Change "have" to "choose"

Sorry for being AWOL for a bit.  I've been juggling the youth soccer league, the Blackman Kallick Merger with Plante Moran, and our annual fundraiser for The Holiday Heroes Foundation.

Now that those are either over or in full swing, I can come back here and finish some blogs. And I will... soon.

In the meantime... Read this post from Harvard Business Review: If You Don't Prioritize Your Life, Someone Else Will.  

The second piece of advice, i.e. changing "have to" to "choose to" is amazingly liberating.  Try it and let me know how it goes ... or if you start choosing not to.

The third piece of advice requires that you have quickly and clearly articulated values. (I call mine "philosophies" to avoid any religious discussions and because they guide my working relationships, not my life decisions.) Many people who work with me know my two philosophies*.  And I advise leaders to let their staff and clients know theirs.

Do your clients and staff know yours?

But that's off the point of this post.

The reason I wrote it was because the "choose to" advice is damn good and it forced me to come here and post it to my meager reader base.


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*What are they? 1) Don't pee in the pool.  2) A rising tide rises all boats.  

It Now Takes 30 Minutes to Become a Marketing Expert

Maybe less.

"This guy, at a conference, spoke on Social Media and he said all you need in today's world is a YouTube channel and a Twitter account and you'll be beating back the customers from your front door. You post a video, twitter the link, and then thousands of people twitter and retwitter it. Many of them show up to your store, are impressed by your service." This part in a whisper: "And here he explained that you had to give the first few people incredible service. Maybe offer them a free gift." Back to the regular voice level: "Then these people, right there in the store, twitter to their friends or post on Facebook or ... something elser it ... makes no difference what social media they use ... and, voila, you have more customers than you can handle." And then the new-found expertise: "So all we need to do is get a Twitter account and make a video. Let me know if you need help, I'm good with the internet. I buy things on Amazon.com all the time, and I have teenage kids who are really good at making videos."

Raise your hands if you've been on the other side of this "discussion." Everyone have their hands up? As expected.

Makes no difference where you work, your client base, whether or not you have access to followers, or even have a good video idea. This is how it works nowadays, apparently. You no longer need marketing experience or training, or even business developers. All you need is a Twitter account. And a Flip. Unsure why you, the veteran marketer, couldn't think of that? Maybe you don't go to conferences where Social Media experts give talks? Maybe you are simply trying to do things the hard way. Or maybe you didn't hear about Twitter yet.

Too bad that our entire field has been replaced by a free online tool.

I wonder if Denny's is hiring.