Trusting a stranger to trust a stranger.

The infamous Bernie Madoff. So much has been said and written about him since the tale of his bilking both private and institutional investors hit the scene that I nearly didn't write this entry. But isn't it worth saying that Madoff can - inadvertently of course - teach us something?

-The appealing culture of "my word is my bond" can be a trap. We like to believe that we can, through intuition and experience, determine that someone is good, honest, skilled, and trustworthy. Even today we often make deals on a handshake. The list of institutions, organizations and wealthy individuals that dealt with Madoff is troubling in part because each and every one of them wrongly depended on either their own judgment or someone else's, then entrusted Madoff with their money. It's hard to imagine completely abandoning our own intuition, but in the words that Ronald Reagan made immortal, "Trust, but verify." And certainly don't outsource the job. Don't trust a stranger to trust a stranger. Ever.

-And the Securities and Exchange Commission?? That's even worse because the SEC supposedly knows and cares about what it's regulating. Right? But the SEC gave Madoff a pass after a recent investigation of his operation. The jury (and there should be one, eh?) is still out on this, but the word negligence is too mild, and the word criminal may be just a starting point. Just saying. Sadly, here it is again: we can't trust strangers to take care of us, and apparently that includes the SEC.

-Little-known and poorly understood financial constructs (like Madoff's hedge fund) are dangerous investments, even if you're Steven Spielberg or an international bank. Abstruse mechanisms are sometimes that way for a reason. It's easy to get stupid in the search for way-better-than-average results, whether in love, finance, beauty, sex, or other matters close to the human heart.

-There must be other Madoffs out there. I hope I'm way off base on this, but suspect we'll uncover other investment frauds during the next challenging couple of years.

Be more stressed, be more smart!

[caption id="attachment_326" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Enjoying your day?"][/caption]

More smart? Smarter, that's it.

I guess I knew this, but I forgot. Some of us, and I suspect this includes many entrepreneurs and creative types, work way better under pressure. Not only that, we learn so much more when we suspect it's vital, not when we're feeling la-di-da. We also learn more when there are fewer people on hand to help us, like when those people are really busy doing their own thing that we've already assigned to them, or maybe they've thrown in the towel and moved to a faraway island. (And I'm sorry if I caused that... really I am. You know who you are.)

About learning under duress, stress and the rest. I'm of the generation that grew up not attached to a keyboard. No, I had to learn the hard way - as a young adult. And I've gotten pretty good at installing software, troubleshooting, even making an incompatible printer work with my Mac! (Four hours it took, four full hours!) For 2009 business planning in Dismal Economy World, I know it will be important to reach out to clients and prospects in a whole range of ways - from speaking engagements to media relations, mailings to direct personal outreach.

Even as a veteran marketer, I learn new skills when I have to perform unfamiliar hands-on tasks. Like running a slide projector (this is the stuff of nightmares for a verbal learner with no mechanical skills whatsoever). You'd think that the scary part of speaking in front of a large crowd would be... speaking. But for me it's displaying that damnable PowerPoint presentation. IF I have one.

So, in the perpetual interest of finding something lovely in nearly any situation - just think how much you'll learn this year! With so little support! How many new horizons! What an enhanced professional you'll be. Me, too, I hope.

The no-good sales call.

So much about business has changed. So few extended business lunches. So much cost cutting. So little hiring. Even the U.S. car companies now see doom for the corporate jet and maybe even those big bonuses for losing their shirts. But enough about them.

It goes without saying that our company has not yet qualified for a bailout, so we must slog on with making a profit.

We used to make phone calls to key people at companies we thought we could help - and then we talked with people on the phone. Strangers! It took courage. It used to work.

This calling thing appears to be pretty much over.

Let me ask you: how often do you take probable-solicitation calls from strangers when you're at work? If the answer isn't NEVER or ALMOST NEVER, you'll probably want to add a caller ID feature to your phone.

So cold and nearly cold sales phone calls are teetering toward obsolescence. FINE, who wants them anyway? Ah, but what replaces the classic cold call for companies in which selling is sometimes a one-by-one process? Bringing people to your door to ask to work with you or buy your stuff? Emailing? Psychic messaging? (Okay, scrap that last one...)

Think of professionals who never advertise but who are always busy. They've built a reputation for excellence - and it wasn't an accident. It likely took ongoing outreach, networking, PR, climbing the Google ranks, nurturing of word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and more.

It can be really hard to change the way you sell things. But take some time to think about this New Age of outreach.You know the saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. How ARE those sales phone calls going for you anyway??

Start building a business reputation that opens doors so much better than the ol' "My name is Milton Kong and I'm calling to ask you...."

Urban myths and the new American Dream.

[caption id="attachment_304" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="Scams and inspiration... oh, my brain is full."][/caption]

Two happenings got me thinking this week.

First, the scam. I got the email from a client. It said Talbots is closing all its stores. And J.Jill. Ann Taylor - 117 stores closing. There was more, but I couldn't see past the tears. After all, I am slightly petite. 5 feet nothing, actually. And like many women, I've learned where I should shop and where I shouldn't. I should shop at Talbots, Ann Taylor and J.Jill.The good news? The email was a fake. Thank heaven! I figured it out before I emptied the stores of everything I could squeeze into.

Second, the reformation. Last night I attended an outstanding event sponsored in part by a client, FieldEddy Insurance. John Zogby, pollster, spoke about his new book The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream. John says Americans will focus less on material things (in part because many of us have gone downhill, shall we say, in financial terms). We'll want our tombstones to say more than that we spent "37 years in a cubicle." Also, a million people now approaching 60 will live to be 100! He adds that we'll NEED to live that long if we want ever to retire.

Seriously, he makes some great points: that more isn't always meaningful, that we're tired of fake and want authenticity (he pointed to the Dove ad campaign for real beauty, with ads that feature women with real, lovely but imperfect bodies, as an example of how wildly successful that approach can be). IN FACT, we're so sick of the meaningless and the trivial that we didn't care about Bill Ayers or "lipstick on a pig" in the recent election. No, we wanted some real help and a real transformation.

We've been here before - and here's what we tell our clients and ourselves.

Economic conditions now are enough to give even the most seasoned businessperson heartburn. Some of the events flashing before our eyes feel unprecedented, at least in our time.

But wait! Remember that, historically, every market reaches its bottom and is then followed by a new era of growth and spending. Also, note that most of our recessions don't last terribly long – in fact, the National Bureau of Economic Research cites 10 months as the average duration of recessions since 1945.

In the meantime, every business has important choices to make about its approach to marketing. Surprisingly, treating a downturn as a business opportunity is a smart course of action for many of us.

Recently, we've been asked for our recommendations on this topic by several business publications (including a recent BusinessWest article). So, here in a nutshell, is our advice (normally a $999 value, but yours FREE today...)

Focus on customer relationship management to make the most of a down economy.

When times are tough, potential customers get wary. Deep down, we know companies will sell aggressively, often with little regard to our needs. (Oh, that reminds me – I need to return that clothing steamer I saw on TV for just $19.95 – don't let me forget.) The best marketing in such times counters prospects' and customers' fear of being "had." Now's the time to build and enhance relationships.

In any economy, there are reliable ways to assure that your customer relationship management efforts – including print or interactive newsletters, public relations, online surveys and client roundtables, targeted mailings, and a heavy dose of Web outreach – yield loyal customers, eager prospects and a stellar reputation that will mean sales now and for years to come.

Learn from customers and prospects. Make sure your outreach "listens" as well as talks – hearing what your targeted customers have to say lets you effectively support them. Make sure the products and solutions you offer are relevant – if they aren't, now is in fact the time to reinvent the wheel.

No network of viable prospects is too large. Enlarge your network of customers, prospects and influentials, establishing that you are the one source they can turn to – and always get what they need.

Solve problems. Offer prospects strategic support, addressing their challenges. Inform, advise and recommend appropriate solutions only. ('fraid so! Don't try to unload any old albatross product now...)

Remember the future is still bright. In a recent Fortune interview, Warren Buffett expressed his confidence in the United States' long-term economic prospects, "The American economy is going to do fine. But it won't do fine every year and every week and every month.... I mean, we get more productive every year, you know. It's a positive-sum game, long term."

Be ready. A 10-month recession – or even a longer one – will be followed by pent-up demand for products and services. Make sure you're top-of-mind by staying in front of customers and prospects now.

Investment advice... anyone??!

[caption id="attachment_284" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Pulling together a clever game plan is taking awhile."][/caption]

Step 1: I decided to look over my investments. Being thoroughly up-to-date, I have everything accessible online. Being thoroughly a coward, I hadn't looked at any of it in... oh, shall we just say, quite a while.

Step 2: Returning from the kitchen, now with a paper bag into which I expect to breathe for some time, I sat down to think. I thought about simplicity. I thought about how much I enjoy my work, and wondered if I will still enjoy it when I am 86.

Step 3: I realized I don't like simplicity all that much. No, I needed facts. An action plan. And thus I began my research.

Step 4: My financial advisor, whom I trust, said it's hard to predict what will happen next and how long recovery will take. NOT GOOD. Like a student seeking her guru, I continued my search.

Step 5: I assumed the major investing publications would help out. What sectors are good? What kind of a time window is needed to recover while staying largely in equities? Should I sell my jewelry on the streets of Springfield? I hoped to find the answers to these and more deep questions.

Step 6: "The answers" I have found

Big Oil: We told you so.

If you can learn from the mistakes of others, now is a great time to be an investor.

Dow 20,000 or 5,000? (Author doesn't know)

I've also learned that I should: use Quicken, keep putting lots of money in my retirement plan (kind of like dumping sand into a big wet hole you've dug on the beach, but okay), and look at exciting vehicles such as whole life insurance (who needs ACCESS to the money when you know it's somewhere out there?)

Step 7: What? I'm taking a nap now. Let me know when I should wake up.

Compromise: the fine art of making sure both parties are unhappy.

Hey! Welcome to 2009. Oh, I know it's not here yet, but in our line of work, we're actively looking ahead with our clients toward marketing programs for next year.

Just one thing, though. Much as I hate to mention it, some people are a wee bit nervous about (shhh) the economy. I, of course, have written blog entries and articles, and have spoken and even dreamed for heaven's sake about the importance of companies continuing a strong marketing program. And I stand behind that belief, as do (thank you, thank you) our excellent clients.

For fun, though, let's eavesdrop on a conversation clients and vendors are having, probably worldwide. The vendor could be a consultant or a manufacturer of roller coaster seats ... whatever. Insert your own vision.

Client: "Your work is great. Well... it's good. But we need you to accomplish much more next year and we have to cut the budget."

Vendor: "Ummmm...."

Client: "Your competition has offered to do the work free."

Vendor (confused): "Huh?"

Client: "We're willing to pay you a little bit, but only when we get paid by our suppliers. Sometimes that takes awhile."

Vendor: "This is not very professional of me, but I have five kids in college and I'm going to have a nervous breakdown."

Client: "Corporate says we can't spend much."

Vendor (defeated): "Well, how much CAN you pay?"

All right, that was disgraceful. If you ever find yourself in that situation, whether as the client or the vendor, remember one word.

COMPROMISE. Compromise means both of you leave the meeting a little unhappy and disappointed.Then again, both of you leave the room a little happy - no real winner can also mean no real loser, true?

In our next episode, the hapless vendor locates her backbone... stay tuned.

What can hope inspire?

[caption id="attachment_255" align="aligncenter" width="354" caption="Prior to the election, this huge display in Fairhaven, MA read "Obama Now!" "][/caption]

It feels like many Americans, no matter who they voted for, are now very proud of the U.S. for the historic accomplishment of electing our first African American president. I'm proud of us, too.

Of course, the next question is, "what can he do?" The country is in a bit of a pickle, economically speaking. (In fact, I'm burying MY spare change in the backyard and I really hope you won't dig it up.) Our health care system is great - if you can afford it. We're mired in Iraq, although to an expert military strategist such as myself it is evident that it's time to pack up and head home (I know, I know, not so simple). And we continue to be a divided country in so many ways - by religion, social class, political leanings, race, taste in shoes, and more. One election can't erase that.

However. The last eight years were a study in fear and resignation. Our foreign relations were often embarrassing. Our president couldn't pronounce "nuclear." (This is major.) We responded to an attack by retaliating - mostly at the wrong country, since Iraq clearly had nothing to do with 9/11. Oops, sorry, Iraq. Chances are good that that we can do better.

Obama represents even more than our first African American president (and I sort of worry about that term, because like so many of us, he has a mixed lineage and I feel bad labeling him). He is highly intelligent (what a novel idea! a smart president!). He appears to be principled and has the ability to analyze and deal with information in a sensible, non-hotheaded way. And just as lovely is the fact that well over half of voting Americans gave him a mandate and are squarely behind his presidency. While the stock market bounced up and then tumbled during and following the election, showing that optimism is fragile, I do believe that having a president we can be proud of, and one who clearly represents the future and not some worn-out past, will make a difference in citizens' faith in the U.S. and the way we move forward as a nation.

Could it be??

"American Public Rejects Global Warming." (Serious PR required)

"No, Mabel, I still don't believe there's a tornado out there."

Naturally, when I mutter "PEOPLE!!" and shake my head in disbelief, I don't mean you. You're really savvy.

But who ARE these people - the one in three Americans who do not believe there is solid evidence of global warming and the full half of us who don't believe pollution is causing the earth to warm? (All this from a 2008 Pew Research Council survey). And perhaps worse yet, what about the fact that only 41% of Republicans believe the earth is warming now - but 56% of Republicans know that most scientists think it is? (Gallup.)

Clearly, the scientists must be wrong.

Clearly, there must be reasons so many Americans don't believe it, don't care and (apparently) don't care to listen to scientists.

I got my son's Columbia University alumni magazine, (current issue not yet online, sorry) and to save the earth I kept it rather than mailing it to him. In the latest issue, the article The Deep Sleep sheds some light (heat?) on this subject. Columbia, kindly enough, has established a Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED). Some of CRED researchers' and analysts' findings, briefly paraphrased below, indicate that we need to create much better public relations outreach on why Americans should act now to slow global warming... and why we don't.

• We think it will be a problem for poorer countries, not so much the U.S.

•We have 52 senators from coal mining states blocking better federal policies - but coal, no matter how we position it, ISN'T clean.

•Some Americans' values preclude dealing with global warming: I know it's hard to fathom, but white, male, religious, conservative radio talk show listeners (yup) often don't believe in global warming.

•Global warming is just... too vague. We haven't seen the most catastrophic effects yet, so we focus on more immediate problems.

CRED researchers contend that people's responses to global warming information can change based on small differences in the way the information is presented. For example:

•Doomsday scenarios, while terrifying, tend to turn people off and away. Better to focus on solutions.

•When proposing a solution, describe its benefits before its costs (Marketing 101, of course).

•Explain specifically how our planet has been damaged and what needs fixing. Forget all the nature talk - we place higher value on what we've lost than what we still have.

•Look at people's values and address them. For example, the Christian right? Remind them of their duty to help their neighbor - including that poor soul living at sea level in the developing world.

•Tell people specifically how they can help. Which color Prius is best??

An Inconvenient Truth was a good start. But global warming is still very inconvenient, and we should make sure urgency outranks ennui in the American public.

Don't slash that marketing budget just yet.

[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignleft" width="114" caption="No, you aren't throwing it to the wind - really!"]

Of course the economy is shaky now, that's pretty obvious. But let's say you're a marketing VP and your manager awaits your 2009 marketing budget. Or you own your company and need to decide...

What to do?

Impassioned self-interest aside, I'm going to suggest you continue to manage a solid marketing program. But how can you justify it to your boss... or yourself?

The big picture:

-The US government is pouring its heart and soul (and its apparently endless "spare" cash for which we'll pay later) into an economic recovery plan so unprecedentedly massive that chances are good it will have a positive impact during 2009. (Okay, chances are maybe 55-45, but anyway...)

-Even though McCain has now assured us that he will win, there's a very big chance that he won't. And that is good news for the economy even in the short term. Barack Obama is a rock star. He'll start his term with a groundswell of excitement among the public, both here and abroad, and that will support optimism and some economic improvements - even now, many Americans are optimistic that the economy will improve. Consumer confidence matters a lot.

-Marketers have better tools than they did in the past. As a prime example, detailed return-on-investment analytics mean that marketers understand (and can defend!) how specific marketing investments are panning out and no longer feel a pressing need to scale back for the sake of short-term savings.

-A recession does not mean that business stops in its tracks. In fact, some sectors continue to do well. Selling to the military? Selling products to kids (believe it or not, that's one of the last places some families cut); health care products; anything that makes business, the home, or life itself more efficient; or anything that demonstrably saves money - you have an opportunity to shine right now. Oh, yes, and therapists apparently do very well in these times, but that's just a side note!

-Not in such a great sector? Still, business, even if slower, goes on. Your smart marketing helps improve your market share while competitors are pulling back and missing opportunities.

-Pulling back and losing business is a vicious cycle. Cutting your marketing is a good way to start a downward journey.

-In all this, it pays to be smart. Being consultative, showing you have your prospect's interests at heart, showing how your product or service solves a problem... now is not the time for vapid or unfocused marketing - as if there ever is such a time!

The little picture:

-Okay, if you have to cut a little bit from the budget, even after all I've tried to tell you, so be it, Jedi. Please make sure the dollars you do spend work especially hard - public relations, the Web, interactive communications, newsletters, and targeted outreach to very specific prospect groups should always be part of your plan.

It promises to be an interesting year. Your thoughts?

How to be smarter than an antelope, part one.

No offense to antelopes, lemmings, elephants or other herd animals. But they do things that we humans should avoid. Like stampede. And swiftly follow their leader when said leader is afraid. (As humans, it may have occurred to us as of late that sometimes our leaders aren't ... oh, shall we say... infallible?)

Watching a news segment about herd mentality on CBS yesterday, I learned the following. "We are mammals, just like the wildebeest in the plains of the African Savannah," asserted Andrew Lo, who studies emotions and economics at MIT. Huh, okay.

But then it gets interesting. Apparently, we turn to our mammalian brains (the autopilot stampeding impulse part) when things get rough, and Lo postulates that we have little choice. We react to fear like animals do, kinda. Fight, flight, panic. All that good stuff.

I don't like it.

Let's take a hypothetical (cough, cough) example. A client just skidded to a halt on a useful marketing project this morning, and did so for one reason only. It looks like time for a slowdown. So they will cut their outreach to customers. Take flight with everybody else! The cloud of dust is thickening and we hear the pounding of... oh, never mind.

Maybe I got separated from the herd at birth, but I can't help but wonder... how about counting to ten, twenty or thirty before following the trends?

One older motivational business book I like is Stephan Schiffman's Make It Happen Before Lunch. Among other jewels (yes, I mean that) Schiffman shares his theory of "living off peak" - contrary to the impulses of the mammalian brain (my reference, not his) he urges us to do as others don't. From going to work before anyone else hits the road to gliding down the wide aisles of the supermarket at 10 pm when others are home watching TV, the applications are many. Another expert I trust (and why the heck not?) is the great Warren Buffett, who neatly summarizes one aspect of how he buys and sells investments: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."

How un-antelopelike.

Dragged kicking and screaming into a new world.

Change is a pain. C'mon, admit it. Unless you're one of those hardy, adventurous souls who's currently stuffing your backpack for a long trip to the Arctic - oh, yes, after quitting your job and kissing your family goodbye, that is. The rest of us, sad to say, prefer the comfort of driving the same route home from work most days. Even if we hate to admit it.

Well, here's news. Obama and McCain are mouthing the right words. "Change is coming!" Etc. Only thing is, the changes they're promising probably aren't the biggest curves ahead. Don't spend your tax break yet.

No, the changes ahead will be more profound. Our basic confidence in the great economic engine isn't gone, but it's shaken. People are actually thinking about (next time) buying homes they can afford (and heat), about the merits of state colleges for their own offspring, about getting a smaller car, wearing a sweater (mittens??) at home this winter, and perhaps even buying less stuff in case times get worse.

The amazing thing? This may be all for the good. In our rush to trash our planet, we in the U.S. have consumed oil and gas, cows and fish, plastic, and ice cream (oops, that's just me) at a truly alarming rate. What we're seeing now is LIMITS. Limits that will prod us toward changes we've resisted, as a nation, as businesses and as individuals.

As in...

-All that money Wall Street was flashing around? Lots of it was fake, a bubble, a myth. The way it was "made" was something no one really understood, and now much of it is gone - actually GONE.

-Peak oil? How many of us have skimmed the articles and turned the page? Yes, Virginia, we will run out.

-Spending as fast as we earn? Oops. Not so smart.

I don't think the American way of life is doomed, or that we'll be living in huts in the dark anytime soon. Instead, I think we'll need to look at how money, honest money, is actually generated and at how our incredible inventiveness can help us come up with technologies and systems for a more sustainable, perhaps more sensible, world.

It could be fun. Really.

The confidence game.

[caption id="attachment_186" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Storms pass. Really, they always do."][/caption]

Marketing is an interesting business when times get stormy. I've been doing this for awhile (okay, forever) so I've been through a few downturns and emerged with my company battered but intact. In the process, I've learned a few things, usually a bit late and always after a good deal of capital, both monetary and intellectual, has washed away.

What I've learned in general:


-Some companies will cut marketing budgets. Very few of the best companies will eliminate marketing budgets.

-Some types of marketing look smarter than others in a downturn - we've talked about this before - informative, feedback-based, solid, non-hype-y outreach is the way to go now.

What I've learned each time the economy has tanked since my 1979 college graduation:

-1979: I should have learned to type and skipped Tufts entirely.

-1987: Having too many of one type of client (commercial real estate development, in this instance) means that when that industry crashes, my firm may get as much as zero cents on the dollar. As, in fact, was the case. Urk.


-2001-2002: Oh, my my. Were we ever overstaffed! Were we ever too slow to downsize! And were we ever interested to see we could do as much work AND make as much money, with fewer people. Wow.

-2008: Panic is ridiculous. The markets are getting carried away now. Innocent people are selling their 401 (k)s and locking in huge losses. But I'm betting that, by about this time next year, we'll have a reasonably stable, reasonably prosperous economy again. There's too much government intervention, all over the world, to repeat 1929.

Feels so good when I stop banging my head against the wall...

That's it. I've had it.

Many people are glad they're not in charge. Me, on the contrary... well, I've applied many times for the job of Supreme Ruler of All Things I Care About but apparently someone else is more qualified.

Like George W. Bush.

Or Sarah Palin. (A note from one of my sons' blogs: Google has reinstated its 2001 search index as a birthday celebration. "Sarah Palin" appears a total of ZERO times. Even my then-10-year-old had four listings in 2001.)

In any case, I respectfully withdraw my application to run the world. I'm going to lower my sights and do what I can to improve my country and my own life: save aluminum foil and rubber bands, perhaps.

Seriously though? Within my own weeny sphere, I'll keep plugging to build business for us and our clients, I'll pay my youngest's tuition so he has a chance to get the job he wants someday, and I'll vote. And blog. And... okay, continue to bemoan the worst of the greed, the ignorance and the blind allegiance to All Things Foolish that made me apply to be Supreme Ruler of All Things I Care About in the first place.

"In the long run, energy is fate."

The words above have inspired me more times than I can count, not just for business but for every effort in which inertia or failure of nerve threaten to take the day.

I've been thinking that courage in business (and it's safe to call it that right now) typically accompanies an inventive, independent approach. Just as I suspect that brave investors are buying into appropriate stocks while they're in the dregs, energetic businesspeople are grabbing the chance to get their company name and products dancing in the minds of their customers right this very minute. They feel even better as they observe their competitors in hiding, afraid to spend money until "everything is all right again." (And when will THAT be? If you know, you're one of very few seers who does. Why wait?)

This may not be the time for an extravaganza of spending or a great show of flash-and-bluster. We agree on this. But public relations, sponsorships, interactive marketing, online surveys to show customers you're listening... moves like that point out that your firm is a winner - in all seasons and through all conditions.

23 years running this business (Good grief!! Note to self, erase that indicator of my age before publishing post) have taught me that "thinking different" and being a marketing contrarian are signs of business intelligence.

Ignorance... it's not so bad.

I'd be obfuscating - okay, lying - if I said I weren't watching the stock market AGAIN today, even though my "money" (like the quotes? that's a new addition) remains for the most part in the same old mutual funds, melting a little more each day even as I repeat the mantra, "this is no time to sell. this is..."

But for a couple of days I KNEW NOTHING.

Yes, yes, it's important to stay aware of what's happening around us right now, including the quaking economy and the this-is-getting-really-personal presidential election. But I escaped it for the weekend by neither looking at a newspaper or TV news nor using a computer (indeed it's possible - just travel to the middle of a large lake in a good sailboat and forget that Palin is hinting that Obama is a terrorist, and that one's theoretical retirement is looking like a shrinking speck on a distant horizon).

Guess what? IT FELT GOOD not to know. And this is being said by a news-junkie-don't-call-me-a-nerd-bookworm-I'm-a-little-worried-oldest-child.

I'm planning yet another ignorance interval. I promise that it won't be a work day.

This morning I felt guilty about Starbucks...

I'll bet you haven't thought about T.S Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in awhile. Okay, maybe ever. But listen to this!

... time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

This morning, standing in line to purchase my $3.52-plus-tip latte, I thought "But we're going to have a recession! No! A DEPRESSION!" but I bought it anyway because it's really good. And I'm really tired and, well, feeling a little negative this morning.

But this is how it begins. Do I dare to eat a peach? (Yeah, Prufrock again.) Day to day, most of us trust the government to be foolish BUT NOT THIS FOOLISH. We trust the markets to not shoot down to negative numbers (hmmm, can that happen?)

And then when we find out we're wrong, we stop buying lattes, we don't travel as much, we don't buy that new house. Bosses don't hire new people, people don't start new businesses... and the economy tanks. Its engine relies on all of us.

So THAT'S why I'm doing my part. Lattes for the sake of the nation.

Please... do your part. Your government lacks the will!

Shall we throw them out?

To all the representatives who voted against the bailout plan... thanks for nothing.

We're watching the market drop now. We know you didn't want your constituents to be angry with you right during - you know - your election campaign. Why? Because you need your job. But your constituents - not all of whom have vast economics knowledge - need their jobs, too, and there's a good chance many of them will lose those jobs during the next year or more.

Here's the roll call for today's vote, so each of us can decide whether our specific elected officials deserve to get on the unemployment lines or toddle back to their seats in Washington.

Meantime, the rest of will redouble our efforts to pay for fuel, put our kids through school and maybe start (once again) saving for retirement.

This is the opinion of a voter, business owner (generally a bit of a free-market capitalist, but I know when to make exceptions), parent, investor, and citizen. And in each of those roles, I am sad, disappointed and, at the moment, disgusted with the House of Representatives. I wish we had heroes. I wish we had good leaders.

"This is the time to remember..."

[caption id="attachment_135" align="alignnone" width="128" caption="Prescient words?"]
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"... because it will not last forever." Billy Joel wasn't singing about the U.S. financial system in that melancholy song. But I'm guessing a few investors and small business owners are biting their nails this morning. We're watching history happen, and the few who rule and get extraordinarily rich hold a big piece of our future in their fingers. As Congress votes on a bailout, voters continue to barrage their elected officials with angry, anxious calls and emails begging them not to reward greedy Wall Street, and not to allow financial CEOs to collect huge golden parachutes as they depart their floundering firms. Many people don't want this bailout, thinking it "rewards Wall Street." So now our elected representatives, who to their credit have been hammering away to create a passable plan, must fear for their jobs if they vote for it.

Our grandchildren will read about this crisis. Will they say that "ordinary Americans" and elected representatives were unable to stomach helping out the fat cats and thus led us to a depression? Will our grandchildren learn that citizens weren't able to understand that when financial institutions crumble, one after one, legions of jobs are lost, retirements are ruined, families can't get loans for homes or college, and we experience a deep recession or even depression - the kind we've all hoped won't happen in our lifetimes?

Or will we face up, pay the piper (sure, with oversight and safeguards in our plan) and start cleaning up the mess created by the financial wizards and Gods of the Universe? I opt for the bailout. Painful as it is.

Flying without radar.

[caption id="attachment_121" align="alignleft" width="103" caption="In business, as in life, not having a clue what you're doing often ends poorly."][/caption]

One of the many lessons one could reasonably take away from the Wall Street/Main Street/Bailout debacle is this: It's dangerous not to understand the intricacies of your work. And if you're a boss, and you don't understand these intricacies, you'd better make sure that the people you rely on are on the same page as you. On Wall Street, risk is the name of the game, of course. To a certain extent, risk is inherent in every business enterprise. But the ambient dangers of any business venture (economic factors, competitive pressures, trends that affect the need for your product or service, and all the rest) are sufficient without piling ignorance on top. In the financial sector, we've seen a rather pervasive degree of ignorance of factors including:

-What happens when virtually incomprehensible mortgage-backed securities behave badly

-Why a housing bubble might just maybe burst someday

-Why the likely "depth to the bottom" is going to be really, really embarrassing. To say the least.

Now, turning our attention away from Wall Street... the last decade has challenged many businesspeople, especially veterans (yeah, that means old people, like, you know, 40). For many of us, changes in technology alone - whether in computer science, medicine, biotech or the like - have meant long evenings of research or, in some cases, toying with the temptation of early retirement (like, you know, at 40). The fact is that, when managing any career that matters, each of us has to keep our radar turned on, our eyes and ears sharp and our focus firmly on understanding the changing business/tech/financial concepts that, let's face it, we are duty-bound to master.

Funny is good.

[caption id="attachment_111" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) explores brainstorming at its upcoming conference."][/caption]

Creative brainstorming is a part of what our company does. Oh, it's not as big a part as interns and other neophytes hope, as evidenced by our laughter when a bright-eyed young interviewee offers, "I can give you great ideas." (Actually, we were hoping she or he was a whiz with the postage meter, or perhaps calling to collect late payments.)
But, back to the point. Creative brainstorming is crucial, particularly in cases in which the soul of outreach is ear-catching words, innovative graphics, or some virtually unheard-of new interactive approach.

Getting there is fun. Humor and offbeat ideas are a surprising route to the really, really, great idea. Say we're marketing a new macho product and need a name for it. Generally, someone in our "creative brain trust" ends up laughing so hard his or her stomach hurts, shouting out ridiculousness such as "buzzcut!" or "dude!" until finally, 5,761 completely unusable ideas inspire The Answer.


Our work is serious. Really. But when we want to get to that part of the brain that yields wonderful, original concepts, we need to unleash childlike abandon.

Nice work if you can get it, eh?

The imperial campaign of Sarah Palin.

[caption id="attachment_103" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Sarah, can we hear you?"][/caption]

You're right if you think I'm picking on Sarah Palin. I don't like her, and I really don't like the idea of her being one breath from the presidency.

You know it's bad when the press threatens not to cover Palin's events at the UN conference because access to her has been so severely limited that journalists are angry and disgusted. Essentially, Palin's handlers are allowing only photo opportunities, no questions.

There are two big problems with this:

One, she's running to be vice president and providing only scripted comments at planned events means that her words come from someone else and that we rarely see how she thinks on her feet... or what she really thinks when left to her own wits.

Two, the reason this is happening is that the McCain campaign doesn't WANT us to see how she thinks... or what she knows... or, perhaps most of all, what she doesn't know.

Limiting the damage.

A new American Research Group poll indicates that zero (yes, that's 0) percent of Americans think the economy is getting better. I suppose the specter of a $700 billion bailout will continue to cast a long shadow on public confidence. There's a good argument, though, for adopting a certain dogged optimism. At the risk of sounding like McCain when he recently said the economy's fundamentals were sound (oops), I've been through enough downturns to know that our economy is a massive machine with great momentum. Further, I think our emotions play a big role, and that "group negativity" deepens and extends periods of economic gloom. For example, as a business owner who works with corporate clients, I remember well that 9/11 was almost immediately followed by a freeze in corporate decision-making and an end to many marketing outreach programs. Why? Fear. Certainly, the economy was already in a tech bust, and 9/11 was terrifying. But I strongly believe that we worsened our situation by, in too many cases, putting the brakes on normal activity. I virtually never think George W. Bush is correct, but when he told Americans to "go out shopping" after the attacks, I reluctantly agreed with the motive behind the message. I didn't want our economy to be yet another victim.

I think we're at another turning point. The financial mess the U.S. and the world have gotten into is bad, of course. However, my firm's clients are still selling a lot of products, I'm still buying groceries and shoes, and, as I look around, I see some people are still buying homes and getting new jobs. Let's keep a sense that we can empower ourselves. Let's also assume that the sky isn't actually falling, just sagging. Let's assume the stock market will lurch back into a positive trend over time. As business people, consumers and human beings, I believe we have the power to keep ourselves moving forward economically - despite it all.

I remember: "It's the economy, stupid."

... Only this time I've started worrying it's me that's stupid... okay, maybe not stupid exactly, but ill-equipped to be an investor in these times. Not that my concern will stop me - My greed (oh, must I call it that?) outweighs my caution when it comes to stocks and mutual funds.

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignleft" width="116" caption=" Remember poor Mr. Bill from SNL? He's been investing. "Ooooh nooo!""][/caption]

But here's what scares me. Commentators such as Andy Serwer, speaking with Anderson Cooper on CNN, postulate that the market has become so complex, with its derivatives, complex mortgage securities and arcane computer modeling, that even the top people at investment banks and other firms DON'T COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUMENTS and how they'll work. Kind of like artificial intelligence gone mad... or Frankenstein's monster... Ooooh nooo!

Age 12, creativity unlimited.

Well, it's not just the sun that's brilliant... William Yuan, age 12, from Portland Oregon just invented a revolutionary solar cell (12 year old invents solar cell).

Imagine thinking about solar cells, to this level of detail, at age 12. Imagine following through and inventing a new one. It's one step toward viable use of solar energy. From a seventh grader.

Agility: business, watch the candidates and learn...

It's been nearly impossible to tear my eyes away from the computer as of late, because the news is as engaging as... a train wreck. We have financial giants on their knees begging for federal assistance. Plus candidates wriggling to get into new, advantageous positions vis a vis each day's hot issues.

[caption id="attachment_70" align="alignleft" width="80" caption="Gumby knows how to bend with the times."][/caption]

Well, the candidates take it a little far, and tend to be transparent at times. Since yesterday, McCain and Obama have become deeply, deeply concerned about regulating Wall Street. Also, McCain has shrugged off his "experience matters" overcoat to embrace the clearly untested Palin. Obama is sweating to shed his image as an "elitist" and become dearer to the working folks whose votes he so badly needs.

Sure, it's nauseating to watch. (I said "train wreck", did I not?) At the same time, I think our illustrious candidates have a lesson for Wall Street.

Think fast! Act quickly! Change when conditions demand it. And most of all, stay agile. Sinking behomoths like AIG are simply too massive and sleepy to respond promptly when market conditions demand.

Responsiveness is one area in which smaller businesses, or larger ones with smaller, "independent" units, have the winning edge. Although maintaining more credibility than a politician.... is good too!

Positioning matters in the news, for sure.

Goldman Sachs posted a profit this morning. It was 71 percent lower than the profit for the same quarter last year, to be sure, but it was a profit, in stark contrast to other investment banks who've precipitated the Great Skid on Wall Street.

The AP headline read: Goldman posts worst quarter since going public

Not: Goldman posts lower-than-expected profit

Or: Goldman remains in the black last quarter

The selected AP headline works well to add to the doom and gloom, doesn't it? I'm not advocating being a PollyAnna, but it's smart to keep a wary eye on the news media which, after all, is in the business of selling its wares. Big, exciting and even horrifying headlines sell. But if we care about our economy, perhaps we could position "somewhat bad news that could be a lot worse" as something else than yet another financial disaster.

Thank you, Mr. Greenspan.

It's great to know that Alan Greenspan recognizes a financial crisis when he sees one. Speaking about the mess that began with the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and that's now highlighted by the demise of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merrill Lynch and the woes of AIG, he informs us that this is a big one, "probably a once in a century event'', that will likely include the failure of more big financial firms. "There's no question that this is in the process of outstripping anything I've seen, and it is still not resolved," he assures us.

Seems to me that Greenspan should be more than a Monday morning quarterback. Such as... responsible in part for our current problems. Didn't he help inflate the housing bubble by supporting too-low short-term rates  for too long?  Greenspan has said the problem lay not in the loans, but in their repackaging as securities and subsequent sale to investors, but c'mon. Why couldn't he see that the policies that encouraged reckless lending would come to roost somewhere up the Wall Street food chain?

I'm increasingly disappointed in our "experts," from Wall Street to the White House, on the election trail and beyond.

Palin: "Perhaps so." Perhaps NOT.

Sarah Palin stepped boldly into the arena of foreign relations with two stellar displays of readiness for the presidency while talking with interviewer Charles Gibson yesterday:

• Asked if the U.S. should go to war over the Russian incursion into Georgia, Palin said, "Perhaps so."

• Asked what she thought about the Bush doctrine, she was apparently unfamiliar with the term and surely so with the doctrine's bent toward waging preemptive war to prevent potential attacks or related security threats.

[caption id="attachment_47" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="Palin Action Figure! Zowie!"][/caption]

Oh, dear. I think I'll return my new Sarah Palin Action Figure to the store. She looks pretty but she knows almost nothing that would prepare her for said "action."

Steve Forbes says a true thing.

Speaking to The Commonwealth Club of California on August 7, 2008, Steve Forbes talks about his support for a flat income tax. I'm not sure that's such a good idea.



http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=AVtVA48kYYg&feature=user

But he also discusses what has set the U.S. apart - and allowed us to thrive economically - for the past 200 years. He says it's the secret to our future success, too.

Forbes says the U.S. is the world's innovation leader.


I agree with him. It certainly won't be paying low wages leading to low prices that will keep us afloat. It won't be manufacturing plants that resemble ant farms, with workers living, working and buying goods all in the company "village." It certainly won't be blind loyalty to our employing entities.

Just look at your teenage kids, if you have some.


(If you don't have any, why don't you stop reading this stuff and go out dancing? Take a cruise?? Celebrate life!) Okay, back to my point. The American teen is nothing if not recalcitrant. You say it, he or she argues. In the U.S., we nurture independent minds, free-thinkers, video game whizzes, kids who challenge their teachers, and sometimes young adults who will come up with ideas we've barely considered. These kids are tomorrow's innovators. As long as we remain a stubbornly independent, quick-to-question-authority people, we may well continue to lead the world in innovation.

Financial markets sick? Dumb? Diagnosis unknown

It occurs to me that the people who know the most about the financial markets - presumably high-ranking investment/brokerage executives and portfolio managers, Wall Street traders and the like - don't know very much at all.

This is evidenced by the ostrich-like dealings with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (how many investment professionals kept stacking layers on that flimsy house of cards? How many mutual funds were still heavily invested during the most recent nose-dive?) It was surely feasible to predict this debacle - several years ago, my own father, a retired physics teacher, saw it coming and completely divested his Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae holdings. But the pros couldn't or wouldn't face reality. Are they so dumb that short-term greed led to the current market crisis?

Or maybe Wall Street is suffering from mental instability. The wild-eyed thinking that fosters rocketing from exhilaration to panic and back (the Dow is up 2.5% one day, down that much the next) tells us that few traders are thinking much beyond that day's news flash.

We "small investors" are frequently advised to sit tight and play for the long term. How come the professionals operate in blind reflex thinking?

Could it be that financial market professionals don't know what in heck the future holds and run scared every day?

That's comforting. And it affects us all.

Yet another reason we love the Web

I spend time in Vermont, and there's something so inspiring about the broad valley and mountain views, the stretches of green... I thought I knew all the reasons for Vermont's beauty, and then I read one of the information center signs the state kindly provides for tourists.

Oh. No billboards.

Vermont, it appears, does not permit these bastions of outdoor advertising.

I've been involved in many a billboard design project, I think billboards can be very effective and I often enjoy reading (okay, critiquing) them. And yet. A mostly rural state without billboards is uninterruptedly beautiful.

Which brings me to my point. The Web is a wonderful thing, because it allows us to communicate and market efficiently, without cluttering the landscape (or your mailbox) and it's even environmentally advantageous by comparison. It won't wipe out billboards, direct mail or newspapers. But the Web looks smarter as a key marketing tool every day.

Here's to green mountains.

Cynical, anyone? The communicator's dilemma.

Sure, I'm way too emotionally involved this election season. But I consider the time and the hand-wringing an investment in my professional tool set, because this year's presidential campaigns are studies in marketing, and very cynical marketing at that.

Which gets me thinking... how on earth can a communicator be believable when she has something "for sale"?

Personally, I look at everything the candidates and their cohorts do through a glass darkly. Picking Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee? Don't get me started about how cynical THAT was - and I so hope the women of America don't vote for her just because she has XX chromosomes. Obama's growing sympathy for the gun-totin', God fearin' working class? (Didn't he say something about them clinging bitterly to something? Guess hangin' around a few town halls in Pennsylvania wised him up...) Even the small stuff: Cindy McCain holding Sarah Palin's new baby on TV? Awww... but I notice she REALLY doesn't want that kid to barf on her dress. The cynic in me sees only a photo opp, not brilliantly handled.

Trying to learn from the mistakes of political campaigns... okay, so what about marketing products and services? The same problems can arise - it's tough getting a cynical audience to believe anything professional PR people and other communicators say - even when it's absolutely true.

Letting the truth be the point. That will help. The truth looks true. It sounds true. Maybe it's funny, eye-catching or new. The truth doesn't shift message just to be expedient. It doesn't underestimate the intelligence of its audience. It doesn't pull a bait-and-switch.

When you can't say something good and true about the product or service you're selling? No kidding - as a marketer, you should just say no. Save yourself for something worth talking about.

Integrity, over the long term, equals believability. I think it shines through - and that's where my own cynicism ends.

What's the inspiration here?

I've become convinced that the world is spinning into a new era. We're not fussing about "sustainability" and the environment for nothing. Our kids will need incredible skills, not just an education, to get the careers they'll need if they want to live in a house, drive a car and savor the occasional Ben & Jerry's pint. And we don't even need to mention oil prices. Or the roller coaster stock market. Or the U.S. mortgage crisis.

But I don't feel dismal. Not at all. I'm an optimist, so I'm exploring the boundless potential of creative, out-of-the-box thinking to change - well, anything.

My conclusion is this: conventional thinking isn't going to cut it for long. Not for leaders or intellectuals or business people or parents, or...

May I suggest a great movie about creative thinking and quantum physics? (don't be scared; if you know less about physics than I do, I'd be amazed): www.whatthebleep.com

Sarah Palin... do I remember her from a bad dream?

Yikes! Last night, listening to Sarah Palin's national debut, then the pundits' unabashed adulation, I felt ... so alone. Was I the only person in America who was horrified by her mean-spirited, small-minded speech?

Prime example: Palin mocks Obama for advocating that suspected terrorists, when arrested, be read their rights. And the audience agreed! Big time! Loud boos and vehement nodding of their Uncle Sam top hats made it clear that Ben Franklin's statement, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" is passe. Ouch.

I'm a marketer and a PR professional, so I should be able to understand how the masses think. Why then, as I heard Palin promoting her "hockey Mom" credentials and direly warning the crowd that this is a "world of threats and dangers" best managed by a man who has been tortured, rather than one who hasn't - why was I so worried that I alone, really alone, think Palin is a horror show?

In the light of today, I've encountered more enlightened individuals, none of them toting rifles or wearing the American flag as a costume, who weren't enthralled by the new candidate. And for that, I am truly grateful.