Moxxi Talk

Show Business in Business

2010-07-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this article about how CEOs need to be "on" in public, much like those in showbiz. A CEO must prepare when talking with the media, as well as employees, customers and partners. I thought it was spot on.

In the wake of BPO CEO Tony Hayward, there are many leadership lessons to be learned. And, these are not just lessons about how a leader should conduct him/herself during a crisis. It's about conduct anytime.

We are still in the midst of tough economic times, and while some leaders choose to take a "real" approach, laying things out honestly, they tend to forget the second part of the message - what are we going to do about it? It's important to lay out the vision, to inspire, energize and motivate.

Here are some key points from the article that really resonated with me:

Being "on" is not about denying that there are problems. Nor is it about deceiving people. The leadership role needs to be delivered with clarity and honesty.
...the overall agenda is presented as one of challenge, not one of problem or disaster, steering people towards thinking and working their way back to firmer ground.
By the time you reach the highest levels others will expect maturity in approach and thoughtfulness in outlook from you, as well as a positive belief in your organization or team and its capabilities.
Highly visible, you set the tone for your team or organization. Others take their lead from you, looking for reassurance that everything is on course and for encouragement to drive things forward.

While I don't condone a Pollyanna approach, I do hope CEOs will use their leadership role to communicate honestly with a healthy does of vision and inspiration.

Developing a Social Media Plan

2010-06-16T20:44:00.001-07:00

I've been up to my eyeballs researching global media strategies. I came across this presentation and thought it was easy to read, to-the-point and not boring. Here it is. Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Developing a Social Media Plan

View more presentations from ifPeople.

A New Way to Recession Proof Your Biz?

2009-06-08T11:40:00.005-07:00

I parked in one of those multi-ethnic strip malls I love so much yesterday and noticed a little storefront with lots of signs and neon. Nothing out of the ordinary, but when I took a closer look at each of the signs, my eyes widened a little bit more with each one.

At first I thought it must be a mistake to have a lunch buffet inside a sweet and spice shop. What were they serving, all-you-can-eat tarragon and Goobers? But then I noticed they also offered notary service, income tax preparation, groceries, video rentals, mailbox rentals and Indian food - along with the sweets and spices. I thought, well, if one aspect of the business doesn't work out, he has many, many, many more he can fall back on. All within a tiny storefront in a Tustin strip mall.

I think I might use other areas of my life to expand my services. I could always offer childcare, taxi service, personal shopper and bartending.

Stuff Journalists Like

2009-05-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Jim sent me a link I thought I'd share. When it comes down to it, journalists are a fairly simple group to figure out, much like the rest of us. I was just shocked that press releases ranked so high. I would have put it much lower on my list of Stuff I Like.
If you go to the site, there's some funny stuff about each ranking, although I'm still trying to figure out what #1 & #2 are.

Enjoy.

List of Stuff Journalists Like
#3 free food
#5 the good old days
#7 election day
#9 coffee
#10 drinking
#11.5% statistics
#12 inverted pyramids

#13 awards
#14 bylines
#15 reporter's notebooks
#17 breaking news
#18 hometown heroes
#19 readers’ feedback
#20 nut grafs
#21 All the President's Men
#22 interns
#23 ap stylebooks
#24 trends
#25 pandemics
#26 writing a book
#29 exclusives
#30 press releases

#31 professional organizations
#32 press passes
#33 shorthand
#38 NPR
#41 scandals
#43 anonymous sources
#44 Barack Obama
#50 Google
#51 jargon
#55 outsmarting spell check
#56 dressing differently
#57 vending machines
#61 cursing
#63 procrastinating
#69 dating other journalists
#72 swag
#73 citizen journalism
#75 low pay
#84 writing standing up
#85 abbrvtns
#86 working holidays
#99 year in reviews
#101 weather stories
#112 press areas
#119 Twitter
#121 furloughs
#159 throwing shoes
#181 Firefox
#312 The Wire
#356 holograms
#666 layoffs

Finding Your Happy Place

2009-03-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

There is no denying this economy is taking its toll on everybody. Whether you or someone you know has been laid off, you've lost money in your 401K, the value of your home has nosedived or you just can't afford that Spring Break vacation anymore - there's no doubt things are tough all over.

I was listening to an interview with Depak Chopra the other day, and his advice was to take some time every day to be quiet. While I think this is good advice, what's worked for me is to find some time to find your happy place, and for me, that's something that makes me laugh.

A perfect example came from a coworker the other day. He told me he was out to breakfast with his young and very adorable little boy. The place was way crowded and the manager started yelling at the bus boy to clean a table. It was so noisy, the manager had to repeat the bus boy's name just to get his attention. "Juan. Juan. JUAN!" said manager. My friend's little boy responded with "Two, three, four." We laughed so hard at the time, and it's become a running joke. All we have to say is "JUAN!" and we start cracking up.

Yesterday, my husband and I tricked the kids into thinking a leprechaun had visited the house, left four leaf clover glitter everywhere, got into the Lucky Charms and then peed in our toilet. The kids were shocked, amazed and cracking up at the green pee. They totally believed.

I think I've found my new Happy Place.

A Week In The Life

2009-02-27T15:15:00.001-08:00

Overheard during my travels this week:

One skinny girl to an even skinnier girl in the gym: "You're not fat, that's just your skin."

A portly man talking to his dieting wife at Bravo Burger: "Just think, in a couple weeks you'll be able to touch the floor. The only time you touch the floor now is when you're falling."

The neighbor kid to my son when talking about school: "You'll love the third grade. Third grade is a good year."

How true...
How true...

Only In Orange County

2009-01-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Best line of the week - overheard at the Spa: "So after the wedding, I didn't know if I'd gotten married or sold my soul to the devil."

What I'm Diggin'

2008-12-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

While most are writing "Best of 2008" type of posts, I really can't remember the whole year. Which is probably a good thing. While my family has been relatively stable in terms of jobs and livelihood, many have had a really bad go of it over the last few months, and that sucks. I can tell you that I am very grateful for the people in my life, the health of my family and friends and the promise of tomorrow.

Here are a few other things that I've been thoroughly enjoying:

Old School Drinks - enough with the sickly sweet faux "martinis." I’m back to the old school. Vodka martinis with three olives, an ice-cold Maker's Mark Manhattan, and my perennial favorite, vodka/soda with a lime. These classic drinks seem to taste even better in an old-school dive bar. Can I get an amen?

Mad Men - I know this show is getting its due from all the awards and reviewers, but I have loved it from the beginning and it really is one of the best written/produced/acted shows around. Not to mention one of the best looking. I could watch it with the sound off and still be thoroughly entertained by the clothes, the smoking and way they capture the era. But the painfully thoughtful dialog, deep deep characters with deep deep flaws, drama, twists, turns and expert storytelling, this show deserves all the praise and awards and more. Not to mention I'm dead in love with the uber sexy Jon Hamm. Whatever he does, I will be watching.

Homemade Stuff - My son turned eight the other day and we went to my dad's for a little celebration. My dad's wife, Sandy, made a homemade birthday cake and decorated it herself. I cannot tell you the last time I had a homemade cake. It was yummy and had a certain quality that you just don't find in store bought.

Amos Lee - I happened to be listening to KCRW and not thinking about anything in particular as I was driving down the road and this song came on called "What's Been Going On" and I was mesmerized by the voice. It was Amos Lee. I scribbled his name on a piece of paper so I could remember and since that time, I've downloaded almost everything he's recorded. His voice has this aching wanting while pouring out pure soul. I seriously can't get enough of him. Note: I must also give a nod to my friend Dennis and his band of troubadours called Primitive Painters. They just put out an album called Say It 'Till You Mean It and it's truly haunting and beautiful.

Playing Cards - My friend Tammy is quite the card player. It doesn't really matter the game, but when she and her husband Roger come over for BBQ and old school drinks, we invariably end up playing cards, usually Poker or 31. It's some of the best times we have together. We've taken to playing with our neighbors and almost anyone else who's willing to throw down $10 or $20. You learn quite a bit about someone by the way they play and even more by the way they loose (yes, Deron, I'm talking to you. Stop throwing chips!).

Old School PR - I have the pleasure of doing PR for the chef at the Slidebar in Fullerton. It's a pleasure because I believe in this guy, his wonderful food and what he can do. I also enjoy it so much because I'm doing a lot of straight up media pitches. It's been a while and I'm loving every minute of learning about his world, creating the pitch, researching the journalists & pubs and getting the hits. Media relations used to be my bread and butter as a young account exec, but the higher up I got the farther away that became, giving way to planning, strategy and running an agency. It's good to slip into those old shoes again. It's given me a shot in the arm I was desperately needing.

At the end of the day, I personally think it's a nightmare to overuse phrases

2008-11-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

I really do like writing, although oftentimes during the process, I struggle, get frustrated and have to get up, walk around and then make myself go back and finish. It's a process, but I always feel good when it's over.

It's never perfect, so I'm always thinking about how to improve. My client sent this around today and I thought it worth while to share. We see these type of lists all the time, but I think they are pretty worth while.

And, I love that it's done by the University of Oxford. Any of these phrases said with an English accent would still sound brilliant. Don't cha think mate?

Nov.12, 2008

University of Oxford researchers recently compiled a list of the “Top-10 Most Irritating Expressions in the English Language,” according to a posting on the Wired blog network on Friday.

The list also appears in “Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare,” a new book by Jeremy Butterfield.

These overused and often botched phrases are recorded in the Oxford University Corpus database, which traces their usage in books, magazines, broadcast, online and other media, Wired reports. The record is also responsible for retiring waning expressions.

The top-10 read as follows:
1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
4. At this moment in time
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It’s a nightmare
8. Shouldn’t of
9. 24/7
10. It’s not rocket science

Bringing Out the Best

2008-10-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

These economic times have everyone at least a little on edge. I spent some time this morning reading what the VCs are saying small businesses should do, as well as the big economic gurus on what the average Joe (or Josephine) should do. While no one really knew when times would get better, they all basically had the same advice - cut costs, cut spending, be conservative and hunker down.

While solid advice, a few of my friends are thinking this is a good time to take a risk. Whether it be raising their hands to get laid off, walking away from a job to strike out on their own or deciding to look for the next big position, these friends are not letting the economy frighten them into standing still. They are moving forward and taking some very calculated proactive actions.

I think these tough times are bringing out the best in them and actually helping them to think differently about their futures.

While I'm not advocating that businesses take big risks, I'm hoping businesses don't hunker down too much and do the typical slashing of the ad/marketing/PR budget because it's the easy thing to do. What they might want to do is think differently about their communications and their audiences. What do they really need from you right now? Extended credit? Better pricing? Do your employees need a renewed sense of direction? Do the analysts need a business update or perhaps your perspective on the market?

Once you take a look at the needs and the message, adjust the communications to fit, don't turn it off. This may be a golden opportunity to take a leadership position and show off the best of your company.

Old-School Customer Service Isn't Dead

2008-08-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed by the lack of customer service, nay, common courtesy, that happens on a regular basis. That is why when I do receive a helping hand, the extra mile or even the unsolicited smile, it makes my week. And, I think a big part of customer service and just being a good person is honesty, in its raw and uninhibited glory.

Three instances of amazing customer service have happened over the past few weeks that have renewed my faith.

First was with William Harrold Jewlers. My husband and I have bought a few things there over the years, and one of our purchases was an opal necklace that over time, started to chip. I walked it in one day and showed the manager, even though I didn't have a receipt. She couldn't find the purchase in the computer saying it must have been purchased more than a year ago. I thought, hey, it's my fault because there's no receipt. Regardless, she took my info. I counted it as a loss and went on my way.

Two days later, she called and said she did some digging, found me in their archives and even though we bought the necklace almost three years ago, I could come in and exchange it for something of equal value. Wow. I made sure when I went she was working so I could personally thank her. She did not have to spend one more minute on me the first time I walked out of the store but did - completely went the extra mile and now has a customer for life.

The second incident happened to my husband. He went to do renew his registration with the DMV and went to the AAA for convenience. He paid his fee and was due $1 in change, but after chatting with the woman who was helping him, forgot his dollar. The next day, the woman called and left him a message that he left his dollar. Thinking it wasn't worth the trip for $1, he disregarded her voice message. Two days later, he gets a letter containing $1 and a handwritten sticky note. I knew AAA was a great organization, but that is exceptional.

The last is a little closer to home. Our housekeeper, Ophelia, leaves the change she finds in our pockets on the counter in the same place every week. It can be as little as a nickle, but if she finds it and it doesn't belong to her, it's on that counter. I refer as much business to her as I can and always tell people they will not find a more trustworthy person to bring into their home.

I am filled with the faith once again and will try and follow their righteous path.
Can I get a hallelujah?

Sucker Free PR

2008-08-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

PR, and especially corporate PR, is an easy profession to bash. Although some may see us as trusted counselors, we can oftentimes be classified as spinmeisters, flacks and my favorite, PR Gals. If anyone does ever bother to read what we create, it's taken with a big trough of salt.

However, sometimes the behind the scenes work we do to maintain corporate reputation, show off the business prowess of the corporate leadership or help with damage control hits the mark. Such is the case with a corporate communications guy at Circuit City. Read below from "The Consumerist" website:
http://consumerist.com/5032889/circuit-city-sorry-for-commanding-employees-to-destroy-mad-mags-sucker-city-parody

Circuit City Sorry For Commanding Employees To Destroy Mad Mag's "Sucker City" Parody

After a thin-skinned Circuit City exec ordered stores carrying Mad Magazine to search and destroy all copies of a recent issue featuring a 4-page parody of "Sucker City," someone with a brain stopped the madness. Here's the surprisingly classy message we just got from corporate:

Hi Ben,

I spotted the article about Circuit City and MAD Magazine on your site.

fyi, I became aware of this "situation" only this morning, and I have sent a note today to the Editors of MAD Magazine.

Speaking as "an embarrassed corporate PR Guy," I apologized for the fact that some overly-sensitive souls at our corporate headquarters ordered the removal of the August issue of MAD Magazine from our stores. Please keep in mind that only 40 of our 700 stores sell magazines at all.

The parody of our newspaper ad in the August MAD was very clever. Most of us at Circuit City share a rich sense of humor and irony...but there are occasional temporary lapses.

We apologize for the knee-jerk reaction, and have issued a retraction order; the affected stores are being directed to put the magazines back on sale.

As a gesture of our apology and deep respect for the folks at MAD Magazine, we are creating a cross-departmental task force to study the importance of humor in the corporate workplace and expect the resulting Powerpoint presentation to top out at least 300 pages, chock full of charts, graphs and company action plans.

In addition I have offered to send the MAD Magazine Editor a $20.00 Circuit City Gift Card, toward the purchase of a Nintendo Wii....if he can find one!

All the best,

Jim Babb
Corporate Communications
Circuit City Stores, Inc.
Richmond, VA
************************************************************************************8

Let's evaluate it on the 3-step system for fixing corporate gaffes:

1. Admitted they were wrong
2. Stopped doing the wrong thing
3. Made a material gesture of apology

Check check and check on all three, plus points for speed. You go, girls.

I've been reduced to a BS job

2008-06-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know if any of you check out Stanley Bing's site/blog every once in a while (he's part of Fortune Magazine), but I like it. Very funny, raw & real. But recently, I felt like I got hit in the gut by the fist of truth when I checked out his 20 Best BS Jobs. The really harsh part was this was the list voted on by readers. It's not that I didn't know people tend to just hit "delete" when they see certain emails. I'm not totally delusional and I have friends outside of the flack business that tell me straight up this is the truth, but it still hurts.

I guess I should look at the glass half full. I really do find my job satisfying and lucrative.

But still. Number 1?

Readers' 20 best bulls**t jobs
Stanleybing.com readers sent in hundreds of bulls**t jobs. We've picked 20 favorites - jobs that are the most satisfying, lucrative and least useful. Here, in readers' own words, are the best bulls**t jobs.

1 of 20
1. Communications manager
Essentially you're getting paid well - in the six figures up to 50 percent of your base for bonus - to write e-mails, memos and articles for senior management that their employees have no interest in reading. Oh, and through these written communications we're supposed to inform and engage employees so that they're proud of the company they work for.

Ouch.

Old School

2008-05-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

My husband and I got to go out on a rare date night and I had to snap a shot of this. We went to one of our favorite dive bars, Turks in Dana Point. It's a classic place to get a drink, look out at the harbor and pick your favorite songs from the jukebox. BUT, be sure not to order anything that requires more than three ingredients, an umbrella, or even worse, a sugared rim.

And, while this entry has nothing whatsoever to do with business, I liked that this machine was such a throwback to the old days when as a kid of questionable age, I could go get a pack of cigs out of a vending machine. We were even talking about the days when you could go to the store with a note from your mom and buy basically anything. While I'm not saying that's right, it sure was a different time.

Easy Listening and Keeping It Real

2008-04-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm driving down the street the other day in my little convertible and a song comes on by either Hall & Oats or Simply Red or something equally as schmaltzy and in my heart-of-hearts, I want to turn it up and start singing along. But it was a nice day and people had their windows rolled down and I thought to myself, boy, will you look like a total dork if people hear you listening to that song let along SINGING it. It was a total "Tommy Boy" moment - you know the scene where they end up crying and singing along to the Carpenters? Classic.

A few days later, a friend comes into my office at my client's and while we're sitting there talking, a Beyonce song comes on. "You got me crazy, so crazy... Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh..." I'm thinking, this guys waaaaaay too cool and is Mr. Rock-n-Roll/I've based my whole persona on the true kings of pre-grunge '70s image icons to acknowledge anyone from today's Top 20. Yet, 'lo and behold, he starts in with the head bobbing and singing along - and, he knows the lyrics, I mean, really knows the lyrics. Then, he proceeds to tell me he bought this CD and thinks Beyonce is "great." At first I think "you know how I know you're gay?"

But then I thought "wow, he's really weird/cool/fun/honest." Then, the same thing happens again not too much later. Again, at my clients, a guy walks in to talk about a memo or something or other, and tells me how great Sade is and is quoting lines from his favorite songs. I didn't even notice Sade was playing through my iPod. Now this is a guy who has Rammstein (http://www.rammstein.com/) playing every time we go to lunch.

I've really tried to be honest all the time about who I am, what I like and don't like, even at work. And it's pretty much been a good strategy, give or take a few years my early '20s. But what these guys taught me is that even though I thought I was keeping it real, I wasn't. And, you can't judge an album by it's cover art. Whether it's a corporate strategy, someones writing or taste in music, keep it real.

Getting Your Head to Go Beyond the Press Release

2008-03-19T14:41:00.001-07:00

I was reading a trade rag and came across this Q&A with an editor for Wired - which is a magazine I love. Even though he says he really doesn't have advice for PR people, I think he pretty much lays it out beautifully. Basically, go beyond the press release.

Think trends.
Connect the dots.

Ask yourself, what are people doing that is interesting and new and who's helping them do it? How is your client enabling people to act, think and do differently?
While your client may ask you do do a press release on their latest product or service, help them think beyond the features de jour. This type of thinking can then permeate sales & marketing materials and beyond, helping other teams do their jobs better.

Also, relationships are so key. If you can have a relationship built with an editor/writer where you can toss ideas around and give them the room to germinate, that's golden.

Here's what he had to say:

PRWeek: Wired editor Chris Anderson got a lot of attention recently for blacklisting PR people—do you have any tips for PR people to stay on your good side?

Tanz: Well I haven't banned anybody, or posted anybody's e-mail recently. It's tough, and I think different editors at Wired have a different approach. But at least for the magazine, and for middle of the book features, which is what I edit, it's rare that we will get a press release and then write about it. It maybe has never happened. But what we do do is we write about trends, and we write about where the world is going, and some of that we do learn from getting press releases or from talking to PR agencies or their clients. It helps us to know what is going on, and potentially as these ideas germinate and we take these meetings and we sit with these ideas, we do end up coming back to those people as part of a bigger piece, or a trend piece, or we think about it a month later and remember it and think that can fit into something we're doing thematically. So I guess I don't have real hard and fast advice on how to get your clients into Wired.

You Really Have to Love Your Craft

2008-03-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

I read this article and at first I thought "how clever" of them to take two disparate things, marry them and generate interest, buzz and ticket sales. My second thought was "ewww" and then it went to "wow, these people must really love their craft." I think it's a rare breed of artist who will spend hours and hours a day in a crowded NY bathroom - with no toe tapping involved. So much for the glamour of Broadway.

Enjoy.

Noir thriller plays in public bathrooms
By EMILY ZEUGNER, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - For most visitors to Central Park, the public bathrooms are a facility of last resort, visited only in desperation after consuming one too many cups of coffee. They're dark and creepy, filled with spiders, foul odors and puddles of questionable origin.

But for Irish director and playwright Paul Walker, the damp, the chill and even the smell are all part of the experience — the theatergoing experience.

His prize-winning play, "Ladies & Gents," is a noir thriller performed entirely in the covered men's and women's bathrooms in Central Park's Bethesda Terrace.

The action takes place near the sinks and urinals; the audience stands, clustered in front of the row of stalls. Each of the two pieces that comprise the play runs simultaneously in both bathrooms, and it doesn't matter the order in which they are seen; the audience splits in half and switches facilities at intermission.

Set entirely in a bathroom, the show portrays the seedy underside of 1950s Dublin, when double-talking politicians professed piety but entertained prostitutes on the side.
"So, pretty much like the state of New York right now," Walker said in an interview this week, referring to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's prostitution scandal. "These themes are always relevant."

Walker and Karl Shiels, the artistic director of the experimental Dublin theater troop Semper Fi, decided an actual bathroom was the best place — no, the only place — to stage the play. The space is intimate, unpretentious and uncomfortable. Walker's previous site-specific plays involved busing bewildered patrons to an abandoned warehouse, and a play that meandered through all the rooms of Dublin's Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers Home.

"When you take the audience out of their comfort zone, there's a different energy to the production," he said.

The limitations of toilet theater, however, are many. Aside from the small space and acoustic challenges of echoing tile, countless rehearsals were interrupted by single-minded tourists on urgent business.

One man came in and urinated in front of the actors, said John O'Callaghan, who plays a pimp in the show. The actors protested but the man was undeterred, and unapologetic. "He was a bit belligerent, really," O'Callaghan said. "I guess when you have to go, you have to go."

The toilets are long enough to cram in a fair number of patrons — about 25 per restroom — and the blue-green tile and white wooden stall doors lend the rooms a retro charm. The porcelain toilets themselves create atmosphere only; although O'Callaghan's character does spend some time sitting on the throne, no one actually uses the facilities during the performance.

To make the space workable, the production team had to rent space heaters, a giant 9700-watt generator to supply enough power to light the low, windowless rooms, and two sets of portable bathrooms (located a short walk from the brick-and-mortar bathrooms) to discourage the audience from using the set for its original purpose.

Staff with umbrellas will be on hand on rainy nights to usher patrons from West 72nd Street through the winding paths to Bethesda Terrace, in the heart of the park.

"The venue is pretty unglamorous," said Aidan Connolly, director of the Irish Arts Center in New York, who along with Georganne Aldrich Heller is producing the play. "There's a reason plays aren't put on in bathrooms all the time: You have to really want to be there to make it happen."

The bureaucracy involved in getting permission to host a play in a toilet was another matter altogether. After the play's success in European bathrooms — first as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival and later on a small tour of England and Scotland, where it won the Edinburgh Fringe First Award — Heller and the Irish Arts Center hoped to bring it to New York. Everyone underestimated the amount of red tape involved in renting public restrooms.

"It was a big toilet mess," said Laoisa (pronounced LEE-SHA) Sexton, one of the show's six actors who was dispatched to help with "the great New York loo hunt."

Sexton quickly discovered what any frustrated tourist could have told her: "There really aren't a lot of public toilets in New York City to choose from."

Of the meager offerings, bathrooms at Grand Central Station and in Riverside Park were rejected for their small size and busy traffic. Then the loo hunters discovered the Bethesda Terrace bathrooms. It took over a year of back and forth with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, including a personal letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to win approval.
"We were all like, 'Hmmmmm .... Do what in the bathrooms?'" said Rory McEvoy, who works in the special events office of the parks department. "The request was definitely out of the realm of our standard protocol but, you know, we're supporters of the arts."

It's also a novel use of the space, he said. The audience agrees; most of the shows are sold out.
The actors, for their part, enjoy the proximity to the audience and are remarkably cheerful about the near-constant torrent of potty puns they're forced to endure.

"My agent says my career's in the toilet!" O'Callaghan said, laughing heartily. He's heard that one many times.

"Even my dad had one about how this is bound to be a 'moving' experience for me," Sexton said. "It's a bit much, coming from my own father."

"Ladies & Gents" will be performed three times nightly at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. from March 19 to 29. The running time is 40 minutes. Tickets are $25.

Chuck Norris Don't Mess

2008-03-03T19:45:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine from Arizona with the most diabolical sense of humor sent me a link that had me ROTFL. I sent the link to my husband and he said he had to close the door to his office he was cracking up so badly - so, I share with you. Did you ever know such a true bad-ass existed?

http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

Here's just a few of my favorites. There are pages and pages.

Enjoy!

If you have $5 and Chuck Norris has $5, Chuck Norris has more money than you.

Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.

If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.
Contrary to popular belief, Chuck Norris, not the box jellyfish of northern Australia, is the most venomous creature on earth. Within 3 minutes of being bitten, a human being experiences the following symptoms: fever, blurred vision, beard rash, tightness of the jeans, and the feeling of being repeatedly kicked through a car windshield.

Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Chuck Norris has 72... and they're all poisonous.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.

If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds 'til." After you ask, "Two seconds 'til what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face.
When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes, ever.
CNN was originally created as the "Chuck Norris Network" to update Americans with on-the-spot ass kicking in real-time.
Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool Chuck Norris once and he will roundhouse you in the face.

Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.

Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

Chuck Norris is not hung like a horse... horses are hung like Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris is the only human being to display the Heisenberg uncertainty principle -- you can never know both exactly where and how quickly he will roundhouse-kick you in the face.

Chuck Norris discovered a new theory of relativity involving multiple universes in which Chuck Norris is even more badass than in this one. When it was discovered by Albert Einstein and made public, Chuck Norris roundhouse-kicked him in the face. We know Albert Einstein today as Stephen Hawking.

Chuck Norris doesn't shower, he only takes blood baths.

Chuck Norris once challenged Lance Armstrong in a "Who has more testicles?" contest. Chuck Norris won by 5.

Chuck Norris' toilet paper.

Babies & Brands

2007-12-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

This Fast Company article was passed on to me by a client and I agree it's a good read. I love when pop culture and business collide. Enjoy.

December 20, 2007
Entrepreneurship: Britney's Sister Gets Pregnant

Britney Spears' 16 year old sister, a Nickelodeon actress named Jamie-Lynn, is pregnant. Here's why you should care: the sisters, and their mother (who was slated for a book deal) are a textbook case of How To Ruin Your Personal Brand, and watching their deconstruction has become a fascinating look at a case study in mismanagement.

The three Spears women are, doubtless, entrepreneurs of an unusual stripe; all entertainers are. But no matter the niche, startup owners have to be almost myopic about preserving the integrity and reliability of their brand. Lose the trust and regard of your customers, and any further efforts your business makes will be laughably disregarded. Here's how the Louisianan Ladies have royally screwed up a multi-million dollar franchise.

The Pregnancy: For Jamie-Lynn alone, getting pregnant was probably an unwise decision (or mistake, depending on the circumstances). The producers of the network show she starts on, "Zoey 101," won't be too amenable to writing in a teen pregnancy to the kid-oriented script. The show was set to resume filming in February, but since Hollywood waits for no one, you can bet Jamie-Lynn is out of a job.

But consider her pregnancy in the context of her mother and her sister, and the bigger picture of brand bone-headedness comes into view. The Spears matriarch, Lynne, had been in the midst of negotiating a book deal about the challenge of raising two successful, high-profile girls. It was supposed to come out on Mother's Day under the title "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World." According to Us Magazine, it was summarized as a parenting book with a number of "faith elements to it." Unsurprisingly, the book deal has been indefinitely delayed.

The Disunity: When questioned about her younger daughter's indiscretions, Lynne Spears reportedly told MTV: "I didn't believe it because Jamie Lynn's always been so conscientious. She's never late for her curfew. I was in shock. I mean, this is my 16-year-old baby." This is not crisis-management language.

"Wait," you might be saying; "this is a family we're talking about, not a business." Yes, it is a family. But when you run a family business, it becomes both, and needs to be treated as such. Lynne's reaction smacks of inattentive parenting and cluelessness -- did she not know her daughter was sexually active? Did her daughter fail to inform her before the press did? That kind of dissonance between reality and illusion ("my 16-year-old baby") doesn't speak well for her aptitude as a mother or a career adviser. For those that think she shouldn't be held to the standard of the latter position, remember that she once managed both her daughters, and was the driving parent behind their entry into show business as children.

The Craziness: Taken in isolation, Jamie-Lynn's pregnancy shoots her mother's book deal in the foot. But in the scheme of Britney's two-year long descent into ostensible insanity, it reeks of the unmistakable scent of family craziness. And that is exactly the kind of nuttiness that can sink even a juggernaut business like Britney's.

Consider a nearly analogous situation: the Simpson family (Jessica and Ashlee, not Homer and Marge). Jessica Simpson's father, also her manager for a period of her career, is a bonafied lunatic who is on record with numerous lascivious comments about his own daughter's sexual appeal and breast size. He also has an infamous temper. His younger daughter, Ashlee, has made a fool of herself on at least two occasions, botching live performances with a lip-synching disaster on SNL and a boo-earning performance at the Superbowl. Even so, Jessica and Ashlee have continued to keep their professional heads above water, because their imperfections look like a product of circumstance and bad luck, not a product of familial insanity. That's mostly a product of Jessica's even keel in public, and her consistent work as an artist (even if the term "artist" is arguably misapplied).

Compare that to Lynne Spears and her daughters, and you see a different breed of disasters: the self-imposed kind. Britney's numerous quick divorces, legal battles, careless parenting, drug and alcohol addiction all made her most recent album's negative reviews a foregone conclusion. To be a successful artist, and more broadly, entrepreneur, there has to be at least the illusion of composure and confidence behind the scene. Once that disappears, the quality of the product ceases to be the issue, because no one wants to buy anything from a crazy person.

The End Result: In a perfect world, each of the Spears' indiscretions would handicap only their own careers. But they reinforce each other, compounding the knot of incompetence and rendering each of their brands' values -- and their common brand -- increasingly devoid in value. Rarely does celebrity news have too much to teach the business world, but in this case, take some heed: no one operates in a vacuum, especially a family. And personal life and business are rarely as divorced as anyone would like. Take it from Lynne Spears: keep tabs on your business partners now, and avoid disaster later.

About Face

2007-08-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article on Yahoo! that sparked some old memories. It was about taking a pay cut. One thing it didn't really address was taking a pay cut as a strategic career move.

About 15 years ago (yikes!) I was doing consumer/personality PR. Well, it wasn't even PR, it was more publicity. I worked for an amazing publicist who taught me so much (both what to do and what not to do) that I will always be grateful.

But after lots of plastic surgeons and chefs who thought they should be on Oprah! or above the fold in USA Today, I had to wonder - is there more to this publicity thing than just schilling personalities?

So I turned to tech. I could barely operate a phone and the whole thing scared me, but tech seemed to be where it was at. My friend Linda Waters was making WAY more than my $20K+ a year salary and was doing some pretty neat things.

So she got me an interview at her firm and after a quick handshake, I went from a Director down to an AE. Wow, talk about a take down. Check the ego at the door and leave those Hollywood stars in your eyes behind. Instead of managing a department, I was learning what memory, ruggedized hard drives and optical drives were. Whaaaaa????? The only thing I had going for me was a love of pitching. I relished getting people on the phone, bringing them new ideas and getting the story. And this whole tech thing posed a whole new frontier.

At my first job out of college, they handed me a call down list, put a release in front of me and told me to start smilin' and dialin'. I was placed in a bull pen with 6 or so other people and it was sink or swim. Luckily, I swam, so facing tech editors was no big deal. And, surprise, they turned out to be so much nicer than the health editor at USA Today who told me "why should I care" and "your boss already pitched this to me, why are you bothering me again?".

Anyway, long story short, taking a step back in $$ and position, led me to much greater things. It's something that everyone should at least consider. Open yourself up to possibilities and you will be amazed at what presents itself.

Here's the article:

When Taking a Pay Cut Is a Good Move
Margaret Steen, for Yahoo! HotJobs, Yahoo! HotJobs

Taking a new job with higher pay shows that everything is going right with your career. But that doesn't mean taking a job that pays less than your last one is always the wrong move.
Common Scenarios
Experts cite several situations when you should consider taking a job at lower pay:

* Returning to the workforce. If you haven't worked for a time, you may not be able to return at the salary you were making when you left. Companies don't have to lure you away from a high-paying job, and they may be put off by your lack of recent experience. The pay cut may not be permanent, though.
Susan W. Miller, a career counselor and owner of California Career Services in Los Angeles, worked with one client who had been a director before he became ill and had to stop working for a couple of years. After he recovered, he looked for a new job.
"He was not going to be able to earn at the same level he was at," she said. Instead, he started as a manager at lower pay. "Now he has a history of success, so it's likely that after another couple of years, he will in fact be back to where he was."

* Changing careers. If you decide to move to a new industry or a new type of work, you will likely find that your years of experience in your current field don't count for much when it comes to pay. And if you're leaving an industry that typically pays well to go to one that doesn't -- for example, moving from a for-profit company to a nonprofit -- the shock can be even greater.
For example, newly minted attorneys can earn $160,000 per year, Miller said. "I can assure you that a first-year in almost any other career is not going to earn $160,000 per year."

* Gaining flexibility. Sometimes even the most successful workers reach a point where they would prefer a less intense job with less travel, even if it means less money.
"Candidates have stepped back dramatically in pay to get off the road," said Kathryn Ullrich, an executive recruiter in Silicon Valley. Others are simply looking for more flexible hours, such as the ability to leave work to attend a child's soccer game.

Other Considerations
And if you're not in one of these situations, but are simply offered a job comparable to the one you have, at lower pay? Tread carefully: It could be a sign that you're being asked to move from a top-tier employer to a second-rate one, or that your potential employer is not willing to invest in its employees.
Still, it might be a good move, depending on the circumstances. Will it save you an hour of commuting each day? Are you unhappy with your current job? Is your new employer willing to grant you a salary review in six months?
If so, consider taking it. In the long run, you'll do better at a job you enjoy -- and this will make you more attractive to other employers.
"Even though you're going to be making less money, you're going to be shining brighter, and others will notice that," said Cynthia Kivland, a career coach in Prairie Grove, Illinois.

Big Agency Extinction

2007-07-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Along with the 200 or so other species of rare animals on the endangered list, should be the beast known as the traditional ad/PR agency.

After running a small but verile office for a large global agency, I started to see first-hand the deterioration of the age-old way of doing business. Maybe it was just me. I was tired of the constant chase for revenue - call it new, organic or a gift from the Lord above - it was a drug and the agency constantly needed a fix.

Like most who join the ad/PR/marketing biz, I actually like doing the work and being in the trenches with the clients fixing problems, creating new ideas and trying to build something worthwhile. But when you reach a certain level, the devil steps in and it becomes all about the dalla'.

I recently read about research firm Forrester and their survey of clients and advertising agencies. They asked about the effectiveness of their working relationship. While, 93 percent of advertising agencies believe they play a critical role in marketing success (duh!), only 63 percent of clients feel the same. Ouch!

According to the report, a major part of this breakdown stems from agencies lack of understanding of the new media environment. On a larger scale, the client has no faith that their agency can create effective strategies for their business. To add my two cents to that, I think clients are getting wise to the one-size-doesn't-fit-all of the big agencies. Before, the big thing was not to take two companies who are in the same business - stay away from clients who compete. But I think now, it's about offering clients something special - a niche and/or specialty that is unlike few others - like new media, or, in the case of one of my clients, a deep knowledge of a unique customer and market.

Another thing I've learned since being on my own is stay on top of new ideas and methods. The old tried and true news releases, trade shows and media tours may work in certain instances, but there is a brave new world out there chock full o' new tactics. I try to tap in the younger, in-touch gal or guy for ideas, and they don't even need to be in the biz. I just talk to them about what they're into. I think now it's all about smaller groups and/or networks of people who each bring something unique to the table.

Only time will tell if the big agency model goes the way of the dodo.

Funny or Die

2007-06-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

If you have not checked out Funnyordie.com, please do - it is smart, funny, raw and just plain hilarious - in other words, it's Will Ferrell.

My favorites are "The Landlord" and "Alec Baldwin Calls Dora."

If you need a break from email, the kids or life, that's the place to go.

Enjoy...

A Report on a Memo

2007-05-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in a meeting with the Consultants again, and they are explaining to the client that they could not get to the assignment he gave them because they've got too much on their plate. With what, he asks. They spend the next eight or so minutes telling him about all the reports they've been doing on the work they're planning to do and have done. The only problem is, they haven't done any work, only reports. What a conundrum.

So, they ask if I can step in and do the memo they were originally tasked with. No problem. So I begin to ask questions and the Consultants tell me they'll send me some info on the memo for me to use as background. Great.

So, they send me a document that has objectives, strategies, spokesperson, timing, background, and key messages - for a simple memo. AGH! In the time it took them to put the plan for the memo together, they COULD HAVE WRITTEN THE MEMO. And probably gotten approvals as well. Instead they had to go back to the client and tell them they couldn't do the task and I get stuck doing the deliverable, which is fine.

I just need to hold on for a little while longer...

Consultant Speak

2007-05-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

There are consultants, and then there are Consultants. I'm in the camp with the small "c" while the Big Six have the capital "C" - probably because they are so much more important and get paid way more.

Anyways, I'm deep into with a Consultant firm right now through a mutual client engagement, and I swear they have mastered corporate-speak - all those trite sayings that big corporations love to use to sound important. To me and anyone with half a brain, it just sounds like one of the thing reporters hate most - convoluted blah, blah, blah.

Recent example: An email where "scope" is used twice in one sentence -- not to mention use of "moving forward," "action item," and "ensure we are all on the same page." Here's the whole email:

"Bill and I spoke briefly about where the project stands on scope, the discussions that are in play and how we move forward with sending the Overview Message with the appropriate level of scope information. He has taken the action item to discuss this topic in more detail with you during your Tuesday meeting to ensure we are all on the same page in regards to the final content of this first major message on the program to all Finance, the timing and the next steps from our Coms/Change Team."

What?????

Take that email and multiply times about 50 a day and welcome to my world. When I say things in plain English, they cock their heads and perk up their ears just like my dog Bubba used to do when he didn't understand.

Maybe they haven't realized I'm a small "c" yet.

Kind of Like What?

2007-04-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

We took the kids the other night to the Teppan place down the street for dinner and I overheard the guy next to me explaining geography to his teenage son. Here's what he said: "Europe is kind of like it's own little country, you know, kind of like the U.K."

What???????

It's wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to start...

I guess being able to order Kobe beef at $50 a plate doesn't equal smarts.

Being A Good Consultant

2007-04-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

My old boss, Sheri Benjamin, once asked me to conduct a class on client relations. Not just the nuts and bolts of being a good consultant, but really the nuances of good client service.

I struggled with it for a while, because I think a lot of it is just born with a person. You either got it, or you don't. But I came up with some fundamental things that might not be rocket surgery, as a friend of mine likes to say, but are still worth visiting now and again. These tenants for client success have really become clear to me over the past few weeks, and I'm happy to share them now.

Lisa's Tenants for Client Success

* Make them look good. Remember, it's not about you and your ego, it's about the client. Whether you are working for a mid-level manager on a press release or helping to develop a corporate strategy with the CEO, it's about them and their business. If you make them look good doing their job, you'll look good doing yours.

* Redefine service, every day. Anticipate their needs, build the relationship. Keep eyes open, say thank you, listen.

* Don't be a bulldozer. While they are paying you to come in and provide service, they run the shop, not you. On the flip side of that, don't be a wallflower. They expect a value that you need to provide. Step up, provide ideas and be collaborative.

* Define vision of success together. Begin with the end in mind.

* Ask for feedback. Never assume a client will tell if there is an issue. Ask for and encourage comments.

* Collaboration: Work together and include your client. Find out their collaboration comfort level. How involved do they want to be? Many just want to come in on the front end and then give approvals at the end, while others want to be involved every step of the way. Find out how they want to work and develop your work stream accordingly.

* Flawless execution. Make it easy for the client so they know what to expect every time.

* Keep your promises. Deadlines, budgets, results. Come in on budget. Period. A fundamental way to lose trust is to go over budget. If you can't make what you originally promised, let them know as soon as possible and reset expectations.

* Keep it fresh. They pay you for new ideas. Don't fall into the "rut factor" that comes from repeat programs.

* Surprise your client regularly. Add value by thinking beyond the assignment at hand.

* Choose your battles. Oppose the point, not the person. Never make it personal and go for the greater good. Build rapport, focus on areas of agreement.

* Approach new assignments like new business. A consultant should never get complacent, as there are dozens of consultants just wanting to take your client away.

Calling Them Out

2007-04-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

For my entire career, I've been told, and I have in turn told those who've worked for me - know your audience.

When pitching a story, understand who you're pitching, what types of stories they cover and who their readers are. Not brain surgery, but nonetheless, invaluable.

Reporters will tell you, they get hundreds of emails, letters and calls a day from PR people with "one-of-a-kind" pitches. After not too long, they know if a PR person is going to pitch them something relevant, or if they're pitching the client d'jour crap. I think this is one of the key things that sets the good flacks apart from the bad.

So, image my delight and surprise when I was listening to Kevin & Bean on KROQ the other morning and heard their segment on Bad Pitches. I kid you not. They were actually reading the pitches they got in from PR people that were stupid, absurd or just totally off the mark. I was laughing so hard I was almost crying.

Anyone who has listened to Kevin & Bean know they are irreverent morning guys that appeal to the typical 18-year-old surfer guy who goes to college and works at the local brew pub at night. So imagine how crazy it is to pitch a spokesperson on aging or a new teething ointment for babies. They didn't actually say who the agency or person was that sent the pitch, but they read the entire email pitch on-air and it was hilarious. Needless to say they tore each one apart line by line.

Now, while this may be humiliating for the PR person and the companies they represent, someone had to do it.

I feel sorry for reporters that have to listen to PR people day-in and day-out (including yours truly). Maybe by calling them out, PR people will think about who they're pitching and if it's relevant. But then again, maybe all these "bad" pitches make the good PR people stand out even more...

Nah...

CEOs are People Too

2007-03-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, along with other managers from his office, was invited to a breakfast with the chairman and CEO of his company. The CEO was doing a Town Hall the next day, and wanted the managers on the front lines to tell him how things really are and what was festering on the minds of the everyday worker. As a new leader, the CEO also wanted to spend time getting to know his managers, which to me is great.

So, my friend shows up at the hotel where the breakfast was held and made his way to bathroom prior to the breakfast. By the time he walked into the room, all 20 or so people were already seated around a big table, including the Big Cheese. He immediately noticed that all the seats were taken, except the two on either side of the CEO.

Hmmm....

Everyone stopped to turn and look, seeing what my friend would do. Well, for anyone with some sense, the decision wasn't hard. With little hesitation, my friend sat down, introduced himself to the CEO and proceeded to have a great breakfast. They talked about the business, my friend's take on the office and each told some anecdotes about their lives. In other words, it was invaluable face time with the top ranking man in a Fortune 500 company. Nice.

What got me, was that everyone else did their best to avoid the CEO. As invariably happens, they sat next to the person they felt most comfortable with, safe in the verbal cocoon of a friend. What most people miss out on is the opportunity to meet someone new, someone who could possibly change their lives.

But even aside from that, imagine how that CEO felt. He's new in his position, traveling to a new office to meet people, and NO ONE WANTS TO SIT BY HIM. That's pretty much up their with your first lunchtime at a new school. Pretty dang lonely. Luckily, most CEOs I know have a thick skin, but com'mon, they are people too. They don't want to be outcasts only because of their positions. I've dealt with many, many CEOs, EVPs and the like, and most are really normal, nice people.

The point of the story is, CEOs are people too. They aren't going to fire you on the spot or challenge your intellect. They mostly just want to get to know their employees. The second point is, don't miss an opportunity out of embarrassment or shyness. Step up, say hi and feel out the situation. You'll know in about five seconds if this person wants to talk with you or not, and odds are they do. You have knowledge they want.

Be prepared to offer something, but make sure it's candid, sincere and not self-serving, because they can smell the BS a mile away.

Just be yourself and see where it takes you.

Telling it Like It Is

2007-03-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

As I sit down to write a message to employees for one of my clients, I recall two memos that I recently read that really stuck with me.

The first was a letter to customers from JetBlue. It was in response to the widely publicized debacle where they left people sitting on a plane for more than 10 hours. It started out like this, and got better: "We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all, we are deeply sorry."

It was from the founder and CEO of JetBlue, and it couldn't have been more sincere if he was apologizing to his own mother. It didn't try to make too many excuses, just explain what happened and how they screwed up. It was so refreshing and real it practically hit me upside the head.

The other letter was from Starbucks and was posted on its website for all to read. It basically said they grew too fast and lost some of the "experience" that Starbucks was known for when starting out. Not only that, but they admitted it and wanted to fix it. This wasn't hidden in some investors speech or played up for a BusinessWeek cover - it was posted on their website. Again, very real and very vulnerable.

Maybe we (my PR sisters and brothers) have just gotten to clever with ourselves. Maybe it's not even being done on purpose. Maybe it's just we want to show that "added value" and make it sound professional, polished and publishable. Not something that just anyone could write, but only a professional.

But I think the hard part may be making communications sound real, easy-to-understand and open.

I'm hoping that corporate America is learning something that isn't really new - just plainly tell what the deal is, whether it be that people are loosing their jobs, the company's going out of business or that things are going to change. Heck, it might even be good news, but either way, just tell it in a way people can understand and above all, be honest.

I know I'm going to keep going back to the JetBlue letter in particular. It's my new inspiration. Here it is in case you want to be inspired too.

Dear JetBlue Customers,
We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all, we are deeply sorry.

Last week was the worst operational week in JetBlue's seven year history. Following the severe winter ice storm in the Northeast, we subjected our customers to unacceptable delays, flight cancellations, lost baggage, and other major inconveniences. The storm disrupted the movement of aircraft, and, more importantly, disrupted the movement of JetBlue's pilot and inflight crewmembers who were depending on those planes to get them to the airports where they were scheduled to serve you.

With the busy President's Day weekend upon us, rebooking opportunities were scarce and hold times at 1-800-JETBLUE were unacceptably long or not even available, further hindering our recovery efforts. Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that we caused.

This is especially saddening because JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel and making the experience of flying happier and easier for everyone who chooses to fly with us.

We know we failed to deliver on this promise last week. We are committed to you, our valued customers, and are taking immediate corrective steps to regain your confidence in us. We have begun putting a comprehensive plan in place to provide better and more timely information to you, more tools and resources for our crewmembers and improved procedures for handling operational difficulties in the future.

We are confident, as a result of these actions, that JetBlue will emerge as a more reliable and even more customer responsive airline than ever before.

Most importantly, we have published the JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights—our official commitment to you of how we will handle operational interruptions going forward—including details of compensation. I have a video message to share with you about this industry leading action.

You deserved better—a lot better—from us last week. Nothing is more important than regaining your trust and all of us here hope you will give us the opportunity to welcome you onboard again soon and provide you the positive JetBlue Experience you have come to expect from us.

Sincerely,
David Neeleman
Founder and CEO
JetBlue Airways

Things I Dig

2007-03-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

I've been trying a lot of new things lately and in doing so, have really found some cool little gems. On the flip side, I've also come to appreciate some of the tried and true. So, here are some of the things I dig right now. No guarantee that by the time you read this, I'll still be smitten with them:

Pomegranate martinis - yum. I particularly like using the fizzy pomegranate juice from Trader Joe's.

Boutique hotels - Not the really chi-chi ones, but the hidden treasures. I recently stayed at an 8-room hacienda type place in Palm Springs right off Palm Canyon Drive. It was quaint, peaceful and really unique. Nice.

Old school bars - the older the red leather, the better.

Mixing salad dressings - if you haven't mixed chunky blue cheese with Italian, you are missing out.

Casino bars - great for people watching, hearing 80's dance music from a live band and gambling - all at the same time

Chili Cheese Fries - add some onion and jalapeno if you're feeling adventurous

What's hot in your world? What am I missing out on? Share with me and I'll keep you updated too...

Two New Places

2007-02-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

My hubby and I have had not one, but two dates nights over the past couple months. We love to try new restaurants and hit two in a row that are worth mentioning.

The first is White Horses (www.whitehorses.us) in San Clemente. I stumbled upon it on the web and noticed it has won some pretty good awards and was rated by Zagat. It's located right across from the pier, very small and has a few patio seats. It's got a four or five seat bar, nice etched glass and artwork that rotates every few weeks. But the best thing isn't the location or decor, it's the food.

I just love a place with good bread (even though I haven't had carbs in a few weeks now and I'm feeling faint) and my husband raved about their homemade loafs, served with a nice olive oil mix. We started off with some excellent cocktails (of course) and then perused the menu. They have a standard grill menu of steaks and you can mix and match your sauces and rubs, which is a nice touch. Then, they have a seasonal concept menu that changes and has a Mediterranean flair.

Everything looked great and I wanted to mix it up a bit, so we stared with the Spanish platter of cheeses and cured meats. It was D-licious. The meats blended perfectly with the assortment of cheeses and the olives were tangy and good.

After gobbling that up with lots of "mmmmmming" we both decided upon steaks. I had a garlic crust with a blue cheese butter. Tres rich. My husband also went with the garlic (yes, we probably could clear a room afterward) and had a hollandaise sauce. Also tres rich. All in all, fantastic and very romantic.

Next place we tried was Infusion in Ladera Ranch (www.infusionladera.com). This place was a tip from a lady I met at my son's TaeKwonDo class. I don't know why, but we didn't expect much from a place in Ladera Ranch, but Infusion gave me a new perspective. The menu is pretty standard fare with steaks, chops, seafood and the like. They have a pretty good wine list and a nice bar that seats about 20.

I really dig a place that has live music and Infusion had a good acoustic guitar player that knew a really good variety of artists. Once the crowd thinned down, people just started shouting out bands and songs and he'd kick it in. Anyway, back to the food. They started with a nice loaf of rosemary bread that smelled wonderful. After ordering our Maker's Mark Manhattan's, we decided upon a warm goat cheese appetizer with sun dried tomatoes. It was yummy but super rich and we couldn't eat much of it.

For our entrees, I settled on NY steak with veggies. It was really done nicely. My husband had the pan seared diver scallops that were the size of fat mushrooms. I noticed a lot of "tower" food there as well as hanging food, which is kind of hard to describe but they would have a metal hook on the plate that held the meat off the plate. Kind of gimmicky in my opinion but I guess people like it.

All-in-all, really nice places that I recommend. Enjoy!

A Wake up Call to PR People

2007-01-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

My friend Denise sent me this article from the NY Times, which is really telling given the disturbing change of face in PR over the past two or so years. It's really sad that a PR team with such a good reputation should go to these levels.

What bugs me is they have to KNOW this is wrong, yet they do it. Is it the pursuit of the almighty dollar? Are PR firms under such pressure for revenue that they have to not just be creative, but underhanded? As my friend Denise asks, are PR firms the new lobbyists?

The legitimate media is pretty savvy and it was only a matter of time until someone called them on it. I'm just glad it was the NYT. Now there's a powerful slap on the hand if I've ever seen one.

Here's a good wake up call to PR firms, via David Pogue:

A Wake-Up Call to Microsoft's PR Team

From the January 1, 2007, edition of The New York Times:

"Several bloggers reported last week that they had received Acer Ferrari laptops, which can sell for more than $2,200, from Microsoft. A spokeswoman for Microsoft confirmed on Friday that the company had sent out about 90 computers to bloggers who write about technology and other subjects" that could be affected by the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft's new operating system.

"Being provided an evaluation computer from Acer is not a 'bribe,'" argued blogger Blake Handler, after receiving one of the free laptops. "It simply allows me to accelerate my evaluations, documentation and demonstrations of Windows Vista."

OMG! You've got to be kidding me, Blake. I guess just being *lent* a laptop wouldn't have been enough to accelerate your evaluations? I guess only being given a freebie from Microsoft would do the trick.

Now, I realize it must be hard to send a shiny new laptop back to the mother ship just because it's the right thing to do. Still, I think very little of the bloggers who are keeping Microsoft's bribe laptops.

Clearly, they're exploiting the lawless, Brave New World of the blogsophere, where, since they're Not Quite Journalists, they don't feel constrained by any of those pesky journalistic ethics guidelines. Like the one that says, "You don't keep $2,200 gifts from the subject of your review. You might think you can still write an impartial review, but it's highly unlikely-and either way, nobody will believe it."

But Microsoft gets much of the blame, too. It deliberately exploited a weak spot in today's court of public opinion: how bloggers influence consumers, but generally don't have conflict-of-interest policies.

Now, I realize that this isn't exactly breaking news; in fact, it's three weeks old. I wasn't even going to bring it up, but yesterday I remembered something: this isn't the first time.

In fact, Microsoft has tried to buy public opinion in secret over and over again in the last few years. Here are a few examples-mainly, the ones where Microsoft was caught:

In 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported that Microsoft, during its antitrust trials, hired PR companies to flood newspapers with fake letters of support, bearing ordinary individuals' names but actually written by Microsoft PR staff.

Later, during the antitrust trials, Microsoft attempted to prove the inseparability of Windows and Internet Explorer by playing a video for the judge. But the government's lawyer noticed that as the tape rolled on, the number of icons on the desktop kept changing. Microsoft had spliced together footage from different computers to make its point.

Then in 2002, Microsoft's Web site featured a testimonial called "Confessions of a Mac to PC Convert," a first-person account by an attractive brunette "freelance writer" about how she had fallen in love with Windows XP.

Unfortunately, a Slashdot member discovered that the identical photo was available for rent from the stock-photo libraries of GettyImages.com. Sure enough: Microsoft had hired a PR firm to write the testimonial. The "switcher" did not actually exist.

I am not, and never will be, a knee-jerk Microsoft basher. I'll give its products good reviews whenever they're deserved (as I have with, for example, Media Center, Windows Vista and Office 2007).

But for goodness' sake: Why is Microsoft so insecure? Why can't it allow its software to stand on its own? Why does it feel the necessity to spin public opinion using these phony "grass-roots" marketing tactics?

Here's a wake-up call to the Machiavellis on Microsoft's PR team: bribing bloggers, fabricating reviews and making up letters to the editor makes the company look worse, not better.

If Microsoft really wants to earn high marks from the public, it might want to consider earning them the old-fashioned way: By creating products people love.

C'mon Now!

2007-01-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

I was reading the OC Business Journal last night when I had to do a double take on a quote. What makes this quote really good isn't just that it's the ultimate in corporate speak, but the source of it really cracks me up. Here it is:

...Some newspaper folks decry them, but Freedom Communications (OC Register) CEO Scott Flanders welcomes the influx of private equity investors. "When you're privately backed, you have the flexibility to be nimble," Flanders told the Washington Post.

...Flexibility to be nimble..., I have to remember that one for my next press release.

Getting a Seat at the Table

2007-01-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

When I was coming up the ranks at different PR & ad agencies, there was often a reoccurring theme about getting respect from a client. It's not that clients out-right disrespected us, it was just we (meaning marketing, PR or ad people) were thought of more as "creatives" that came in once the business was figured out, then communicated it in some way, shape or form.

What each of us really wanted was to be regarded as a smart business person, who could give insight into product strategy, company positioning, driving sales and having an impact on bottom line results.

Let us be in the room when big decisions were made, not after.

Let us be part of the process, not just the execution.

In other words, let us have a Seat at the Table.

There were seminars on how to get a Seat at the Table, what to do once you got there and how to follow through post-table. Everyone was working towards that elusive Seat at the Table.

Luckily, I earned my way to the Table and have sat at many over the years. But the other day at a meeting, something interesting happened. I went to a meeting at The Table (mostly VPs and directors) and was there early, so I took a seat at The Table. But as people started coming in, they sat on the periphery of The Table, around the walls of the room. There was room at The Table, but people didn't want to sit there.

I thought to myself, is the new thing to be so important, that you don't really need to sit at The Table anymore? Or did these people have low esteem and felt unworthy to be at The Table? It was a very strange phenomenon and I noticed it was a mix of both. A couple of the VPs sat around the edges and gave the hand wave when asked if they wanted a seat, as in "no, no, you go ahead, I'm just going to sit back here and judge." Others gave the "oh no, I'm not as important as you are, you go ahead" wave of the hand as they nodded and smiled.

I say, if you're invited to The Table, step up and take a seat. You've earned it. But you better be ready to add some value, otherwise, you may loose it to someone on the periphery.

New Year, New Resolutions?

2006-12-31T09:07:00.000-08:00

Being the eve of a new year, I am ready to look back on last year's resolutions to see how I fared. Instead of a list of things I said I'd do, I made a list of things I said I wouldn't do. Here's the results:

I will not feel guilty for not working an 8+ hour day - good news here. I got over that within a couple months. In fact, while I haven't turned down any business, I haven't aggressively gone after any. I think I like things right where they are, servicing the clients I have. So, new resolution would be to "maintain balance."
I will not go to Target more than once a week - I have to admit, this was kind of a hard goal, but I got creative. I started supplementing Target with other stores. Smart huh? So I spread the wealth among Macy's, TJ Max, White House/Black Market, and others. I think this year, it will have to be a monetary spending limit. I'll have to put some thought to that, no knee jerk reactions here.
I will not put off volunteering - I have to admit, I didn't do as well as I would have liked to here. The one thing I did do was collected clothes from my female friends to donate to Women Helping Women. It was huge and we filled up my husband's truck with bags and bags of professional clothing for women. The really good news is this lead to my friend Traci hooking me up with the director there and we are working on a plan for me to get more involved. I'm really excited about this.
I will not become a slave to my Blackberry - this one really goes hand in hand with the first resolution. As I eased off the go-go-go mentality, the Blackberry didn't get such a workout. I won't have to see the doctor for Blackberry thumbs anytime soon.
I will not try to do too much at once - going back and reading this, I see a pattern: working too much, slave to Blackberry and doing too much at once. I was addicted to "doing"!! I'm happy to say, I've slowed down, taken some deep breaths and relaxed.

You really don't know what a maniac you are until you take a view from the other side of the working world. My friend Denise just left her job after 21 years and I can't wait to see her metamorphosis.

Looking back on this year, while I've taken a step or two back, I believe I have serviced my clients well, done some excellent work and had more fun doing it. In terms of my family, I spend more time with my kids and hopefully have a longer fuse. I laugh a little bit easier, even at my husband's corny jokes, which any women knows makes that relationship even better.

If next year can be as enlightening, fun and balanced as this, I will be extremely lucky.

Business-speak

2006-11-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

Although I've been a consultant for nearly two years now, I still have my fair share of corporate meetings. I enjoy these in a way I never did before, primarily because I'm now on the outside looking in and I think I have a completely different perspective. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

One thing that's become apparent to me is that corporate speak is alive and well in today's companies, from the cramped meeting rooms that used to be someone's office, to the boardrooms with the deep, plush chairs.

Corporate speak is a language unto itself and if you really listen carefully, it can be both colorful and insightful. Last week, I really started to take notice about half way into the meeting and wrote down some of my favorites. The ones I picked up were all said in about a 45 minute period, which is pretty good unto itself:

"I'm going to parking lot that issue right now" - the best part was that the person who said it made the "driving the steering wheel" gesture
"It's group think time people" - at this time, I furrowed my brow and put my hand on my chin to show a sign of think-time solidarity
"We're on the razor's edge heading toward the shore" - I think they mixed their metaphors here, but I took it mean were almost there from our group think time and were close to a good idea
"Katie, bar the door - we're meeting the date" - I'm not sure who Katie is, but she's not letting anyone miss the deadline
"I don't think we have all three legs of the stool yet" - so Katie, you better let us out or someone will hurt themselves on that stool

I really had a good time in this meeting, and I actually think our group think-time came up with some good ideas. So next time you're in a meeting, see if you hear any good corporate speak. Email me and we'll do a deep-dive on the phrases.

Election Day Fun

2006-11-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Being this was election day, I tried to explain to my kids why we vote and the importance of it in a democracy, over Fruity Cherios of course.

I told the kids that today was the day when Americans can choose who runs our government, like the governor, congresspeople and judges.

Then Sam says "And God too?"

I told him, no, we don't elect God, in fact, I think it's the other way around.

Too cute!

The Other Side of the Tape Recorder

2006-11-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

There's an old saying that goes something like "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." I've always thought of this saying throughout my career, as it is one of the best pieces of advice I could ever read or give.

For example, it's just as important to know your competitions' marketing/communications/ business strategy as it is your own. In fact, you shouldn't even come up with yours until you know theirs inside and out and how yours is better/different.

The same goes with the media. While I in no way consider them "enemies," they are the folks who can sometimes be your worst nightmare. With almost everything I do for my clients, I think, what would a really savvy reporter think of this? How would they dissect this and what's the best and worst headline they could write?

In that vein, I came across a 101 for reporters on how to interview. I found this really interesting and wanted to share. I think it really gets into the mind of the reporter and what's happening on the other side of the tape recorder. It's also something that really can help when you are in an interview situation, knowing they are human just like us and are worried about how they are performing.

The following is from Jenny Sundel. According to her bio, her work can now be seen in People, Women's Wear Daily, Self, and Calabasas, among several other publications.

Interviewing for Beginners
Here is my recipe for the perfect interviewer. As I can't cook to save my life, take it with a grain of salt. And of course mix to your own personal taste.

1 Part Hostess with the Mostest
· Break the ice: You want the interview experience to be as pleasant as possible, so greet your subject with a nice solid handshake and a smile. And remember: you're the one in charge of the tone. Come prepared with lots of good questions so you can easily switch topics if your interviewee clams up. Look for common ground, even if it's as simple as admiring the person's shirt.
· Dealing with a bad guest: Grin and bare it for the better good of the interview. If you lose your cool, the interview could get cut short. And worse, if you ever deal with celebs, you could get banned from a publicity firm's entire client roster.

1 Part Actor
· Know your audience: It's not about you and what you want to know. It's about what your editors and readers will find interesting. Â· Learn your lines: Reading off index cards won't cut it. You have to make a connection with your subject and listen and respond.
· Improvise: Don't be afraid to go off book. If they throw you a curveball, explore it. That's how you get the best stuff.Â· There are no small parts, just small actors: If you only get 2 minutes, you can still make it work (to steal Project Runway's motto). A lot can be said in a short period of time.
· Playing the part: Your role as an interviewer requires you to be very versatile and adaptable. So you might want to hone the roles of psychologist, devil's advocate, and all-around entertainer. (Although I think we can all agree that balloon animals are always a no-no, right?).
· Getting booed: When somebody takes offense to one of your questions, a publicist snaps at you, or your subject just seems generally irritated by you, seek solace in the fact that they might actually like you if you weren't playing the part of a nosy journalist. At least this is what I tell myself.

1 Part Gambler
· Luck of the draw: You never know what you're in for when you sit down for an interview. Sometimes the person is very willing to talk; other times, not so much. No matter what, you have to get your subject to open up. You can better prepare by reading past interviews and befriending other journalists - maybe they've interviewed this person before and can give you tips.
· Know when to hold 'em: Don't blow it all by asking tough questions at the very beginning or you run the risk of getting hung up on and then you're left with nothing. Wait to feel out your interviewees and consider your phrasing. Sometimes you luck out and they bring up the topic themselves or they actually want you to ask the question so they can clear the air.
· Know when to fold 'em: Always push for a response to your questions, but you have to know when to move on. There's a difference between being an aggressive reporter and an abusive one.
1 Part YOU
· Play to your strengths: Quick-witted? This will come in handy during the awkward moment when you call somebody the wrong name or blurt out some poorly phrased question. Wide-eyed and innocent? An inexperienced interviewer can leave subjects feeling less intimidated, so sometimes newbies get the best stuff. Insanely hot? You best brush your hair before you leave the house! But remember: as many a starlet has learned before, looks fade; wit and charm - that's the stuff with staying power.
· Be well-rounded: Read, have hobbies, be social - this will actually make you a better interviewer. The more experiences you have, the easier it is for you to connect with a wide range of people. So get a life (if you don't already have one!). If not for your own sake, for the sake of your career!

###

A Well Spent Morning

2006-10-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

I feel like a total dinosaur sometimes, but I still like to go to industry events once in a while to show my face, feel like I'm still in the industry "mix" and listen to a few speakers. The presentations are usually as stale as the muffins they put out, but once in a while you get lucky.

Today was one of those days.

I went to the Business Wire "Meet the Media" breakfast and gained insight into some new media and how they are effecting the PR business and more importantly, what some editors want to see from PR people in this regard.

The speakers were Jan Norman, small business columnist & reporter for the OC Register, Matt Degen, technology and entertainment writer for SqueezeOC.com; and Jamie O'Donnell, CEO of Newsforce, a company that develops search engine optimization software.

Jan was up first:

Ready? The integration of video & podcasts with pitches to print media - gasp. With so many reporters blogging, papers having to compete with every other online media and posts going up within minutes of stories breaking, this makes total sense. So, send B-roll and podcast information along with traditional pitches and news releases.
When it comes to B-roll, don't just have a talking head. Intersperse the footage with images related to the company's business. For example, if you are doing something new with micro chips, get a shot of the cleanroom. If you are in banking, get a shot of customers making transactions. In other words, make it visually appealing.
Nothing new but good to note again (and again) - provide instant access to sources, whether it be the CEO or the PR person confirming some info, be accessible.
Participate in blogs. So many reporters blog now and go to blogs as sources, postings are another way to gain visibility and get your message out unfiltered. This, by all means, does not mean posting a commercial or writing an ad. This means give an opinion, new information or something else meaningful.

From Matt from Squeeze OC.com (which I have to give another plug to, it's a great pub for what's what and where it's happening in OC):

Pitch trends - again, not a big a-ha, but good to note. If you are pitching another product, place or thing, ask yourself if it is part of a larger trend. In other words, look beyond the company's navel and see how it fits into the bigger picture. I always like to give stats and examples to show trends.
Don't discount online coverage. Most people think that getting coverage in the print copy is getting the Holy Grail, but so many people are going online for their information, sometimes getting the web hit is even better.
Blogs - write them, use them, comment on them.

And, from Jamie:

Internet news portals like Yahoo! and Google are the main source of news for most people. Hmmm....
To get the most out of your news releases, optimize them with keywords and links.
Search engines look at the first 62 words of a press releases headline to see if they hit certain key words that people search for. So, it's important to keep your headlines tight and keep in mind when writing it to enter key words beyond the company's name.

All good advice in my book and got me thinking about how old school PR, while still effective, needs to keep up with the times. Some ideas I had while listening to these folks:

Develop video pitches. Maybe embed a clip from the CEO or customer in the pitch to add more meat.
Video bios. Instead of boring written bios, have the person give his own story in his own words.
Provide b-roll right on your company website. Have various clips of your business reside in your image bank or media center on your website.

In the end, I realized I have to keep thinking differently on how to pitch and how to add value to reporters and my clients. But in the end, the song remains the same - you still have to have a solid pitch no matter what.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

2006-10-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to go to the Governor's Conference for Women last month with my friends Jennifer and Laurie. It was, as it is every year, amazing, inspiring and empowering. You leave feeling you can do and accomplish anything no matter what life throws at you, if you just believe in your passion and never give up. I too, truly believe that.

There was an amazing list of speakers, including Maria Shriver, who was hilarious and poignant, (yes, poignant). With her incredible pedigree and her list of accomplishments, she was honest in her insecurities and foibles. She talked about how now that she wasn't a journalist, holding a "real job" that she lost some sense of identity. How that in order to really hear your own voice, that you need to slow your life down and just be silent. I think the 13,000 women there all related to her.

I also listen to Karen Hughes, one of the most influential people in the life of George W. Bush. She talked about being a women in the White House and in politics, in general. She talked about marrying passion with priorities. In other words, base your life decisions on the things you love, be it family, God or politics.

Tim Russert, who is one of my favorite journalists/commentators, was funny and melancholy when talking about his dad and how he worked 20 hours a day to make ends meet but was still a dedicated father. He also talked about how you don't have to make a lot of noise to be heard - I love that.

Then there was the Dali Lama, who reminded us that each one of us has the responsibility to promote human value. Also, that a calm mind gives you more ability to feel compassion. Turn of the cell phone, step away from the TV and just be.

All in all, it was an amazing day.

One thing I thought about on the drive home was women's relationship with other women in the workplace. While the thousands of us sat in that stadium, we were all ready to hold hands and be sisters. But, when it comes to the workplace, why are we still so damn competitive, and I don't mean competitive in a good way. It's more competitive in the backstabbing, power wielding, threatened way.

When I look back on the bosses of my past, it's always the women who stand out. One in particular, was a great friend and mentor. The other, was the most insecure bitch I've ever come across. She made my life a living hell at work and basically drove me out of a company I loved. Sigh.

We vie for attention, we talk behind each others backs, we are passive aggressive towards each other and we hold grudges WAY too long for our own good. I've always admired the fact that men can say what they mean, generally don't take anything personally and then can go out and get a beer together after work. Not women.

My point is that the power of women is immeasurable. I want the feeling of those 13,000 women to be just the beginning. If we concentrate on bringing each other up instead of holding each other down, the possibilities are endless.

2006-10-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Stewart Lampoons Cavuto

On the heels of my blog about words PR people shouldn't use, let's not let our friends in the media off the hook either.

The Daily Show talks about the fine folks at Fox and their use of the "Cavuto" - watch and enjoy.

Warning - it's a little on thet racy side.

Enjoy.

Challenge or Be Challenged

2006-09-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of positives and negatives to being self-employed. Obviously, you get massive flexibility in your schedule, not a lot of bureaucracy to deal with, you can go to work in your PJs, and you really have no one to answer to but yourself.

But on the flip side, maybe being so on your own isn't such a blessing. A major challenge of being self employed is that there is no one around to tell you that you are self-deceived - or in other words, to call "bullshit" should it be needed.

You just continue doing 'what feels right' and tell yourself that everything is going to be all right. Except for one problem, you know that you still have not solved that nagging problem and try to ignore it or worse begin to justify your decisions and actions.

I think a lot of people at the top of organizations have the same problem. Everyone's afraid to tell the Emperor he has no clothes, for fear of loosing their jobs or being called out as an idiot. Challenging the status quo is not a popular option. There is even a derogatory name for those type of people - whistleblowers.

But I have to say, I have called BS many a time, and most of the time I was in one way or another, thanked for it, and sometimes even rewarded for it.

When you do call BS, most of the time, you're thinking what many other people are thinking but you're the only one with enough moxxi to say something. I think the key is just picking the right place and time and marrying that with some select words. Most of all, don't make the person feel stupid.

While surrounding yourself with "yes-people" may feel good, it's always a good idea to have a person or two that isn't afraid to challenge or be challenged. And, if you're a consultant as in my case, that's what you're paid to do.

Luckily for me, I have a husband and lots of friends and clients that call BS on me all the time.

Impressive Leading Dynamic Interactive Best Blog Ever

2006-08-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Any good PR person learned a long time ago that the best way to write for journalists is in the AP journalistic style. In fact, it's one of the few real-world things you learn in college in between your Comm Law and Statistics classes. Yet, it seems two or three press releases into the career and most people throw that crucial piece of knowledge out the door.

A quick perusal of PR Newswire and I quickly came up with this - the following words were used within one paragraph of a tech news release: leading, high-performance, highly interactive, new campaign, cutting-edge new technology, the nexus, everything they need to know.
Kind of tragic.
The sad thing is that these words can both repulse the reporter and actually hide the true value of the product or announcement.

I know sometimes it's the client who is pushing the PR person to use a long list of superlatives and adjectives, but it's the job of the PR person to remind them they are not writing a brochure, but a news release intended for journalists. Save the "most, best, first" hype for the marketing materials - that's where it belongs and where people expect to see it.

I think it'd be amazingly refreshing if PR people wrote the way reporters write. After all, isn't it part of our job to make their job easier? So, keeping the spirit of PR camaraderie alive, here's a list of words gathered from some journalist friends that should NOT be used in news releases:

Cutting-edge, leading-edge: in the tech world, nothing is cutting or leading for more than 10 minutes
Innovative - when was the last time you saw something truly innovative?
Pioneer - unless your a family heading west in a covered wagon, loose it
Visionary - can there really be that many smart people out there that we would call them visionary? I highly doubt it. If so, Bill Gates would have some serious competition.
Proactive - duh, who ever put out news on being reactive
Vital - are people really going to die if they don't use the product? Is it really that important to the state of the free economy?
Revolutionary, break-through - I think of a cure for cancer or AIDS as revolutionary or break-through, not a new software program - you?
State of the art - see cutting-edge, leading-edge

While these are just a few of the words, you get the gist. If the product or announcement is that good, it should stand on its own. If not, you may want to rethink the whole news release thing.

But, you do have to admit, this is pretty vital, revolutionary and cutting-edge thinking, no?

What Makes You Different?

2006-08-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Think about the last time you heard about something and said "wow, that's really different," or "that's so simple, why didn't someone think of that before?"

It took me a good long time when I thought about it.

The reason I pose that question is because it's something reporters think about every day - what makes this company, product, person or thing, different, stand-out or interesting? Why would my readers want to know about this? How will it make their lives better, make them laugh, improve their way of life or make doing business more profitable?

In turn, I have to ask clients the same type of questions, and more often than not, they come up with some marketing speak. A lot of words that really say nothing. And more often than not it's in the form of techno babble. The scary part is - they really believe it. They are drinking the marketing Kool-aid and loving it.

When I get to the part about what makes them different from their competition, it's usually more of the same. Ugh.

When embarking on your PR efforts, or business in general for that matter, it's important for companies to take off the marketing goggles and instead look through a microscope. Drill down and find out what is the true difference in your business. Do you do things faster, cheaper, more efficiently? Do you offer more services or services no one else does? In other words, what's your value to the market? If you were in your customers shoes, what would you want to hear? What makes you win business - or loose business?

Once you figure out your value proposition, shoot holes in it and play devil's advocate.
Then do it again.
Then have someone outside your organization do it. Personally, I prefer a really good PR/communications consultant, but it doesn't have to be. It could be an analyst, a close customer or potential customer. But either way, it has to be done.

When determining "news" in the form of a press release or announcement, the same process should be done. Ask yourself why does this matter? In other words, who cares? If you can't easily figure that out, you may need to rethink your strategy.

Know what makes you different. Don't wait until your putting out a press release to figure it out. You'll save yourself and the reporters your contacting a lot of trouble.

Education vs. Real World

2006-08-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

I had lunch with a friend of mine the other day who's at a crossroads in her career. She knows she wants to leave her job, but is not sure what direction to take. She can either get another job, or she talked about going back and getting her Master's degree.

I told her that when I was reviewing resumes to hire new talent at the agency, I would look for breadth of experience and achievement on the job as two prime requirements. Having a BA was ante in the game.

But then I started thinking about Master's degrees and I realized I do have a bias towards them.

Now I know that there are tons of great people out there with advanced degrees in the communications field, so no hate mail. But my experience with most of those folks have been lackluster to negative. Because of their degrees, they usually expect to come in at a higher position then is realistic. Then when they get in the position, they tend to be thinkers with great ideas, but the bug-a-boo is that most of them fail on implementation. Sometimes it's paralysis by analysis.

I talked to another friend today in the advertising world and asked her opinion. It was interesting that her view is about the same as mine.

While higher education is important and admirable, I think it must be balanced with a great deal of on-the-job success, even if it means starting at a lower level than one would expect. If I had to choose, I would take real-world experience over a degree any day.

Giving it Away for Free

2006-08-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Every young girl, at least those of my generation and before, inevitably learn one valuable lesson: don't give it away for free.

Recently, I was wondering if those words rang true in the business world.

It's always been my philosophy that if you do some good will work, you will almost always get paid work in return. Maybe not even from the person you did the gratis work for, for that matter. But maybe they will refer someone, or maybe it's just pure karma. And there is nothing wrong with giving a little extra to your clients. Maybe it's helping a co-worker out if they want to leave early on a Friday. In other words, to quote the Beatles, "the love you take is equal to the love you make."

But when does it get to be too much? When free lunches or a thank you email isn't cutting it anymore? Too many free rides to the point you feel a little angry, maybe even used?

I think that pain point comes when you realize that the person has no real intention of ever referring you or giving you any future business. Or, in the workplace, you start to feel dumped on with no reciprocation. It goes back to my mother's words, "no sense of commitment, no play." While giving it away might not be so bad if the person truly needs your help and has nowhere else to turn, it's the ones that really are using you that are the bad eggs.

So, while I still stick to helping out friends, giving a little extra to clients and helping out those in need, I caution you to listen to your gut. If it's telling you you're being taken advantage of, listen.

Da Party

2006-08-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

My husband threw me a birthday bash last weekend that was more fun than I can remember. Seriously, I don't remember... that's how much fun I had.

But what I do know is that I am lucky to have such great friends and family. My worlds collided with neighbors, clients, new friends, old friends, brothers, sisters and my extended family all in attendance. We had great food, lots of drink and even some gambling tables.

Brian, Stephanie and Sarah tempt lady luck

Here's My Friend Jane - I've known her since Cal State Fullerton days.

My husband, and I'll leave it at that

Jen, me and Denise - all met through work and I now think of them like sista's!

Can It Be Maturity?

2006-08-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

As most who read this know, I turned 40 a few days ago. While I have lamented many a birthday prior to the big 4-0h, this one wasn't so bad. I was waiting for that familiar sick feeling in my stomach, the search for additional wrinkles and the lying awake a night wondering if I was really at the point in my life I should be.

But those things never came.

Was I just too busy? Had chasing kids, meeting deadlines and running the household really diverted my attention? Not likely. This time, I spent my time lamenting why I wasn't lamenting. Then, I think I finally reached a realization - maybe I had finally matured.

I think maybe I've come to the point where I know enough to know that age isn't everything, it's what you have in your life, soul and spirit that matter. That you will never reach that personal nirvana, but that's OK. It's not the end of the game that's important, it's how you play during the game that counts.

I also realized that I have it pretty damn good. I have two amazing kids, a loving husband, a healthy family, my own business doing what I'm good at for people I like and a closet full of shoes and purses. What more could a girl ask for? As my friend Chris says, 40 is the new 30, only things are a little closer to the ground. That I can handle. Forty ain't so bad.

I've Been Outed

2006-07-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I'm an addict. And, I've shared my addiction with the Orange County Register. I figure the first step is admitting you have a problem, so being the media focused person I am, went with a public outing. Here's the dirt:

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Monday, July 31, 2006
Target mania
Store's cultish following inspired by upscale marketing, low prices.
By ELLYN PAK

The Orange County Register

This is uncharted territory.
There's barely anyone in the newly opened Target in the Irvine Spectrum. The employees, clad in cherry-red polos, wait with their hands clasped behind their backs at the registers.
The associates smile because they know.
Folks like Kimi Grether, who's just finished a day at work and walks in without a shopping list, are especially vulnerable. You might as well put the bull's-eye on their backs.
Call it the Target culture, rather cult, perfected by the retailer's marketing machine and perpetuated by hungry consumers.
Grether coos over polka-dot blouses and squeals over canine couture for a dog she doesn't own, and the Target deities smile and clink their glasses.
For every time a customer buys a $1.99 waste can and plops a breakfast sandwich maker into her cart, the marketing gurus cheer, for they know they've done well.
"It's a bad thing if you don't have any money, because you'll go crazy in here," says Grether, 26, of Corona del Mar.
She's not alone in her Target madness. Millions of others have succumbed to the Tar-zhay appeal that goes beyond buying quality products at low prices.
"A key component is the high-quality advertising," says Noel Murray, a marketing professor at Chapman University. "They are certainly hip and cool. They've been able to create this cultural phenomenon."
Swing-dancing commercials. The omnipresent Bullseye, a white bull terrier with the company's logo painted around its left eye. Stores that have bull's-eyes painted on the roof to be detected by programs such as Google Earth.
All are trend-forward marketing tactics that are all at once enabling Target to carve its name into pop culture and attract people at both ends of the demographic spectrum.
"They've become this cultural author of those types of trends. Even if another retailer tries to copy it … it doesn't have the effect. Target has the authorial rights to it," he adds.
Lisa Zwick of Laguna Hills calls herself an addict. In December, she set a New Year's resolution to restrain herself from the Aliso Viejo store.
"I have stuck to it," says the 39-year-old Targetista. "I have limited my Target shopping excursions to once a week."
She says the variety of products, from backyard items to workout clothes, attracts her to the store. She usually walks out with $80 worth of merchandise for herself, her children and her home.
"I don't go crazy every time," Zwick says with a laugh. "I usually go there to pick something up that we actually need … I feel like I get really good value there."
Expert Murray says the brand-name products and in-store layouts are appealing to customers and spur impulse shopping.
"Target stores are well laid out and predictable," he says. "You're going into a store and you know where everything is. You can feel comfortable wielding that shopping cart around and know where you're going."
The layouts of the stores often dictate the consumers' behavior. Is there a coincidence that patrons circle the store in a bull's-eye pattern?
Anya Agopian, 22, of Irvine , starts with the clothes. She then looks at the accessories and purses and works her way around the store to the DVD section. After looking at cosmetics, she lands at the cash register, cringing at the final tally.
"You go in there and you think you're buying everything that is affordable," says the UC Irvine student. "But you add it up and it's at least $100."
Last Wednesday, Kimi Grether circled around the store at Irvine Spectrum, trying on clothes, touching items, picking up gallons of water and reminiscing about how she filled her dormitory in Arizona with Target products.
"It's one of those things you come in for one thing and you come out with a card, paper shredder, a dress and razors," she says.
The phenomenon has even spawned blogs in which Target lovers write about topics from newly launched designer lines to celebrity spottings, like Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's romantic, red-cart outing to a Nashville store.
Denis Hiller, a 21-year-old techie and blogger in Silicon Valley , created Targetculture.com in March to express his devotion and find others who feel the same way.
"Most fascinating to me is not just the ranting and raving on how much I love Target, which I do … but to explore how it impacts our culture and how our culture impacts it," he says.
Hiller, who once said he'd "drop dead" before he went into a Target, now says the concept makes perfect sense.
"It's just shopping for people who don't want to get ripped off but demand high-quality merchandise and are fashion-oriented," he says.
SlavetoTarget.com also provides daily musings about items from cute capes to chocolate fountain machines to "superfabulous" crib bedding.
"Seriously – Slaves to Target hide Target bags from their husbands, we make up excuses to go to Target, we simply feel orgasmic by the thought," writes the mysterious blog creator on her Web site.
Lisa Banuelos, 34, of Santa Ana says her husband is supportive of her habit, which she has integrated into her life.
She frequents the Target at Bristol Street at least once or twice a week. The self-proclaimed addict says Target was the first store she went to shortly after giving birth to both of her sons.
She swears that at the start of every summer, every mother stocks up on $3.99 shorts for their young sons.
"Target is on my No. 1 list," she says. "It's my favorite store."
CONTACT US: 714-704-3788 or epak@ocregister.com

Back in the Saddle

2006-07-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Aloha:
I'm back from nine incredible days in Maui and again into the work thing. We had a really great time with the in-laws and other extended family members, enjoying the amber sunsets, tangy mai tai's and lotioning wrinkled skin from too much time in the pool. We did the whole sightseeing thing, going to a luau, visiting a winery in upcountry and hitting the tourist spots in Lahina. All-in-all a great trip, despite a little rain.

It's hard to get back into the work thing. You finally relax after three days on vacation, then it seems you have to head back home. My clients were very understanding of my time out of the office and the good news/bad news is that there's a lot of new projects to get to. So, without much more, here are some quick pics of the trip.
LZ

Aloha and Mahalo

2006-07-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for a couple weeks, as I'm off to Hawaii for 10 days. I am already exhaling deeply just thinking about it. We're taking the in-laws for their 50th wedding anniversary. I am so happy for them. Here they are with 11 of their 17 grandchildren. Yes, 17.

We're meeting my husband's uncle and aunt and his brother and his family in Maui. It should be a blast and I know my two kids are going to have a great time. Ah the dog days of summer. Take some time off to enjoy... LZ

Joy Ride

2006-07-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Whether you're an up-and-comer, a well-worn veteran or just plain working hard, everyone needs an outlet. For some it's golf, for others it may be a good book, but for me, it's cars. I really like them and finally got (one of) the car of my dreams - an Alfa Romeo.

My friend Iris Yokoi, who also happens to be the editor of SqeezeOC.com saw my new ride and asked me if I'd be part of new section called "Joy Ride." How could I refuse? Here's the finished article. BTW, if you haven't checked out SqueezeOC.com, do. It's fun, informative, a little irreverant and always well written.

Enjoy!

http://www.squeezeoc.com/squeezeoc/livingitup/hobbiesoutdoors/article_1201178.php

Joy Ride: 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
Meet mom's other baby.
By CYNTHIA RUPE SqueezeOC.com

Call her the Alfa mom. PHOTO BY STEVE K. ZYLIUS

Joy Ride is a new feature that's all about the love we have for cars. Every month, we profile a different local and his or her treasured ride - be it a sleek new sports car or a restored classic - the vehicle lovingly, passionately maintained for joy rides, not commutes.

LISA ZWICK, 39
Her ride: 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
Year purchased: May 2006

Behind the wheel: Zwick, who last January started a PR consulting firm out of her home, bought the Italian two-seater as a reward for reaching her business goal in her first year.

"I have always wanted this car - they're sleek and powerful at the same time. And it's a convertible."

Zwick, mother of Sam, 5, and Allison, 3, used to own a BMW convertible but got rid of it when she had children.

After a six-month search on "every car Web site known to man," she found her dream vehicle at AutoExtra.com. The Veloce was being sold by its original owner, an engineer from Santa Ana.
"He owned the car for 16 years and decided it was time to move on. He did all the work on it himself, and he had all the documentation - every receipt."

And Zwick got the car for an amazing price - only $4,200. "I wrote the check on the spot."
Under the hood: "I leave (the maintenance) to other people, but I want to gain a working knowledge of my car. I'm so excited about this car, I actually want to learn how it works."

Everyday vehicle: A 2003 Honda Odyssey mini van. "A mom car."

Favorite Sunday drive: "I like heading south down PCH and cutting through San Clemente - it has that rustic beach feel to it. I also like taking the 5 all the way (south) to Del Mar and hitting the race track."

She takes her husband, Deron, when they can find a babysitter. Ultimately, the car allows her time to herself.

"It's Mom getting in the car and putting the top down and enjoying the Southern California sun and the breeze. It's Mom time."

Words to drive by: "Don't go for a new purse, go for a new car!" Zwick encourages other women.

Restaurant Recommendation

2006-06-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

My husband and I went out on date night a couple weeks ago and wanted to grab a drink before heading to French 75 for dinner. Then we remembered Mirabeau restaurant in Dana Point and the Monarch Bay Plaza. It's right at the end of Crown Valley where Salt Creek Grill is. We had eaten there before based on a write up in Food & Wine Magazine naming one of the "10 Best Bistros in the Country." Little did we know we had one of the 10 best only 10 or so minutes away.

We read in the mag and other reviews that chef/owners Katie Averill and David Pratt come from five-star French cuisine backgrounds, and once on their own, wanted to do something more accessible and affordable.

The place is tucked into a corner and is fairly non-descript from the outside, but you step into a very elegant bistro style setting. The small bar's up front, with tables around and down the small entrance. Past the bar is the open kitchen where the chef's truly put on a show. The neat part is you can also sit at the kitchen bar and eat while watching the chefs create.

For a romantic night, you can sit on the patio. They have a nice fireplace and intimate tables. The menu is truly French but not scary French. Signature items from the main menu include duck cooked a couple different ways, salmon en papillote and cassoulet. There's also the Special of the Day. Also cool is the fact they offers wines by the carafe as well as the glass. They pour straight from barrels in the back. The place smells like heaven not only for the great food and open kitchen, but everything on your table is made from scratch, from the crackers to the bread.

The first night I had a cassoulet and my hubby had the duck. Both were wonderful and were true French comfort food. I also remember I couldn't keep my hands off the bread.

The second time we were there for drinks on date night, we sat at the bar and had a hard time not ordering food. Especially with a gregarious bartender who kept trying to put bread in front of us. We had a great time sitting at the bar and drinking wine with the regulars, and I think there are quite a few of those. It seems like foodie heaven but I think it's also a great place for a glass of wine and some homemade dessert. Try it.

Summer Reading

2006-06-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

A woman I know named Kyhm asked her friends and collegues to put together a list of recently read books. I thought I'd pass along the knowledge, so here's the list, including the good, bad and the ugly:

Fiction:

The Asian Saga, by Parker, is a series of five books: Shogun, Taipan, King Rat, Noble House and Whirlwind. These books are all excellent. I just recently finished the series.

Non-Fiction:

The Five Love Languages, by Campbell. This is an amazing book, and discusses the five love languages, and asserts that each person has their own love language, such as "words of affirmation," "physical touch," "acts of service," "quality time," and "receiving gifts." So if you are a "words of affirmation" person, then your spouse or loved one can give you gifts all day long, and you will still feel unloved, until he or she gives you the words of affirmation you crave. The book is amazing, and so accurate it is scary.

***
The Earth is Flat, Thomas Friedman. Redundant and overly long, but makes a compelling argument about why you don’t want to get crushed by cheap overseas labor.

***
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult - very thought provoking, beautiful story about difficult issues - using one sister's blood, bone marrow etc to keep the other one alive
The Master Butcher's Singing Club - I loved this book, about immigrants to the midwest during the World War.
The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillippa Somebody - Historical fiction, total page turner, short on nuance, but a fun read.
I like Wallace Stegner too.
***
I have loved everything I have read that Phillipa Gregory has written. Start with the Other Boleyn Girl.
***
Peter Watson’s latest, “The Medici Conspiracy—The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities” is a must. Watson had good relations with the Italian police, stemming in part from his Sotheby’s sting operation some years back. In turn, they shared evidence with him form the trial that convicted Giacomo Medici, a stolen/looted antiquities trafficker whose free port in Geneva was raided by the Swiss and Italian police in 1995. Much of that evidence forms the basis for the trial of Marion True and Robert Hecht. I knew the antiquities market was organized and corrupt. But I had to keep picking my jaw up off the floor the more I read. Sometimes Watson and his Italian co-author are a bit too preachy, but the information is intense and compelling. A stunning book for anyone interested in the international ‘debate.’
***
March, Geraldine Brooks - the story of Louisa May Alcott's father during the Civil War. As you may remember, he was always gone in Little Women. Won the Pulitizer prize. Well written and very intersting. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See = story of women's life in19th century China. Very well written, very moving scenes. Deals with foot binding, arranged marriages, loneliness, women's secret writing, bonded love of young girls. Great for group discussions. My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult - a gripping book about a third child created for her parts to save the second child with cancer. Great characters, each writing seprate chapters. No one is right and no one is wrong! This House of Sky, Ivan Doig - this is one of my favorite books. A biography of homesteading in cold Montana on a sheep ranch. This is a must read for everyone it is so well written. Appeals to all ages of people, men and women. The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman - this is a must read for the younger generation about outsourcing, China and India, computer technology, and what is in store for us to come. Easy read, non fiction. The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson - the story of the Chicago World's Fair. Non fiction, fascinating story that will amaze everyone. Been on best seller list forever. ***
David McCullough, 1776. Good, but not great. For great, read McCullough's John Adams.

George Will, Men at Work. The classic baseball book of 1990's. Excellent, but not very carefully edited.

Tom Clancy, SSN. For those who love Clancy, it is poor. I can't imagine how bad it would seem to someone who doesn't love Clancy.

Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer. Another baseball classic. It's as much an autobiography of a young Brooklyn journalist in the 1950's as it is a book about baseball.

Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton. Excellent.

Ann Coulter, Godless. Even better than Treason.

Lynn Cheney, A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America. A timeline of American history. Extremely interesting.

***
The American Religion, by Harold Bloom. 1991. A provocative and very dense look at the unique attributes of religion in America.

***
Check out FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY (2005) by Stephen F Rohde, which explores the movements for social justice in America and their use of protests, marches, demonstrations, assemblies and recently the Internet, including the anti-slavery, labor, women's, civil rights, anti-war and environmental movements.

***
John Cheever--The Wapshot Chronicle. Classic Cheever, about a New England family, for which he won the National Book Award in 1957.

Philip Roth--Portnoy's Complaint. One of Roth's classics, which I just got around to reading.

Ethan Canin--Carry Me Across the Water. A look back to a particular war experience by a successful businessman in this beautifully written novel.

Tracy Kidder--Mountains Beyond Mountains. A look at Paul Farmer, who grew up poor in the South, went to Harvard Medical School, founded a runs a medical clinic in interior Haiti, and became a world-renowed expert and advocate on TB treatment in poor nations. His boundless energy makes me tired just thinking about all he does.

Cormac McCarthy--Blood Meridian. His classic story of the southwest and northern Mexico in the mid-1800's. Very well written, but hard to stomach because of the unremitting violence. The theme here seems to be that violence and evil will always be with us, and he spares nothing in making you believe it.

Kevin Phillips--American Dynasty. The Bush family intrigue over four generations. Scary. (And before we left for Maui I listened to Phillips' new book, American Theocracy, mostly about the conversion of the republican party into a religious party. Also very scary.)

Robert McNeil--Burden of Desire. An old-fashioned love story set in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the aftermath a munitions ship explosion during WWI.

Richard Flanagan--The Sound of One Hand Clapping. Flanagan is one of my favorite authors. He's also written Death of a River Guide and Gould's Book of Fish. Flanagan is Tasmanian and his books blend family stories with Tasmanian history and legends.

Currently, I've got two books going: The Republican War on Science and Roth's American Pastoral.
***
Jonathan Safran Foer, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” Really creative and really good.
Malcolm Gladwell, “Blink.” If you liked Freakonomics, you’ll like this.
Annie Proulx, “Brokeback Mountain.” The movie was a very faithful adaptation. But the short story is worth a read.
***
I am reading a delightful resident of the suburbs of literature, Graveyard Shift, by former Channel Four anchor Kelly Lange. Kelly is a friend of mine, but I have never read one of her books (this is her fifth I think). She specializes in trashy mysteries, I understand, and this is certainly that. I started reading this one only because a relative indicated that I am a character in it (haven’t gotten to my name yet). Actually having fun with all of her thinly veiled references to local news personalities and politicians from L.A. – I think she is exacting a bit of revenge. J
***
Jimmy Buffet, A Salty Piece of Land. (Yes, Jimmy Buffet.) His third or so novel. In his earlier books you could tell he had fun stories to tell, but was still learning how to get them out. This one is different and much better - particularly if you happen to find yourself on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean.
***
Miracle in the andes by nando parrado.
Blink by malcolm gladwell
A death in belmont by sebastian junger.

***
Middlesex by Eugenides was great.

You'll also like "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" if you haven't read it yet -- a cheeky review of basic grammar rules. I know, it does't exactly sound riveting, but it's entertaining.

I've also picked up The Sea by Banville (Booker prize winner) but haven;t made progress, though it looks terrific. Also want to read Everyman but Roth and The Terrorist by Updike.

Some of Our Best Thinking

2006-06-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a friend of mine and somehow we got onto the subject of men and women and how they differ when using the bathroom. I'm pretty sure there was wine involved. Anyway, I was just not understanding the male need to take reading materials into the restroom. The way he explained it, it was kind of like Superman's "Fortress of Solitude" where he can get some peace and quite. Hmmmm....

I started to ponder this and we agreed that some of our best thinking can be done in the bathroom. I for one have had many great ideas come to me while washing my hair. But that's way different from reading while "using the bathroom" in my opinion. I asked another girlfriend of mine about it and she shared something with me that blew my socks off.

She asked my opinion how to handle it and I really have no idea - maybe you can provide a suggestion: She tells me that her boss takes work into the bathroom with him, edits and writes on it and then comes out of the bathroom and hands it to her. I asked her if she was sure he was doing this, because it was just so unbelievable to me. She said he takes off at the same time each day with work in hand. She asks if he's going out to to someone else's office and he kind of just mumbles and shrugs off her question. Then, when he comes back it's usually all folded up and his marks on the paper look like they weren't written on a solid surface.

So let's say this is the case - how on earth do you handle a situation like this when it's your boss?

Maybe she can only give him work after his "morning time" or possibly ask for it back when she knows he won't need to go.

While I know some of our best thinking can come out of quite time, I think this crosses the line. Do you have any suggestions for this workplace situation?

Back to Basics

2006-05-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've had the pleasure of working with some folks who are fairly new to PR, and in counseling them it made me remember some pretty basic things that really are the cornerstone to being a good employee, and hopefully, doing well in business. Here's just a few that have become top of mind of late:

Don't miss deadlines, but if you must, alert your boss ASAP.
Bring ideas to every meeting and if possible, every conversation you have.
Keep pitching ideas, no matter what. Don't be afraid to be rejected.
Come up with ideas that are beyond your world/department. Look at the business holistically, and come up with ideas that are outside your comfort area.
Ask "why" before you start any project and make sure it's something that will move the business forward.
Never stop connecting the dots. Think constantly about how to improve processes, create new pitch ideas, improve communication, engage stakeholders. Once you start, it will come naturally and your brain will automatically mine every opportunity.
Be proactive. Anticipate the needs of the team, your boss, editors, clients or whomever matters to your success, and then make things happen.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. You will probably ask the question everyone else is thinking but is afraid to ask.
Don't step on anyone on your way up the ladder. For one thing, it's just not cool, and you never know, they may be your boss one day.

The 5 Stages of Technology Grief

2006-04-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

I"m going through tech hell right now with my Toshiba laptop. Actually, it's my Windows program. Every time I try to save a document in Word, Excel or PowerPoint, I get a "not responding" message and I have to shut down the program. Needless to say, I'm pretty crippled.

I look the laptop to the Geek Squad, and they told me just reload Windows XP and it should be fine. I did and it's not. While going through this hell, I've noticed that dealing with tech problems is a lot like dealing with grief, and I remembered the five stages of grief and realized how similar the loss of data is with the loss of other significant things.

Technology Grief is something that, unfortunately, we must all experience at some time or other. So, here's my take on the five stages of grief as they relate to technology.

Stage 1: Denial - in other words, "this can't be happening to me!" You look at the blue screen of death or the "not responding message" and just think, no. This stage could last a millisecond or even a few minutes, but usually is not very long. You push buttons and think, it's not really happening. There's no crying or even acknowledging the loss.

Stage 2: Anger -"why me?" You've pushed all the buttons, rebootted and rebooted again, but nothing. You are certain you didn't do anything wrong, so why in the hell isn't it working? What a piece of crap you have! You just want to shoot the screen or throw it out the window. You feel your temperature rising and a familiar knot in the pit of your stomach.

Stage 3: Bargaining -"if I do this, then please G-d, let this work..." You attempt to make deals with the tech gods or even the computer itself, to stop or change the loss. Begging, wishing, praying for the program to come back. I often swear I will get certain projects done if I can just recover the document. You feel the bargain with all of your heart, if it would just work.

Stage 4: Depression - overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, frustration, bitterness, self pity, and mourning the loss of data as well as the hopes, dreams and plans for the day. Feeling lack of control, feeling numb. Perhaps feeling suicidal.

Stage 5: Acceptance - By this time, you know there's nothing more you can do. You have to accept the loss. You need to find comfort and healing - in other words, call in the professionals. Get help. You will survive. You will heal, even if you cannot believe that now, just know that it is true. We have to become stronger.

After stage 5, I emailed a VAR friend and he walked me through a simple change that fixed the problem. So, I guess there's a stage 6, exuberance - your technology grief is over. Thank the gods, I'm back to work.

Why D.C & The Future of Technology

2006-03-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

I'm listening to a PR Newswire webcast right now with all the top tech editors talking about "The Future of Technology," including

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal, Personal Technology Columnist
Steven Wildstrom, BusinessWeek, Technology & You Columnist
Kevin Maney, USA Today, Cyberspeak Columnist
Rob Pegoraro, The Washington Post, Technology Fast Forward Columnist

Funny thing, but Walt, Steve and Kevin all live in Washington D.C., but they focus on technology... Is it just me or is that kinda weird?

Well, at least when you go on press tour you can hit the Big Three all in one Beltway swoop.

A few of their comments (since it was online, it was hard to tell who was saying what):

Three out of four carry a Treo/one has a Blackberry
MS should create a totally new operating system and create a "modern" OS, more Apple-like
Physical distribution of music will go away and it will all go digital
Print media will never fully go away, but it will be specialized and continue to be replaced by digital media
The Internet and geography has big ramifications. For example, with technology like Slingo, people are no longer limited to watching only what's available in that particular area. The Internet has no geography limitations.
Companies should put price and availability on their press releases.
Have press friendly websites that include a press center with high-res images and contact info for specific people at the company.
CEO's need to learn more about technology and make smart decisions on what their corporations use
For corporations, update your OS if you're still using Windows XP and update your browser if you're still using Internet Explorer. Security is a concern and don't expect all your answers to come out of Redmond, WA.
For small business, look at Microsoft Office Live where you can set up a web page under your own domain. WebX Office is also interesting.

That was it from the Celebrity Journalists of the Tech World.

To Wave or Not to Wave

2006-03-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

So, I'm at the gym the other day and as I'm coming up on mile two I look over and see a guy who looks really, really familiar. I wonder, is he a neighbor, perhaps a friend of my husbands, no, wait, it's a client. And, not just any client, but the Big Kahuna of my really big account. I see him see me and he kind of registers me, but I'm no athlete, so needless to say I'm sweating like a sinner under oath from head to toe. In other words, not my usual business attire self.

Then, we have that awkward moment of "I know she/he saw me, but should I say hi?" - and I can tell both of us are having it. It was truly a worlds colliding moment. Should I bug this VIM (very important man) while he's working out? My opinion is that most VIM's don't want to talk to people who work for them outside of work, let alone in their shorts and tee shirt, but we had that moment of eye lock, so I waved. I actually think he was a little relieved that I blinked first, because he got a really nice smile on his face and came over to chit chat. We did the usual small talk and then went on our merry way.

I'm glad I waved, and I hope I didn't make him too uncomfortable. I always say, be bold, have some moxxi and always go the friendly route, even if you are covered in sweat.

The Whole Package

2006-03-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

I recently had the pleasure of working with a company based in Texas on a communications project around a touchy subject. While I can't go into the company or the project, I can tell you I have renewed faith in today's CEO.

I've worked with many CEOs during my career, some good, some need to be taken out and put down. But rarely do I come across a leader that is The Whole Package. It made me think - what made me sit there in wide eyed awe while he spoke to his employees, delivering a really tough message? How did he get people to come up to him after delivering the news and actually thank him?

After a couple days of employee meetings and conference calls, I think I figured it out. He had the unique combination of business smarts, heart, sincerity, honesty and a total sense of selflessness. If you read the popular business/leadership books, you'll know what a Level 5 leader is, and I think this CEO fit that description perfectly.

His main concern was his employees and making sure they were treated with respect and dignity. He not only voiced these words to his employees but he truly meant it. Also, was his complete sense of selflessness. While on the calls or in front of his employees, he was not thinking about how he looked or sounded or what people thought of him. He was completely focused on his employees and how they felt.

And, his sincerity came through. While he told them he believed with his heart and mind what the company was doing was the right decision, you actually believed him. You took the man at his word and trusted him that yes, he was making the right decision. This is where the business smarts comes in too. He was able to look at the marketplace, see which way the wind was blowing and make proactive decisions, albeit difficult decisions.

Sincerity, honesty, selflessness and business smarts - The Whole Package.

My faith in CEOs is renewed - somebody say hallelujah.

All The Fine Young Cannibals

2006-01-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to go to a black tie dinner the other weekend, which was the closing fete for a company's annual sales meeting. In my moss green party dress I felt transformed back to a time I thought was long gone. An era that was a mere memory of those who lived, worked and prospered during the '80s.

It was old Orange County.

Not the Orange County when there only used to be Disneyland and a parking lot where the already tired California Adventure stands. No, an Orange County of big expense reports, Manhattans at lunch and boondoggles with your choice of golf of spa. An Orange County before belt tightening, restructuring and offshoring were things that "other regions" did.

As I took in the sea of black tuxedos and up-do's, I noticed something besides the smell of bacon wrapped scallops. It was youth and bravado. Not that these are mutually exclusive anymore, but this group, mostly of young men, was so confident and sure of themselves and their company, it felt, dare I say, inspiring. I felt like I was witnessing a bit of the "Bonfire of the Vanities."

There was your fair share of elder statesmen, who were back-slapping, handshaking and bear hugging their younger proteges. But more importantly, the camaraderie was real and genuine.

As the evening progressed, it was the standard fare of speeches, awards presenting and hotel food. But as I looked around the room, particularly at the men at my table, I realized they really believe in what they are doing and the people who lead them. All this, and the black tie, the expense accounts and the Manhattans.

It seems like there is a bit of old Orange County left.

Love Him or Hate Him

2006-01-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

Unless you've been living under the FCC's rock, Howard Stern has gotten a lot of press lately for leaving terrestrial radio and moving to satellite. He's also gotten a huge chunk of money by doing so.

His brand of humor doesn't appeal to a lot of people I know, especially here behind the Orange Curtain, but I believe him to be one of the best interviewers today. He is able to get into a persons life like no other, and with his new found freedom, it should make things even more interesting.

But, love him or hate him, he does stand for one thing I can fully get behind - free speech. Bottom line, the media have to have the freedom to report. They have to have access to decision makers and the people who are making the news.

I don't think this could be more evident than the tragedy of late in the coal mines. The media was not given access to decision makers who were in the church, and as a result, a terrible game of he-said/she-said insued. Misinformation turned jubilation to horrific in a matter of hours. The owner of the coal mine was behind closed doors, afraid to say one thing or another.

While this horrible chain of events doesn't directly bring to mind PR, it's a lesson learned in dealing with the media in good times and especially bad: be available, open and honest.

SpokesWhat?

2006-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

So I'm catching up on my reading and lo and behold I come across an article on Tom Cruise and his infamous Monkey Dance on Oprah's couch. It has become so infamous that there is now a slang term for said dance. It's called "jump the couch," which is much like Jump The Shark for those of you who follow Fonzie. Anyway, it's all well and good to make fun of crazy celebs, but it started to get personal. Read on:

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- When Tom Cruise celebrated his new-found love by cavorting on Oprah's sofa like a deranged monkey, he did more than just
become fodder for late-night comedians. He also unwittingly spawned a new phrase
-- "jump the couch," meaning "to exhibit strange or frenetic behavior." After
scouring the soft white underbelly of the English language, from bathroom walls
to the Internet, the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang have
chosen "jump the couch" as the Slang of the Year for 2005.

Runners-up
for 2005 Slang of the Year include:
Floodweiser, drinking water distributed in cans as disaster aid by the Anheuser-Busch corporation on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast and elsewhere.

spokesweasel, a public relations spokesperson.

girlfriend experience, also the acronym GFE, behavior by a female
prostitute in which she acts as a male client's girlfriend or shows
(artificial) emotional intimacy beyond the sex act. This term arose out
of the jargon of sex workers and quickly spread to their
customers.
facebook, to participate in the Facebook web site, a hugely
popular friend-of-a-friend (FOAF) network for college students.

Far be it from give my profession a good laugh, but to make this a runner up,
right under Tom Cruise, is almost a little too much. I think that word is
fitting for some, say the person who advised Tom Cruise get on the
Oprah show and act like that. Call me sentimental, but I prefer flack.

What I Won't Do

2006-01-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

As we near the end of another year, many are thinking about starting anew, making resolutions to start this or do that. I, on the other hand, have been thinking about things I will not do in the coming year. So, here’s my plan:

I will not feel guilty for not working an 8+ hour day. I quit my job so I could spend more time with the kids, make dinner for the family and do the domestic things I always felt guilty for not doing when I was working a lot. It might be the Jewish guilt thing, but now that I do have time for all that, I feel guilty that I’m not working enough. Done!

I will not go to Target more than once a week. This may sound stupid, but I feel like I’m always running to Target for this or that and then I end up spending way too much money there on crap my family doesn’t need. I call it the Costco Syndrome. No more!
I will not put off volunteering. I had this grand plan that when I started my own business I would take a chunk of my time and volunteer. But, I kept telling myself that it was my first year in business and I needed to do this or that. Enough! I will not make any more excuse and get to it.
I will not become a slave to my Blackberry. I did without one for a year and just got a brand spankin’ new slim one. It’s very cool and has lots of features. But, I will not become an addict checking it at 9 p.m. at night and on the weekends (unless absolutely necessary). So there.
I will not try to do too much at once. Right now I'm talking on the phone while writing this, so it's my swan song of splitting my attention. Whatever I'm doing deserves my full attention.

Wish me luck on all this. I'd love to hear your comments too...

PACKING WITHIN OUR MEANS

2005-12-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

I’m on a business trip with my friend/colleague/client Jen, and as she spies me coming through security with my backpack and a small duffle bag in tow, she comments on my apparent prowess as an “experienced traveler.” Taking it to mean I travel light, I tell her I’ve learned that the amount of stuff I take is always as much as my bag will allow. If a take a big bag: lots of stuff. I just keep packing it with things I know I’ll need until the bag is full. Robe and slippers? That would be nice in my room. An extra shirt in case I spill something on mine during breakfast? Why not? I wouldn’t want to show up to a new business meeting with syrup all over me.
But after years of traveling, I realized I almost never, and I mean never, use all the stuff I pack. So, I just started taking smaller bags. I still pack until I have no room left, but it forces me to only take what I need. Not too long ago, I realized I did the same thing with tons of other stuff in my life. Money is obvious. As my income went up, the more I would spend, as we all do. But it was other stuff too. Take food for example. I would eat what was given to me, or whatever I took, if I was say, eating take-out Chinese food at home. If it fit on the plate, I’d eat it. I blame my mother for that one. She, like every other mother who grew up during the Depression, thought wasting food was a sin. Now I learn it’s OK not to eat everything given to you. Eat to the capacity of your stomach, not the plate.
My purse is another example. Whatever size it is, fill it up. Do I really need to use my purse as a repository for every receipt I get? Or 13 different Happy Meal toys? Hairbrush, lipsticks, nail polish, extra earrings, a book in case I’m stuck somewhere and I’m bored: stop the insanity. Now I try and just carry the three essentials: wallet, mobile phone, sunglasses. Done.
My house, my pantry (do I really need 15 cans of cream of chicken soup), my car (golf clubs, stroller, toys, sweaters), and TiVo (Iron Chef episodes from five years ago just in case there’s nothing else on) are also personal killers. I’m now determined that if I can cut down on the crap I take when I travel, I can cut down on the unnecessary crap in the rest of my life. Make smarter decisions on where I spend my time and money. They say life’s a journey. And I’m determined to pack light.