Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hot site

I love presentations. Check this out. http://mashable.com/2008/02/16/forget-powerpoint-online-presentations/

Next week

We have a journey ahead of us at ENERGY. Next week will be the biggest in our history as the 5 hopeful brides make their appearance. Really, this is just the beginning. I wanted to say we have all been working extremely hard recently with TWO STRANGERS AND A WEDDING. Thanks to the greatest staff in the world. The passion is contagious.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

9 Words to Live By

1. Listen. I need to learn better how to shut up, look into people’s eyes, listen to their words and heart, and seek to understand.

2. Learn. I’ve been on this earth for more decades than I care to admit. Long enough to recognize that in the vast sea of knowledge, I’ve only gathered a few drops, and the best way to grow is to keep learning. I can’t know everything, but I can’t afford to become calcified, and lose child-like curiosity.

3. Love. Life is all about serving others. Even if I’ll never (naturally) be a touchy-feely kinda guy, I’ll always be surrounded by people who need kindness and help. No matter how introverted I might feel, others are more important. Reach out!

4. Strive. I guess I’ll never be satisfied - always wanting to improve things. It’s a blessing and a curse. Until my dying day, I hope I’m encouraging myself and others to push forward. No status quo! - passivity doesn’t produce much fruit.

5. Surrender. The other side of “striving.” God’s will supersedes mine; reality and circumstances aren’t always open to change, and people are people. Deal with it, Woodruff. Accept reality. Embrace and enjoy the fact that you’re not in control.

6. Share. Don’t keep it locked up. Time, talent, money, ideas, acts and words of kindness - it’s all a stewardship, to share with others. The upside benefits to all far outweigh the downside risks to me.

(these last three have to do with my particular professional and personal focus)

7. Consult. Think with people. Analyze problems. Come up with ideas. It’s a unique gift and calling - put it to use!

8. Connect. Most needs will be met by other people. Find as many ways as possible to help people with needs find people with solutions. More and more, become a hub for others.

9. Create. What could be? What should be? See what isn’t - dare to think it, and design it, and push for it. Leave something unique behind that makes life better.

ENERGY is...

"The thing about working with these guys is you never know quite how a project's going to come out...
you just know they have great taste and are going to wow everybody."

GMAIL rocks

Personal knowledge management is becoming one of the most critical skills that information workers like journalists, marketers and PR pros need to succeed today. Specifically, I am talking about the efficient collecting, processing and weeding of massive amounts of data.

Gmail is not just an email client, but a rich, searchable database. Think of it as a data mining system. The more data that you allow to flow into Gmail, the more you'll get out of it - if it's organized.

Books Beside My Bed

Chip Heath and Dan Heath: Made To Stick

Roger Von Oech called this one months ago; "The next 'Tipping Point'," he enthused. While I don't think the Brothers Heath will make as much of a social dent as Malcolm Gladwell, their book is much more relevant as a "hands-on" tool for any marketer (and makes a compelling case for the infusion of Surprise. Thanks guys!). Taking their own advice, Chip and Dan make a handful of powerful points, and do so simply, interestingly and eloquently. Along with the Sernovitz book, this is my bible for many of my new business endeavors, as well as for the fundraising campaign my wife and I are leading for our son's school. A real find!



Andy Sernovitz: Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

Andy is smart. He's getting people like me, and hundreds of others I suspect, to talk about his book. How? By being simple, to-the-point, no-nonsense, but most importantly, pertinent. Fewer anecdotes than "Citizen Marketers," but more of a practical How To manual. He's the reason every one of my posts have an "Email This" link.

Seinfeld on Gates on Microsoft (from Jaffe Juice)

The blogosphere has been lit up over the past week or two regarding the new campaign from American Express Microsoft, featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Ballmer Bill Gates. The reaction, with few exceptions, has been decidedly negative - scathingly so.

And now, we find out that the campaign is done:

That campaign either ran its course (if you believe Microsoft) or flopped (if you believe the critics) and is being replaced with an ad that will try to subvert Apple's famous "I'm a Mac," "I'm a PC" series.

(Seinfeld was reportedly paid $10million for 3 spots....2 have aired and 1 is in the "can" waiting for better days)

...or is it? Mashable via Gizmodo says otherwise. Of course, the source in question is a trusted CP+B person, who clearly has no agenda whatsoever.

I should point out that according to this LA Times Blog post, the needle of perception did move a tad, but how statistically accurate and representative this is, I'm not sure: That piece (New York Times) quotes a brand perception expert saying that Microsoft's image started out 25% positive and 13% negative, but by Tuesday was 28% positive and 8% negative. You have to walk before you can run, I guess.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

CTV story link...

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080915/CGY_marriage_contest_080915/20080915/?hub=CalgaryHome

Our bigest fan...

Mikes' Bloggity Blog
http://www.mikesbloggityblog.com/2008/09/secret-is-finally-out.html

The Calgary Herald
http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/qblog/archive/2008/09/15/240657.aspx

The National Post
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/15/two-strangers-and-a-wedding.aspx

Today's Page 6 by Kelly Doody...

ONE STRANGE WEDDING
At exactly 7:15 yesterday morning, Energy 101.5 launched what may very well be the most long-awaited, over-hyped radio "experiment" in Canadian history.

But without a doubt, the hype did exactly what it was supposed to do, because legions of listeners immediately chimed in to have their say on what may also be the most wild and wacky thing that's ever been attempted on local airwaves.

Well, aside from the time Gerry Forbes sent two complete strangers down to Vegas to get married one day and divorced the next.

But I digress...

This event, which Energy is adamantly referring to as a "social experiment" rather than a radio contest, is called Two Strangers and a Wedding. It's been done 21 times around the globe, but never in Canada.

It's a wedding where the date has been set (Oct. 30), the location has been decided (Canada Olympic Park) and the details are already being tackled by expert wedding planner Lisa Hanslip.

And lest we forget the involvement of psychologist Dr. Ron Dougan, sex therapist Sheldon Walker, matchmaker Maureen Wagner and spiritual adviser Kjarlune Rae.

The minor catch, however, the one small detail that this team of "experts" seemingly feel they can overlook, is that the pair will have never laid eyes on each other before walking down the aisle and saying 'I do.'

All this hoopla being aimed at supposedly answering the age-old question of whether love is indeed blind, or we do in fact require seeing each other live and in the flesh before walking down the isle and making the commitment to spend a lifetime together.

Kristin called in to ask when the sanctity of marriage became such a joke.

Garth phoned in to say it's ridiculous, but he loves it.

Anonymous declared it'll be like watching a bad chick flick unfold.

And you? A penny for your thoughts.

Some of the feedback...

Anonymous said:
It's just a radio station. Relax and enjoy. Jeez.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:49:44 AM
____________________________________
Jess said:
I think that this is an awesome idea! Way to go guys/ladies!!!
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:48:43 AM
____________________________________
it's me said:
Ok Calgarians, we are all wanting to have the feeling of being love and wanting to have the greatest reward of all, and that is to have someone in our lives. This social experiment is an awesome idea! Remember this is NOT a contest; this is a chance to find your soul mate and to realize that true love, does exist.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:31:23 AM
____________________________________
Ginette said:
It's sad that in this country and probaly others as well that a good part of the population o concider looks as being the most important.I've always said that if we all looked similiar no one any better looking than the other, all of us within the same weight paportion where we had to reachinside that peson to get to really know who and what they were all about there would be a lot less failures in relationships today.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:31:23 AM
____________________________________
Pasque said:
All guys, no matter how ugly, seem to think they can have the best looking babe.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:30:22 AM
____________________________________
JUST ME said:
It's sad to think that looks have such power in a relationship...right Freeway?
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:29:21 AM
____________________________________
toto said:
Grow up people...Remember...Applicants subjected themselves to personality tests, background checks and even a lie detector test, and the radio station brought in a panel of experts to help narrow down the candidates.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:22:13 AM
____________________________________
proslaviy said:
Hi, how I can send PM?
Posted at: 9/16/2008 7:20:11 AM
____________________________________
freeway frank said:
remember, it's not a contest! not a game..but a social experiment.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:10:01 AM
____________________________________
Ames said:
Tripp is a cutie....can I be in a social experiment with him?? How about a blind date? We could discuss who has nicer hair...hehehe..(I've got gorgeous long brown locks than hairdressers wish they could touch more!).
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:09:00 AM
____________________________________
matty s said:
If you have nothing positive to say than stay out of it and live your miserable life thinking that people can`t find love in new places... all power to this couple
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:07:59 AM
____________________________________
Pat said:
Here is a question for the dj's. If you were able to participate in this social experiment, Would any of you enroll in it. Personally i dont think i could just because I really dont beleive in love at first sight. For the people that do i wish you all the luck and i would really suggest reading the terms and conditions of this thing. Hope it works out for ya.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:07:59 AM
____________________________________
Hallie said:
Can you please play UNITY by Kelly Rowland ... love this song !

Thanks ;)
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:05:57 AM
____________________________________
yodit said:
It wrong, just plain wrong.
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:03:55 AM
____________________________________
its me said:
I think the contest is fantastic... people just need more of an open view... a lot of us singles are registered with some of the online dating sites, so there is no big difference when you are meeting some there or on this contest.
We are all looking for our soul mate!
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:02:54 AM
____________________________________
Emily said:
I MISS BEAT THE BANK!!!
Posted at: 9/16/2008 6:01:52 AM
____________________________________
Brandon said:
I am not thrilled about this ''non contest'' thing you've got going on. I'm old fashioned in my ways.

But what I'm really not looking forward to, is hearing about this whole thing for the next month and a half. For the build up they gave, the announcement was a let down.

BRING BACK BEAT THE BANK!!! At least that was exciting to listen to! Whether I won or not!
Posted at: 9/15/2008 7:33:47 PM
____________________________________
Anonymous said:
i really hope that this isn't all they talk about for the next 2 months, cause I'm already sick of it
Posted at: 9/15/2008 7:32:46 PM
____________________________________
Sarah said:
if society hadn't turned marriage into a temporary... if it work's and i stay in love with him... sort of thing i would have more faith in this... i am married and i don't believe in divorce... but i have a sick feeling that's what this is going to happen... if they do get married and make it last for the rest of their lives... all the power two them...
Posted at: 9/15/2008 6:55:50 PM
____________________________________
mike said:
get off your soapbox and relax. love is love no matter where you find it.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 6:40:28 PM
____________________________________
Anonymous said:
besides, we're all adults here.. nobody is forced into anything!
Posted at: 9/15/2008 6:15:57 PM
____________________________________
Anonymous said:
I love the idea... why can't people just fall in love
Posted at: 9/15/2008 6:14:56 PM
____________________________________
Annonymous said:
everyone serioulsy needs to calm down... blessed.. how is this against god? seriously! this isnt meant to be a joke! its meant to determine if looks are all that important when everything else fits so perfectly...
for those of you who think its dumb, dont participate, because there are some people out there who have been waiting a long time to find the perfect person and this could be a great opportunity for them.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:49:21 PM
____________________________________
Trrrrev said:
MARRIAGE IS A BIG COMMITMENT. AT THE MOMENT IT SOUNDS LIKE A GAME BUT ALL IN ALL WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:17:39 PM
____________________________________
kelli's baby daddy said:
So all of a sudden the city that hosts the filthiest and most debaucherous party every year has chosen now to ride their moral high horse? Pun intended.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:15:37 PM
____________________________________
single guy said:
I think it's funny that the married people are complaining because they had to pay for their wedding or that can't really be apart of this experiment

Well guess married people, us single people have had to spend thousands of dollars on your bridal showers, stags and stagettes, engagement gifts, wedding gifts, diaper parties and your children's birthday parties.

The experiment is only 7 weeks, chill out and have fun.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:14:36 PM
____________________________________
Anonymous said:
I think that ENERGY is tyring to make people realise that strangers can marry and than fall in love cause there are superstitious people out there with no believes and values.but i think the show is vibrant and happening and it's something that no one has the guts to do.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:13:35 PM
____________________________________
insider said:
if it's anything like the experiments around the world, the brides and grooms will be given the names of the day of the week they represent. ie: monday, tuesday or wednesday. No cheating will be possible.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:12:33 PM
____________________________________
porto said:
think its a great idea. if i wasnt involved with anyone, i would enter for sure**this is a very nice idea
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:11:32 PM
____________________________________
John O' said:
whats the point in that?
of course they're gonna get divorced
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:10:30 PM
____________________________________
Allhappned said:
it shouldnt be called two strangers and a wedding it should be called ''two blinded and a shamble''
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:08:28 PM
____________________________________
blessed said:
This one of the most stupid stunts I've ever heard of. However it doesn't surprise me. These people are playing with their own lives, but as many have said, marriage is seen as such a joke today, they probably thought nothing of it, also with the state of the general publics love life these days, they probably thought it was too much of an opportunity to pass up and it comes with a free wedding!! I have come to a conclusion, people who live life without God are crazzy!!
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:06:26 PM
____________________________________
deehow said:
Good idea to marry a stranger? I think not.
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:05:23 PM
____________________________________
Anonymous said:
THEY SAY THAT YOU WILL NOT SEE THE PERSON TILL YOU GET TO THE ALTER TO GET MARRIED I DONT SEE HOW ANYONE CAN MARRY SOME ONE THEY HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE THIS MAY ARE MAY NOT WORK BUT I GESS WE ALL HAVE TO TRY SOME TIME ARE ANOTHER AND QUIT BEING SCARED OF WHATS OUT THERE IN LIFE BUT LIKE I SAID THIS IS SOMTHING THAT THE RADIO STAION IS DOING RIGHT
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:04:22 PM
____________________________________
Valerie said:
Hi,

I think the wedding (social experiment) is a good idea but in the same way kind of dangerous. people can be hurt a lot. I can't wait to see what will happen. :)
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:01:19 PM
____________________________________
Kathy C. said:
I get the concept of meeting w/o seeing each other and think it would be great....just getting to know each other for real w/o anything else in the way but I don't like the idea of marriage after 6 weeks. You can't know a person that well to get married and stayed married. I know it can happen as I know a couple of people who fell in love and married after a couple of weeks but it is crazy...I can't wait to see how this turns out!
Posted at: 9/15/2008 5:00:18 PM
____________________________________
annonymous said:
danno im pretty sure anyone who is entering into this will have to get off facebook.. or not use their real name altogether.. im pretty sure energy has thought of all of this ahead of time so we'll just have to wait and find out!
Posted at: 9/15/2008 4:59:17 PM
_________________________________

The news...

Calgary Will Fall In Love With The Ultimate Blind Date Set-up On ENERGY 101.5 FM

-- Based on the international hit radio competition heard around the world, CHUM Radio is the first to launch Two Strangers and a Wedding in Canada --

Calgary, AB (September 15, 2008) – Is love really blind? Calgary is about to find out. After weeks of teasers and speculation, Calgary’s newest hit radio station ENERGY 101.5 FM launched one of the city’s most anticipated events today. Two Strangers and a Wedding…NICE TO MEET YOU, I DO, a social experiment made popular by radio stations around the globe, hit the airwaves this morning to ultimately change the lives of two Calgarians who won’t meet until their wedding day. All the action will unfold on Freeway and Meg in the Morning every weekday from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. with updates and new developments being broadcast throughout the day.

Based on similar events on radio airwaves in the U.S., U.K.,Australia – and now a radio-first in Canada – ENERGY 101.5 FM’s Two Strangers and a Wedding is a social experiment and interactive match-making event for listeners. Over the next six weeks, ENERGY 101.5 FM will assist in the search for two people looking for love, who will then meet over the airwaves, make a connection and wed at the end of the journey. The catch? They do it all without ever seeing each other! Starting out with hundreds of romantic hopefuls, listeners will have an active role in helping choose the lucky pair who will only lay eyes on one another on their wedding day, thus proving or disproving that love can be blind.

“Two Strangers and a Wedding will be an exciting adventure, and we’re thrilled to be part of the journey because it really gets to the heart of the age-old question of whether looks really matter. Can two people actually fall in love without ever seeing each other?” said Rob Mise, Program Director, ENERGY 101.5 FM. “When you add the benefit of technology, and the best, most qualified people to assist, like we have done, you really have a great chance of finding two people who are compatible.”

ENERGY 101.5 FM has created an environment that will allow two people to make a meaningful connection and, more importantly, make the right choice. By engaging credible resources from psychologists, lie detectors and exes, to matchmakers, sex therapists and wedding planners, ENERGY 101.5 FM has laid the groundwork to make the safest connection possible to ensure participants have fun and hopefully find love.

“Unlike similar matchmaking events by radio stations in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the U.K., this is not a competition or a contest for winnings or prizes,” said Mise. “The ultimate grand prize in our event is love and finding a partner to share a life together.”

For more information on ENERGY 101.5 FM’s Two Strangers and a Wedding, application details, event sponsors and experts, visit www.energy1015.com.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

free preview

Sign up now to become a member of Energy nation, and you will get the details on Monday's announcement EARLY! Have the inside info on what's happening, delivered to your email Friday night at 7! If you are already a member, then you are in. If not...sign up now! Here's the link.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

From Tom Peters


“Have Yous”


While waiting last week in the Albany airport to board a Southwest Airlines
flight to Reagan, I happened across the latest Harvard Business Review, on the
cover of which was a yellow sticker. The sticker had on it the words “Mapping
your competitive position.” It referred to a feature article by my friend Rich D’Aveni.

His work is uniformly good—and I have said as much publicly on several occasions
dating back 15 years. I’m sure this article is good, too—though I didn’t read it.
In fact, it triggered a furious negative “Tom reaction” as my wife calls it. Of course

I believe you should worry about your “competitive position.” But instead of
obsessing on competitive position and other abstractions, as the B-schools and
consultants would always have us do, I instead wondered about some “practical
stuff,” which I believe is more important to the short- and long-term health
of the enterprise, tiny or enormous.

Hence, rather than an emphasis on competitive maps or how blue your water is,
I am urging you to pay attention to my “Top 50” “Have Yous,” as I shall call them.
The list could easily be three times as long—but this ought to keep you occupied
for a while. Of course the underlying hypothesis is that if you do the stuff below your
“ competitive position” will improve so much that mapping will become a secondary
issue! Some will rebut with the tired old saw (and silly idea) of “doing the right things”
versus “doing things right.” I, for example, believe that if you do even a smidgeon
of what’s below you will wildly enhance both “do the right thing” and “do things
right.” (Admission: As an engineer by training and disposition, doing things right is
priority #1. I am an admitted “implementation nut.”) In any event here’s my list,
random, but in batches of ten:

1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer?
2. Have you called a customer … TODAY?
3. Have you in the last 60–90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from
the customer’s operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions)
interacted, via facilitator, with various of your folks?
4. Have you thanked a frontline employee for a small act of helpfulness …
in the last three days?
5. Have you thanked a frontline employee for a small act of helpfulness …
in the last three hours?
6. Have you thanked a frontline employee for carrying around a great attitude … today?
7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small
act of cross-functional cooperation?
8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another
function) for a small act of cross-functional cooperation?
9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly
team priorities meeting?
10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or
external customer to sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing
that went awry? (No reason for doing so? If true—in your mind—then you’re more
out of touch than I dared imagine.)
11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels
down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps?
12. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?)
about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps … and what specifically
you can do to remove a hurdle? (“Ninety percent of what we call management consists
of making it difficult for people to get things done.”—Peter “His eminence” Drucker)
13. Have you celebrated in the last week a “small” (or large!) milestone reached?
(I.e., are you a milestone fanatic?)
14. Have you in the last week or month revised some estimate in the “wrong”
direction and apologized for making a lousy estimate? (Somehow you must publicly
reward the telling of difficult truths.)
15. Have you installed in your tenure a very comprehensive customer
satisfaction scheme for all internal customers? (With major consequences for
hitting or missing the mark.)
16. Have you in the last six months had a week-long, visible, very intensive
visit-“tour” of external customers?
17. Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt halt to a meeting and “ordered”
everyone to get out of the office, and “into the field” and in the next eight hours,
after asking those involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging “small” problem through
practical action?
18. Have you in the last week had a rather thorough discussion of a “cool design
thing” someone has come across—away from your industry or function—at a website,
in a product or its packaging?
19. Have you in the last two weeks had an informal meeting—at least an hour
long—with a frontline employee to discuss things we do right, things we do wrong,
what it would take to meet your mid- to long-term aspirations?
20. Have you in the last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss “things we
do wrong” … that we can fix in the next fourteen days?
21. Have you had in the last year a one-day, intense off-site with each (?) of your
internal customers—followed by a big celebration of “things gone right”?
22. Have you in the last week pushed someone to do some family thing that
you fear might be overwhelmed by deadline pressure?
23. Have you learned the names of the children of everyone who reports to you?
(If not, you have six months to fix it.)
24. Have you taken in the last month an interesting-weird outsider to lunch?
25. Have you in the last month invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit
in on an important meeting?
26. Have you in the last three days discussed something interesting, beyond
your industry, that you ran across in a meeting, reading, etc?
27. Have you in the last 24 hours injected into a meeting “I ran across this
interesting idea in [strange place]”?
28. Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to report on something,
anything, that constitutes an act of brilliant service rendered in a “trivial” situation—
restaurant, car wash, etc? (And then discussed the relevance to your work.)
29. Have you in the last 30 days examined in detail (hour by hour) your calendar
to evaluate the degree “time actually spent” mirrors your “espoused priorities”?
(And repeated this exercise with everyone on the team.)
30. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by
a “weird” outsider?
31. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by
a customer, internal customer, vendor, featuring “working folks” 3 or 4 levels down
in the vendor organization?
32. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group of a cool,
beyond-our-industry ideas by two of your folks?
33. Have you at every meeting today (and forevermore) re-directed the
conversation to the practicalities of implementation concerning some issue before
the group?
34. Have you at every meeting today (and forevermore) had an end-of-meeting
discussion on “action items to be dealt with in the next 4 or 48 hours? (And then
made this list public—and followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone has
at least one such item.)
35. Have you had a discussion in the last six months about what it would take
to get recognition in a local-national poll of “best places to work”?
36. Have you in the last month approved a cool-different training course for
one of your folks?
37. Have you in the last month taught a frontline training course?
38. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of Excellence? (What it means,
how to get there.)
39. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of “Wow”? (What it means,
how to inject it into an ongoing “routine” project.)
40. Have you in the last 45 days assessed some major process in terms of the
details of the “experience,” as well as results it provides to its external or internal
customers?
41. Have you in the last month had one of your folks attend a meeting you were
supposed to go to that gives them unusual exposure to senior folks?
42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat with a trusted friend or “coach” to
discuss your “management style”—and its long- and short-term impact on the group?
43. Have you in the last three days considered a professional relationship that was
a little rocky and made a call to the person involved to discuss issues and smooth the
waters? (Taking the “blame,” fully deserved or not, for letting the thing-issue fester.)
44. Have you in the last … two hours … stopped by someone’s (two-levels “down”)
office-workspace for 5 minutes to ask “What do you think?” about an issue that
arose at a more or less just completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10 or
so minutes to listen—and visibly taken notes.)
45. Have you … in the last day … looked around you to assess whether the
diversity pretty accurately maps the diversity of the market being served? (And …)
46. Have you in the last day at some meeting gone out of your way to make
sure that a normally reticent person was engaged in a conversation—and then thanked
him or her, perhaps privately, for their contribution?
47. Have you during your tenure instituted very public (visible) presentations
of performance?
48. Have you in the last four months had a session specifically aimed at checking
on the “corporate culture” and the degree we are true to it—with all presentations
by relatively junior folks, including frontline folks? (And with a determined effort to
keep the conversation restricted to “real world” “small” cases—not theory.)
49. Have you in the last six months talked about the Internal Brand Promise?
50. Have you in the last year had a full-day off-site to talk about individual
(and group) aspirations?

Good luck! (“Enjoy”—it should be fun!! This is the “real stuff” of life!!)
Possible Application:

1. Pick one of these items that you do by yourself in the next 24–48 hours.
2. Do it!
3. Use the list as the trigger for an ongoing discussion.
4. As a team, pick two long-term and three short-term ideas.
5. Construct an implementation program for the above.
6. Review, regularly—what works and why, what didn’t work and why.
7. Pick a few more items.
8. On a semi-annual basis, review the list as a whole—particulars
and the “spirit of the list.”

Monday, September 08, 2008

The right choice for continued safety

Since ENERGY 101-5 is talking about a wedding...

My fave NFL spot so far




I watched it two or three times on the DVR - in a row - before moving on and finding it online, and I’ve had the browser tab open ever since. Check out the Monday Night Football spot below, featuring a notable performer in recent times, and a nifty dream sequence. Oh yeah, it’s all about the dream sequence.

Quotes

Failed programs are necessary for the lessons they teach us. Part of the price of staying in business is failure.“The world belongs to the discontented.” – Oscar Wilde

If a company has never failed, they are too complacent and not discontented enough to risk its current state to impact its future state.

“I’m in favor of leaving the status quo the way it is.” — Yogi Berra

Being inflexible and having an infallible belief in having THE formula for sustainable business success is a recipe for failure.

“History is downstream – the future is upstream.” Meaning, it’s easy to go where history guides you.“History is downstream – the future is upstream.” Meaning, it’s difficult to fight the downstream waters to go upstream into the future.When managers/execs isolate themselves and build barriers between them and employees (as well as customers), failure is assured.“A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” — John le Carre

Execs that isolate and alienate themselves breed rumor and revolt. However, it’s a winning strategy for business failure.Success comes truer to businesses when managers/execs know the names of their employees and regularly break bread with employees.

“It’s a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn’t want to hear.” — Dick Cavett

“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.” — John Wooden

Failure in business is sure to occur when executives never admit to a problem or a mistake. Assuming infallibility is highly destructive.Fail faster by always cloaking the truth. Lie. Never shoot straight. Make it a point to fool people at every turn.Business failure will happen if you never stop to think.Taking time to think isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. If nobody stops think, a business will make the same mistakes time and time again.Business failure will occur if you avoid the responsibility to think strategically and instead, put all your faith in outside consultants.Besides suppressing employee creativity, adding layers of bureaucracy will make a smart company dumb.The more excitement behind a project will increase urgency and increase the chance bureaucratic blunders will bring about failure.Failure in business is sure to occur when execs allow administrative concerns to supersede all other day-to-day business activities.“The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” — George Bernard Shaw

Sending mixed messages to employees and customers will result in business failure because it will destroy your competitive positioning.“Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.” — Michael Pritchard

“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land.” — Helen Keller

Fearing business failure is paralyzing. Fearing the future of your business only guarantees its future will be a failure.The most serious risk to the success of a business is to not take any risks.To succeed in business, a business must sow the seeds of failure. Why? … because a company that has never failed, will never succeed.“To quit taking risks is a serious risk!” Donald Keough, author of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF BUSINESS FAILURE

One week to go

"Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day." — Frances Hesselbein The Key to Cultural Transformation