http://www.producersweb.com/r/WIRE/d/contentFocus/?adcID=afc711e09ab92114717b0995b2770d88
My response...
Great article and I totally agree. Having gone through 4 acquisitions - and the subsequent transition phases, including senior management musical chairs... unless some executive had an extremely winning personality and background to show for it... the new management team was generally greeted with skepticism (on longevity and commitment). It took 20 years to kill the company... but poor decisions eventually took its toll. Poor decisions in product and market development as well as the appointment of senior executives. Those that were promoted from within the rank & file - were part of the core - and having them in a position of senior management gave us a sense of having a voice at the table; a seat at the table. Saying that, let me add that we did (fortunately) have some truly outstanding executives who were "transplants" that were extremely beneficial. Rotational positions (i.e. chairs with a life expectancy of 2 years) really was predominantly at the senior/executive level ... and we all know too much of a 'good' thing is never 'good'.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Blogs worth reading at ProjectConnections.com
I'm biased - I happen to like the blogs on ProjectConnections.com because they are entertaining as well as informative. They have humor and a sharp wit laced with usable and practical know-how. My kind of place. The one I just read was near and dear to my heart. It began...
"One night, we were talking about the bad bosses we had worked for. My father-in-law, Larry, told us that he once had a supervisor that held a mandatory staff meeting every Monday at 6:00 a.m. I told Larry that 6:00 a.m. was not that bad but a weekly staff meeting was just cruel. He was shocked."
The topic? My Role in Reducing Project Churn by Niel Nickolaisen: Take a few minutes and go to http://blog.projectconnections.com/project_practitioners/2010/01/my-role-in-reducing-project-churn.html
"One night, we were talking about the bad bosses we had worked for. My father-in-law, Larry, told us that he once had a supervisor that held a mandatory staff meeting every Monday at 6:00 a.m. I told Larry that 6:00 a.m. was not that bad but a weekly staff meeting was just cruel. He was shocked."
The topic? My Role in Reducing Project Churn by Niel Nickolaisen: Take a few minutes and go to http://blog.projectconnections.com/project_practitioners/2010/01/my-role-in-reducing-project-churn.html
Friday, January 8, 2010
Question of the day: FREE WILL
All of the great religions - first and second tier - seem to be in consensus in "believing" that a divine entity, whatever name you want to attach to "it" - "gave us" "free will". My big question is - why then do we spend the rest of our lives worrying about potential "wrath", judgement, penalties and "karma" that will result, because we decided to exercise it? If there are rules - other than the "BIG 10" specifically relating to the use and abuse of "free will" ... then I would like to know about it.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
who has control of the budget to make changes and enhancements to the company website, IT or Marketing?
Jeff Antaya, CMO and member of the Chief Marketing Officer Group on LinkedIn, asked that question. Lots of answers - 67... and growing. I contributed these thoughts...based on my experience with Marketing and working closely with IT in developing the internet and intranet presence for the company.
Bilateral; co-ruled, co-chaired; IT owned the technology portion of budget; the infrastructure functionality - everything "behind the curtain" to make the user experience enjoyable, build-out requirements and actual implementation. Marketing needs to drive the site; defining feature requirements, control content, conceive the 'big' strategy and own "the plan". Even if IT didn't have 'budget' to create all the bells & whistles (in lean times) that Marketing might want, Marketing still had to come up with something useful, usable... and worthwhile as an interim solution. Often, when IT would enhance or upgrade functionality (and/or features) --- Marketing could work with that by way of customer experience and customer focus groups. I see it as a mutually reinforcing relationship.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Dichotomy Observations
As a marketer, I am a business person focused on watching how companies and individuals brand and market whatever it is they are promoting; what works well, how was it positioned, what was the appeal... does it achieve its purpose which is to make me (or someone like me) do something, buy something, call something, ....sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
For instance, all these medicine commercials that seem to be inundating us... I listen to the promotion of the benefit. They immediately present the virtues or benefits of the product. Then I wait to hear the minor details, uh, like how your head might fall off, if you fall into that 1/100th of a 5% group. So if I take this medicine - I will achieve this benefit - with the ever so slight risk, of being a member of the 5% group. Hmmmm... decisions, decisions...Of course, I am not quoting statistics and this isn't a true "side-effect" (to my knowledge). I'm using this strictly for illustrative purposes.
We are using natural and unnatural or synthetic remedies... knowing fully well there are risks attached to it. The question then becomes of "value" - identifying and reaching that personal value that someone has attached to something else and how well this answers that value. This is not easy to do well. You have to study and educate your consumer - by successfully presenting the benefits, clearly - and the risks, understandably.
It also means you understand the driving force behind the acquisition -- and right now -- defying death is a biggy in our civilization whether we talk about war, famine, disease... there is an enormous desire to achieve Nirvana, Heaven, Eutopia, Bali Hai, Paradise ... whatever name you want to call it. Remove or at the very least stop where possible, mitigating death due to circumstances. Big business...
and then we need to turn and look at critical mass. The planet's ability to sustain the current and growing population - as other species are routinely culled to reduce population - the human one does not believe in that. We defy death - and challenge "survival of the fittest".
Thus we are creating a guarantee of polarizing conversations, and debate on how to handle this going forward. That is my activism side. The side that is a champion of wildlife and the environment. I am also a business person who needs to make living - and my trade is marketing.
Unfortunately, for me, this issue is the 600 lb. gorilla sitting in the corner of my living room.
For instance, all these medicine commercials that seem to be inundating us... I listen to the promotion of the benefit. They immediately present the virtues or benefits of the product. Then I wait to hear the minor details, uh, like how your head might fall off, if you fall into that 1/100th of a 5% group. So if I take this medicine - I will achieve this benefit - with the ever so slight risk, of being a member of the 5% group. Hmmmm... decisions, decisions...Of course, I am not quoting statistics and this isn't a true "side-effect" (to my knowledge). I'm using this strictly for illustrative purposes.
We are using natural and unnatural or synthetic remedies... knowing fully well there are risks attached to it. The question then becomes of "value" - identifying and reaching that personal value that someone has attached to something else and how well this answers that value. This is not easy to do well. You have to study and educate your consumer - by successfully presenting the benefits, clearly - and the risks, understandably.
It also means you understand the driving force behind the acquisition -- and right now -- defying death is a biggy in our civilization whether we talk about war, famine, disease... there is an enormous desire to achieve Nirvana, Heaven, Eutopia, Bali Hai, Paradise ... whatever name you want to call it. Remove or at the very least stop where possible, mitigating death due to circumstances. Big business...
and then we need to turn and look at critical mass. The planet's ability to sustain the current and growing population - as other species are routinely culled to reduce population - the human one does not believe in that. We defy death - and challenge "survival of the fittest".
Thus we are creating a guarantee of polarizing conversations, and debate on how to handle this going forward. That is my activism side. The side that is a champion of wildlife and the environment. I am also a business person who needs to make living - and my trade is marketing.
Unfortunately, for me, this issue is the 600 lb. gorilla sitting in the corner of my living room.
The Dichotomy: Prolongation of Life v. Population Critical Mass - Business, Marketing and Activism Collide
In one breath, we are doing everything to keep death at abeyance - from premature births to centenarians.
In the next breath, we acknowledge the human species population has hit critical mass.
We are the only species that gets to truly challenge "The Laws of Nature" and defy "Survival of the Fittest".
In the next breath, we acknowledge the human species population has hit critical mass.
We are the only species that gets to truly challenge "The Laws of Nature" and defy "Survival of the Fittest".
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Most Painfully Annoying Business Jargon by Christopher Steiner, Forbes
I read this article and had to laugh, out loud. Why? Because jargon has annoyed me for years .... and finally people are getting the message. He also points out that buzz terms like "full service" is one of the biggest offenders - "You don't work at a gas station from the 1980s, so why borrow the cliché? "If I hear one more professional describe their business as full service, I'm going to scream," says Deborah Shames, co-author of Own The Room: Business Presentations that Engage, Persuade and Get Results. "Does this mean your investment firm drops off dry cleaning and provides babysitters?"
Well, the fact is - I have used the term "full service" to describe what we do... and I meant it and mean it. In fact, people that know me and have worked with me are familiar with an expression I used "no job too small" when I would describe what I did for a company, or client - or in my previous incarnations in corporate. As a trade show manager, I would be on my hands and knees repairing a carpet with glue before showtime, or getting gum off of an executives shoe... if I needed to. In corporate, as an executive assistant, when asked by one executive what my goal was - I said "to make you weep at the thought of me going on vacation."
The difference for me is my customer service philosophy was founded in my early training as a waitress. I truly learned what it meant to give good service - even if it included helping a customer get a spot out with club soda. I'm not embarrassed to say I will do whatever is necessary to help a client or customer achieve their objectives as long as it is legal and doesn't humiliate me.
One client hosted an offsite retreat for her professional colleagues. I was an attendee, I was the organizer and I was the event manager. That meant wearing multiple hats, arranging the fruit, making sure hospitality was on top of their game... and my client's guests left feeling the "purrr" she wanted them to have. Full Service.
So my advice to the business community is to ask for clarification when someone claims they offer "full service". Just what does it mean? Does it mean that you can call them at 4:00 a.m. if necessary? Does that mean they will pick up your laundry? If so - grab em. They'll earn their money.
Now here is the rest of the article for your enjoyment:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Learning" (the made-up, annoying noun version)
Like most educated people, Michael Travis, principal of Executive Search for Life Sciences, a headhunting firm, knows how to conjugate a verb. That's why he cringes when his colleagues use the word "learning" as a noun. As in: "I had a critical learning from that project," or "We documented the team's learnings." Whatever happened to simply saying: "I learned a lesson from that project?" Says Travis: "Aspiring managers would do well to remember that if you can't express your idea without buzzwords, there may not be an idea there at all."
"Full Service"
You don't work at a gas station from the 1980s, so why borrow the cliché? "If I hear one more professional describe their business as full service, I'm going to scream," says Deborah Shames, co-author of Own The Room: Business Presentations that Engage, Persuade and Get Results. "Does this mean your investment firm drops off dry cleaning and provides babysitters?"
"Over The Wall"
If you're not wielding a grappling hook, avoid this meaningless expression. Katie Clark, an account executive at Allison & Partners, a San Francisco public relations firm, got a request from her boss to send a document "over the wall." Did he want her to print out the document, make it into a paper airplane and send it whooshing across the office? Finally she asked for clarification. "It apparently means to send something to the client," she says. "Absurd!" Agreed.
"Impact"
This wannabe verb came to prominence, says Bryan Garner, editor in chief of Black's Law Dictionary, because most people don't understand the difference between the words "affect" and "effect." Rather than risk mixing them up, they say, "We will impact our competitor's sales with this new product." A tip: "Affect" is most commonly a verb, "effect" a noun. For instance: When you affect my thinking, you may have an effect on my actions.
"Out Of Pocket"
Many auto-reply e-mails now carry the phrase: "I'm out of pocket until next week." Mark Daly, an account manager at the Davies Murphy Group, a marketing firm, isn't sure where the phrase started, but he'd like for its use to stop: "Expenses come out of pockets, quarterbacks come out of the pocket, but Johnny, well he'll just be plain unavailable or out of the office."
"Take It To The Next Level"
"Solution"
This word has come to mean everything from the traditional way to solve a mathematical proof to a suite of efficiency-enhancing software--and it is perhaps the epitome of lingual laziness. Says Glen Turpin, a communications consultant: "It usually refers to a collection of technologies too abstract or complex to describe in a way that anyone would care about if they were explained in plain English."
And A Few More, While We're At It…
Utilize: "Use" will do. Tee it up: Not without a caddy. Circle back: We prefer straight lines, or just an appointment to talk again in the future. Synergize: What?! Let's talk "around" that: This is what politicians do. Those who aim to accomplish something must talk about things.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/16/annoying-business-jargon-entrepreneurs-management-jargon.html
Well, the fact is - I have used the term "full service" to describe what we do... and I meant it and mean it. In fact, people that know me and have worked with me are familiar with an expression I used "no job too small" when I would describe what I did for a company, or client - or in my previous incarnations in corporate. As a trade show manager, I would be on my hands and knees repairing a carpet with glue before showtime, or getting gum off of an executives shoe... if I needed to. In corporate, as an executive assistant, when asked by one executive what my goal was - I said "to make you weep at the thought of me going on vacation."
The difference for me is my customer service philosophy was founded in my early training as a waitress. I truly learned what it meant to give good service - even if it included helping a customer get a spot out with club soda. I'm not embarrassed to say I will do whatever is necessary to help a client or customer achieve their objectives as long as it is legal and doesn't humiliate me.
One client hosted an offsite retreat for her professional colleagues. I was an attendee, I was the organizer and I was the event manager. That meant wearing multiple hats, arranging the fruit, making sure hospitality was on top of their game... and my client's guests left feeling the "purrr" she wanted them to have. Full Service.
So my advice to the business community is to ask for clarification when someone claims they offer "full service". Just what does it mean? Does it mean that you can call them at 4:00 a.m. if necessary? Does that mean they will pick up your laundry? If so - grab em. They'll earn their money.
Now here is the rest of the article for your enjoyment:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Learning" (the made-up, annoying noun version)
Like most educated people, Michael Travis, principal of Executive Search for Life Sciences, a headhunting firm, knows how to conjugate a verb. That's why he cringes when his colleagues use the word "learning" as a noun. As in: "I had a critical learning from that project," or "We documented the team's learnings." Whatever happened to simply saying: "I learned a lesson from that project?" Says Travis: "Aspiring managers would do well to remember that if you can't express your idea without buzzwords, there may not be an idea there at all."
"Full Service"
You don't work at a gas station from the 1980s, so why borrow the cliché? "If I hear one more professional describe their business as full service, I'm going to scream," says Deborah Shames, co-author of Own The Room: Business Presentations that Engage, Persuade and Get Results. "Does this mean your investment firm drops off dry cleaning and provides babysitters?"
"Over The Wall"
If you're not wielding a grappling hook, avoid this meaningless expression. Katie Clark, an account executive at Allison & Partners, a San Francisco public relations firm, got a request from her boss to send a document "over the wall." Did he want her to print out the document, make it into a paper airplane and send it whooshing across the office? Finally she asked for clarification. "It apparently means to send something to the client," she says. "Absurd!" Agreed.
"Impact"
This wannabe verb came to prominence, says Bryan Garner, editor in chief of Black's Law Dictionary, because most people don't understand the difference between the words "affect" and "effect." Rather than risk mixing them up, they say, "We will impact our competitor's sales with this new product." A tip: "Affect" is most commonly a verb, "effect" a noun. For instance: When you affect my thinking, you may have an effect on my actions.
"Out Of Pocket"
Many auto-reply e-mails now carry the phrase: "I'm out of pocket until next week." Mark Daly, an account manager at the Davies Murphy Group, a marketing firm, isn't sure where the phrase started, but he'd like for its use to stop: "Expenses come out of pockets, quarterbacks come out of the pocket, but Johnny, well he'll just be plain unavailable or out of the office."
"Take It To The Next Level"
In theory, this means to make something better. In practice, "the phrase means absolutely nothing," says Laurent Duperval, who runs an eponymous consulting company in Quebec. "Nobody knows what the next level actually looks like, so how am I supposed to know when I've reached it?" (For ways of actually measuring what's going on at your company, check out: "Nine Enlightening Business-Performance Metrics.")
"Solution"
This word has come to mean everything from the traditional way to solve a mathematical proof to a suite of efficiency-enhancing software--and it is perhaps the epitome of lingual laziness. Says Glen Turpin, a communications consultant: "It usually refers to a collection of technologies too abstract or complex to describe in a way that anyone would care about if they were explained in plain English."
And A Few More, While We're At It…
Utilize: "Use" will do. Tee it up: Not without a caddy. Circle back: We prefer straight lines, or just an appointment to talk again in the future. Synergize: What?! Let's talk "around" that: This is what politicians do. Those who aim to accomplish something must talk about things.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/16/annoying-business-jargon-entrepreneurs-management-jargon.html
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