In Transition

The PGA Tour is in full swing. This past week the greatest golfers in the world visited the Tampa Bay area at the event sponsored by Transition Lenses. TV spots during the broadcast of the tournament demonstrated how a pair of glasses with Transition Lenses will adjust to light to protect your eyes and help you to see the world better – especially if you happen to be a professional golfer. The glasses automatically adjust and filter the light.
“I’m in Transition.” Is a short declaration we hear a lot lately when we participate in networking events or business social gatherings. It’s a word that quickly identifies a person exploring job opportunities and is currently unemployed or at least not fully employed. That “I’m in Transition” conversational ice-breaker will likely lead to a short summary of career achievements and perhaps a more pointed challenge to share potential connections at a target company(s).

The word is like a lot of business buzz-words and phrases that get used so frequently it almost becomes cliché. The overuse of the word is unfortunate. But for now, it solves a real problem thousands of smart and talented people have in a tough economy. It is part of a vocabulary that will hopefully begin the facilitation of personal economic rebound. It puts a harmless description on what is often a rough time for a business person.

But aren’t we all in transition? Isn’t it part of the human condition? Change is natural and should be expected. We aren’t butterflies moving from caterpillar state anticipating a total transformation in which we spread our wings and take flight? We are people living with all the ups and downs that go with a full lifetime of experiences. We need to understand that our world changes and we change over time too. We need to make adjustments in ourselves and how we view things.

Too bad the people at Transition Lenses can’t manufacture the technology that permits each and every human being to get an automatic adjustment to environment they are in so that everything seems just perfect all the time. Funny, they used to criticize people who were looking at the world through “rose colored glasses.”

Rock Soup

Maybe you have heard the story of Rock Soup. It is one of my favorites. I think it is a fitting tale for tough times about leadership and community action.

A soldier, after a bitter was returning home from war. He wandered through the cold and snow.  He was tired and starving. He came to a village, picked a house and knocked on the door. Explaining his plight, he asked for a little something to eat. The man at the door shook his head and responded that he had a family to feed. They were hungry themselves. The scene repeated house after house - the answer was the always the same.  It had been a hard winter. The villagers were all hungry.

The soldier thought, and formed a plan. He gathered some sticks and wood.  He built a campfire in the village square.  He borrowed a black iron pot which was resting against the wall of an empty blacksmith shop. He filled the pot with snow. 

Onlookers stared at him with curiosity.  The soldier then gathered some smooth, dark stones.  He inspected each closely, smelled them individually, wiped them clean, and then placed them gingerly, one by one, into the pot. The soldier then took a big wooden spoon from his knapsack and began stirring the water in the pot and occasionally taking a taste.  ''Mmmmmm,''  he finally said,  ''this is the best Rock Soup I have tasted in a long time.'' 

The villagers couldn't believe their ears. Rock Soup?  Surely he was mad! The soldier took one more taste and then said, ''This is good soup but it needs something, perhaps a carrot. Yes, that's it, a little bit of carrot would make it perfect!''  An elderly villager stepped forward, looked into the pot, paused a moment, then said, ''I think I might have a couple of carrots in my cellar, I will bring them.''  On his return the carrots were added to the Rock Soup.

Again the soldier continued to stir and taste and stir and taste. ''This is pretty good Rock Soup, the carrots made it better, but it is still missing something.  Perhaps a few onions would make it even better.''  Just as the soldier said this a few villagers scurried off.  Upon their return, the soldier was given more than a few onions. Into the pot went the onions.

Again the soldier continued to stir and taste and stir and taste. ''This is very good Rock Soup, the carrots and onions made it better, but it is still missing something.  Perhaps a few potatoes would make it even better.''  The ever-steaming brew by now was starting to smell delicious.  A good number of villagers bustled off.  Upon their return, the soldier was presented with a potatoes enough to fill the pot. 

As he let it simmer, others brought bits of this and that to add flavor.  Tasting it one more time, he exclaimed it was ''Perfect!''  Soon everyone in the town was able to enjoy a bowl of this wonderful soup. All of the villagers proclaimed: “It was the best Rock Soup they had ever eaten!”

So, what do you do?

There is a Chevy Truck TV commercial that opens with a shot of the truck in a guy’s driveway. The commercial cuts to a neighborhood social situation when the question is posed: So what do you do? The commercial then treats us to several quick cuts of the guy with his truck as he does some construction related job, helps someone move furniture, drives kids to school and does yardwork/ landscaping. The spot cuts back to him as he can’t fully answer the question. He just kind of sighs. (Because he does a lot and apparently he is not the kind of guy who brags about his J-O-B.)   

That question is very interesting. Most of us when asked are quick to provide a short answer that might include a job, title or general profession. Many these days are struggling with a delicate way to advise that they are “in transition” and looking for a career opportunity. (Well shoot, aren’t we all IN TRANSITION?) Business coaches often encourage people to fine-tune their “elevator speech” so they can quickly identify who they are what their ideal prospect/opportunity might look like.

Personal branding is important as you leverage the “conversation” in social media. The theory is that people are in fact brands. People need to be true to their brand and deliver on the brand promise. In this way one can improve chances of winning in the game of networking. It is often said that people do business with people; and they prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust. Your personal brand becomes part of the answer to the question: So, what do you do?

A little food for thought: No matter what you do for a living - you are a human being. Have a little self-respect and make an effort to respect those other human beings on the planet Earth with you. We all have worth that is so much more that the somewhat unfair and arbitrary paycheck or commission or fee for a product and/or service.     

Remember: You are who you are, not what you do!

A Few Things I miss.

Sadly, it seems boomers (like me) are shying away from those markers that date them for fear of hurting their own marketability. I get it. You want to be with it and on trend. You don’t want your age to have an impact on your chances for career opportunities. Still, you shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that you miss some of the simple things that used to be so ubiquitous in our every day lives.

While you were out – Those stacks of pink messages that used to be on your desk after you were out of the office. I miss them. They were the reason you needed to get back to work. Those telephone calls could be returned in a civilized 24 hours or so. You had a little time to think before responding.

The Daily Newspaper – News delivered to your doorstep in the morning. You could absorb relevant news at the start of the day over a healthy breakfast. Too bad the daily newspaper and that ritual reading is fading fast.  

Reception Areas – Sure they still exist now but not in the same way. The receptionist was the nerve-center of the company. This individual was almost always a female. She was the voice, eyes and ears of the company. She was Vice President of First Impressions.

Someone answering the phone – The phone rings and no-one answers. You are forced to listen to prompts and enter your choice by pressing the number that corresponds most closely to your reason for calling. You are a number in the queue.

 

Dressing for Success – It started with casual Fridays and turned into a complete collapse of business dress. My Dad used to say you should dress each day so that you could be anywhere and not be inappropriate. That’s harder to do now. The rules are more subtle.

9 to 5 – I like what I do. Don’t get me wrong. I am thinking about business, projects and planning 24/7 but that work-life balance is in jeopardy now more than ever. You have to set aside time for our friends and family. If you are lucky, you can enjoy work associates and colleagues but you gotta turn off the switch and let your batteries recharge.

What do you miss?

Is St. Louis where brands go to die?

Okay,  maybe that headline is a little harsh. But the closing of Casa Gallardo restaurants got me thinking. I know, many successful brands owe a lot to St. Louis. In fact, in many cases, thier very success made it possible for the acquisition by another company to be bigger and better. Brand equity is important, but when the going gets tough that equity is for sale I guess.

Post is the number three cereal maker and is now looking to challenge Kellogg’s and General Mills. (I hope this brand can win share from it's St. Louis base of operations.) Ya know, we had Duncan Hines, Lender’s Bagels, Aunt Jemima until a New Jersey food company decided to adopt those orphan brands. And Anheuser-Busch is doing their best to pump life into the King of Beers but you have to wonder if InBev is really all that worried about Budweiser. (Is AB really a St. Louis company anymore? They didn’t seem to lose any sleep over Grant’s Farm.) Thermadyne has grown through acquisition of industry leading brands in metalworking and welding hard goods like Tweco, Victor and Arcair. (But those brands routinely face challenges from giants ITW/Milller, Lincoln and ESAB). And what happened to D’Arcy, an advertising agency with a long and proud history in St. Louis when they became part of a giant media/communication company based out of town?

St. Louisians remember the irreverent but approachable Boatmen’s Guy played by Thom Sharp. (Thom is back but not for Boatmen’s Bank because Boatmen’s has long since been swallowed by what is today Bank of America.) And I can almost hear Jack Buck talking about Southwestern Bell during a baseball broadcast as the telephone people were plotting to resurrect AT&T. (AT&T is the monopoly the government broke up in 1984 – How did St. Louis manage to lose out on that deal? Is it because we didn’t let their CEO into one of our exclusive country clubs?) McDonnell Douglas aircraft was the pride of our town, yet we seem to have accepted Boeing as our aviation company today. And speaking of aviation, how about TWA?   

Sure we have our success stories: Build-A-Bear, Zhu Zhu Pets, St. Louis Bread Company (Which, by the way, is Panera everywhere else), Edward Jones (Not A.G. Edwards) and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Our brands never seem completely safe.

I wonder what it will take to keep the NFL Rams in St. Louis?    

Invest in your Brand.

Brand building efforts need to be understood fully and evaluated in the context of planning, designing and execution. If you want a sustainable effort consistent with the organization’s ambition these seven (7) important elements must be included in the discussion.

One. Strategy. If you plan to enhance visibility and reputation and want to improve the marketability of your products and services you need leadership of planning, design and execution of overall communications. Accountability needs be understood. Articulate a smart and powerful position. Remember the positioning is the perception that your brand already has in the minds of your prospects but may be leveraged for greater success/growth. Fine tune your message strategy. It must be true, relevant and compelling to be competitive. 

Two. Message and Design: The strongest brands pay fanatical attention to detail. Type, color, layout and graphics need to be managed so that the message is delivered effectively without distraction. The best brands use design to reinforce a continuity of style and quality and have a language and cadence to all communication that reflects culture and its essence of the brand.

Three. Design and copy elements are a part of the brand: They should be governed by standards including interactive media, print, collateral and boilerplate copy.

Four. Implementation: Don’t make the mistake of assuming a brilliant strategy, an airtight set of graphic standards and a top-flight message strategy will translate to flawless execution. You need to make sure you have the resources in place to deliver on your plans and implement them flawlessly.

Five. Measurement: It makes sense, especially for companies that depend on relationships and trust to measure brand perception. This is most effectively accomplished with research methodology that objectively benchmarks perception. What gets measured, gets done!

Six. Your Brand Today: The concept of a product life-cycle is a useful way to consider your brand: four distinct phases: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. In the early stages it is especially important to stand out and be noticed. Beyond introduction and growth on the curve however, the challenge becomes more about sustaining brand preference and avoiding decline. 

Seven. Budgeting for Success: An investment in the brand is needed. There are several approaches to budgeting for such an effort. The method you choose should be consistent with your ambition and mindful of your plans to measure results.

Bench Strength

Those of us who followed the St. Louis Rams Football team during the 1999 NFL regular season can appreciate the power of bench strength. When our starting quarterback Trent Green went down in a pre-season game, some thought the season was over. But we had Kurt Warner, a humble back-up QB who paid his dues. I mean the dude spent time stocking groceries, playing arena football and even playing for the NFL in Europe. But by the time Super Bowl XXXIV was complete the undrafted kid from Iowa was holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a world champion.
 

Similarly, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team found ways to win when they were more than ten games out of the running in the 2011 season with just a couple of months left in the season. By October, David Freese extended game six in the World Series in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and later hitting a game winning walk-off home run to set up a game seven that resulted in the team capturing its11^th World Series Championship. The St. Louis Cardinals had the local kid from Lafayette High School, who didn’t get a shot at a starting role until an injury occurred to the Cardinals third baseman just three seasons earlier. Freese worked through injuries of his own in the next few years before the conclusion of this amazing championship season. He didn’t quit.

I have become keenly aware of a lot of talented people who are currently benched or injured themselves. At the risk of extending this sports metaphor too far – these are players with great potential that might just have the kind of character and drive to be MVPs in their own right when the time comes. Look around, You will see people who can make a huge difference because they are workers. They have a passion for what they do. They don’t give up. They know they who they are and they do what they do every day because they want to be ready when they get a shot.   

Look around. These are rare individuals with something extra. Maybe you are one of them. Just be ready. You might have to put up with setbacks. You might have to prove yourself and work within a system but opportunities will present themselves. You might just be in a position to help a team win the big one. I hope so. I hate to see great talent wasted.