“I loved the movie Munich! In almost every movie, it is the Jews getting whacked. It’s about time we did the whacking!”
Well, the Jews do most of the whacking in this movie and it makes for some interesting “what if?” scenarios as well as some good ol’ not feeling like the victim always in Holocaust era films.
Irreverent? Absolutely.
Violent? You betcha.
If you have a stomach for these things, worth checking out. If not, skip it, you’ll just walk away offended.
Over the last few years, as the NFO and I have gotten to know each other, I think we’ve come to appreciate how different we are in so many ways.
While the core, fundamental values are the same (thankfully), the other stuff?
Well, 180 degrees.
I mean, she’s the NFO. I’ve got a blog with almost 3000 posts.
She’s not on Facebook. I am…in full force.
And on and on and on…
But, the other day, it dawned on me, possibly, why it is that opposites do, in fact, attract.
It may be a Darwinian thing.
See, if nature is selecting for the best traits, then the mating of two different people will allow their offspring to develop and enhance (in theory) the traits that are most suited for survival and adaptation in the next generation.
If we were completely similar and the societal requirements of our offspring were such that our traits would not be beneficial, that would serve to hurt the future successes of our children.
Clearly, I have NO idea if this makes any sense, but my limited understanding of genetics (coupled with the fact that we occasionally drive each other nuts ;-) brought this idea to my mind.
Every now and then I’ll meet someone who asks me “why do you share so much about your personal life online?”
(Sometimes I meet people who make fun of me, but that’s a different story.)
Why?
Aside from the fact that I like sharing it, I also like hearing how it makes people feel.
I got a note from Jacob the other day, saying he was unsubscribing from this blog.
I didn’t recognize his name and thought that, perhaps, as is sometimes the case, he was a business associate looking for the Never Stop Marketing blog and, accidentally, had chosen the wrong blog.
“No,” he wrote, “I subscribed back when I was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was reading about your experiences. I enjoyed your blog and reading about your family and your other musings. It’s just gotten to the point where I can’t keep up with all the other blogs I read.”
So, for 2.5 years, this random guy decided that the stuff I was sharing was of interest to him.
In some ways, though the comparison is probably not apt, I suspect this is what artists look for.
I was invited by the US Navy to participate in their “Distinguished Civilian Program” because I am a “prominent blogger” (their words, not mine, I promise).
The incredible offer?
Spend 24 hours on the USS Stennis aircraft carrier, get briefed by an admiral, the captain of the ship, watch the day and night flight operations and get a deeper understanding of the sacrifice made by the dedicated sailors on board. (Here’s how Guy Kawasaki captured it when he was invited a few months ago).
Plus, I would have the opportunity to meet some people whose work I greatly admire in my field, including Jeremiah Owyang of Altimeter and Chip Heath, author of one of my favorite books ever, Made to Stick, plus a slew of other really great folks in the marketing/social media world. (Jeremiah made a Twitter list of the folks slated to be on board together.)
So, what can we learn from the Navy?
The Navy understands that it is an attention economy. The old model of having their story (broadcast via TV ads, for example) may not be the best way to tell their message. So, they are investing time and effort to identify, create, and activate Raving Fans (aka Community Driven Marketing)
Recognize that “everyone is in marketing.” By bringing us on board and having the chance to meet sailors and officers, they recognize that “everyone is in marketing,” one of the core tenets of Dandelion Marketing. The Navy could tell us a story that was “sanitized and scrubbed” or they can let us tell it as we see it, by talking to real people, to add a level of authenticity to it to increase the credibility.
Use your assets to build community. Not everyone has an aircraft carrier, but you do have things which your network would like to see in action. Bring together like-minded people around a “social object” and allow those connections to grow with each other. By applying Reed’s law to their community, the Navy grows the value of their network and their brand.
So, the plans were laid. Tickets bought. I was all set to arrive at the Naval Air Station in San Diego at 8am on Sunday, Jan. 24th.
Until this email came in, which was the last marketing lesson:
I'm sorry to inform you that due to weather conditions in the northwestern U.S., USS STENNIS was unable to get underway as planned, which has a direct impact on your scheduled embark.
Your group was to fly aboard the carrier as part of the first wave of flight operations. However, due to the one-day delay in the ship's departure, there will no longer be any flight operations on the 24th, which means we are unable to accomplish the overnight embark on the 24th.
I'm sorry for any issues or hardships this cancellation may cause you, but this is something that is beyond our control.
4. When things go bad, just be upfront and honest about it. They emailed AND called. And they used a truly human, personal voice to do it. They knew we would be disappointed and that came across in the communications. (And this is the Navy we’re talking about here!)
In preparation for the trip, I had been watching the PBS series Carrier and one of the phrases that stuck with me from the sailors was that “in the military, you have to learn to roll with the punches,” and that is what we’re all doing.
In the meantime, the Navy managed to create some positive Word of Mouth and cultivate me (and many of the others) as a Raving Fan…and we didn’t even have to get on the ship! (but we still want to! and we’re hopeful for a future date.)
My hunch is that your organization is less formal than the US Navy. If they can do it, so can you. Just go get an aircraft carrier and you are on your way ;-)
[I should add that my kids were thrilled that the trip was cancelled, since I’ll be home and we can watch the AFC/NFC championship games together-I’ve done a decent job of creating football Raving Fans in that category, if I do say so myself.)
Post was written while listening (intentionally) to: SmashMouth - - I get knocked down!.mp3
By now, you know that Scott Brown, the Republican beat the Democrat and presumed winner, Martha Coakley for the open Senate seat in Massachusetts. (I won’t call it Ted Kennedy’s seat, since it wasn’t his…it belongs to the people of Mass, but I digress.)
There are many factors at play here, but I’ll focus on one in particular.
As loyal blog reader Jeff said, “Martha Coakley didn’t stay true to your philosophy. She stopped marketing.”
Between Xmas and New Year’s, Coakley took a vacation.
Now, I’m not saying that you can never take a break. You certainly can, but it’s the perception of that break which is important.
The perception that Coakley gave was “this is in the bag.”
Not “I’m running as hard as I can and taking 1 day to regroup during this sprint to the finish and to focus on my family since they are the most important thing in my life.”
My former boss, Paul Cimino, is a consummate entrepreneur.
An eternal optimist, he’s continuously driving for something better, faster, and more efficient.
It’s energizing to be around him and I think a lot can be learned from his attitude.
His businesses haven’t been the mega-successes and he knows it.
He’ll say “I’ve had a couple of field goals, no touchdowns yet, but I’m still playing the game.”
When you look at life as a series of drives in a larger football game, you’re more likely to be resilient after a punt, than if you view it as a one-shot deal.
My friend, Jamie, sends in the following anecdote. It tells you how to asses who is worth your time and who isn’t.
I have a certain "rule" in place when I network with people.
When I left Barnard for my first job, I entered myself in the alumnae database indicating I would be willing to talk to current students about my job/career path.
As I changed jobs and developed my career, I always updated my information and over the years I got e-mails from students interested in chatting with me about work, mostly they were looking for jobs and wanted to know how I got my job in news and how I could help them get one as well.
In the beginning, I would email back and forth with some of them but that took a lot of time and energy.
I decided chatting over the phone was an easier way to disseminate my wisdom; I could do it quickly, perhaps while walking to work or folding my laundry, but more importantly I could tell immediately whether the person was actually serious about hearing from me or was just going through the motions of "networking."
So, I changed my policy. I gave them my phone number and told them I would be happy to speak by phone.
An amazing thing happened. In almost every single case, that ended the connection! I never heard from the people again. The ones who followed through either called me or emailed back to set up a time to chat.
It was a remarkable weeding process since the ones who were willing to chat by phone happened to be really interesting people that I was delighted to help.
I was able to place two of them in internships, one at MSNBC and one at CNN. I was able to make further connections for others. And, I was happy to do this because these people were obviously committed to real networking.
It has proved to be a remarkably efficient process because 9 times out of 10 people don't want to make the effort to call so I'm not wasting much energy.
It was perhaps the most salient finance interview I’ve EVER heard.
His analysis, the data. I couldn’t help but think, “wow, this guys knows his sh*t!” (sorry, mom, that IS what I thought!)
What troubles me about this interview, however, is that Kyle lays out the case pretty clearly that we are driving in the direction that will take us off the financial cliff. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the President and the Congress will just not have the political will (or the American people, for that matter) to go through with it.
The fact that he points to Japan as the example of how things go horrifically wrong (a case with which I have some familiar) made it resonate even more.
Still, you could see when they went back to the anchor that even he was blown away by the information.
I highly recommend you watch this video…and share it.
Note: I was so impressed, I called Kyle Bass’ office today in Dallas to ask if had a blog, twitter account or whatever…I need to stay on top of what this guy says.
Due to popular demand (ok, so my mom asked for it), I am in the final stages of putting one together.
A number of people said, “hey, I’m a Raving Fan of your blog and want an easy way to get ‘up to speed,’ without hitting the “back” button over and over again.”
So, I’ll be self-publishing “It’s All on the Blog, Don’t Buy the Book” and, of course, making it available for you to buy (but you shouldn’t since it’s all on the blog).
Of course, if you really want to, I won’t stop you.
Here’s the latest rev of the Cover. Feel free to weigh in via comments, email, or voting.
The artist, btw, is Jonny Goldstein, founder of Envizualize, an information design consultancy that helps people picture strategic and tactical success.
Our kids love listening (and dancing) to CD’s in the playroom. It’s so cute to watch them run around.
The other night, while the NFO was giving baths, I was cleaning up in the kitchen and heard the CD playing.
I went into the room and turned off.
As I did it, however, I had a “mental snapshot” moment and realized that, one day, I won’t be doing this any longer. One day, the kids won’t be listening to CD’s after dinner and dancing around.
There are a lot of moments like that in parenthood…and in life. You do them every day. Then, all of a sudden, you don’t do them anymore.
Can’t hurt to try and be happier, can it?
Well, here’s a chance for the FOJ community (or for your friends in the right cities, I supposes.)
My client, Gretchen Rubin, is going on a national tour this month to promote her new book, The Happiness Project (and it hit #2 on the NYT best-seller list during its first week).
Gretchen is an amazing woman. She clerked for Sandra Day O’Connor, went to Yale Law School, and was chief adviser to a former FCC chairman. You got it, she’s not that bright ;-)
So, if you live in one of these cities (or want to ‘be the Connector’ to your friends there), you should go listen to Gretchen, meet her, and meet some of the folks who share their passion for her work and intellect.
I sat in on Dan Pink’s (client) New Year’s Day seminar which was, not surprisingly, very good.
As it was New Year’s Day, one of the ideas he shared was that, instead of New Year’s Resolutions (what will I START doing?) that we should (and would probably be better off, if we did) make STOP DOING LISTS.
The research, he suggests, supports an increased likelihood of success.
And I’ve read since then that something like 70% of Americans have a resolution about food or diet, so I’ll pile on to that stat.
My two Stop Doings.
No more eating after 9pm at night
No more taking seconds until 10 minutes have elapsed.
Feel free to chime in if you want the public accountability and support. Or humiliation, when I link back to this next year.
With no direct flights to Malta, we had a choice of which European city to go through. For a number of reasons, I chose London.
It had been 18 years since I was there last and I felt due.
We had just about 24 hours to do a whirlwind tour and we made the most of it.
Walked the city…even in a snowstorm and the highlight was visiting the War Cabinet Rooms where Churchill had led Britain’s defense/attack of Nazi Germany in underground shelters.
The exhibit was more than remarkable and the interactive display (video below) was just fantastic.
London certainly has special appeal given the unique history and common language.
Here’s a quick story from my recent trip to Malta that shows why Twitter is powerful and what Journalism may start looking like.
We had to catch an early flight, so I got up at 7.15pm EST (1.15am in Malta) and checked email, etc.
Curious how the day’s NFL games had unfolded, I went to ESPN and saw the finals of most games, but noticed that the it was 36-30 in favor of the Packers over the Steelers with 1:58 to go.
ESPN offers a paid subscription to live game feeds, which I don’t buy.
I went to Google and typed in Steelers-Packers, knowing that “real-time” search was now an option.
I clicked on Latest Results and opened up a separate window.
For the last few minutes, the page refreshed every few seconds, as I saw the Twitter comments from people who were “covering” the game by putting in the the hashtag (#) Steelers.
By watching those come across the screen, I tracked the final drive and discovered that a last second pass from Roethlisberger to Wallace, as time ran out, won the game for Pittsburgh.
Football fans, Twitter, and Google had displaced traditional journalists.
Just fascinating. Not sure I fully understand how this leads to the new model, but I do know that the old model is broken.
If there was a theme to our last day in Malta, it would be pre-historic and early Malta.
Sometime, 6000 years ago or so, some folks sailed from Sicily and set up shop on the small island. Eventually, they became fairly advanced and built some megalithic structures that surpass Stonehenge in size and show a fair amount of complexity and sophistication.
We visited the Hypogeum in Paola, Malta and then walked over to the Tarxien temple complex.
The Hypogeum is a subterranean crypt/worship area that had 3 levels and descends 30 feet below ground.
There are etchings and red ochre paintings on the wall, plus one room where a specific pitch of your voice creates a remarkable and powerful echo sound.
We then moved over to Mdina, the ancient capital, which was set up by the Phoenicians, and subsequently conquered by the Romans, the Arabs, and the Knights of Malta.
One of its interesting features is how the streets/alleys were designed for defensive purposes.
They are short (about 8 meters in length), before twisting so that arrows up a head of steam (so to speak).
It’s called “the quiet city” and it is indeed that. Of course, we were there on a Sunday…which is taken pretty seriously in Malta (as is Siesta, but that’s another topic), but still…relative tranquility.
We also learned that Count Roger the Norman ripped his red-white checkered battle flag in half and gave it to the city when he conquered it…thus creating the red/white flag of Malta today (which since added the George Cross following WWII).
You can see some more pictures from the trip here, if you like.
So, you are the Grandmaster of the Order of St. John and you’ve been given the island of Malta by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, as your base operations.
In return, you agree to pay a rent of one falcon per year (yep, the Maltese falcon) and you now have a home after having been evicted from Rhodes by Suleiman, the leader of the Ottoman Empire.
What’s more, he’s already attacked you on Malta and you see just how vulnerable you are.
So, if you are Jean de la Vallette, you commission the building of one of the world’s first grid-based, fortified cities…and heck, it is even named after you, Valletta, to defend against the coming invasion (which you know will happen…and in 1565, the Great Siege of Malta, it does.)
Day 2 of the Malta Experience was walking this fine city, seeing its glorious central Cathedral (St. John’s co-Cathedral), the ornate Grandmaster’s Palace and Armory, the gardens and the harbor it overlooked (as well as the other cities it defended as a result.)
A great study in military strategy and urban planning.
There were a few things that compelled me to take a trip to Malta.
First, as longtime blog readers know, I love travelling, meeting new people, and visiting new places.
Second, my wonderful wife, the NFO said it was OK (actually, that should be first).
Third, since I think “change is the only constant,” the act of putting yourself deliberately in new situations is how you condition yourself for change.
Fourth, it is super critical to take yourself out of the day-to-day (particularly when your economic success depends on creativity) and relax, stretch, and inspire those brain muscles.
Of course, all of these are arguments for most places. Why Malta?
History, I suppose. This place is loaded with it. More on that later.
Uniqueness…we heard, on more than one occasion, people say “how did you know about our country?” (there aren’t too many places where they say that, is there?)
Remote, but not too remote. Situated where it is in the central Mediterranean, but still part of the Euro zone, it offers a lot in the way of civilization, but also the feeling of being “out of it.”
And it met my criteria of “not taking too long to get there” and not being ridiculously cold.
We arrived around 4pm on Wednesday and took it easy for the most part that evening.
Thursday’s primary activity was an excursion to Gozo, the 2nd largest of the 3 primary islands that make up Malta. It has only about 4% of the population in total and measures about 12 miles across. The larger island took us about 45 minutes to pretty much go across the whole thing!
Yep, Malta is small. Total population is about 400,000 people. 99.6% of them are Catholic. There are 365 churches (“one for each day of the year,” as the Maltese like to say). And note, divorce and abortion are illegal there..an interesting side note.
For those of you who have been to Israel, it is remarkably similar using limestone to construct most buildings.
So, we took the bus to the Gozo ferry terminal, where we then took the boat across to Gozo.
We hired a cabdriver, G’akbu (aka Jimmy) [Maltese and English are the two official languages, since Malta was a colony for 150 years of so) to show us the sights (interview w/him is below).
He did a great job and started us off at the so-called “Azure Window” in which I am pictured here.
What’s fascinating about Malta, among many things, is how many times it has been involved in REALLY important historical moments.
Most recent was 1942 when it was under constant bombardment for over 150 days from the Axis (by comparison the famous London blitz was 56 days) in an effort to subdue the population.
Why?
Because Malta’s position as a naval and air base was a key asset in the Allies’ ability to disrupt Axis shipping in the Med and, in fact, the destruction of convoys was a key reason that Rommel lost at El Alamein.
We ended the day by joining the 100 person strong Maltese Jewish community for a Hannukah celebration.
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With no direct flights to Malta, we had a choice of which European city to go through. For a number of reasons, I chose London.
%5B3%5D.jpg "Tarxien Temple in Malta (4)")
%5B3%5D.jpg "Valleta street scenes (2)")
%5B3%5D.jpg "Island of Gozo (11)")
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