Tag Archives: life lessons

July 10, 2015 · 11:42 am

Gout, Seriously

It’s Foodie Friday, and this week’s topic is the very serious business of the very serious food magazines. I was reminded of this by something Eater.com does every so often, which is to publish the cover of a mock foodie rag called Gout. You can see the covers here and here. While it may look like a legit food magazine, with article titles such as “Summer! It literally comprises 1/4 of every year but we’re going to explain all the food as if you’ve never previously considered grilling burgers before!” it clearly isn’t.

One of the articles – “Vodka – it’s cool again!!! (unrelatedly, Grey Goose bought the back cover ad)” points to the problem we’ve talked about numerous times here on the screed.  It’s reinforced with the “An editor we’re trying really hard to turn into a celebrity writes about his trip to Uruguay as if it weren’t fully comped”.  When ad and edit become indistinguishable and readers begin to wonder if what they’re reading is a version of the truth someone is paying for you to see, we have a problem.  As an aside, this isn’t just an issue with food magazines – I’ve never much believed equipment reviews in golf magazines since I’ve never seen a bad review of anything.  Funny how that works when 90% of your revenue is from equipment companies…

But that rant isn’t my point today.  What Eater has done here is something we all need to do a lot more often: poke fun at ourselves.  After all, unless we really are brain surgeons, EMT’s, firefighters or a few other professions, it’s not as if what most of us do is life or death.  In fact, I’ve often said that the best part of my job is that if I screw up, nobody dies.

Business is hard.  It can be horrible sometimes.  It is very serious most of the time. Because of that, every so often we all need to do what Eater has done – recognize the silly stuff inherent in our industry, and laugh.  Honestly, while a great meal may leave you happy and satisfied, a good laugh is better for your health.

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July 1, 2015 · 10:01 am

The Power Of No

Almost everyone I know complains that there never seems to be enough time in the day. Time really is a zero-sum game and even if you go without sleep (really a BAD idea) you eventually run up against that 24-hour limit. The answer, then, isn’t to find a way to make more time but to do fewer things. That’s the power of no.

It’s hard in business not to chase every opportunity, particularly when you’re a small company that’s just learning about in which of those opportunities lies the best chance for sustained profitability. As a marketer, there is a never-ending stream of media that provide the ability to interact with your audience. Social media grows daily and the support needed to maintain a steady stream of conversation in them grows with the number of channels.

As individuals, we take on tasks with impossible deadlines. We lose sight of the cost/value equation with respect to the time required for some pieces of work vs. the benefit gained to the enterprise or even just personally. We might even dig ourselves a hole by accepting responsibility for a task that we don’t have the skills to do. All of those things are self-defeating and could be stopped with just one word.

When I began consulting I was overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted my help.  The problem, I soon found, was that they had neither the ability nor the intention to pay me for my time (there is that word again).  As I’ve said to many people over the years, the Stop & Shop doesn’t take stock certificates at the checkout.  I’ve learned to say no.

Sometimes “no” isn’t about stopping something altogether.  You don’t really need to post on Facebook every hour nor does everything you run through Twitter have to be unique to that platform – cross posting is OK, honest.  Even so, being more efficient can help but ultimately “no” is  every once in a while.  Agreed?

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June 30, 2015 · 9:33 am

The Blank Page

I’m sure that there are situations in your life, the mere thought of which are terrifying.  For some folks it’s public speaking.  For others it’s hosting a dinner party.  For many business people I know it’s facing a blank page.

Many authors have delivered quotes about that challenge.  Most of the good ones welcome the empty expanse of the blank canvas as an opportunity for personal growth.  Not so much business people.  They are making commerce, not art, and so there really are wrong answers.  A faulty business plan.  An unclear presentation that won’t deliver a sale.  Maybe even a blog post that means to be thoughtful but never quite hits the mark.  I face that vast wasteland every work day morning and here is what I’ve found with respect to navigating it.

First, try to get yourself into the recipient’s head.  If it’s a presentation, your focus is on the reason they’re seeing you, whether it’s at a conference or a one on one meeting.  If it’s a piece of writing such as this, what question are you answering or what enlightenment are you bringing?  Next, don’t get too caught up in the words as you write them.  You can’t edit what’s not on the page.  I know you all believe these screeds come out of my head fully-formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus but there is a fair amount of editing involved.  Embrace the help others can bring.  Let them read drafts and ask them if anything is unclear.  Be sure you don’t ask the person who would totally understand it even if it was all over the place.  Maybe the receptionist?

Every blank page is a challenge, but the hard part isn’t in the creation.  It’s in having something to say that others will find worth their time.  Hopefully, this was worth yours!

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