Thanks soldiers

Tomorrow is Veteran’s day and I’ve spent a good part of the day locking down interviews for a client who is handling the character balloons for the parade. It wasn’t until I started filling out the segment sheet that the meaning of the day hit me. Two of his employees are veterans, both brothers, 2 and 3 tours to Iraq respectively and one whose wife is also a marine, served 2 tours in Iraq.

I’m not going to get “all political” here. This isn’t the forum. I just want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the men and women who serve our country now and in past wars who have lost their lives, or have had their lives irreversibly changed forever because they stood in the line of fire to protect me and the idea of freedom.

Perspective

For my Jewish friends, today starts the beginning of a new year. Sort of paraphrasing what I’ve heard before, I think a great way to start any year is to remember:

Each of us, is a piece of this world, a part of the whole package, individually not very important. So it’s not about what we think we deserve, it is about what we can give and what we can share, that’s when you become significant as a piece of the whole.

Give your time, your energy and your talent (when you can and even to the point it hurts) and you will be surprised at the impact you have.. Whether it’s you personally or your company. If you do it without thought for what you will receive in return, everything you ever wanted comes to you in time.

What kind of footprints are you leaving?

I have the best clients…

Four Lewis and Roca attorneys were recognized by the American Bar Association for their work with the Holocaust Survivors Justice Network (HSJN).  The Pro Bono Publico Award, is the profession’s highest recognition for pro bono legal work.  The firm’s volunteer attorneys are Gabe Beckmann, Sivan Korn, Emily Gubler Clark and Caryn Tijsseling. The attorneys have devoted numerous hours of time free of charge to work with survivors on the compensation claim-filing process. The Holocaust Survivors Justice Network is an international initiative established to assist Holocaust survivors in obtaining reparation payments under a program established by the German government.

Nice to have good news, given the recent tragedy at the Holocaust Musuem in D.C. and today’s announcement that Prosecutors in Germany have formally charged alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk with 27,900 counts of being an accessory to murder in World War II.

Pssst…I’m talking about you.

I read a blog post by Linda Vandeverde today at Valley PR Blog about the changing world of old school PR and this new social media covered by the New York Times in regards to PR in Silicon Valley.  So, it got me thinking this would make a good post on my own blog.  See, we’re not talking just Silicon Valley here. This new kind of PR is everywhere, the point Linda makes.

Yesterday I *twittered* that, as I was writing the marketing and PR plan for a new client, I realized that the days where social media had its own section in the plan are gone.

Instead, we are motivated to reach specific audiences in support of various strategies by incorporating both the real and virtual worlds. Why? Because people are having conversations instantly and shaping the way we think about other people and brands every single moment.  But haven’t we always done this? Of course.  But now, technology gives us the opportunity to share these conversations with others, around the world, instantly.  Not just with a few friends over long stretches of time.  Instantly.  Now that’s a helluva word. Instantly.

Social media–this hybrid between print and verbal communication– is fascinating.  Just this weekend, out with friends, many of them were taking pictures and posting them to Facebook, real time, and talking about where we were and what we were doing. All the while, they were mentioning the name of the restaurant and commenting on the experience we were having. This was all to the benefit of the restaurant whose owners had no idea we were talking about them.  Basically, free PR and advertising. And who doesn’t want that?  Hold that thought.

So this got me thinking: how will this new social media affect not just PR but customer service and experience marketing?  Is anyone thinking about that?  They should.  Because, the stakes are higher. Here is where every second you interact with your customer is more important than ever.  You can’t afford to give lousy customer service.  You have to back up your product and service and make the whole experience fun. Memorable.  Something to talk about.  Are you doing that? Are you sure?  Every second?  Every employee buys into that idea? Why?

Because that diner over there in the corner, the one siting by himself, is talking about you right now…with thousands.

Helping the Homeless Get a Job, One Outfit at a Time

Some people are impressive, and then some people are IMPRESSIVE. My client YourAutoNetwork.com and it’s owners are two of those people.

Husband and wife, Cary and Carole Lockwood are partnering with the Salvation Army to promote a month-long clothing drive for homeless families who live at the Kaiser Family Center, home to about 450 families a year. Okay, so a lot of companies give back. What’s impressive is that Carole and Cary have set up donation boxes at 50 of their member business locations. This means that they have personally driven to each location, set up a bin and are out there asking for donations…all by themselves. They have locations as far away as Surprise, north to Cave Creek, south to Queen Creek, east to Apache Junction and everything in between. That’s a lot of driving. The Kaiser Family Center is also about commitment.  Residents are required to find work within 2 weeks of residing in the shelter. To assist them the Center provides services designed to get them moving forward quickly.  In that spirit, the donation drive is designed to find clothes suitable for residents to wear on interviews and hopefully to land that job. The clothing is also needed to supply them with day to day work clothes.  Wanna help? Click here for drop off locations.

Susan Felt of the Arizona Republic did a compelling story about the Kaiser Family Center back in January.  I’d sure love to know where those families are today who Susan met.  They represent but a few of the families who are collateral damage from the “economy of greed,” which will forever be identified with the new millennium.

Back to Carole and Cary. Philanthropy seems to be a natural extension of their business philosophy .  YourAutoNetwork.com was founded as an online directory where consumers can find the best automotive related companies in the Valley, and I mean the best. Unlike other directories that let any company buy onto their listing, YourAutoNetwork hand selects only those businesses that been in the Valley for at least 10 years, carry an A rating or better from the Better Business Bureau and also pass a rigorous vetting process. Any hanky panky and you’re out, period.

By the way, the listing is free to access by consumers. So instead of seeing glowing reviews by people who could be a repair shop’s wife, cousins or friends, you’ll find very few comments from consumers.  Instead, there are straight forward facts and the reasonable assurance you’ll find a business you can trust.

Cary is a former GM Engineer who has spent his life making sure cars are safe. He also hosts a car-talk radio show on KXXT AM and KXEG AM.  He’s a one-man ‘click and clack’ with just as much energy and humor as the other, well-known pair.  Check him out, he’s very entertaining.

I have the best job in the world.  I only work with interesting people who know that my job is to tell great stories.  I don’t sell anything.  I like to think that I make the world a better place because I connect reporters with people who have great stories.  I’m just the guy in the middle.  And to anyone who’s thinking this is very Polly Anna of me, as Robert Ruskin said: “The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” Me, I’d rather surround myself with people who are always becoming.  Don’t you?

My Top Five Tips for Social Media

In social media, there are “rules of engagement” like any other type of social interaction. These common-sense rules are a must when engaging others and building an audience. It’s best to think of this like you would a networking event or a party. Would you approach someone, interrupt their conversation, start talking about yourself or selling your product with no introduction or relevance at all? Unlikely. So too, your foray into social media requires you to behave yourself.  Remember, people can’t see you or hear your voice (video cams/chat aside).  They don’t know you are a fun, likable person. So, you could be putting your virtual foot in your mouth so to speak. The appendage, a fait accompli in your social faux pas.

With that, here are my personal views about online interaction.

1. Be relevant (on topic)
2. Be timely (don’t go back to a conversation from four days ago and comment)
3. Be respectful (don’t jump in on other people’s conversations unless you are really good friends)
4. Be thoughtful (share insight, news people can use).
5. Be lighthearted (share anecdotes, funny stories completely unrelated to you or your brand)

If you follow these sensible rules than you will know instinctively when you can safely interject stuff about you and your brand.  Toot your own horn when you feel it’s worthwhile or newsworthy.

Whether you are on Facebook, Twitter or other social sites it’s important to remember that you only get one first impression and you can quickly become irrelevant and even annoying if you diminish the value of others around you.

And folks, please don’t share with us how many followers you have, what your twitter rank is or how many friends you have on Facebook.  Popularity grows from the value of your interaction, not the number of people who follow you.

These suggestions apply mostly to business and brand interaction with audiences though common courtesy is appropriate in any situation.  See you online and I can’t wait to see what you have to say.

May I have a minute of your time?

Last Wednesday night my client, Howard Fleischmann from Community Tire & Auto won the Better Business Bureau’s Business Ethics Award in his category. The evening, hosted at the Biltmore included a special key note speaker, Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Entrepreneur. Ken shared with us his brilliant insight into what makes a true entrepreneur and what success really means. Success is not about what you achieve, but what you give to the world. The content of one’s character is measured by how much one loves not how much one gets.

I wish I could go into his entire presentation but instead I urge you to read his book. These are the main points I took with me from that evening.

What every entrepreneur should practice…the four Ps.

Purpose: lengthy, sleep-inducing mission statements aside. What is your purpose? You should be able to describe it in just a few words. For me, it’s: Delivering results for my clients by telling great stories.

Principle: When faced with any decision ask your self these three questions. 1) is it legal? 2) is it fair? 3) is it something you would want to see written about you on the front page of the newspaper?

Persistence: Instead of hanging a shingle out there and expecting business to come your way you have to go after it and have the tenacity that delivers results.

Perspective: Be willing to look at the big picture and cast a critical eye on yourself, your company, your purpose and your people. Surround yourself with people that complement you. Personally, my own belief is “there is no one smarter than all of us.”

I will add one more P, Positive. Humans are the only creatures in existence gifted with the power of speech. To speak words is to give them and the ideas they express, power. We hear about the power of attraction, and of course “the secret,” was part of nearly every water-cooler conversation last year. But being positive also includes personal responsibility and action. Speak only positive things. Remove no, not and don’t from your vocabulary and instead focus on what you do want. Be kind and generous with your mind, your talent and your time. The five Ps will eventually culminate into one P

… Peace.

Good to know

We traveled to Los Angeles this holiday weekend and visited some of my old haunts from when I lived there. One of the places we visited was Venice Beach. Up and down the strand, along side the hippie flea market, tons of beggars with signs that I have to admit were quite authentic. One woman’s sign said “Need money for beer and shoes.” Another dude’s sign said “Please get me high.” Far and away though and one of the best PR ideas I’ve seen in a long time, is this scruffy vagabond kid with a handwritten cardboard sign. The sign reads “Good advice … one dollar.” As you can see, he has a group of people around him, taking advantage of the offer. We passed him several times and each time he had takers. Now that’s the best combination of free-market and hippie freedom I’ve ever seen.

Hippie Advice giver in Venice Beach California