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An
Editorial From
Jeff Glaze
Jeff Glaze
Order this
eye-opening ebook from Jeff Glaze, The editor of
AtlantaEvent.com
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Greetings!
Wow. It has been a long campaign hasn't it? Or has it? I guess it all
depends on how involved you get in the process. For many of us it has
been an emotional rollercoaster and once again we are at the top of the
hill waiting for the plunge. It does not matter even who you vote for,
we all want our team to win.
So after today we can get on with our lives for a few years. But what
about next time? I bet it will be just like Christmas. Every year, we
find the decorations up or in the stores a few days earlier than the
year before. Like if they waited til Thanksgiving to put them out, we
would forget to buy something before December 25. I doubt it. But
starting the election campaigns earlier would seem like they wanted to
get a clear message out. Not so.
The unfortunate issue in this cycle is the voices that are not heard,
the issues that are not represented, and the people who go from
election to election without a voice. What about them? A few years ago
it seemed that there would be an alternative choice when Ross Perot
started his own political party. Where did it go? Why does America
cling so fervently to a two party system.
With only two viable parties it becomes a question of yes or no. There
is no maybe, why or why not. And if we had the choice would we choose
to use it? I tend to think that we are mired in a state of KISSS or the
Keep It Simple Stupid Syndrome. If given less choices, people can
easier make a decision. An easy decision is not always the right one.
It is like going to a restaurant where there are more than 30 choices
on the menu. People can't decide what they want so they order a steak
or a hamburger rather than sample the Alligator bites.
My question is why was it possible over a hundred years ago for people
to make up their minds when offered more than two choices? But wait, we
had four choices this time. We had a Libertarian Candidate and good ole
Ralph Nader. Ralph got some media coverage, but the Libertarian got
nothing. So what is the deal? Is it the media who strips away our
choices, offering us only what they want us to hear?
Maybe it is time for a new party. An American Party. A party where the
Constitution is king and the rights set forth by the founders of this
country are upheld to the letter, because they sure have been modified
over the past 200 or so years and most of those modifications have
given us more rules and less freedom.
If we had an American Party, we could then have a choice that falls
somewhere in the middle. Not left or right, but by the book. Not a
ping-pong voice of the winds of change, but a voice of the tried and
true. that if every American is left to do what is expected of them
without the burden of tons of unenforced rules that none of us is
really sure of exactly, we might prosper in this great country of ours
and actually do the right thing.
A Utopian dream? Perhaps, but is better to dream than to give up. Until
then, I will continue to participate in the system and when you are
also ready for a change, our voices together, a nation of one with many
tones will set the standards of change for the future.
So what'll ya have, the steak or the burger and would you like fries
with that?
A final note: no matter what you think of this editorial, there are
three incredible articles included in this issue. Give each a chance as
they can help you and your business/career a lot.
Jeff
Glaze
www.AtlantaEvent.com Editor
Take our Controversial New Poll "Freedom Of Speech" at
AtlantaEvent.com Click Here
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Feature Article
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Making The
Transition:
From Sales To Management
By Donalee Markus, PhD
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Making
the transition from sales to management is a process whose pitfalls
are numerous and well-documented. High-performing salespeople
promoted to management frequently underperform, and may even fail
miserably, because of poorly understood factors which go deeper than
a new manager’s qualifications, hard work, good intentions
and even inherent ability. Without a better understanding of these
factors, new managers may fail simply because they and their
superiors do not recognize the vast expansion of skill sets essential
to a successful shift from selling to managing. The new
responsibilities of a manager constitute a completely different
enterprise calling for all the old skills and quite a few new ones,
which the new manager may or may not possess.
Management, whether of a
project or a team or a new enterprise, calls for the multifaceted
ability to juggle many elements simultaneously. The manager is
expected to create systems, to delegate tasks and authority, and to
maintain a clear vision of and focus on the big picture (typically as
delivered from above), while also manipulating its parts.
As a new
manager transitions from sales to management, the company may or may
not provide training, mentoring, and other forms of assistance to
facilitate the shift. These offerings can give the new manager useful
tools for performing management functions. They may show the manager
what is expected; they may put in place the institutional support a
new manager will need. All this is to the good, yet the fact remains
that even those new managers lucky enough to have training programs
will not -- cannot -- be given the most useful tool of all: the
mental agility to re-invent oneself as a manager.
How,
then, does one transform one’s thinking? In the most
fundamental physical sense, this was until recently thought to be
impossible. Much of the brain is "hard-wired" to perform survival and
maintenance functions, and it was believed that all the brain was
similarly "set." Now, however, it is known that a significant portion
of the brain is plastic - a term neuroscientists use to describe a
brain cell’s ability to change.
Mental
exercise can actually change the brain’s "wiring" by
developing new neural pathways, extending branches to other neurons
previously unconnected. These neural pathways open and close quickly,
often in just seconds, but if they are stimulated repeatedly, in a
consistent and reinforced manner, the new pathways can become
permanent.
Clearly,
this new understanding of brain plasticity holds great potential for
everyone, not just the sales-to-management worker. How does the
individual go about building mental agility? Dozens of methods can
provide a workout for the mind whose effects and benefits compare
with those of a physical workout. Many games and puzzles require
visualization and the ability to think relationally: Chess, checkers,
Go, tangrams, even connect-the-dots puzzles: All demand of the player
a nimble willingness to figure out what’s next.
Games and
exercises do not, of course, address the specific requirements of the
new manager’s job; indeed they address nothing specific
about job, employees, workplace. Mental agility exists apart from
these and can best be improved with exercises and input apart from
these.
In other
words, it is no frivolity to challenge your people to solve puzzles,
play games, reason deductively, or keep up with Dance Dance
Revolution. When used correctly, all these devices provide exactly
the right types of stimulus to spark brain plasticity, increase
mental agility, and improve that priceless asset: a nimble
mind.
______________
Donalee Markus, PhD, is a specialist in cognitive development and the
author of Retrain Your Business Brain: Outsmart the Corporate
Competition (Dearborn Press). She offers seminars and workshops for
businesses through her Designs for Strong Minds and may be reached at
www.DesignsForStrongMinds.com
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Coming In January:
Jack Canfield of "Chicken Soup For The Soul" Fame.
His new business book is coming out and he will be
appearing Live In Atlanta.
Keep an eye out for info on
AtlantaEvent.com
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Feature Article
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How To Create Your Own
Luck: The “You Never Know” Approach for Turning
Serendipity into Success.
By
Susan RoAne
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Have you ever met someone,
listened to her story and thought to yourself, “That person has
all the luck.” You may even have asked her how she came to be
in such a fabulous situation whether it’s a career, a
relationship or perfect loft apartment only to hear the response,
“ I was just lucky”. Yes, Lady Luck often gets credit
for the wonderful events in our lives. But if we carefully analyze the
situation, we learn that luck has little to do with the successful
result. What matters are the actions taken by the lucky person and those
they wisely chose to avoid.
“Lucky”
people often have what I call, “You Never Know”
experiences. How often do we hear that expression as a reason to attend a
business event, go to a friend’s friend’s party or
take a class in a subject that interests us? My grandmother and mother
said it often as a reason to do something, a form of encouragement and
the offer of hope that something special will be the result.
These people who have experiences
of coincidence, happenstance and timing were to a one--- OPEN. In fact,
those that are open seem to have many experiences. With great respect and
affection, I combined two phrases and call them the You Never Know -It
–Alls and they are our role models.
Many lucky
people experience situations that were unexpected and evolved from
moments of serendipity that they saw as opportunities. Sometimes they
embraced positive feedback or good advice or just struck up a
conversation with a stranger at a fundraiser or on a plane. Rather than
being immobilized by the rhetorical question “Why?”,
they are the people who shrug, and say, “Why not?”
and forge ahead. They are everywhere.
How to BE OPEN To “ You
Never Know” Experiences so that you CREATE YOUR OWN LUCK:
1. DECIDE to be more open. When
you see people who have interesting experiences, laugh a lot, have
stories to tell, notice how open they are. Even if you are not, the first
step is to WANT to be more open. Intention is everything.
2. OBSERVE the open people you
meet and assess what they do and don’t do, what they say and
don’t say and IMITATE those positive behaviors
3. ASK yourself the time-honored
question: What is the worst thing that could happen? Most often it
isn’t even close to bad… much less the worst.
4. Be willing to apply the USUAL
traits of those who turn serendipity into success. (Pay attention to
issues, interests, preferences and your passion. Work smart and hard.
Cultivate a positive attitude. Take calculated risks. Communicate
clearly. Develop a realistic outlook that embraces possibility. Have a
vision that is bolstered by great follow-through).
5. Talk to strangers. I first
revealed this counterintuitive trait in How To Work a Room® and it is the
best way to increase possibility, coincidence, serendipity and luck in
our lives. Why? Well, in the words of my grandmother, “You
never know!” That means whom they know, what they know or where
it will lead you.
6. Make small talk. While many
people scoff at the meaningless aspect of small talk, for the people who
create their own luck, it’s often as a result of small talk
that led to bigger talk where they learned information, heard of options,
and were presented with opportunities. They found out they had something
in common and that created a connection that formed the foundation of a
business or social relationship and on-going communication.
7. Eavesdrop as well as listen.
While being an excellent listener serves people well, you can increase
your opportunities by eavesdropping. Sometimes you will overhear
something that sparks an action plan. You may learn that the company is
looking to expand their in-house graphic department. Once you verify it
through your network, you sign up for an advanced class at the local
community college. As a result, that you are prepared to step up to the
plate.
8. Drop names. While it is
something we were taught not to do, dropping names is a counterintuitive
trait of people who turn serendipity into success. It doesn’t
mean that you list the well-known, well- to –do, the
celebrities, politicians or captains of industry with whom you have
lunched. What it means is that you ask if a person you know from a
company knows an old friend who used to work for that company. Or if you
find out the person with whom you are speaking is from Butte if they have
ever been to Billings, which you have visited. Once a person or place or
favorite team or sport or school or movie or a food preference (mine is
deep dish pizza in Chicago) in common has been established, there is a
connection and the conversation becomes more interesting and
meaningful.
9. Exit gracefully to avoid
burning bridges. Whether we are leaving a job, a relationship, a career
or just a room, having a positive parting allows us to return, even
briefly, without hard feelings, bitterness or embarrassment. Sometimes
the opportunity that we parlay into our good luck comes from a source
that may be an ‘ex’… boss, beau, landlord,
spouse, friend or co-worker. Because we left well, those we left were
left with their dignity.
10. Say YES,
when you want to say no. Many experts in time management advise us to say
NO in order to keep our time to ourselves. The ‘You Never Know
It Alls’ who had many of life’s lucky experiences did
the opposite. When their plate was full, they said
‘yes’ anyway. When asked by an older woman in her
church for a ride to Bible study, Anna Maria Bertacchi said yes --- even
though she didn’t attend that class. The result was a loving
friendship from a woman who financially helped Anna Maria finish college.
Her degree allowed Anna Maria to obtain her current position that has
allowed her to travel to Europe and be part of an exciting international
world. IF she had said “no”, Anna Maria would not
have been so very “lucky”.
How To Create Your Own
Luck contains stories of people who started businesses which
began as a result of a coincidence (kismet, destiny, fate); other stories
will highlight how careers evolved or jobs are uncovered. And there are
stories of discoveries, inventions and happy accidents that have met a
measure of success. All of the stories have the ‘You Never
Know’ theme that is part of our lexicon and is the perfect
explanation for what seems to be the inexplicable, the ‘meant
to be’ or ‘not meant to be’ events of life.
Each anecdote reflects, not only the results of the serendipitous
moments, but also the actions and traits utilized when the opportunity
appeared..
And
what’s luck got to do with it?
According to oft-repeated ancient Chinese philosophy, luck is when
preparation meets opportunity. We create our own luck when we are
prepared to see the opportunities and willing to take action. Contrary to
the old cliché, opportunity does not ‘knock’ at our
door but it surrounds us. We just need to be open ---like the You Never
Know-It-Alls --- who provide a guideline, a game plan and great
inspiration so that the rest of us can do it, too!
Susan RoAne is an in-demand
keynote speaker and best-selling author of How To Work A Room, as well as
The Secrets of Savvy Networking and What Do I Say Next? Her audio-book,
RoAne’s Rules: How To Make the RIGHT Impression is also
available in local and on-line bookstores She is the nation’s
leading and original networking authority and can be located in San
Francisco at 415-239-2224 and at www.susanroane.com or
www.howtocreateyourownluck.com
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Feature Article
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Even -It-Up in Time
of Need
By Emmy-winner, former Wall Street Journal reporter
and author of SmartPartnering, Kare Anderson
Sidebar:
14 Low-Risk Ways to Jump-Start Your First SmartPartnership.
1. Print joint promotional
messages on your bills or receipts.
2. Offer a reduced price,
special service, or convenience if customers buy services or products
from you and your partner.
3. Hang signs or posters
promoting one another on your walls, windows, or products.
4. Mention one another's
benefits when you speak at local events or are interviewed by the
media.
5. Show the joint use of your
services and their benefit on the health of patients
6. Pool mailing lists and
send out a joint promotional postcard.
7. Promote your partners'
products during their slow times, and ask them to do the same for
you.
8. Share inexpensive ads in
local shopping papers or a nonprofit event program.
9. Give a joint interview to
local media.
10. Put one another's
promotional messages on Lucite stands on counters or floor stands in
waiting areas.
11. Encourage your staff to
mention how your partner's products can be used with yours.
12. Give your partner's
product to your customers when they buy a large quantity of your
product, and ask your partner to do the same.
13. Use door hangers,
posters, flyers, or postcards to promote special offers for one
another's products.
14. Co-produce an in-store or
other event, demonstration, celebrity or revered expert.
Is partnering for you? Well,
are your marketing efforts getting lost in the clutter of an
over-advertised world? Then adopt the single most efficient outreach
tool you'll ever find to attract and keep more consumers as
appreciative customers.
The Bountiful Benefits of
SmartPartnering
Act now to grow your
organization faster, and:
Get introduced to prospective
customers by people they trust.
Reach more hot prospects more
frequently and credibly.
Attract media stories that
make you their top-of-mind choice.
Provide extra value without
incurring extra costs.
Support causes in ways that
attract new customers.
Motivate more people to make
compelling referrals.
Keep your organization on the
cutting edge.
Stabilize your business
during slow times.
Inspire increased
per-customer buying.
Become more profitable
without working more.
By Kare Anderson
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Even as
many Floridians are fleeing their homes right now to avoid Hurricane
Frances, their *neighbors* in Florida and Georgia are finding a small
way to support them, just as they did last month after Hurricane
Charley and tropical storm Bonnie hit. When people visit a Winn-Dixie
grocery store they can help towards storm relief by "evening it up"
at the checkout counter. That is, they could round up their food bill
to the next dollar, with the extra change going to the local Red
Cross chapter for relief efforts.
This isn’t a random event. It reflects a growing trend of
organizations joining forces with others who serve the same kind of
consumer. Together, they have discovered that they can act quickly to
offer extra value, convenience or other stand-out benefit.
Partnering is Cropping Up in Many Places
That’s how Applebee’s attracted more customers
– many first-time visitors - to their family restaurants
this summer, without advertising more.
That’s how T-shirt designer Tami Minatelli was able to
exhibit at nine street fairs this summer without paying for her booth
space.
A new manufacturer of a unique, no-stain suntan lotion paid for
Tami’s booth.
Why? Because she wore their lotion and her T-shirts, with a sign
above her head, describing her original painting-on-cotton method and
the lotion’s “do no harm” guarantee.
Next to burn protection, that’s the biggest concern of
people who use suntan lotions.
When WeightWatchers designed and branded several low-cal menu items
for Applebee’s, followers of the WeightWatchers program
(and those who were thinking of dieting) had a new reason to eat at
Applebee’s. Applebee’s customers opened up their
menus and saw how appetizing a Weightwatchers meal could be. In
brief, they got introduced to products by organizations they already
knew and trusted.
In fact firefighters in Toluma used the same approach to get a
badly-needed but expensive equipment without asking their
cash-strapped city council for a single dime. Here’ the
shape of their partnership. The manager of a Pizza Hut in a small
Indiana town was approached by the volunteer fire department for
donations to buy a deluge gun. The firefighters were getting nowhere
with any of the business owners they approached.
The Pizza Hut manager didn't have the authority to donate money, but
he said, "Here's what I can do. We can pick a Wednesday four weeks
from today. Typically I make $500 or so mid-week. So, on that
Wednesday, after we sell that amount, every dollar that comes in the
front door I'll split with you. So if you inspire enough people to
get a mouth-watering pizza to help the community on that day, you can
raise more money than you just asked me for.
The firefighters loved the challenge. They hand painted banners which
they asked the locally-owned supermarket and gas stations to put up
on their outside walls. They had signs and announcements printed for
fre*e by the local copy shop – with a bright red *donated
by* credit line to the copy shop on them.
The headline on the signs and flyers read, *Eat at Pizza Hut. Save a
local life.* They visited offices complexes, even those with signs
that read "No soliciting." Who's going to kick out the volunteer fire
department, right? They went to apartment complexes, video rental
outlets, grade and high schools. They put flyers and signs
everywhere. And they attracted crowds wherever they went. Once people
heard about their cause, handing out flyers was like giving away
candy.
They got the signs in the windows of the downtown businesses,
including a McDonald's two blocks away from Pizza Hut. They got free
radio time and free newspaper coverage of their inspiring community
story.
When Wednesday comes around, the place was packed, with an animated
line of people out the door. They made enough money to get the deluge
gun. Pizza Hut did not pay cash donation but, instead, donated their
best resource – pizza. They became a community center,
helped a good cause, got tremendous exposure and also got people to
try their food.
Most importantly – it was a fair partnership because
everyone contributed, so participants are likely to want to work
together again.
In each story you just read, organizations that serve the same kind
of consumers created new opportunities for each other. They
didn’t just forge a partnership.
They crafted what I’ve come to describe as a *smart
partnership”. That means they generated more opportunity
together – for each other - than they could have in
“solo” outreach efforts. And, they method
attracted and delighted their mutual market of people.
As you can tell, any kind or size of organization can adopt this
trend towards joining forces to generate more value and visibility
together.
Perhaps that’s why partnering is the fastest growing - and
most controversial marketing approach used today.
With the wrong partners or methods, campaigns backfire and
reputations tank. Partners irritate or even alienate prospective
customers and supporters.
For example, New York Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to override
other public officials with a unilateral deal to put Snapple
– exclusively - in vending machines in city offices and
schools – backfired. He got a barrage of bad publicity from
angry local leaders.
Another example of not-so-smart partnering: American Airlines
partnered with companies to plaster their advertisements on the
plane’s pull-down trays. Talk about in-your-face invasive
promotion.
One*sweet* cause campaign got lambasted this week while another
attracts praise. What gives?
Two companies try to help
causes. One gets attacked and the other attracts wide praise and
support. What gives?
"Maybe Krispy Kreme should
offer free coupons for insulin and syringes to the kids who end up
with diabetes," said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial
Alert.
Krispy Kreme is lambasted by
this watchdog group for its longtime program of rewarding students in
kindergarten through sixth grade with a free doughnut for every A on
their report card in communities across the country.
Yet there’s nary a
peep of protest when M&M teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation to raise funds through the sale of new "pink &
white" M&M candies. In fact, on behalf of a cause to keep women
healthy, all kinds of groups are jumping on the bandwagon to
encourage people to buy a candy that is certainly no more nutritious
than a donut.
So it is ok to offer sugery
snack temptation to women, ironically under the umbrella of a cause
intended to keep them healthy, but not to reward studious kids with
another super-sweet snack?
In light of the alarming leap
in obesity in the U.S. some longime partners may attract controversy
today, as Krispy Kreme is learning the hard way.
The lesson? Stay clear of
controversy. Even if the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
isn’t criticized this time for what could be described as
an unhealthy partner, it could be soon.
But recognize that partnering
is a fast-growing trend because it enables organization to stand out
from their competition, provide a fresh and compelling reason to
support a cause or buy a product.
The lesson for you?
Don’t waste any
time. Recruit your “A Team” of most popular,
credible partners before your competitors do. Just choose partners
that can stand up to public scrutiny – and a method that
will delight rather than annoy your kind of consumers.
That’s what hundreds of other managers of businesses and
non-profits are doing
((http://sayitbetter.com/grandstore/SP_1.html)).
Here’s three more
snapshots of successful SmartPartnerships
1. Who knows how many people
chose to stay at the Ritz Carlton during one Fall, rather than at
another luxury hotel because of an added thrill, complimentary use of
a brand new Mercedes during their stay?
2. Over 80 U.S. campus
newspapers wrote favorably about a hip new Dutch fashion label called
50/50. After the years of controversy about clothiers’ use
of sweatshops, it was the first time many of the students had seen a
favorable story about clothes manufacturing.
50/50 designs clothing from
Salvation Army cast-offs. It shares profits with The Salvation Army
whose blankets, curtains and dungarees eventually show up on racks as
skirts, pants and belts, each accompanied by a flyer with Salvation
Army's and 50/50’s message: people need each other and
nobody should be excluded from society.
3. Targeting mothers with
hectic schedules, Geoffrey, a mega-store invited local businesses to
join in creating an in-store community center. Geoffrey sectioned off
rooms that now provide a children's hair salon, portrait studio,
snack bar, computer learning center and party room.
You, too, can become a bigger
customer magnet. In each of these examples, natural partners, serving
the same market, collaborated to adopt their unique variations of
SmartPartnering to become a bigger customer magnet.
Bottom Line benefit of this
trend:
SmartPartnerships generate a profitable payoff for all partners
because, at the very least, they can get introduced to each other's
customers.
Kare Anderson, speaker, author, SmartPartnering
(
http://sayitbetter.com/grandstore/SP_1.html)
co-founder
Say It Better Center®, Inc.
Andrew Pinelli, Managing Partner
Sausalito, California 94965-2464
(415) 331-6336 ~ editor@SayItBetter.com ~
http://www.sayitbetter.com/refer_kare.html
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Message Added: November 2nd, 2004 at 3:20 pm
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