Because together is better.

I miss my blog (and blog readers!). I miss writing. And that is my resolution for 2011…. to write more. More often. More places. Covering more topics. In more styles. Just to write… MORE. And, further, I hereby promise that many of the yet-to-be-written sentences will be longer than three words and will contain punctuation other than ellipsis.

This past year has been one of the roughest I’ve ever been through. Losing my Dad to an awful fishing/boating accident 16 years ago tops the list, but 2010 comes in next on the list of years I could have done without. Part of the reason I’ve written less was because, as previously mentioned, I tend to be a private person and hesitated to overshare my personal struggles on this “professional” blog and website. I will spare you all the gory details (or I will protect myself by choosing not to share, however you want to look at it… ) and give you the short and dirty run down, below (note… if you’re just here for the marketing lesson in all this somewhere, you can skip this one. No hard feelings.):

In late 2008, pregnant with our fourth child, we bought a bigger (older, but bigger) home. We closed on Halloween… and the next month the housing market tanked. We hadn’t sold our previous home, either. ’08 was a banner year for my business, and the bank determined we could support both payments (!!) until we sold our first home. Since we only moved about 7 blocks and I was pregnant, we didn’t really “move” as much as we “transported” bits and pieces every day or so. It took awhile for the old house to be ready to sell… and by then we couldn’t sell it for even close to what we owed.

Fast forward to the last quarter of 2009. That year sucked as far as business went, and we’d been making 2 house payments for nearly a year. And then… we just couldn’t. There was no way to borrow, or take more from credit cards, or anything else, to take care of the bills for our now-family-of-six. It was either not pay the mortgage on the home we lived in or not pay the mortgage on the home we DIDN’T live in. Guess which one won?

So… 2010 brought a personal bankruptcy, a foreclosure on the old house, a repossession of a car (they don’t give you any grace period AT ALL after you go through a bankruptcy, just FYI, and getting it back is difficult and expensive), tax and IRS issues, and continued depressed business billings. Depressed, and depressing.

The bankruptcy, while a crushing blow to the pride and a burden of paperwork like you’ve never seen, was a good decision. It gave us a platform from which to plan, budget and begin to rebuild. I’m grateful that option exists for people who have done all they can, and then just can’t any longer. My car, which we recovered, is now paid off and altogether mine, and that’s comforting. The IRS thing is going to be a thing for a while, but we’ll get through it.

And the biggest thing that 2010 taught me? That the WE is important. The “WE” of our family, of my husband and I, of my extended family, and of my friends and colleagues who supported us emotionally through all the struggles. And the WE of you and me… everyone I’ve connected to digitally one way or another. Everyone who took the time to stop by, to read, to comment, to share, to tweet a reply… who kept me focused on moving forward, growing my clients’ businesses and thereby growing my own. Because while most of 2010 was dark and difficult, the last few months have taken a decided turn for the better. It’s time to move from the worry and stress of going broke to the excitement of going for broke. I intend to carry that outlook into 2011 as I shove 2010 forcefully out the back door of my life. Buh-Bye.

While this blog will remain mainly marketing and PR focused, there might be a few bits and pieces of me that creep in here, too. Because we’re a family, right? See you all next year… it’s time to rock some upward momentum.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seeveeaar/4910032429/

Look, Mom... Sharks!

You see, when you sleep with the fishes at the aquarium, you sleep right beside the tanks and exhibits. On the concrete floor. My comforter-doubled-over-for-padding did not cut it in the comfort department. But I digress. Several things happened during our adventure that I thought were great lessons in PR, specifically in event planning. So here, without further ado (and because I’m still working the kinks out of my shoulder and back), are event planning lessons learned:

Prior Planning Makes For Perfect Events > You could tell, rather immediately, which troops and girls had prepared appropriately for the evening and which ones had not. Planning well is the difference between event panic and event accolades. Our troop leader rocks, by the way, and we were armed with flashlights, toothbrushes, vending machine change, and other necessities for the night. And in her defense, she’d recommended foam padding for underneath the sleeping bags. I (ouch) should have listened.

Do, Indeed, Sweat the Small Stuff > Someone, somewhere, decided “Alice in Wonderland” (the new, Tim Burton version) would be a great movie to screen in the big hall before lights out. Some of the girls in attendance were 5 or 6. All the girls had gone on a red-filtered flashlight tour of the aquarium exhibits to observe the animals in their nighttime modes just before the movie. So you watch a giant moray eel by flashlight and then see giant scary things on the movie screen and then you go sleep someplace unfamiliar in the dark? uhhh… not a win for the younger girls. Me, my daughter and her three other young troop members all bailed on the movie about 30 min in and went to settle down on the concrete instead. Be sure to think through all the choices… go visit the site for your event, for instance, at the time of day you’re having it. Are there traffic issues? Parking problems? What are the best sight lines for TV cameras? Do you have a need for or access to electricity? A microphone? Podium? Are there outlets so reporters can plug in anything they might need to? Refreshments? And if you’re serving food with napkins or containers, do you have a trash can handy?

Some Of Us Are Best Out Of The Spotlight > The flashlight tour was an amazing thing… so many of the animals that were, well, boring during the regular hours of operation were quite interesting at night. The story my daughter has told over and over? How she got to see the inside of a clam (really a mussel) and how when someone’s non-red-filtered light shone into the tank by mistake the “clam” snapped shut again. The “clams” are definitely at their best out of the spotlight. So are eels and some of the jellyfish. If you’re planning an event for a client, know the strengths of the people you’re working with and for. If the COO is not comfortable in large groups of people, gently talk the CEO out of making him speak at the event. Yes, it’s wonderful that Bill wants to share the spotlight with Ted, but in order for it to remain a big adventure and not become a big disaster, Ted needs to play a role he’s better suited for… perhaps welcoming guests one on one at the entrance, or simply hovering in the background, available for a one-on-one later on.

So there you have it… Plan, Prepare, Pick Your Performers. And take the foam padding next time you go sleep with the fishes. Trust me.

Event hiccups, disasters, funny moments you want to share? Please go ahead! It makes us all feel better to know we’re not alone in the moments we remember that we’d really rather forget.

– (Originally posted on the Journal Record’s Blog Hub, August 7, 2010)

Three big reasons: Truly heavy workload (yay!); husband now has a night job (hours and pay aren’t great, but the benefits and tax-paying help are both necessary and welcome); wrestling with some deep thoughts on the direction of the blog, of my business, and of the channels used for connecting.

In short, I haven’t had the time… and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get back to a regular blogging schedule. For me, that usually meant one or perhaps two posts a week on this blog and a post a week on the PR blog over at the Journal Record web site. I’m working on how to use my more limited time (husband’s job has cut out about two hours a day of my “normal” worktime) as efficiently as possible so I can give clients the quality of work they’ve come to expect from me, meet all deadlines, and continue to connect meaningfully here with this community and with my networks on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. And Foursquare and Whrrl… *sigh* And take care of my family… who sometimes must come first, regardless of what else is happening in the work world.

I rarely “just write something” here because I think you visit to read something more… whatever… than that. Most of you who’ve commented here over the past year are people I’ve connected with in some other medium, too, and I know you to be a smart, savvy bunch. You deserve more from me than just a post. So it isn’t really a matter of having the time to write… it’s having the time to think first, then write. Having enough mental space available to let the bigger thoughts germinate, grow and flower. And that has been in desperately short supply recently.

• Here are the things I’m trying to let grow so I can write about them for you:
• Revamping your business or your city’s logo & identity (hint… don’t start with the logo!)
• Evolution of a Nascent Blogger (why maybe I was wrong about Blogging Being Dead)
• What to say and do on your business Facebook page to make it work for you (caveat… I’m much better with clients’ pages than the Crossroads Communications page. My effort is definitely going to clients like Smith Farm Marketplace and Andolini’s.)
• Working your online presence for offline results (business aspects)
• Integrated Marketing in 2011 (what does it look like, feel like, accomplish?)

So… thanks for sticking around. As I navigate these new waters of waaay busy, 4 kids and being a single-parent much of the time (when hubby is working), I’ll find the right course. One that allows time for the ideas to grow and time for the writing to happen. And, if you know of elves who will drop by for laundry duty overnight, I would be so very appreciative if you’d share their contact info.

If you’ve been there, you know it stinks… and sometimes the worst of it isn’t the financial difficulty, it’s the confidence shattering, ego body blow that does you in.

While I own my business so I can’t technically “get fired,” it feels very much the same when a client decides to go another route and either cuts ties with Crossroads Communications or reduces our role in a project. I’m thankful that it hasn’t happened often, but it did happen this month.

And the worst part is that I know, on some levels, at least, it was the right thing both for the client and for us. It wasn’t the best fit, from the beginning, but it was a referred project and I take the trust someone places in me and in Crossroads Communications when they recommend us very personally.

Some lessons learned….

If the fit isn’t right, it isn’t right. Period. Better to disappoint a little by not taking the project than disappoint a lot through a difficult relationship or less-than-wonderful execution.

If there is criticism, maybe you earned it. Listen carefully, think, take the time to understand what went wrong and why. Fix what you can, apologize sincerely if you need to do so and take those lessons with you to the next relationship.

Unless your mistakes were really core business failures (you didn’t perform work you contracted to do, for instance, or you stole content) don’t dwell on the problem beyond the lesson-learning portion. You’ll just kill your confidence and your drive. No good comes from that for either you or the client.

If the relationship is salvageable, save it. Even if that means the best thing you can do is recommend someone else for the job. Just because this client’s project and needs aren’t a good fit for us right now doesn’t mean they don’t know other businesses who ARE a good fit for our brand of integrated marketing strategy and know-how.

That’s my story… if you’ve been fired from a job or a project and you want to share your experience or your lessons, the comments are yours

My brother is a 29-yr-old police officer in a mid-sized town in Kansas. He is also pretty close to squeaky-clean. Knowing those facts makes the following story even more funny. Trust me.

So…. my brother is in Nashville for an FOP convention (for the uninitiated, that’s the Fraternal Order of Police). While wandering around the sights after the convention wraps, the sole of his boot starts to separate. He, being the McGyver type and also a serious cheapskate, decides to use superglue to reattach the sole. He makes the repair, and satisfied with the results, winds up the trip, packs and heads to the airport.

As he goes through the security checkpoint and goes to pick up his belongings from the xray conveyor belt, he notices his boots are sitting atop the xray box and TSA agents are approaching him. They let him know that they’ve discovered a discrepancy with his shoes… can he explain?

He tells them the story of the separated sole and the resulting repair. They “uh-huh” him, ask for his ticket, photo ID, when his plane is supposed to be taking off and where his flying companion is (“Did someone just drop you off here, sir? Didn’t you arrive with anyone else?”) My brother points out his patiently waiting (and quietly laughing) buddy. More TSA agents arrive and escort my brother and his suspicious shoes to a little room for further questioning.

He tells the separated sole story another 3 times to various agents. He tells them why he’s in town… they “Uh-huh” him again and huddle in the corner of the room, discussing the suspicious boot. An agent explains that they’ve seen a round metal disc inside the sole of the glued boot and this is the problem. My brother, being the resourceful guy he is, volunteers to cut open the boot to retrieve/examine whatever the thing is… saying, “If I dropped a quarter in there, I want it back, of course!” The agents don’t see the humor and tell him they cannot cut it open to look (what if it blows up?) and they can’t ask him to cut it open, either.

Being a police officer, he understands that for what it is… we can’t ask you to do it, but you can do it yourself if you want. So, given that they are in a TSA area, no one has a knife. My brother takes a key and saws at the glue. After a while, an agent procures a knife, cuts a hole in the sole, examines the metal plate inside the boot, and returns the boot to my single-shoed brother.

He made his flight and is determined to repair the boot. But not with superglue and not right before a flight.

The moral of the story? No matter how sensible, logical, well-meaning or well-thought out your actions may be, in the wrong context, they’ll make a TSA agent cut open your shoe.

Always consider the context.

As I repeated, for what seemed like the millionth time, the phrases that so often accompany a meal with my kids:

Stop kicking the table
Chew with your mouth closed
Take a bite!
Sit up 

I thought… how wonderful it would be if I could automate that process.�

What a timesaver it would be, and how much more effective? No opportunity for correction would get missed because I was busy correcting someone else, or swallowing, or blinking or breathing.
Automation can be a blessing.�
There seems to be a school of thought in social media circles that automating anything is not authentic. I disagree. Would you go back to keeping your books in a spiral notebook, or have you gotten used to software to automate many of those tasks?
How about your Tivo or DVR? Is scheduling programs to automatically record watching television in an unauthentic way? Advertisers might say, “Yes!!” but I digress….
Some social media tasks shouldn’t, in my opinion, be automated. Pulling a news or quote feed and sending it to your Twitter stream is not authentic. Scheduling a tweet to announce the blog post you completed at 3 AM so that it posts at 9 AM… I think that’s just smart.�
Listening is another social media task that can benefit from automation. Set up tools like an RSS feed of Twitter searches or Google Alerts. You don’t have to remember to go listen that way…. You just have to respond. And response is one of those tasks that shouldn’t be automated. Conversation cannot be automated, either… Posting tweets or status messages all day when you are not there to respond to a question, comment or conversation is not authentic.�
If I ever figure out how to automate table manners, I’ll let you know. I promise. In return, would you let me know what your favorite tools for automating social media tasks are? And why?  

I dropped my oldest child, now a freshman, off at school to attend his first high school dance tonight. I’d already cautioned him about appropriate behaviour, being where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there, etc., etc., when I realized I was delivering the same admonitions my own parents slung at me before my first “real” dance way back when. I took a deep breath, looked him squarely in the eyes, and told him I knew that he knew what I expected from him, and I knew he’d come through. And to have a good time.

Now, I’m not a new-age parent, or parent-as-friend practitioner, either. We walk on the stricter side of life when it comes to expectations and consequences. I know that my son understands what my expectations are because I’ve clearly communicated them to him over the course of many, many interactions. I also know he understands the consequences if he violates my trust in him because he’s experienced those many times as well.

Clear communication is the foundation for successful interactions, be they in business, among friends and co-workers, or between parents and children. Do you…

1. Clearly communicate what you want to have happen in a given situation? Be home by 9:30. Call us to set up a free appointment to evaluate your current materials. Order online.
2. Clearly explain any options or choices? Think of menus in restaurants, options on cars, travel packages… so many things could be improved through clear communication of any choices the buyer may have. My kid can either have me drop him off and pick him up, or one of the parents I know and trust among a select group of his friends. Those are the options.
3. Set expectations for timeframes and urgency? If the deal expires at MIDNIGHT, let me know! If your grass seed only performs optimally when planted in March, tell me. If coming home 2 minutes past 9:30 is still considered late, better let the kid know.
4. Revisit the important points as needed? Did your kids eat their vegetables after only telling them to do so one time? Mine didn’t either. Sometimes you need to repeat yourself in your copy, in your verbal presentation or in your parenting.
5. Deliver the promised results? If he’s late, he’s grounded. When we say it will ship today, it will ship today. It really is a free, no strings attached evaluation of your current marketing material.

If you clearly set expectations with your customers (or your kids), including noting the choices or options available, sharing any relevant urgency, reminding them of the important parts and delivering what you promised, your interactions will be much more fruitful.

Have any additional basic communication rules? Please share them in the comments.

Some days are better than others. It’s true for me, true for you and true for your customers. Some days really, really make you wish you’d stayed in bed. I had one of those yesterday. Won’t share all the details, but it culminated in a whole meatloaf I accidentally threw away (don’t ask) and an appointment at the Genius bar in the Apple store…. Except my appointment was made for the Woodland store (in Grand Rapids, MI) not the Woodland Hills store here in Tulsa, OK.
Nothing that happened qualified as a disaster or life-altering tragedy… Been through those and I *do* understand the difference.
What do you do on those days? When nothing is really wrong, but nothing is right, either? I think those days are the true test of our resolve to go forward, to be nice, to choose good. Even the selfish can respond unselfishly to a tragedy, but how we respond to the minor annoyances, set backs and irritations on a daily basis is indicitive of our true character. And, fundamental to the character of our business.
Would you want your clients to watch you deal with rude people in line at the movies? Or with the drycleaner counter staff who mixed up your clothes? Guess what… Potential ones ARE watching. Act accordingly.