This holiday, let's change our world.

There are few people in the United States whose past several days have been purely festive, contented or even merely productive. The tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School has shaken the nation, and in nearly every home, office, school, mall, and playground, this holiday season has been marked by a terrible sadness.

Perhaps the one thing we as a people can take from Newtown, Connecticut is that something needs to change. In fact, a number of things need to change. Because while this tragedy shook the nation, it is not the first of its kind, and it was the result of many cultural factors that we see all around us every day. American gun culture, violent and cruel video games, still-prevalent bullying in schools, mediocre access to mental health care and the tone and content of media coverage for events such as this are among the topics we need to study as we work to change - IF we work to change. The answers won't be easy, but surely we can do better than we are doing now.

This isn't just an issue for politicians. Business plays a part in deciding what products we develop and market to adults and kids. The public plays a part in not losing interest or focus on this issue two weeks or two months from now. Students play a part in not bullying and tormenting other kids, parents in reconsidering what kinds of video games their kids play - and what they learn about guns and violence. And, yes, our political leaders need to demonstrate sustained courage and wisdom.

May we all do our part. That would be the best way to make this marred 2012 holiday season worthwhile, and to honor all the people impacted by the tragedy at Newtown. Wishing you peace and love during the holidays and beyond.

Take the night off - and read about thinking

A book that nudges you into thinking in a whole different way... in this case, about thinking itself ... is a great way to get those synapses firing.

Treat yourself to an evening (or two) with Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman; the preceding link goes to a review I particularly liked, so I'm not going to attempt to improve on it here. A friend recommended Thinking, Fast and Slow via Facebook, saying it caused a "paradigm shift" in his own thinking. I am particularly taken by the concept of the systematic mistakes and non-logical thought processes to which most of us succumb. Just one example: Test subjects are more likely to opt for surgery if told that the “survival” rate is 90 percent, rather than that the mortality rate is 10 percent. Mind you, not all of us fall for this one – but as you read, I imagine you'll find yourself nodding ruefully at times!

Kahneman explores the strengths and (more important) the limitations of heuristics (experience-based techniques for problem solving) and reveals some of the limitations on our "System 1" or "nearly automatic" thinking. While it is imperative not to have to rethink everything from the ground up, it became apparent to me as I read that taking care not to over-assume and speed to resolution on problems might serve a purpose professionally and personally.

I'd enjoy hearing your take. Me? I'm questioning my snap assumptions... that is, when I remember to take the time to do so.

What a career!

It's the dog days of summer, but there will be no lolling about here.

van Schouwen Associates has a career opportunity available... for the right person. We want a strategic communications professional to join our writing and PR team. WELL, you may say, that should be an easy position to fill.

Nope. In fact, looking for the right person to fill this job opening gives the existing vSA team a new appreciation for what we do every day. And it gives me a new appreciation for the team we have. The job opportunity requires a person who can:

-Face undaunted the task of QUICKLY learning to communicate intelligently about client specialties that may range from geothermal engineering to patented building supplies, aerospace quality management to investment planning for the wealthy.

-Write like Ernest Hemingway about said topics.

-Edit like... oh, I don't know, A.M. Rosenthal?... about said topics.

-For media relations initiatives, pitch to diverse, extremely busy editors, employing a keen understanding of what each editor, each venue and each readership needs right now.

-Switch between topics, disciplines and client needs at a moment's notice. And again. And...

-Genuinely enjoy working with clients who are smart, busy, facing pressures and deadlines of their own, and who trust vSA to create and implement strategic marketing programs that perform... programs that perform extremely well, no matter what the climate.

-Come up with great program ideas and innovations for clients.

-Work social media in B2B, financial services and other wilderness expanses.

-Work with the rest of us.*

Are you the one? Do you know the one? Be in touch...

*We're fun. Naturally.

"Eat two cookies and call in the morning."

Been running ragged at work (or everywhere), keeping up with multiple business demands, making up for lost time, and feverishly planning for 2011?

When everyday life is crammed with back-to-back meetings, laughable improbable deadlines and same-old-same-old hotels in various snowy or gray cities, it can be such a pleasure to take a few days off to catch our breath for the ones ahead.*

Wishing you happy holidays.

*After you're done shopping, traveling, greeting long-lost relatives and guests, and preparing gifts and food, that is.

Neither here nor there

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Telecommuting, flex time and virtual business models are all the rage. Outsourcing projects rather than committing to long-term staff additions is popular now, too. No surprise there. The current state of the economy (I can barely wait until we're no longer using that phrase quite so often!) demands efficiency, forces uncertainty, and makes available some stellar candidates with whom to work. In other words, a lot of great people are out of their former 9-5 salaried work routines. Even the 2010 census work is moving faster than expected because of the availability of outstanding temporary labor. Oh, that's not much of a silver lining, perhaps, but there it is.

These new ways of working bode well for some businesses, and for some individuals. Streamlined processes, virtual meetings, work from anywhere (okay, let's not text from a moving car - work from almost anywhere) are a boon for the highly motivated, organized and talented. But what about everyone else?

One of the concerns many thought leaders express about the new economy is that it yields work for the best, brightest and most driven (now including all that consulting, flexible positions, telecommuting, and other non-traditional arrangements). It also continues to offer a range of service work that, at least for now, requires a human presence (from health care to fine cooking). And there are still a number of U.S. manufacturing jobs, although that number continues to dwindle.

But what else? There's a gap, likely to continue broadening, where there used to be more jobs for the rest of the workforce. As the economy continues to shift, what happens to the worker who needs the structure of an office to maintain motivation? The person who shows up for the assembly line? Where are the jobs for the capable person willing to work steadily all day or night but simply not constituted to come up with lots of big ideas, manage time completely independently or work alone? If you've ever been an employer or a manager, you know that these people make up the majority of many a workplace – that's the way the world is and probably always has been.

This week, Time magazine's article The Workforce: Where Will the New Jobs Come From? provides hope that there will be new jobs. That's good. But for any leader or citizen who hopes to see the economy truly thrive again, there's that other question, not so easy to answer. Will there be enough jobs for the great majority of working class and middle class Americans who do well working for a company, who respond to expectations set by management and who would like to put in a good day's work for decent pay, then head home to their real lives? That's a lot of people, and we all need to put our imaginations to work to make sure our economy continues to fully employ and value what continues to be the majority of the population.

Continued funding programs for better roads and bridges? Encouraging young people to go into trades such as plumbing or electrical work, in which shortages are predicted? Putting more adults in the schools to work with the kids? Opening more child care centers, which require staffing? Offering real live tech support? Human cashiers at the supermarket?

What could work and be valuable? What do you think?

Trust will factor big in recovery marketing

[caption id="attachment_645" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Real trust is hard to find."][/caption]

Even disregarding the in-your-face reality that current economic instability was caused in part by shoddy business practices in the lending and investment markets, marketers during this or any recovery need to pay heed to the one factor more likely than any other to influence a prospect to become a customer.

Not price - it's trust.

How the heck do you build trust, you may ask? In two words, Get Real. Everybody else is as tired as you are of being fooled again, and again.

How to Get Real and Earn Trust, genuinely.

•    Introducing a product or service? Don't jump the gun. All too often, companies announce a new product... and it's not ready when they've said it will be. You look foolish at best, incompetent at worst.
•    Provide valuable information. Yup, it can be hard work to say anything that hasn't been said a zillion times. Every marketer knows this. (Hey, look, I'm writing about TRUST for heaven's sake - not original for sure, but I believe it's timely.) Consider some straight talk that's not a pitch. Gasp. It can be powerful stuff. Using techniques that can include PR, newsletters, informative CDs, the Web, and more lets you position your company as an industry expert. It's a great way - a REAL way - to build trust among customers and prospects.
•    Keep at it. Hey, don't give up! It takes time to build trust. Reach out to the same audiences again and again. Keep the messages consistent - if you appear to be inconsistent, customers won't trust you.
•    Consider testimonials. Real confirmation that others have delighted in your offerings is a confidence-builder for prospects.
•    Listen to your customers. If you survey them, let them know you've heard. If they have a concern, address it. If they request technical support, make sure that it is good and that it is prompt. Again, hard work for real results.
•    Know your market. The more you know about your customer's business, the more that customer can rely on you for solid solutions.
•    Please advise. Whenever you can, use a consultative approach to sales and marketing. That is, inform and advise more than you push the sale. After all, products and services as good as yours practically sell themselves… okay, okay, maybe I'm getting too optimistic here.
•    That brings us to another point: Make sure the products and services you offer DO live up to their promises. Otherwise - poof - the trust is gone.

Distraction

I'm not sure if this happens in other fields - I'm guessing it does - but I find that an awful lot of what goes on in the world reminds me of the primacy of communication. Then, when I think about communication, I think about the importance of being logical. Which leads me to the enormous hoopla about executive bonuses, namely, those unfortunately paid by AIG to its people.

It would be easy, speaking of logic, to feel a need to comprehend why AIG sallied forth with a plan that (in retrospect) looks a lot like a greedy company hurling toxic waste at already angry taxpayers. But let's not look back. This is now, and AIG brass have in their fists very nice bonus checks (which some may be loath to return because - of course - they've already committed them to a new vacation home or liposuction for the whole extended family). American taxpayers are madder than wet hens as they gaze at their household bills, their unemployment checks, oh, and let's not forget their 401 (k) statements, now printed on post-it notes due to the reduced number of digits in the account balances.

It's the present that worries me. The new U.S. administration has a lot to do. Most likely (!) we should REALLY tighten up our bonus rules for companies taking tax dollars from annoyed citizens. But we should admit (if sourly) that the estimated $218 million (gulp!) in AIG bonuses is a trifle in comparison to the $XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX* in total loans, bailouts, offerings to the gods and whatever else we're throwing in the fires of the Great Recession. *(I'm looking for a total dollar figure but there are so many choices I'm getting terribly confused). And because we are v-e-r-y busy with important matters, surely we shouldn't act draconian and transparently political and impose a retroactive 90% tax on this AIG bonus money. Pul-eazze. What if these were working class people? Or union members? Who the heck gets taxed 90% on ANY form of income? Sure, we must address the gaping holes we find in our new recession-fighting programs, and there will be plenty of those. I'm saying that this done-deal-already-contracted-already-paid AIG bonus is a foolish distraction at best and a damaging misuse of our government's, news media's and public's valuable focus at worst.

I like the idea of highly bonused AIG executives graciously returning the money. But whether that happens or not, let's move forward with the business at hand. Let's not spend too much energy and time chasing a couple of hundred million dollars that, even though it sounds like a lot, in the end will mean Very Little in the face of the Very Much we need to fix.