It’s been a whole half year since my last post. And things have been busy. But I don’t want to bore you with those details. The one major highlight that I have that happened to me was going to the 140 Characters Conference back in June. That was awesome! I met and reconnected with so many fellow Twitterati. It was pure awesomeness (to be completely techie). I hung out with Sarah Evans, also known as @PRsarahevans on Twitter. She even let me moderate #JournChat while she mingled at our VIP reception. (Yes, look forward to a lot of name-dropping in this post…I wouldn’t have it any other way 
). I also met a new brand Twitter @macala who is totally rockin’ in the fashion world. If you’re a fashion brand trying to get active in social media and don’t know who she is, well, who are you anyway. 
(teasin’!)
Macala and I at #140conf
I was able to catch up and have dinner with Chris Brogan (his book Trust Agents with @julien just launched…cop it!), Steve Garfield, and Sarah Evans. Such a nice dinner. I am still envious of Sarah’s mach-and-cheese that she ordered. Nom nom nom….so cheesy. Anyway, the conference was amazing. My favorite panel by far was the media panel. Ann Curry stole the show. She showed her passion and dedication to journalism and proved that another panelist (nameless) was a complete and total douchebag.
I have to say that meeting the New York City tech scene was definitely one of the best treats of the trip. @db and @mizcity, you two were awesome! (I really want to make it back up to the city for Social Media Week next year!) I also met @iJustine and @brett from Mashable, among a few other social media heavyweights. Heck, I went to the late night viewing with Gary Vee on the Jimmy Fallon show. I partied like an internet celeb (and totally paid for it the following days).
Ok, enough name-dropping. You can tell that I had a blast. And met some cool peeps. My main takeaway is that more brands should have been there. They should always be there. Kodak & The Roger Smith Hotel were the talk of the town for actually throwing themselves in the bunch and not being a disturbance or having an annoying, sales-y presence. That said, I look forward to the next time I meet with all the friends from 140conf! Until then, I’ll be stalking them on Twitter and Facebook.
Ok, after a lengthy Google chat session with Erica O’Grady this morning, I realized that sometimes haters are nothing more than servants. Slaves. The Help. I guess it stems from observations over time, but if you notice in history the people who store their hatred for people, things, ethnicities, etc. end up becoming a slave to their object of hatred.
First off, out of an abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. That’s tried and true. No matter what, the truth always rises out of a person’s heart and comes out in their communication, verbal and nonverbal. So, liars are generally trying to cover up what’s in their heart but to no avail usually. Haters, on the other hand, speak out of both sides of their mouths. Most haters must praise you in your face and then keep you at the forefront of their conversations when you’re not around. Sounds like servitude to me. Often times, their conversations about you are based on their emotions (usually jealousy, pride, or fear) surrounding your talents, status, or possessions.
I’m still trying to get into the psyche of haters. I mean, you have to be preoccupied with that thing in order to keep up with its progress and weave into your cares and concerns. However, you hate it/them. Haters spend time researching and tracking these things, which seems like something a servant does for his master.
It just doesn’t pay to hate. Ultimately, people filled with hate literally do end up becoming enslaved by their hatred and oppressed by the very thing that they hate. For instance, when Mel Gibson had his anti-semitic tirade a while back, he had to spend time learning about Judaism and sitting with rabbis and other Jewish officials. Some could say that he has become subservient to Judaism all because of his hatred. He had to give of his time, make public announcements and appearances, and denounce himself to the obscure hatred he’d been carrying since God knows when. I’ve never had or felt this consuming hatred, but it plays out like this in other scenarios, too.
Goes the same with your personal haters. Often time, your haters have to end up “serving time” by keeping your name in their mouths even when the conversation at hand really could have gone without your name. Keeping up with the cliche, any publicity is good publicity. Your haters can talk you down, but if your actions contradict their rhetoric (and that’s all it is…it’s not prophecy or truth), what do you have to fear?
I know there are some who may say that hating does not equate to servitude, but they’re just hating. So, lesson learned: don’t hate. You’re just a servant in the process. Chances are, your invites out for meals and hanging out will diminish too. No one wants to eat with “the help.”
Filed under: HR, advertising | Tags: advertising, benefits, employees, google, HR, management
So, a really good friend of mine who interned with me at a Houston ad firm just accepted a position with Crispin Porter out in Miami for the Sprite account. But what she told me next surprised me even more. I asked her if she had a place lined up, and she said that the agency will be taking care of her housing for her first few weeks, as well as relocation expenses, which is pretty unheard of in advertising for entry-level positions. So, that made me think about the true role of HR and how so many companies don’t even come close to hitting the mark.
A lot of HR departments are just paper pushers: insurance benefits, checks, pink slips, etc. They are far from an actual resource and probably are eagerly avoided at all costs by employees who know and understand this deficit. What will it take for these major and minor corporate behemoths to realize that HR can actually be of help? Why not boost employee morale through crazy customs and traditions specific to the company? We all know that Google has probably become the best example of a large post-modern organization with a truly unique list of benefits provided to their employees. From free cafeteria meals to “free time” to do what you want on their time, Google has created a culture that every college grad wants to work for and every web company wants to imitate (though many fall short).
So, the Carrie Bradshaw moment: if HR has always stood for Human Resources and was meant for employee betterment, why does it seem like humans are an afterthought in its practice?
Resumes are such necessary evils. It’s never a true summary of one’s career, objectives, or skills. They have become a game of masking the red flags and touting some rather lackluster, or insignificant, accomplishments during a menial position that you’ve fled or are fleeing. Do you honestly ever get a true account of someone’s knowledge, skills, and abilities on one or two pages?
Let’s think about it. If you can’t judge a book by its cover (a one-page document) or tell what a movie’s about from it’s 30-second trailer, how can a resume accurately reflect someone’s strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, ambitions, motivators, commitment, dedication, passion, intelligence, social skills, or home training? Yes, home training. You’d be surprised as to how many Americans don’t know how to act when they left their parents’ home.
I know that everyone wants a synopsis, straight-to-the-point and no beating-around-the-bush. We, by “we” I mean corporate executives, don’t have the time to review or assess the skills of the right person, let alone create a decent overview of the position we are looking to fill. So, it’s more of a matching game. Match up the vague needs of the company with the exaggerated skills and “experience” of a candidate. That’s one role of HR in a nutshell.
Yes, I’m in the process of redoing my resume, but it’s so hard to fit yourself, aspirations, and goals in life on to a page. How do I put all of my multifaceted goodness into several short précis? And yes, I am chock full of multifaceted goodness. I guess my next employer will have to be a great judge of character and an even better discerner of aptitude. I guess that means that my next employer will have to be a graduate of The George Washington University. <wink> Just joking.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, brand management, branding, marketing, revelations
There comes a time in every man’s life where things are revealed to him that change the way he thinks, behaves, and lives. Sadly for me, I can’t claim this profundity as my own brainchild. As a matter of fact, there’s a whole book of the Bible dedicated to the veil being lifted from men’s eyes. Yet, with so many self-help gurus, religious officials, and even Oprah preaching the benefits of positive life changes through a series of revelations, why haven’t brands adopted this line of thought?
Why can’t this be applied to brands? Think about it. The last time someone told you about a brand that they use, they gave you the key benefit, or revelation, that persuaded you and made you change your consumption habits. From food to clothing to web technology, we’ve all had things “revealed” to us that subconsciously have forced us to change the way think, behave, and possibly live, depending on the revelation. If brands treated their communications as revelations, not only would their advertising creative be effective, entertaining, and worth remembering, it would improve the bottom line.
So, on that note, I’ll leave the rest in my upcoming book: Revelations: The Chosen Brands.
Filed under: boss, decisions, making decisions | Tags: bosses, decisions, indecision, laziness
So, as my first post, I thought I’d contribute something meaningful, thoughtful, and very Chrispy.
So, after a few “run-ins” with my wage-payers, none of which were my fault, I have come to the conclusion that indecisive and finicky people should not be running a business. Moreover, I believe that indecision stems from laziness. It’s hard to put effort into something once the decision is made, so the best way to keep from doing the work is to not make a decision at all. Or keep delaying making the decision. However, this decision avoidance actually hurts a business in the long run. Think about it. If you’re the key person and you delay with making a decision, that means that no one else on your team can move forward. It also leaves the window of opportunity open for a competitor, backstabber, or stranger to take something that could have been rightfully yours. Keep in mind that we’re not talking about life-shattering, world-changing decisions. No one dies from the decision. It’s just a small decision that could have a large impact. That said, I think the dumbest decision is not making a decision, especially on things that will benefit you, your business, and your employees. But, as they say, common sense is not so common.
