Time away - NYC & Jim

It was an amazing trip to NYC. Just 36 hours in the Big Apple, but it felt like a week vacation. Part of it had to do with my friend Jim. He is not only one of the most generous people I know, he is truly fun to be with all the time. He "trains butt every day," speaks several languages, is an accomplish vascular surgeon and is one of my FIVE. The FIVE are the First In Vital Extremes - the first five people who help you manage your life. They may or may not be part of your biological family, but as you move through life, you realize they are family. When you have the highs or the lows, the FIVE are always there.

We went to the Tenement Museum seen above and really had fun! We also made time for Therapy, a fun bar in MidTown (see my review of it on Yelp!) and JoeDoe's - perfect for brunch. Just remember, it is always important to get away from the day to day and experience life!

Principal for a Day

Today I served as Principal for a Day with Andrew Pulver at Lee Elementary in Rossmoor.  More to come on that soon! What cool things are smartboards and the new CGI learning process.

Another Day of Disappointment

Today the California Supreme court rendered its decision regarding the constitutional process of Proposition 8. The justices determined that the 18,000 couples who got married in the narrow window of time from June 2008 to November 2008 were still legally married, but that after Proposition 8, gay and lesbian couples can not get married. It was a great disappointment to hear of this reversal of fortune - again. As a citizen who is a business leader, community activist and taxpayer, it is so frustrating to have the courts fail to protect my rights and uphold the rights of the majority. If the courts won't do it, who or what will? Clearly the LGBT community will have to move to more radical measures to be taken seriously and credibly.

Returning from an absence

Well, it has been a bit since my last post. Primarily due to some local activism, a busier than usual client schedule and two bouts of illness (one bad flu and the other a badly pulled back). In that time, there has been quite a bit of shift within the business community, a series of articles which I have written and more material which affects the life of small business in Southern California. I will likely be back on a 5x a week schedule. A special thanks today for our Veteran's since today is Memorial Day. If not for the lives, dedication and service of those men and women in our Armed Services, we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today. Thank a veteran for their service today!

Insanity?

The definition of insanity (by some) is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. In business this is especially true - be sure to look at what you are doing and if it isn't working, stop vacilating and change it! Don't wait - do it now, or your competition will!

Developing change

What does it take to produce change in business? Is it pain or vision?

Is it negative?

I am blaming it on The Secret. Okay maybe not - but I must say that the idea of positive thinking (which I am all for, by the way) is really being taken advantage of or misunderstood of late.

In the past, there have been clients who ask us to go back and revise something we had created a while ago that they have already been using because it contained too much "negative language."

One even referenced the book and The Law of Attraction. I'm not saying that having a positive attitude is a bad thing. But I do think it's more of a concept than an absolute.

Then the topic came up just the other day in yet another client meeting on a current project, so this has been on my mind quite a bit lately.

As a copywriter, I strongly believe that sometimes it is more powerful to speak in the negative. Maybe I'm wrong, but let me share with you my thoughts on this topic.

Words like never, don't or won't can be potent triggers. They can connote a depth of conviction, in my opinion. I like to use them as a contrast to give the copy a twist or really pound home a point without pulling out the hammer.

"We'll never charge you for the same repair twice" is a more powerful statement than the same concept written in the positive.

"We don't do banker's hours" feels stronger than the statements "we have evening hours" or "we're open until 7".

"Our viscosity standards will never be compromised" is pretty tough to state in a positive way with as much conviction. Depending on your message, "negative" might not be so negative.

Recovery

It was a strong event on Monday night. Two and half hours of public testimony from the business community to the City Council. Quite a bit of press! So great! I will say that it was both positive and humbling to be called from the dais by the Mayor. It reminded me that there is no such thing as bad publicity. I think that we are going to see some new changes by the City Council to budget issues and concerns of business. Stay tuned - this is a going to be quite a ride. Finally we have produced dramatic change.

Preparation & public speaking

You should spend an week working on a speech of 30 seconds, a day on a speech of 2 minutes and a hour on a speech of 5 minutes.  On a speech of more that that, spend only as long as you feel you might need.  We tend to over talk our points - whether in government, sales or simply to each other.  The rehearsal of the material is also critical - as I have mentioned before, you need to be focused on practice, practice, practice!

Tonight, I will hopefully join with business people to actively recruit the City to help business in a tangible way.  More on that later. . .

Sunday business

Sunday is a great day for retail and shopping.  A late opening and early close - say 10 am to 4 pm captures most of the customers who are done with morning activities and are taking time to spend it with family and wander around a Main Street or shopping area.  There is a certain idle pleasure in walking about and simply "window shopping."

There is also something to be said for the weather in our community.  Though stormy, cold and overcast it cleared up but stayed windy this afternoon.  Truly a blustery day.  If we can, we should stay more in tune with the weather and cycles of time, we may connect with customers more easily.