Wednesday, January 20, 2010

“Couple of Field Goals…”

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.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

“No one except the Israelis…”

Watch the video here. Only the Israeli hospital in Haiti is taking patients.

http://j.mp/7Ua4VN

jeffpulver

jeffpulver RT @YeahThatsKosher CNN » "No one except the Israeli hospital has taken any of our patients" http://j.mp/7Ua4VN (VIDEO) #Haiti
Mon, Jan 18 14:57:49 from web

How to Get Better Service From Your Airline

Use Twitter.

Mike Eisenberg on El Al.

I also read a great story (though I can’t find the link right now) of someone who was flying Virgin America and using the in-flight wi-fi.

He wrote something like “the guy next to me probably hasn’t showered in a day or two.”

10 minutes later, a flight attendant came up to him and asked discretely if “perhaps he would be more comfortable in another seat.”

Monday, January 18, 2010

Who’s Worth Your Time? A Primer.

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.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Good Friends aren’t afraid to slap one another

My buddy, Ben Vollmer, said that to me a few weeks ago.

I had been nudging him (consistently) about something.

He responded: “Back off, I’ll get to you in January.”

And he will.

When I thanked him for his direct approach, he said, “Good Friends aren’t afraid to slap one another.”[ ™ Ben Vollmer © 2009]

And he’s right.

Being a good friend means, I think, being willing to put people in their place and say what others won’t.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Care about America’s Financial Future? Watch this.

I don’t usually watch CNBC.

Most of the time, the talking heads there don’t make a lot of sense to me.

For whatever reason, I caught it yesterday morning just as the interview with Kyle Bass (whom I had never heard of before) was starting.

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.

Here’s the video, if you can’t see it below.












Thursday, January 14, 2010

Cover Art for the Blook…

A “Blook” is a book based on a Blog.

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.

 

jer979coverVividYellow

 

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How I feel about the Cover Art...




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The artist, btw, is Jonny Goldstein, founder of Envizualize, an information design consultancy that helps people picture strategic and tactical success.

You can follow him on twitter at @envizualize

 

Post was written while listening to...Mozart, Turkish March

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Why Men Shouldn’t Write Advice Columns…

clip_image001

HT to my brother, Asher for this one.
Post was written while listening to...Schlomo Carlebach, Ki Va Moed

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Poof! The Moment is Gone…

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.

Monday, January 11, 2010

How the Times Have Changed…

It seems like only yesterday when I was sending out notes and working the network, asking people for internships after high school and during college.

Well, the other day, the son of some of our friends approached me asking for one!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Twitter and the Western Wall…

I’ve met a few folks over the year who dismiss Twitter out of hand. They deride it for its frivolousness.

Here’s a nice story of how one guy put the Western Wall on Twitter (@thekotel)

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Happiness in America…

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.

City
Date
Facebook Event Link
Boston
Jan. 13
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Boston
Chicago
Jan. 19
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Chicago
Denver
Jan. 21
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Denver
Kansas City
Jan. 20
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Kansas City (my hometown)
Los Angeles
Jan. 25
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Los Angeles
San Francisco/
Bay Area

Jan. 26
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in the Bay Area....
Seattle
Jan. 27
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Seattle...
Washington, DC
Jan. 18
Book Tour for the Happiness Project in Washington, DC

I’ll be at the DC event, of course.
 

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Friday, January 08, 2010

Watching the Space Shuttle Launch…

Caught by a guy on an Air Canada flight (nice accent, eh?)

Very neat.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Stop Doing List…

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.

  1. No more eating after 9pm at night
  2. 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.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

London in the Snow…

 London 2009 002With 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.

The evening was topped off with a meetup of some friends of Never Stop Marketing in a nice little restaurant.

All in all, a great quick visit to the City of London.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

The Real Time Web and Journalism 2.0

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.

image 

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.

image

Monday, January 04, 2010

Prehistoric Malta…

Tarxien Temple in Malta (4) 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.

Image via WikipediaCoat of Arms of Mdina Local Council (Malta) ma...

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.

 

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Malta Day 2-Valleta

Valleta street scenes (2)

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.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Malta Day 1-Forcing the Change…

Island of Gozo (11)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.

More on the Malta Story is forthcoming….

 

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Recitals and Time…

A few weeks back, I had the chance to attend Paco’s Karate belt test and Tonka’s dance recital.

I’ll admit that when I first started going to these, it was more with an eye towards achievement. How much did they know?

Now, however, I realize that it’s not about that…it’s about milestones and development (ok, so I’m slow. Sorry).

Seeing them every 6 months do whatever it is they are doing and about whatever they are passionate…that’s what is important.

It’s a moment to step back and reflect on the passage of time.

Happy New Year.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Start Your Happiness Project in the New Year…

A little shameless plug here.

Gretchen Rubin’s book (The Happiness Project) released on Tuesday and is already at #39 on the Amazon best-seller list. She just passed Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point.”

Feel free to pick up a copy. We’d love the support!

Go Give, Then You Will Get…

NSM Award winner, Dave, sent me a copy of Bog Burg and John David Mann’s business parable book “The Go-Giver.”
When you first start reading it, you may think, “oh no, not another Who Moved My Cheese type story.”
But, if you stick with it, you will discover the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.
And, as I read these, I realized how well they mapped to the attention economy and the culture changes that social media has brought upon us.
So, what are the five laws?
  1. The Law of Value
    Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you receive in payment.
  2. The Law of Compensation
    Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
  3. The Law of Influence
    Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
  4. The Law of Authenticity
    The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
  5. The Law of Receptivity
    The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
The  more you are involved in the business world, the more you realize that it’s not about what you know, it’s about the “social” aspect…how you relate others.
This, in a nutshell, is what this book will help you integrate into more fully into your personal DNA.


Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Grocery Store Checkout Lines..

I wonder sometimes if the Express line isn’t always the best option.
If I only have a few items and I see 4 people in the Express line and only 1 in another (but with a really big purchase), I think the 1 person line is better.
I think that the biggest time drain in the process is the actual payment/transaction part.
Deep thoughts, I know.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Kosher Ham and Jewdar…

 

Funny post from my friend David Berkowitz’s blog…


Kosher Ham's Jewdar Tell-All

Originally published in MediaPost's Social Media Insider

It's one of the most critical, controversial issues of our time. It's been the subject of more columns than MySpace. Even the Talmud, the great repository of Jewish debate and wisdom, is at a loss to comment on it. Yes, in what's undoubtedly the greatest miracle since the time the Maccabees kept their temple menorah burning with a small jar of oil, the gift of Jewdar continues to shed light on how marketers are targeting their ads.

I've wanted to return to this for months, ever since Jeremy Bloom reached out to me in August about his business KosherHam.com, a humorous T-shirt site that claims, "Wearing anything else just isn't kosher." He even noted that my new BFF Perez Hilton has been spotted in his gear.

I was intrigued when Bloom said that he's been honing his Jewdar - in this context, the act of targeting Jews through advertising, specifically on Facebook - and that he'd be willing to share all his secrets with me. He wrote, "I am constantly behaviorally targeting different demos, but the most receptive audiences with some of the highest click-through rates and lowest CPMs seem to be Jews." He tests religiously, trying different subject lines, ad copy, targeting, and models and T-shirts in the photos.

He's able to reach Jews largely through the keywords field in Facebook's self-service ads that target users based on their interests. Facebook won't target users by religion specifically, but if they list "Jewish" or Jews" as interests, they're fair game. Bloom further targets users in major cities with large Jewish populations. This will inherently mean some non-Jews see the ads -- but hey, they're welcome to buy shirts too.

So what keywords does Bloom use to find Jews? The eclectic roster includes: Jew, Jewish, Hebrew, Israel, Hillel, Sigma Alpha Mu, Zeta Beta Tau, Annie Hall, Brooklyn, bagels, deli, Chinese food, Matisyahu, Phish, jam bands, being Jewish, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Seinfeld, Hebrew Hammer, Heeb Magazine, and Fiddler on the Roof. If you don't know what some of these mean or what they have to do with Judaism, you're probably out of the target demographic.

After perusing the list, I wondered how some of these would do head to head. Bloom indulged me and ran some trials in four different brackets: City, Comedian, Cuisine, and Music. Bids were set at 34 cents CPM. The top performing ads were those with the highest click-through rate (CTR) and lowest cost-per-click (CPC). And the winners are...

Bracket 1

City: New York vs. Los Angeles

Subject Lines: NY Jews Love Kosherham, LA Jews Love Kosherham

Winner: LA gets the Oscar, with 18% CTR and 16 cents CPC, coasting past NY's 12% CTR and 23 cents CPC.

Bracket 2

Comedian: Seinfeld vs. Woody Allen

Subject Lines: Seinfeld Fans Love Us, Woody Allen Fans Love Us

Winner: Woody Allen kvetches up the clicks, with 33% CTR and 8 cents CPC, while Seinfeld's 13% CTR and 21 cents CPC showed signs of shrinkage.

Bracket 3

Cuisine: Bagels vs. Deli

Subject Lines: Shirts for Bagel Fanatics, Shirts for Deli Fanatics

Winner: Bagels win by a shmear, with 13% CTR and 19 cents CPC, overstuffing Deli's tournament-worst 6% CTR and 44 cents CPC.

Bracket 4

Music: Phish vs. Matisyahu

Subject Lines: Shirts for Phish Fans, Shirts for Matisyahu Fans

Winner: Phish hoists up its tournament-best 55% and 5 cent CPC, out-jamming Matisyahu's 27% CTR and 10 cent CPC.

I asked Bloom if he could explain why Phish has so much mazel in hooking Phacebook -- er, Facebook -- users. He cited a number of reasons: the right age demographic, the loyal Phish fan base of liberal Jews, and the shared interests in certain botanical exploits reflected in Kosher Ham's apparel.

More importantly, I asked about conversion rates. It's great to get a lot of clicks, but do Jews on Facebook convert? (It's just getting too easy, sorry.) He says he was able to track a couple sales from the Phish ads directly, and he also notices spikes when running ads from people who go directly to KosherHam.com or search for it. With search, Google has performed especially well, as has AIM Search -- Boom thinks people find shirts they like and share them via instant message.

So it turns out Jewdar is a little easier to understand than the Zohar, Maimonedes' "Guide to the Perplexed," and my fourth-grade Hebrew teacher's accent. And it's not foolproof, as there are probably a few Woody Allen fans in New York who didn't go to a Jewish sleepaway camp. But if a guy can start a site called KosherHam and sell T-shirts about getting the munchies for unleavened bread to Jewish Phish fans on Facebook, I've got to think he's on to something.

 

Post was written while listening to...Elton John, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

Sunday, December 27, 2009

How do you react to death of a loved one?

I called a friend who recently lost his father to see how he was feeling.

“You know,” he said, “I feel like kind of a schmuck, but I actually feel fine.

“I feel like I am supposed to be really sad and not be able to do much, but you know…I was ready for this. It was a good life and I am doing just fine, but I feel like I can’t say that to anyone.’

The question we asked was:

is he unfeeling/uncaring or just super well-adjusted?

Friday, December 25, 2009

Kinder, Gentler TSA?

The video quality isn’t the best, but I was really struck by the way that the TSA experience (at BWI airport) at least has been “humanized” and better designed.

Colors, personal touches with story. Nicely done

e

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Rushing to Judgment…

Got on the late plane out of Boston and saw my beloved aisle seat.

In the seat next to it, the window (no middle on this row), there was a heavyset man. A VERY heavyset man.

He was significantly in my seat as well.

In my heart and mind, I felt resentment. Irritation.

It had been a long day. I just wanted to sit, write a few blog posts, and be relaxed.

Instead, I was squished up and uncomfortable and wasn’t happy about it.

Then, we started talking.

THE NICEST guy. Super friendly. Funny, smart, interesting. I learned A LOT in a short period of time.

Then, I resented myself for having these feelings about him without actually knowing him.

It was a humbling moment.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Why America Should Be Doomed…

002

When I read Sports Illustrated religiously as a kid, I remember a column that was titled “this week’s sign that the apocalypse is upon us.”

I’ve now seen this Marshmallow Shooter advertised in 2 places (Costco Connection and SkyMall) and I can’t help asking myself “how is society better off with this invention?”

I’m a free markeeter, but even I can admit…this is ridiculous and I wonder what it says about our society.

Post was written while listening to...Gipsy Kings, Pida Me La

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Football and the Vernacular Education…

Paco says to me, “There’s no business in football! Why did the man say ‘the Lions are in business?”

Then, he says, “what did the Redskins do? The man said, “The Redskins are in trouble.”

Just had to get those down (and no, I haven’t explained the economic side of the game yet.)

Monday, December 21, 2009

Miracle of Medicine and Will…

Miriam Silton Bat Mitzvah (18)

A few weeks back, we got the terrible news that the NFO’s cousin had been shot in the face while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Shortly after that, we visited him at Bethesda Naval Center where, to put it mildly, the outlook wasn’t great.

He had a trach tube, his face was swollen and the prognosis was unclear.

Well, 6 weeks later, I saw him at his cousin’s Bat Mitzvah and almost fell over, while trying to hold back the tears.

His jaw, which had been wired shut, wasn’t 100% functional, but he was able to talk, communicate, and even dance out on the floor.

Just inspiring. Very inspiring.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

What Drives You?

 

Full disclosure upfront. Dan Pink is a Never Stop Marketing client.

Ok, now that that is out of the way, I can tell you that I LOVED Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

What Dan did in A Whole New Mind (a previous book) was explain the skills that would be needed to thrive and prosper in a post-industrial age.

He builds on that in Drive by taking the science of motivation (you know the ol’ ‘Carrot and Stick’) and totally flipping it on its head given the fact that the nature of work is changing so dramatically.

The FACT is (and his narrative ties together a ton of substantive research to back this up) that when we are faced with a task that requires creative and the proverbial “out of the box” thinking, we are going perform less remarkably and inefficiently when there is a specific reward laid out in front of us.

Instead, he introduces us to the underlying principles of Motivation 3.0, as he calls it (1.0 is the basic survival motivation, 2.0 is the carrot and stick that is the hallmark of most of management science and was appropriate for an era that is leaving us.)

Motivation 3.0 assumes that our base level of needs are addressed (i.e. you need a fair wage), but that once you get to that point, what brings out breakthrough performance and results are three key components that emanate from a person’s Intrinsic Motivation.

  1. Autonomy-do we have the control to make our own decisions?
  2. Mastery-do we possess the desire to continually improve in our chosen area?
  3. Purpose-does it all make sense to us a in cosmic sense? Do we believe that what we are doing makes sense and has meaning?

If you are asking yourself how you motivate your employees, your students, your community (and this is critical for the practice of Community Driven Marketing, btw) or your partners, you need to take Dan’s work into account.

There’s a huge disconnect between how we think we should motivate others and how we all area actually motivated.

Drive helps you understand what that is and, equally importantly, tells you what you can do about it.

 

Friday, December 18, 2009

When 20x times isn’t 20x

So, we have some sort of issues with our roof. Not great and it may need to be replaced.

The roofer suggested that I call our insurance confirm the type of coverage that we have.

Now, I had mentally prepared myself for the fact that a new roof would be about $15k-$20k. I have NO estimate now and no idea what it will be (or even if we have to).

Still, I wanted to know how much pain was coming my way.

The insurance rep said, “after your $1000 deductible, we will pay for the replacement of the roof.”

“…and that’s why you have insurance!” I yelled. “Of course, you will probably raise my rates after that, won’t you?”

“That could very well happen, sir,” he graciously replied.

Still, it dawned on me that the difference in emotional pain between $1000 and $20,000 isn’t 20 times..it’s closer to 100 times, right?

Anyway, let’s hope it’s not a roof replacement, right?

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Malta of the Mind…

The traditional way of Epstein travel is to have a syllabus of required reading (usually put together by my dad, when he is involved).
The syllabus is to prepare you mentally for your upcoming trip (no matter where it is) so that you have the historical, cultural, and economic perspective on the locale.
For the Never Stop Marketing corporate off-site/vacation to Malta, here are just a few of the items
  1. Watched the movie Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta
  2. Watched the Maltese Falcon
  3. Read the entire Wikipedia entry, of course
  4. Read Christopher' Marlowe’s “The Jew of Malta
  5. Listening to At All Costs (Unabridged) (In 1942, Malta was the most heavily bombed place on earth).
More to come…

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Channukah concert and the joy of kids…

A few weeks ago, I took my kids to a Hannukah concert.

There were two very special elements to it.

First, the lead singer was Doni Zasloff who has the unique distinction of being my first girlfriend ever. ;-) Her band and music are just phenomenal, judging from the prestigious award they won.

But, more than that, was the way that my kids responded.

I don’t remember ever seeing them get up and dance in such a pure, innocent way as I saw that day.

I also don’t remember feeling so happy by the fact that they were so happy. They were on the stage, singing, dancing, hugging. Even Nadia was bouncing up and down like a little kid (oh wait, she is a little kid).

Seriously, just a great moment when you FEEL the emotions of your kids through you.

Video isn’t great, but here you go:

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Minor Course Corrections…

What prompted the Iceberg post yesterday was two interactions I had recently with two very wise men.
I had been struggling with one element of my empathy skills and one aspect of Judaism.
They were both causing me consternation.
It’s typical, for me at least, to think “oh wow, this is going to require some massive change,” the psychological equivalent of surgery.
However, in about 60 minutes of chatting, both of these men did the minor course correction that was needed.
And they both made the same observation, of which I am proud.
Paraphrasing:
“It seems like when you feel like you need help, you find people whose opinions you respect, ask them some questions, listen to their answers, and then continue along the new and improved path. Nothing more than that.”
I realized they were right. That is what I do and it works.
If you need some help don’t think that a massive shift is needed, find someone who will guide you for 30 minutes. That may be all you need.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Iceberg Theory of Change

Longtime blog readers will remember this, but documenting it for posterity…

A few years ago, I saw a documentary about oil rigs in the North Atlantic. The biggest enemy of oil rigs are icebergs. In a confrontation between the two, the iceberg is going to win.

So, oil rigs have an elaborate anti-iceberg defense mechanism that involves radars and tugboats. Once they detect an iceberg coming, they send out a tugboat interceptor, which has three options. One is to try and blow the iceberg to smithereens.

The other two (literally lassoing the iceberg or throwing the engines in reverse in front of the iceberg to create wake) are designed to alter the course of the iceberg by a miniscule amount. However, at a distance of 300 miles, a deviation of a few degrees or so will make the iceberg miss the rig by 200 miles or something ridiculous like that (the mathematicians out there can give you the exact numbers, but you get the idea.)

So, what’s the point? Well, the sooner you see the need for change and the sooner you make the change, the easier it is going to be. It’s easier to change the course of an iceberg by 1 degree than 30 degrees, which is what you’d need to do as it gets closer to you.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

The Consultant and the Jewish Mother…

It was bound to happen.

I was telling my mom about my client,  Gretchen Rubin, her blog, and her upcoming book.

My mom started reading Gretchen’s stuff and was inspired by it.

So, of course, she emailed Gretchen directly to say “I love your blog and am Jeremy’s mom.”

I think it’s a unique service offering. Strategic marketing advice and a Jewish mother. 2 for 1.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

How To Make Yourself Happier…

Pre-order Gretchen Rubin’s book: The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

That’s not just because she’s a client (she is), but because I just got my hands on a copy the other day and, as I blogged before, it’s a privilege to work with someone who actually makes you a better person.

If you are still wavering, check out what Bob Sutton, author of “The No Asshole Rule” wrote on his blog: The Happiness Project: I Hate Self-Help Books But Love This One

Still not convinced? Check out this great video trailer.
If you can’t see it, click here:

 

Here’s the pre-order link.

 

Post was written while listening to...Elton John, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

Friday, December 11, 2009

Perceptions of Jews…

Forwarded to me by Elizabeth…

#1

"Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world."

-- Winston Churchill

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-#2

"The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illumined with it the entire world. He is the religious source, spring, and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions."

-- Leo Tolstoy

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-#3

"It was in vain that we locked them up for several hundred years behind the walls of the Ghetto. No sooner were their prison gates unbarred than they easily caught up with us, even on those paths which we opened up without their aid."

-- A. A. Leroy Beaulieu, French publicist, 1842

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-#4

"The Jew gave us the Outside and the Inside - our outlook and our inner life. We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best words, in fact - new, adventure, surprise, unique, individual, person, vocation, time, history, future, freedom, progress, spirit, faith, hope, justice - are the gifts of the Jews."

-- Thomas Cahill, Irish Author

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-#5

"One of the gifts of the Jewish culture to Christianity is that it has taught Christians to think like Jews, and any modern man who has not learned to think as though he were a Jew can hardly be said to have learned to think at all."

-- William Rees-Mogg, former Editor-in-Chief for The Times of London and a member of the House of Lords

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-#6

"It is certain that in certain parts of the world we can see a peculiar people, separated from the other peoples of the world and this is called the Jewish people....

This people is not only of remarkable antiquity but has also lasted for a singular long time... For whereas the people of Greece and Italy, of Sparta, Athens and Rome and others who came so much later have perished so long ago, these still exist, despite the efforts of so many powerful kings who have tried a hundred times to wipe them out, as their historians testify, and as can easily be judged by the natural order of things over such a long spell of years. They have always been preserved,however, and their preservation was foretold... My encounter with this people amazes me..."

-- Blaise Pascal, French Mathematician

--#7-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Jewish vision became the prototype for many similar grand designs for humanity, both divine and man made The Jews, therefore, stand at the center of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a purpose."

--Paul Johnson, American Historian

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-#8

"As  long as the world lasts, all who want to make progress  in righteousness will come to Israel for inspiration as to the people who had the sense for righteousness most glowing and strongest."

--Matthew Arnold, British poet and critic

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-#9

"Indeed  it is difficult for all other nations of the world to live in the  presence of the Jews. It is irritating and most uncomfortable. The Jews embarrass the world as they have done things which are beyond the imaginable. They have become moral strangers since the day their

forefather, Abraham, introduced the world to high ethical standards and to the fear of Heaven. They brought the world the Ten Commandments, which many nations prefer to defy. They violated the rules of history by staying alive, totally at odds with common  sense and historical evidence. They outlived all their former enemies, including vast empires such as the Romans and the Greeks.  They angered the world with their return to their homeland after  2000 years of exile and after the murder of six million of their  brothers and sisters.

They aggravated mankind by building, in the  wink of an eye, a democratic State which others were not able to create in even hundreds of years. They built living monuments such  as the duty to be holy and the privilege to serve one's fellow men.

They had their hands in every human progressive endeavor,  whether in science, medicine, psychology or any other discipline, while totally out of proportion to their actual numbers. They gave  the world the Bible and even their "savior."

Jews taught the  world not to accept the world as it is, but to transform it, yet  only a few nations wanted to listen. Moreover, the Jews introduced  the world to one God, yet only a minority wanted to draw the moral  consequences. So the nations of the world realize that they would  have been lost without the Jews.. And while their

subconscious  tries to remind them of how much of Western civilization is framed in terms of concepts first articulated by the Jews, they  do anything to suppress it.

They deny that Jews remind them  of a higher purpose of life and the need to be honorable, and do  anything to escape its consequences. It is simply too much to  handle for them, too embarrassing to admit, and above all, too difficult to live by.

 

So the nations of the world decided once again to go out of 'their' way in order to find a stick to hit the Jews.  The goal: to prove that Jews are as immoral and guilty of massacre  and genocide as some of they themselves are. All this in  order to hide and justify their own failure to even protest when  six million Jews were brought to the slaughterhouses of  Auschwitz and Dachau; so as to wipe out the moral conscience of  which the Jews remind them, and they found a stick. Nothing  could be more gratifying for them than to find the Jews in  a struggle with another people (who are completely terrorized by  their own leaders) against whom the Jews, against their best  wishes, have to defend themselves in order to survive. With great  satisfaction, the world allows and initiates the rewriting of history so as to fuel the rage of yet another people against the Jews. This in spite of the fact that the nations understand very  well that peace between the parties could have come a long time ago, if only the Jews would have had a fair chance. Instead, they  happily jumped on the wagon of hate so as to justify their jealousy  of the Jews and their incompetence to deal with their own moral  issues.

When Jews look at the bizarre play taking place in The Hague, they can only smile as this artificial game once more proves how  the world paradoxically admits the Jews uniqueness. It is in their  need to undermine the Jews that they actually raise  them.

The study of history of Europe during the past centuries  teaches us one uniform lesson: That the nations which received and  in any way dealt fairly and mercifully with the Jew have prospered;  and that the nations that have tortured and oppressed them have  written out their own curse."

--Olive Schreiner, South African  novelist and social activist

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-#10

"If  there is any honor in all the world that I should like, it would be to be an honorary Jewish citizen."

--A.L Rowse, authority  on Shakespeare

 

 

Post was written while listening to...Robert Cray, Sleeping In The Ground

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Vicious Whale Hunting in Denmark…

I received an email about whale hunting/killing in the Faroe Islands. The pictures were too much to believe.
But, according to Hoax Slayer, the practice is true. It’s pretty revolting. Here’s the entry from Wikipedia.
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 1
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 2
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 4
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 5
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 6
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 7
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 8
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 9
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 11
Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter 10

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Seats on a plane…

Was boarding a plane the other day. Had my aisle seat reserved.

I get there and there is someone sitting in it. His wife is in the middle seat. The window seat is open.

I look at him and point to my boarding pass.

He nods, gets up, and moves to the window seat. His seat.

Now, I understand that people like aisle seats (I do), and sometimes you hope people won’t show up so that you can take a more desirable seat.

What I didn’t get, however, was why he did that BEFORE everyone was finished boarding?

Was he hoping that I would say “oh, you want the aisle, let me take the window?”

Some, less confrontational than I, might take that exact approach, but it seemed a bit rude to put me in the uncomfortable position.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

why some people shouldn’t be allowed on facebook

Thanks to my sister, Kira, for sending this along.


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Monday, December 07, 2009

Social Search…

Over on the Never Stop Marketing blog, I’ve been sharing the ideas/consequences of “social search.” (For a more in-depth background, see this post from someone I really respect.)

Loosely, the idea is that if you search for something on Google in the future, you will first see the recommendations of people in your network.

Need a contractor? You’ll see the ones your friends have hired and rated.

Same goes for a doctor.

We already do it now on Facebook, but soon the anonymity could be lost.

So, this is great, but what if you are looking for a marital therapist?

You might know which of your friends have also searched/clicked/visited, etc.

Not saying that it WILL happen, but I can see some privacy/sensitivity areas emerging here.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Friday, December 04, 2009

Government Motors…

I hated the idea of the government doing anything to save GM or any car company. Thought it was wrong-headed and putting “good money after bad.”

Here’s an update that confirms many of my fears.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Greatest Game Ever Played…

No, it is not the Giants-Colts NFL championship (which I thought the movie was about), it’s actually the 1913 US Open.

I love sports movies, but this is, as the great ones are, much more than that.

The usual…overcoming adversity, etc. but told in a great way. I was choked up at the end. And this is golf.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

The Cost of Commuting…

To the untrained eye, it would seem that I spend a lot of time doing things other than working during the day.

I drive carpool, exercise, go to events at my kids’ school, run errands.

If you compare me with someone during the 9-5 hours, there are certainly some days when I am “not working,” (though I would argue in the digital age, that I am actually ‘working’ most of the time b/c 1. I have my phone/email with me and 2. a lot of the time I am thinking about business issues, but I digress.)

However, the 9-5 slot is not the full experience, since there is the cost of commuting.

I don’t spend 60-90 minutes each way engaged in the relatively inefficient commuting process when, typically, people are engaged in less than optimal tasks.

My commute is 40 seconds.

And, if I have to drive somewhere, it is with a specific purpose and, typically, I’ll set those meetings up during non-rush hours.

As we move into a new world of work (you may enjoy this video with Adriana where we discuss it), we’ll all want to challenge our assumptions about what working and productivity really means.

9-5 in one place every day makes a lot of sense in a manufacturing-based economy. Not always the case in an true information economy.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Find a husband after 35…

001

 

One of the things I blog about a lot on my Never Stop Marketing blog is the need to be Remarkable in order to thrive in the attention economy.

Well, my friend Marianne, certainly fits the bill.

She lives in Mountain View, CA and works at Google and she is focused on finding a suitable life partner.

She is reading and executing the plan laid out in Find a Husband After 35: (Using What I Learned at Harvard Business School).

Part of that is to make a card that makes it easy and memorable for your network to help you.

Well, this one fit the bill for me.

So, if you know anyone, feel free to contact her.