change the world? Stay tuned.

In need of some inpsiration yourself, as you get into the nitty gritty of how to make 2010 and the rest of your life rock? http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/best-of-adventure/geoff-tabin/2 

Winning Moves: Is the Ball in Your Court?

Marketing isn’t just about getting the right message to the right person. It’s about using the right medium, and delivering the message at the right time. Most people just focus on the first three, and hope the timing is right.

I took a lesson I learned from dating my now-husband and use it in marketing–for myself and my clients. You can, too!

 http://visionsmc.com/newsletter/December09.html

Vulnerable Tag Lines?

Buick has taken the gloves off in a billboard attack on Lexus. “Something else for Lexus to relentlessly pursue” is Buick’s response to Lexus’ most recent campaign, “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection.”

Buick’s attack is witty and successful. It has received a lot of attention in the automotive and media worlds, and on the highways where the billboards are shouting their message–a lot of heavy traffic areas where people have time to linger. It also highlights the importance of well thought out messaging.

The attack very accurately exposes the vulnerability of Lexus’s key message. Philosophers and deep thinkers alike agree that perfection is an unattainable ideal. However, do your really want a consumer thinking that about your product?

A better tag line would have been Lexus’ strongest offense. In lieu of that, they need a clever defense. Which may not be coming, since the billboard attack first started in September in California, which should have been plenty of time for their strategists and creatives to get something out there.

Using Positive Speech to Achieve Your Goals

Honing in on your goals & the power of positive speech

There is something about labor that allows you to have a single-minded focus on the goal at hand. I have two friends who are pregnant and preparing for natural childbirth, so I sent them my birth story from my first child’s birth (I had both my children at a midwifery birth center with no drugs). Re-reading the birth story was pretty funny and rather enlightening.

The biggest theme from my labor was how I dealt with negative thoughts. Whenever I had a negative thought, I filed it away, and didn’t act on it, much less talk about it. I was so focused on preserving my energy and focusing my energy on my goal—delivering my child—that I set aside every thought that didn’t relate to helping me achieving this goal.

All of the negative thoughts at the time were laughable afterwards. And they fell into two categories: the well-informed and the ill-informed.

The well-informed thoughts related to our doula. Her comments weren’t unhelpful, they just weren’t helpful. When we called her to tell her we were in labor, she asked if she should meet us at the birth center when we arrived. I thought, “Why else would I spend my time (pant/contraction) calling you now? And “Aren’t I paying you a set fee to help throughout the entire birth?” But I didn’t argue she should meet us right away. If she didn’t think she’d be helpful, she probably wouldn’t be. And later, after she had finally arrived, when she told me that I was far enough into  labor (pant/major pain) to begin pushing, I didn’t bother to respond that I had been pushing for the last four contractions.

The ill-informed: Our midwife left the room at one point, telling me she was going to fix the water fountain. I was thinking “What the hell (yes, I ought allowed that thought in labor) do I need a drinking fountain for now?” But I was in labor, and saved my energy for the next contraction (pain/breathe/pain/count/pain subsides/breathe more). Later in even more intense labor (pain/breathe/pain/breathe/etc.), they moved me back to the bedroom, and they had one of those soothing fountains where water flows over rock with an awesome dripping/pooling/gurgling sound, and I loved it. That was the water fountain she had fixed, God bless her! And that was one of the first sounds our baby heard other than our voices.

In the first case, my husband and I still giggle about the doula. We were competent enough and he was supportive enough that I didn’t need one, and it was so refreshing not to have wasted any negative energy on bashing her. We hired her, she was useless but it didn’t matter because we didn’t need her, she wasn’t outrageously expensive, so it was over and it was all behind us. No energy spent, and actually energy gained laughing at our nervousness about childbirth in wanting a doula and discovering our strength in dealing with it with a useless doula. It was sort of like an “Amazing Race” win (we think we would ROCK on that show). We didn’t even talk about getting a doula for our second birth—it was a non-issue. Instead of focusing on how bad she was, we focused on us, and how well we dealt with it.

In the second case, I was so grateful I had kept my mouth shut. There wasn’t anything the midwife could have done in my room at that point in my labor, and if I had spoken up, it would have created negative vibes between me and the midwife, my husband would loyally have taken my side exacerbating the division, and I would have beaten myself up for being horrible when I had found out what she was really doing. I laughed at myself, during my later more intense labor, when I realized what she had done, and later was able to revel, guilt-free, in the spa-like environment.

In both cases, not speaking my negative thoughts brought me much more positive outcomes, and outright joy–in my marriage, my husband, my child, and the whole experience.

I’ve realized, just after the four year anniversary of that birth, that this attitude can have a profound effect on my life—both in business and personally.

What’s your goal? And what does it take to achieve it? Most of the time we’re not as single-minded as a woman in labor, but it’s not a bad ideal. Defining your goals helps you reach them.

What are your goals? Most of us have multiple goals, and most of them are derivations of: to have good relationships, to be happy, to be successful, however we define all these.

Drama trains don’t usually play a role in these definitions. So being negative rarely helps you achieve any of these.

So, since I’ve reread my birth story, I think differently about voicing negative thoughts. What is my goal? Is saying this (which is the same as focusing on this/spending energy on this) going to help me reach my goal?

I have curbed my tongue ever since (not 100% of the time, I’m still working on it), resulting in giggling at myself over the outcome, and laughing at the results.

Does this remind you of the saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all?”

Who says we can’t learn from those that came before us?

How to be a good customer (and get what you deserve!)

Strategies that have worked for me:

Product Returns: With the product return, enclose a letter–a fan letter, telling how much you love the product, how much you use it, and how it was broken while you were using it exactly as they advertised it to be used. Demonstrate that you are a poster child customer, the ultimate die-hard fanatic that they want. I have gotten free replacements/repairs from Ray Ban, Henri Lloyd, and Patagonia doing this. Granted, these are all stand up companies that have quality products–but shouldn’t every company want to be in that category? Shouldn’t they want to stay in that category? Back to brand favorites: https://visionsmc.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/brandfaves/

Satisfied Customer: For large or small product or service purchases, write a glowing letter, send an email to the supervisor, write a fan posting on a blog. Shout out loud how great they were to you. I’ve had letters I’ve written displayed in companies’ lobbies and quoted on their website. If your comments are good enough to be published/displayed/forwarded, they are going to remember your name–which comes in handy if anything goes wrong with the said purchase down the road.

Dissatisfied Customer: Be friendly and nice, but firm. Engage in shallow chit chat. Giggle and laugh with the people you are dealing with. Find something you have in common. Make everyone happy they are dealing with you instead of someone who is mean and nasty. They will bend over backward to help you. Once they’ve helped you, start the fan letters.

What are your strategies for getting what you want, need and deserve from the companies you buy from?

Why do NYC clients pay more than WDC?

A friend* and I were recently discussing why NYC clients will pay more for the same service than WDC clients would.

My theory is that the people who come to the DC area are idealistic. They want to save the world by working for one of the many non-profits, or they want to change the US by getting into politics. They are willing to take low starting salaries as a way to get “in” with the powerful or to give back to the world.

My theory continues that the people who move to NYC want to make money–it is the financial capital of the world (at least for now).  They aren’t willing to take low salaries to get in–and they want bonuses and retirement, to boot.

I’m not making a judgement call about either type of person–it’s the NYC incomes that fund the WDC movements. I wouldn’t mind a few more of those NYC clients myself.

What’s your theory about the price sensitivity in these markets?

BTW, this friend has recently met, in his own definition, the criteria for becoming “officially famous” and an “internet celebrity,” albeit a social media celebrity.

Winning Moves: We all know what assuming does …

From June’s Winning Moves: Developing a breakthrough value proposition requires thinking differently than your competition. It requires solving your customer’s pain points in ways that your competition hasn’t yet identified. One way to do this is to question the assumptions that your business is based upon.

The Ethics of Walmart and Ice Cream: Celebrating the Holiday of Tuesday

Walmart has a new ad campaign that I don’t admire. The theme of the campaign is that they sell ice cream for such a low cost, that you can serve it to your children whenever you want. Even to celebrate “today, the holiday called Tuesday.”

In other words, if you don’t buy your children ice cream regularly, you are being penny pinching. Don’t neglect the kids–buy them ice cream.

What about the parents like me who don’t think children should have ice cream on a daily or even weekly basis? Not because of cost, but because of health. With childhood obesity the number one concern for most pediatricians, I’m not comfortable with Walmart’s pitch.

Marketing is a powerful medium. The messages that we marketers create and promote can be very persuasive. As marketers, we need to follow our own moral standards and ethics. As consumers, we all need to objectively assess the marketing barrage that is the 21st century, and vet the validity of the messages for ourselves.

 As a consumer, I’m not buying Walmart’s guilt campaign. And I feel bad for lower income parents who might feel worse about themselves as a result of this messaging. As a marketer, I’m uncomfortable they would sidestep a major national health issue in favor of revenue. Even popsicles would have been a better option than ice cream, but squirt guns, watermelon and sunscreen are all evocative of summer family fun that would aslo have worked. They are just not as expensive or as unhealthy as ice cream.

Fattening American children to fatten their own wallets. Does it outrage you?

By the way, I’m not the first one to comment on the ethics of Walmart and ice cream: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-norman/wal-mart-serves-free-ice_b_209335.html

Why I Love Facebook

I don’t think of myself as a very cool or interesting person, but I do have some cool and interesting friends on facebook. Whenever I log on, there is something interesting to discover.

Some are the more generic–a proud father reporting on his daughter’s riding successes; a friend’s picture of her lettuce. Some hit the extreme–my cousins in the midst of a Kilimanjaro climb after their semester long sojourns in South Africa and Egypt. Many are intellectually intriguing–I’ve learned of esoteric dance performances, artists, Renaissance revivals (not the jousting kind), vacation spots I never knew about. Some posts are inpsiring–right now I’ve got a friend running a regatta in Kiel, and another racing in one in Florida, and several triathlete crazy acquaintances cheering each other on for trainings and tris. And my international friends are starting to chat in English, letting me go around the world to see their children, houses, and thoughts.

Some write daily, some in spurts for weeks, some rarely. You only see what they want you to, when they want you to.

I’m never bored when I log on. No matter what type of posting, I always learn something new about the people that I’ve had the mutual pleasure to “friend”. And I enjoy getting to know them better through the facade they choose to present. Jokes, thoughts, dreams, accomplishments, family, quirks, fascinations, and fears (mice! which then became a pet). There are very few postings that don’t offer something valuable for me. And they usually help me feel closer to the people writing–how privileged I am to be able to share in what they have to offer.

I don’t always have something to say. And that’s okay. Sometimes you listen to the conversation, and sometimes you contribute.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to widen my world. For me, life is about people and relationships–who we are, and how we interact with the people and places around us. Facebook is becoming an increasingly fascinating way to expand my relationships with the people around me–and all their fascinating angles.

Thanks, friends!

The Beauty in Business

Recently, I wrote in my email newsletter about the rhythm in good customer relationships, comparing it to roll-tacking in sailing and dancing. I just had a dance with Dell, and I’m swooning.  There is something beautiful in a perfectly-executed business transaction.

Chad Murphy (Chad_Murphy@Dell.com) is the man who helped me buy a new laptop for business. He was professional, friendly, patient, communicative, and quite knowledgeable. He did most of the work, explaining how and why he suggested a certain system. Then he was able to upsell me on peripherals that I really did need–I was just going to procrastinate and do it later. He made it easier to do it now. Going through the process with him was delightful. We shared laughs, and it brightened my day talking to him.

Marcus Jones was the “clean up guy” that Chad passed me to when it was time to place the order. Marcus must be taking the same happy pills that Chad uses, because he was just as pleasant to work with. Tried to upsell and cross-sell me with daily specials, and was cheerful and upbeat when I turned him down every time. Again, I felt like I got off the phone with a new friend. 

The two of them made me feel so good about our transaction, that I’m very comfortable writing about this and recommending them.

However, what sealed the deal was the fact that my laptop arrived today, less than 48 hours after I ordered it. The estimated delivery date wasn’t for more than a week away. Under-promised and over-delivered. They had been telling me since the beginning of the process that it would take up to ten days.

It makes it a lot easier for the frontline people to be confident and friendly, when they know the company is going to support them, back them up and follow through.

Thanks, Dell, Marcus, and Chad. It was a pleasure doing business with you!

What is this storm telling me?

When I was a little girl, we encountered a typical summer squall out on the Bay. I was five or less, and everyone (my mother, my older brother, and other people I remember–either my younger sisters if they were born or family friends) went down below and closed the hatches. It was hot, stuffy, and humid, and I didn’t want to be enclosed below with all the restless people, so I went on deck with my father (I assume (and now, as a parent, hope) in a fwg jacket and lifejacket) and talked to my father.

“Aren’t you afraid?” I asked.

“I can’t be,” he said.

“Why not?” I asked. 

“Who would get us home?” he replied.

Ever since then, I’ve always realized that I need to do what I can to get myself home. Sometimes the lessons are epic. Sometimes they are ridiculously silly.

Tonight, during the driving rain/thunderstorm while at a client’s office, I decided to go close the very partially opened sunroof (back vent)) on the mini. It was a horizontally driving rain that was possibly streaming rain into my new (to me) car. We had heard spectacular thunder, my client/friend was looking out the window and saw the power lines light up, and the lights had gone out in our building, further dramatizing the storm.

I was wearing a business outfit. But I still needed to save the mini.  My client/friend lent me a raincoat, and I dashed out to the mini–in horizontally driving rain. I “saved” the car, but may have ruined the pants. Priorities.

Post-saturation and raincoat return, I continued a great conversation with my client/ friends in the the dark (storm-induced power outage–that really cool power line surge he saw!). Priority one was our relationship–and I really enjoyed our conversation in the dark. A big future awaits us all! 

Meanwhile, our neighbors had a tree land on their roof while I was in the meeting. All was safe–house and people all intact.

Priority one became my boys and our au pair. No trees fell on our house! Bless our tree management (sick ones down, new ones planted), good friends/clients, and our neighbors’ safety.

Sorry, no pics of this wet rat!

Whenever I need to get “home” (whatever that may be), I look to myself first. How am I going to get there? And I try to enjoy the beauty of the storm–what can it tell me?

Surprise for Dessert

My husband and I had an excellent dinner this weekend at Aqua Terra. We love Aqua Terra, had our rehearsal dinner there, and go for special occasions. This weekend was as wonderful as ever.

The couple next to us were having a great dinner, and it was their first time there. They were very upbeat. We smiled and exchanged a few words, but didn’t have a big interaction with them.

When it came time for dessert, we didn’t see chocolate on the dessert menu, so we didn’t order anything. The couple next to us had tempura bananas.

After they had left, while we were lingering in our window seat watching the passers-by, the waiter brought us dessert! The couple had loved their tempura bananas  so much, they sent us one, as well as the creme brulee they must have heard my husband talk about.

It was a wonderful feeling–as nice as the days before EZ Pass when someone in front of you pays your toll. We decided the only way to thank them was to copy them. So, we sent desserts to another table! I wonder how many times that happened that night?

I learned two things from this. The first is that Aqua Terra must be doing a lot of things right, if that couple was so pleased with their experience that they gave us dessert in such a fun way. The second is that it feels really good to be on the giving and the receiving end of anonymous giving.

So, I need to do it more!

Living on the Edge

A while ago, I wrote in one of my newsletters about the growth edge–being on the edge intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I’m on an edge right now, and it’s so cool!

I must confess that I’ve never written about a car before. But, I now have a car worth writing about! My car, the typical “mommy” car, a Volvo wagon, was totalled recently (everyone was fine). I really liked that car, and I was very disappointed when it was gone.

But, we already have another Volvo wagon that the au pair drives, so I figured we should take this downer of losing our car and turn it around. Why not get something completely different? My husband and I had been talking about size and gas mileage, so he didn’t balk when I suggested we look at Mini Coopers! I was elated.

So, we researched and he found out that the automatic Minis weren’t very good. This was a bit of a thing–I’ve never had a stick shift car before. I can drive them, I just haven’t driven them a lot. My experience was limited to driving friends home in their cars who had a little too much, car rentals in Europe, and my husband’s convertible every now and then. 

So, not only was I going to jump from a large Volvo wagon into a little Mini, I was going to jump into driving a stick shift on a daily basis.

I made the leap, and I love it! I get better at the stick shift every day. The size of a car feels like a jewel. Both boys can climb into their car seats. And I enjoy doing errands–I love zipping around town. I still get a little nervous when I come to a stoplight on a hill, or need to parallel park on a hill, but I am having so much fun.

I now know why people say driving is a sport! This little car is so much fun to drive. (And I didn’t even get the “S”!)

Our au pair asked if I was going to name the car. I’ve never named a car before, but I can see that I might want to! But “Mini” is such a good name already.

And it didn’t come with a roof decal. That could happen ….

I didn’t take this picture–I have gotten that cuckoo yet–but this is what my car looks like. Now, where am I going to go today?

Winning Moves: Thinking out of the box

Thinking out of the box to get a strategic edge in business …

http://www.visionsmc.com/newsletter/may09.html

The Importance of Personal Branding

There’s a fabulous article from Wharton on the importance of personal branding and the role of social media.

Clients, family and friends have all heard from me why I think it’s important:

1.) For most people in our evolving society, there is not a clear delineation between family, friends and business. The minute you become friends with a colleague and introduce them to friends outside the office, you’ve started the meld. How many friends or relatives have given you a business or a job lead? How many relatives or friends have you hired? (This also means it’s important to have consistent personal branding. You can’t think that your LinkedIn network won’t see your MySpace page. Be as professional as you need to be everywhere!)

2.) Life isn’t as static or stable as it used to be. My father had two main employers for his career, and now is self-employed. I’ve had multiple employers, and now run my own business. That’s just a shift from one generation to the next. Now look at at the economy. In this economic turmoil, I know several people who’ve had more than one job in the last 12 months, and many more who have struck out on their own as consultants or business owners. Using your combined networks of family, friends, and professional acquaintances is essential. Personal branding helps your family and friends understand who you are professionally. Personal branding helps potential employers or clients understand you more quickly.

The Wharton article brings up some of the fears I hear the most about social media. But some of their concerns are addressed with the new privacy tools added to social media sites. If you are just getting started, expore your privacy options. If you have established accounts, look into it–you may have more options than the last time you adjusted your settings.

However, the professors who address the fears admit that they are using social media. For them, the downside is offset by the benefits.

But don’t take it from me, the marketing executive. Read what the academics have to say.

Discomfort Leads to Better Decisions

A new study indicates that the discomfort of working with an outsider helps groups make better decisions.

According to ScienceDaily.com, “Researchers noticed this effect after conducting a traditional group problem-solving experiment. The twist was that a newcomer was added to each group about five minutes into their deliberations. And when the newcomer was a social outsider, teams were more likely to solve the problem successfully.”

The research also indicated that the groups:

• didn’t take longer to solve the problem.
• used more critical thinking on relied less on assumptions.
• didn’t realize how well they were working together; they took their discomfort as a sign of poor performance.
• were shaken up merely by the presence of a newcomer who didn’t share a common identity, not by tougher questions, new information, or a contradictory point of view.

This indicates that a consultant who maintains their perceived independence from an organization can help the members of the organization make better decisions. This benefit comes in addition to the popularly agreed upon benefits of outside consultants:

• Infusion of new ideas and perspectives
• Specific expertise

Backing up the value of the infusion of new ideas is another study reported on in ScienceDaily.com that indicates that groups that are comfortable with each other may be very communicative, but they are not sharing information that is new to the group. This study showed that groups that shared new information were able to perform their tasks better.

Although Katie Liljenquist, one of the co-authors of the first study, acknowledges these other cases for diversity in the workplace, she contends that “reaping the benefits of diverse workgroups doesn’t necessarily require that newcomers bring unique perspectives or expertise to the table. Simply having people around us who differ on some dimension ­- whether it is functional background, education, race or even a different fraternity – drives a very different decision-making process at a group level because of the social and emotional conflict we experience in their presence.”

Having trouble getting to the bottom of things? Bring a consultant to the table.

“It was simply falling as rain should…”

My favorite quote about the rain:

“It was a thin grey rain; hard and fast and cold. In it we had to walk four blocks to reach the Jeep–we were at it’s mercy. As was my custom in such elements, I hunkered against the rain, drew my head into my collar, turned my eyes to the street, tensed my footsteps and proceeded in misery. But my hosts, I soon noticed, reacted in quite another way. They strolled calmly and smoothly, their bodies perfectly relaxed. They did not hunch away from the rain, but rather glided through it. They directed their faces to it and did not flinch as it drummed their cheeks. The Zillers accepted the rain. They were not at odds with it and went with it in harmony and ease.

I tried it myself. I relaxed my neck and shoulders and turned my gaze into the wet. I let it do to me what it would. Of course, it was not trying to do anything to me. What a silly notion. It was simply falling as rain should, and I, a man, another phenomenon of nature, was sharing the space in which it fell.

It was much better regarding it that way. I got no wetter than I would have otherwise, and if I did not actually enjoy the wetting, at least I was free of my tension. I could even smile ….

Surely, I was on the right track.”

Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins

Brand Favorites

As a marketer, I’m a bit cynical about marketing. As an example, I didn’t watch television for ten years–I know how insidious a medium it is.

I’m just as cynical about brands. Or maybe I just have really high expectations. I’ve been polling marketers lately on their favorite brands. What do they, as marketers, completely give in to, knowing that they are letting themselves succumb to the persuasiveness of marketing, the power of branding?  Some of the answers are here on LinkedIn: http://jijr.com/X2V.

Being fair to all my polling respondants, here are a few of my favorite brands:

Henry Lloyd. Excellent foul weather gear that endures years of hard wear, and company has excellent service for repairs or replacement

Ray Ban. I used to wear their sunglasses exclusively, and if I ever had a problem, they sent me a new pair.

Maui Jim. My new Ray Ban, and they are stepping up to the plate with quality and service.

Patagonia. Excellent, stylish products (for getting sweaty) that hold up well after intense wear. Like the first two, they have excellent customer service standing by their products

Volvo. I used to love it but now it’s Ford. Not sure what to do now …

Mercedes. I loved the campaign about how long people have had their cars. I remember vividly the couple that had bought their car in Europe, toured on vacation there, shipped the car home, and have taken every vacation since in their car. I’ve never had one, but since Volvo has defected, this may be my replacement.

Matthew Weller. Our local farm stand. He is the brand, and he is so good at it. Genuine nice guy who keeps customers coming back. Gives my son a lollypop, talks about boating with me, and baseball hats with my husband.

Safeway. Clean store, good food quality and choices, competitive prices. But the customer service at our local store is excellent. Once you ask a question, you never walk alone. The checkout people remember you, and they’ve even run after me in the parking lot if I’ve forgotten something.

Emerald Nuts. I loved the creativity and wackiness of their web site and their ads, but I’ve never bought them or eaten them.

The Amazing Race. Yes, I watch tv now. My husband and I think we’d be a great team. Not only do we turn our own life occurrences like trying to reseat a chair or drive through Naples, Italy into challenges, but we do them while keeping our children happy. Can’t you tell we’d be a shoo-in? However, the current show is putting me off a bit. It’s one thing if the contestants choose to wear their own skimpy togs, but forcing them to cavort on a gym mat in an ill-fitting white, somewhat see-through leotard or run through Vladivostok in their underwear is a bit demeaning.

Did you notice how many times I wrote “love” while talking about these brands? That’s a beautiful brand result. I hope my clients say they “love” working with me! (Anyone?)

Share your own favorite brands … but please include why you are drawn to them–that’s more interesting than the brand itself! And thanks for reading!