BNGIowa

What will you want next?

 I like to watch Mad Men. The leading man reminds me of old photos of my dad. My dad wore neat suits, white shirts and a skinny tie. He was very dapper. That was the requirement of salesmen back in the day.

I also like to see the way the business people acted (or the way the writers think they acted) back in the day. The way women are portrayed is quite interesting too. On the show last night, one professional woman confessed to wearing a wedding ring even though she wasn't married. She said it kept unwelcome advances at bay. Clever woman. 

This post isn't about all that, but that is some interesting things about the TV show for me. This post is about a comment on Mad Men last week. The ad men were using a focus group to test out an idea. The results were not what they hoped for exactly. The head creative said something like: How can they talk about something they don't know is possible.

I really liked that. I can think of many products I have that I didn't know were possible. I love Skype and use it every week to talk to my family in Australia. I used to think mascara was the only way to thicken lashes, but then there was Arbonne lash enhancer. I never thought I would be able to make a photo book so easily, I should have invented that! 

So it is important to find out what a customer wants, but just as important to find out what they will want if they know it is possible. 

Expectations

I remember doing research papers for school homework. Seems like there was one or two due every semester. I was lucky, my family owned an encyclopedia set. I remember my mom bought a book at a time with a grocery purchase until she completed the set. The books made a lovely display on the bookshelf in the hallway by the phone (the one phone and it was corded). I used the books more than the phone. That was what my parents expected, so that is what I did.

Information is available in vast quantities these days. But what about the quality? No one questioned the reliability of the facts published in the old encyclopedia. These days, it is hard to trust any information. Who is writing the stuff online? Anyone can put information online. Even me. 

So why do I write for free? Today, I hope to influence someone to be trustworthy and provide quality work. It will make you happy, at least that is what I believe. I guess that is why people are spewing out so much information and communication: We want others to believe as we do. 

Trust. Quality. I hope there are still people and companies who value those qualities. I have met too many lately who don't. 

Do Opposites Attract?

Seeing Sharon Osbourne on America’s Got Talent last night, inspired this blog post. I really like Sharon Osbourne, or at least the person she seems to be on TV. She appears smart, generous and caring and also strong, tough and hard working. As I watched her on TV, I wondered if her marriage is based on the "opposites attract" theory.

If you are a talker, it can be nice to have a friend who is a listener. But if you are adventurous, you probably want a friend who is adventurous too.

In my experience with Arbonne, a network marketing company, I have attended many training meetings. One prominent message is duplication. I show a prospect how I work my Arbonne business and then they do the same with their prospects. The system seems to work best when the prospect is similar to me, not the opposite of me.

Everyone attracts all types of people and for different reasons. Some attractions are about similarities and some are about dissimilarities. Law of Attraction vs. the Opposites Attract theory.

I like my dentist because he is not like me. He is not much of a talker, at least in the office. Generally, I am a talker. But not when I am at the dentist. I don't want to make conversation when I have a drill in my mouth or when my mouth is numb after a procedure.

People can't change is another frequently heard theory. But people can and do change all the time. I change from a talker to a non-talker when I am at the dentist.

What a businessperson needs to know is how and when to change so you attract the right customers. When do you need to be similar to a customer and when do you need to be opposite? To be really successful, you need to make those adaptations sincerely. You need to be multi-faceted in a real way. You can only get away with faking it for so long.

I Learned From You

Memorial Weekend is more meaningful this year for me. My brother-in-law died last week. He was a WWII veteran. So was my dad. So was my father-in-law. They are gone too. Soon no WWII veterans will be alive. Soon, there will be fewer of their widows to decorate the graves on "decoration day" too. If you go to a cemetery this weekend, you will see the widows. They open the car trunk and take out the red, white and blue flowers. Mostly the flowers are silk so they will last. They have other flowers in the trunk too. Gold ones for fall and yellow ones for summer. 

I remember looking at the photos of my dad in his Navy uniform. He was dashing, no doubt about it. I used one photo as reference for an art class assignment. It was a large pen and ink drawing. The black and white contrast of the white uniform against the foliage of Hawaii was perfect for the ink rendering.

I was fortunate to attend a performance of South Pacific, the musical, a few weeks ago. The timing, right before Memorial weekend, was coincidence. It made the event that much more memorable. The themes of discrimination, intolerance and defining freedom to still be around, long after WWII.

My dad and father-in-law and brother-in-law were part of the WWII fight for freedom. They thought freedom meant a man was free to work hard to support his family. And they did. They were all businessmen. They treated their customers honestly and with respect. They sincerely appreciated their customers and let them know it. They valued their work and the opportunity to do it. They were successful and the rewards were well-raised, happy families. Families who miss them terribly. 

I think some Americans view freedom as the right to do whatever they choose. Selfishness seems to be what they think freedom means. I hope on this Memorial weekend, some Americans remember that freedom and selfishness are not related. Freedom means responsibility. The veterans know that.

Buyer Beware

It happened again this morning. There it was, plain as day. Right in the title. 

I have been talking about this problem since the early nineties.

Back then, I remember getting a letter from Patrick Coyne, editor and designer of CA, in response to a newsletter article where I wrote about this problem in the ADAI newsletter. As a young designer, I was thrilled to get the letter. I still have it. 

Here it is 2010 and the problem is still rampant.

Ever since desktop publishing replaced type houses, it seems even professional designers, sign shops, ad agencies and others are in violation.

What I am referring to? Typographically incorrect apostrophes.

How do you know when this type violation occurs? The apostrophe should look like a comma. It should not look like a foot mark (sort of like an exclamation mark without a dot).

This violation happens with quotation marks too. Some computer software doesn't compose type automatically with correct apostrophes and quotation marks. The person typing doesn't notice. 

It shouldn't be a consumer's job to catch this mistake, but now you know, so be alert. I you buy a building sign, a menu, a billboard, an ad for your company or the like, be alert for this common mistake. 

Don't even get me started on bad typography on web sites. 

Talk Smart

What a way to wake up. As I was preparing for the day, I had Good Morning America on the TV. I think Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer are wonderful. They are smart and interesting. While watching the show, Barbara Walters showed up on the screen. She was promoting her interview with Sarah Palin. In an excerpt from the interview, Palin said the words: Bull Crap and My Bad.

Any interview coach would cringe. I cringed. Barbara Walters said she cringed.

While I would love to see a woman president in my lifetime, I want that woman to be competent. Actually, I want her to be beyond competent. That goes for a man too.

To at least appear competent for any job, my advice is don't use words like bull crap and my bad.

Stupidity

A certain theme came up in my conversations this past year. At a certain age, over 50 let's say, does every generation think the world is in decline because people are stupid?

Recently, someone answered that by pointing out that certain generations actually did experience devastation as a result of stupid decisions, such as, the Roman Empire and the Great Depression.

Will my generation be another? Will yours?

How do we eliminate stupidity? Better education is usually the answer. However, I think better parenting is the key.

I heard a story on TV about a man who wrote a book and was quite successful. He was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. He was asked how he could overcome the horror he experienced. He said he had a "joyful" childhood and he never forgot it.

I have heard the human brain compared to at tape recorder. The tapes we hear over and over in our childhood are the most powerful.

Want better service? Train a child.

Want better customers? Volunteer at a school.

Concerned about the world? Rescue a child.

Collaborate

When I read the article in the newspaper this morning about the "atom smashing scientists," the thing that caught my attention was the cost. I searched for blogs that might give me some insight into why ten billion dollars should be spent on an experiment that might give insight into black holes.

I found a   that suggested collaborative experiments can be valuable. It mentions that the world wide web was the result of a similar collaborative effort.

Personally, I have been collaborating more and more. I like to discuss ideas with others. It is a lot of fun. When I remember to keep my goal in the mix, fun and productivity are a great combination. When the fun and productivity collide, the explosion is valuable. Maybe not worth ten billion dollars, but hey, everything is relative.

Service with a Smile

Over the labor day holiday I spent a whole Saturday tearing down flood damaged homes in the Cedar Rapids area.  As with other service opportunities, I sometimes agree to help as I inwardly would much rather sit on my bum and do nothing or do what I want to do.  Despite my inclinations, I got my name on the list and showed up with some others of my church group to work a full work day.  Not really knowing exactly what I would be doing, I was mostly hoping that I wouldn't have to come in contact with too much fecal material as I heard stories of some of the less sanitary conditions that may exist in these homes.  My aunt who just moved here from Houston, TX to the Cedar Rapids area joined me and we followed our 10 other team members in a caravan to the project we'd work on.  As we took the exit just south of the river on the I380 bridge, I saw disturbing images of blocks upon blocks of deserted homes and small businesses.  Many of them had yellow signs signifying there was very limited entrance to the properties due to flood damages.
As we went into the home armed with masks, goggles, gloves, and crowbars I still wasn't quite sure how this project was going to start or end.  We recieved the go ahead to start removing the plaster and walls down to the framing of the home.  After ripping up the first portion of the floor, we found the second layer damaged and needing removal so we removed that flooring.  By the time our team was done with the house we had stripped back the interior of the home and it was ready for the contractor to come and start doing more of the skilled labor.
At the end of the day, I had participated in two different projects doing similar work.  Both homeowners were very thankful as we worked and when we left for the hard work we'd brought to pass.  I had talked to some of the volunteers from Cedar Rapids and learned that some of them had been voluteering in a similar fashion for the last few months spending evenings dur ing the week and long days on Saturdays helping the families of those effected by the floods.
I am proud of myself for suppressing the natural tendancy that I would normally follow to take the easier road.  But I feel that as a result of my decision the next time I am faced with a similar decision I will recall the "grateful that I helped" feelings and provide meaningful service to those around.  You love and appreciate those that you serve.

Smile, it helps.

Maybe you heard there has been flooding in Iowa. Lots of it. Cardensaraid has a link to some photos. My personal experience with this latest torture by Mother Nature was on Thursday. My mother-in-law was flooded out of her apartment.

She called at 5:30am and told my husband and me that she was standing in 3-inches of water. She wasn’t crying. She didn’t exaggerate. She even mildly protested when my husband said he would skip work and drive the hour and a half route to her town to help her.

My husband spent the day drying out what he could and moving most of the rest to higher ground. This was a very sad and physically exhausting experience. And, it isn’t over yet. She has to find a new apartment and move into it.

The remarkable thing about this story is that my mother-in-law is 90-years-old. She gets up every morning and does “her exercises.” She takes a walk three evenings a week and manages her own household. There is a saying, “Attitude is everything.” Observing the attitude of grace and strength my mother-in-law mustarded under this type of pressure was inspiring.