June 2009

This, of course, is the most intuitive statement ever. Duh. But, you would be surprised how many people I’ve met, in biz and otherwise, that don’t subscribe to this basic belief. I’m 46 and for the past few years I’ve embarked on some new “hobbies.” I started playing the piano (reading music is like a new language and an excellent way to get the brain working first thing in the a.m.). I picked up golf (without a doubt my top new obsession). People always ask if golf has been good for my business and I say, no, it’s been good for my spirit. I started toying with taking French (I studied it in college and realized on a recent trip to Paris that I still had a cursory understanding of the language). And this is all great. But, the coolest thing I’ve done recently is to launch a Word of Mouth division—which I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t been willing to learn something new.

I remember a meeting I had with one of Hollywood’s hottest talent agencies a few years back. At the time they were trying to help one of the clients find ways to monetize their social media platform. Back then it seemed like a knotty problem. We all remember the discussions around “How the heck is You Tube going to make money?” Social media. It’s been an interesting journey, and it’s really just the beginning. If I hadn’t been willing to learn something new, I wouldn’t have launched our WOM division. I know other agencies that started this division, hit a bump because of the economy and dumped it. Thankfully, we plowed through. We have two campaigns currently running and the numbers/ROI on these programs are staggering.

What’s at the heart of learning something new? Curiosity, definitely. But you know what generally stops people from learning something new? Their ego. Its humbling to admit you don’t know something. When I started taking golf lessons my pro said I was a good pupil. This was an interesting observation because for years I had been a pretty bad pupil. But by that time I had had a few humbling experiences that reminded me that if I wanted to get better at something I’d better listen to the experts.

So, go for it. Chuck the ego, get a little more curious and get ready to learn something new. It just might be great for biz.

Truth be told, we have a manageable company. Meaning, if I let my peeps run hog wild with their favorite social media pastimes, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc. I can keep a pretty good handle on their productivity, or lack thereof. Well, I can’t, but my VPs can and they do. And here’s the thing for us: there is no lack of productivity. In our business if things aren’t happening it’s obvious pretty darn soon. And then we all know what happens. Heads roll (ok, not really, but it can get intense.) 

So, as we grow (and we are) what will our social media policy look like? Let’s see. When there were only 5 of us, providing everyone with great insurance, excellent vacation time and their own Blackberry was no problem. But since we’re growing this cost just keeps growing. What are we supposed to do, stop providing insurance? Uh, no. So, in a similar way, as a smallish company dedicated to leveraging social media for our clients, why would I want to limit my staff’s ability to interact with their favorite social media platforms. I wouldn’t. They need to know what is going on out there and how it all works. As we grow, however, will this be a problem? Not sure. But here’s what I do know, social media isn’t going anywhere (though I think that moniker will probably change up in the near future). For a communications company, not allowing our teams to connect via these new platforms makes no sense at all. A lot of the traffic on our own website is generated via our individual Facebook accounts. So, I’m a fan of giving our people access to their social media fix. Is this good advice for everyone? Maybe not. But thankfully it’s good for us. And we love it!

Very weird. Newspapers are going out of business. The Boston Globe, The Seattle Post Intelligencer, the Philadelphia Daily News, the Minneapolis Stare Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Detroit News, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Daily News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Stalwarts of local news and views, these trusty sources of information are beginning to die away. I even remember when some big cities could support two newspapers (New York still does in its own way: The New York Post, New York Daily News and THE NEW YORK TIMES, among others…) The information age is taking it’s toll on newsprint. People want their news when they want it. And that means if a story is developing they want to follow the developments, minute by minute. When the plane came down in the Hudson I went online and watched in real time what was happening (courtesy of CNN). Meanwhile, Twitter got the story first—an interesting development for a social media platform. One could probably smell a bit of doom for the papers when their own writers were skipping off to do blogs (just to keep the news fresh, plus REALLY express a thought or opinion). In a time when the world is shifting so dramatically maybe readers want opinions and not just unbiased news. Maybe they want to know what other people are thinking… The rise of the blog would suggest this sentiment.

I’ve always found newspapers unwieldy, dirty hands making and a waste of paper. Not that the information in the pages isn’t important and in fact is one of the best things about a free society. But the actual paper itself is a bit of a pain to deal with. Getting news online is fast and doesn’t kill a tree. BUT, people (myself included) enjoy the prospect of actually having something “in hand.” I’m a sentimentalist by nature. I will almost always default to emotional attachments. So when a paper goes down, no matter how messy or irritating it is to read, I’m going to feel a pang of nostalgia. But time is moving on and things are going to keep changing (and fast!)

Not sure. Let’s take a look. 

Golf. Sure Tiger rocks out with the putter (or he did), but he’s also hot. Camillo Villegas, he is VERY good for golf.

You may or may not like him, but Donny Deutsch is good looking (even with those funny glasses) and it has certainly helped his career. Yes, he’s smart, of course, but he’s cute. And that’s good for TV.

Barack Obama. He’s got that fab tall frame and winning smile. Very nice looking leader of the free world.

IS THIS THE MOST VAPID BLOG EVER? Yep.

We aren’t going to mention actors or entertainers, they’re supposed to be good looking, and generally are, even when they aren’t (aka Robert Pattinson—please don’t throw anything!)

And how about Ed Viesturs mountain climber extraordinaire? Sure, he’s able to climb the top 14 tallest peaks without oxygen, but I suspect it’s his toothy smile that landed him all those endorsement deals.

I could go on and make a total fool of myself so I’ll stop here…

With all these hotties notwithstanding, when you start scrolling down the venerable list of Fortune 500 CEOs you might not find the best looking group of people (this is SO incorrect). And that basically gives us our answer. NO, good looking is not necessarily good for business. But it’s a nice bonus.