Want to be a mensch and still make money?

I just wanted to talk briefly of the importance of being a gentleman (or a mensch, as it’s referred to in Yiddish) in business, and dispelling the myth that being a mensch and making lots of money are mutually exclusive.

Seems to me sometimes that it’s often a case of good old-fashioned greed running amuck – and that’s really bad, I am afraid to say.

Want to be a mensch, and still make money? Then here’s a few things to bear in mind:

1. Always take a meeting request, unless the requestor is rude, arrogant and unreliable: Should be a no-brainer, but alas this cardinal rule is often ignored. We all have something to learn from everyone else – and you just never know where and how you may gain your next piece of intelligence

2. Never, ever forget to return a phone call or an email: Same as 1. above, not matter how rich and famous you think you are, return all phone calls promptly. If nothing else, you’re doing the right thing – and doing the right thing is as important, (if not more so), than making money

3. Always, always, always stay in touch: It never ceases to amaze me of the business I win by just staying in touch with people. It’s easy to stay in touch with someone when you can smell business or are on the brink of a deal. Staying in touch before the deal is made is easy. What happens if you did not win the deal? Not as easy staying in touch then huh? Well, I do – and as I said, it’s happened several times in the past 15 years, that I won the business after I had lost it to someone else (who made lofty promises that were broken), just because I stayed in touch

4. Do what you say: Another “gotcha” – doing what you say may sound hard and for sure sometimes is. Try it! You’ll gain credibility big time … and it’s easy since I’ve heard horror story after horror story of people doing one thing and saying another. It’s simple, “If you say it, then do it”. I’ve been pitching some new business for the past few weeks. Last week the potential client said he’d call me back today. And I thought “Yeah right”. We’ll guess what? He called me when he said he would, and although I did not win the business, he did what he said. It took him no more than 3 minutes to make the call. And I appreciated it. Will I say in touch? “Hell Yeah”

5. Finally, don’t hide half truths: They say the truth hurts. I say, “Concealing a fact is tantamount to telling a lie”. It’s all about straight talk – and that’s where I will leave it for today.

Some say you can be a mensch. Others say you can make money. I say, “You can be a mensch and still make money”– I know that to be true – and I have 20 years of work wealth and being a mensch behind me to prove that.

Cheers

Dear Blog - I am sorry

Dear Blog,

I am sorry that I have not written on you over the past few months. The truth of the matter is that I just have not felt like it, on top of the fact that I have been really busy. Anyway, no excuse is a good one --- but suffice it to say that I am sorry.’
So, what’s been happening the past few months --- well, actually a lot --- a hell of a lot

1. Both kids have been at sleep away camp for the past 4 weeks. Amanda comes home tomorrow and Jason will be back in 2 weeks. It’s been strangely quiet without them – and I am wondering if this is a good or a bad thing.

2. I was fortunate enough to see U2 in Toronto a couple of weeks ago … wow. These guys still have it. We were on the floor at the Rogers Centre. The weather was perfect and the Irish lads were in fine form. Also to note was that the weather was picture perfect … it was quite the sight, watching the sun set with the CN Tower in the background, all offset by U2’s very imposing stage set

3. Hmm … my fitness. As I mentioned dear blog, I have been running very hard – and as a result, I have not been working out as often as I should be. I promise I will be more diligent. Working out makes me feel so much better in every way

4. Karen and I went to Mexico (Cancun to be precise) and we had an awesome time. A day or so into our vacation, we met some awesome people (Kay and Lizzy from Scotland, Kristin and Kerri from Vegas as well as Mike, Goldie, Cory and Ryan from Atlanta --- and we all hit it off immediately. Now that I look back – it is amazing how profoundly each of these special people affected our vacation (in positive ways. Since I get sort of bashful when writing on my blog, I will spare the details – but suffice it to say – we had an awesome time.

5. The summer … well, now that the summer is in full swing --- I can see the end of it … and it ends in a month … bah humbug

So, dear blog, it’s almost midnight – time for bed. Another day,

Love,

John.

Tech - don't you hate it?

As I sat down at Starbucks this morning, my mobile rang. It was one of my kids' friends' moms. (Let's call her Carole).

"So, are you on your way to do carpool," she asked me. I was surprised, as I was downtown, at least an hour's drive away from anything carpool-related. I pinched myself - "Carpool?", I muttered angrily, questioning myself.

I asked Carole to hold while I called my wife dreading what she's day. "Had I dropped the ball? Had she dropped the ball"

After 30 seconds with my wife on the phone, she too knew nothing about either of us and carpool.

I got back to Carole to give her the news - my heart palpitating. She was chuckling heartily. So, what happened?

She had used voice activated dialling, saying to her mobile, "Call John!"
The (dumb) phone called me instead of the other John, Carole's carpool buddy.

Technology - don't you hate it!

The Price Objection

One of the things I always and cognizant of is price.

That in mind, I wanted to highlight something that my good friend Tim Rooney, of Rooney Earl (http://www.rooneyearl.com/) sent me …

It’s so important in our world.

Sometime fifty years ago, on a sunny afternoon in Paris, the sidewalks were alive. At a café in the Place Royale in Marais an austere woman was about to experience the ultimate romance of the city. Seated beside her, nearly unrecognizable in his late age, was the famous painter Pablo Picasso.

“Je m’excuse, Mr. Picasso,” she said with her best pronunciation, “would you sketch me?” and in her request coyly slid a napkin across the table between them.

Picasso contemplated the woman for a moment then pulled a pen from his coat, saying nothing. When he finished he slid the napkin back to the woman, who nearly wept in exaltation.

“Merci, Merci!” she exclaimed, “what can I pay you?” the woman asked half-heartedly reaching for her purse.

“5000 Francs madame,” replied the painter. “5000 Francs?! But it only took you five minutes?” “Je m’excuse madame, in fact it took me all my life.”

Ah the price objection. That stubborn, tight-purse stringedness that we understand all too well when we’re the one holding the purse – usually a last resort negotiating tactic for big purchases like televisions. And for some of us the negotiation itself can become such a thrill we find ourselves haggling over $5 trinkets in fishing towns. But when you’re running a business the price objection is an unwelcome obstacle. Many of us find it difficult and aggravating to defend our price, especially when that price is already competitive. There is a better way.

When in business, do like Picasso
Picasso wasn’t daunted by the request of an overbearing tourist asking him to draw her portrait. Demanding clients are par for the course. Usually those same demanding clients are the ones who want the best price too. Leaving aside the “discount debate,” have you ever thought about what you’re worth? Picasso understood that all his years of study and work as a painter created in him a value that extended far beyond five minutes of drawing.

Why defend your price when you can explain your value?
Another way to contemplate value is through your differentiator. Think about computer programs with their checkmark columns that distinguish the basic kit from the premium from the professional. In these scenarios it’s obvious to see that the professional package is the most comprehensive – maybe more than you want or everything you need. But what about your competitor’s “professional package?” When all the checkmarks matchup between you and the competition, inevitably there has to be some differentiator that tips the scales of the customer’s mind – preferably in your favour.

Don’t dare to compare, be different!
Establishing the worth of your time and experience is fundamental in understanding your value. Once you know your worth you can easily communicate it to your customer. But there is a caveat – value is perceived in the mind of the customer. Lead with your differentiator, prove yourself an expert, and insist absolutely on value over price.

What I learned from Blackberry

So, I have been in Blackberry hell for the past few days. Why? Simple! After months of having two devices (iPod for music and Blackberry for everything else), I decided to transfer all my music onto my Blackberry. Simple, or so I thought. Wrong! It’s working better, but still not right.

Over the course of the last 4 days, here’s what I have spent the past 6 hours doing, (mostly with the assistance of Blackberry’s tier two tech support):

Rebooted my PC at least 8 times
Uninstalled old software from my PC and Blackberry
Installed new software onto my PC and Blackberry
Uninstalled the new software from my PC and Blackberry
Reinstalled the software again
Formatted my Blackberry’s memory chip in my device (twice)

You can see where I am going with this – and it’s not to a good place. Anyway, here’s what I learned from the many interactions I had and will still have with RIM tech support:

1. Answer each call promptly – The reason why people are calling is because they need answers and they’re frustrated. Putting them on hold for 15 minutes with an annoying message saying how important your customers are to you is hardly appeasing. In fact it’s downright aggravating. Respect the fact that your customers’ time is no less valuable than your own

2. Speak the language – I am no racist and have no issues getting help from anyone who can fix my problem. But when I hit 2 for English, then I think it is fair for me to expect the person on the other end of the phone to actually speak and understand English

3. Keep notes – Since I had to call in at least 7 times over the past 3 days, I really enjoyed the fact that each call had been well documented. Although I spoke to a different agent each time, it was clear they had comprehensive and accurate notes as to what the person prior did or said

4. Know your stuff (winging it is not good enough or as my father says, pretty good is actually petty bad) – Again, the reason why people call tech support is because they want their problem fixed as fast as possible. They are not really interested in the complexities of computing – they just want their problem fixed

5. Be open – This is a 24 hour world. People work off-shifts and do all-nighters --- even I do from time to time. Nothing sucks as much as not being able to have your problem solved anytime

Are my problems all solved?
Yes, except for one quirk that seems more to be a gmail thing than a Blackberry issue. Does Blackberry score well on all the above? Hell yea!

How To Be Taken Seriously - First in a Series

One of the things that so many marketing people battle with is being taken seriously. In many instances, they behave like complete asses and then wonder why they suffer from lack of credibility. And I hate is when that happens because it’s a blight on the whole industry.

The week before last, my friend Peter Shankman had to get from New York to San Diego for a keynote speech. It was during another monstrous snow storm in the north east. Knowing there was going to be a storm, he made a backup plan. He booked the Continental 8:45 EWR-SAN, then booked the Continental 2:45 EWR-SAN as a backup, pretty sure the 8:45 would be cancelled. And of course, it was, and he was like, “It’s cool, I’m on the 2:45.” And it was cool, until the 2:45 was cancelled, as well.

At that point, most people would have pulled the “act of God” clause, and either cancelled altogether, or done the presentation via Skype or similar. They still would have demanded to be paid, despite the fact that as cool as Skype is, it’s still a million years away from being there in person.

If you want to be taken seriously, you simply can’t work that way.

Simply put, Shankman gave his word. He told someone (or in this case, 200 people) that he’d be at a certain place at a certain time, and they’d arranged their schedules to make sure they got to see him. How people view how you value your word is worth more than any speaker’s fee.

I don’t care who you are, you never have a right to break your word.

Peter made alternate plans, arrived there at 3:00am, and although tired, was in good enough shape to make his keynote at 8:00am. Yeah, he had to drink 5 Diet Pepsis- but that’s what it takes.

Want to be taken seriously? Honor your word. Do what Shankman did and what I would do. Show up. Don’t blame anyone or anything and do your best.

The Similarities Between Poker and PR

One of my hobbies is poker. I have been playing the game since I was a kid. It’s fun. It’s amusing. It’s sociable. It’s also important to note that if you play well, it can help with one’s finances, ie you win more than you lose. And although I will never make it to the world series, overt the years, I have won significantly more than I have lost. Over the years, the stakes for which we play have increased and are now at the point where one needs to be careful. For me, poker is not about making big bucks – and it’s not about taking your buddy down. It’s about fun and camaraderie. I often show my hand when I am not called – that’s sportsmanship.

That said, there are many similarities between poker and public relations (my profession), that should be noted:

1. Never bitch – Ever notice those sorry people that sit on the sidelines? The wallflowers? They complain about everything. They also tend to have few (if any) friends. Every circumstance is wrong – and that’s the reason why they lost at poker – or were crucified by an angry public. If things are going against you (and they sometimes do), stop complaining. Every time you do, you look like a putz and two things happen. First you look like a sore loser and second, when things finally go your way, people won’t call you (in poker) or be interested in your achievements (in PR)

2. Play the cards you are dealt, not those you wish you had. Sounds like a no brainer, but it seldom is. It’s easy to imagine that you have that elusive straight flush, but it’s no fun looking down at your hand to discover that all you have is a miserable pair of threes. It’s no secret that they way you’d play your threes is entirely different from how you’d play the straight flush. In PR, work what you have and stop wishing for other scenarios – they seldom change

3. Show up on time – another cardinal rule of poker and PR that is often broken. If the game starts at 8:15pm, then show up at 8:15pm. In as much as it’s not cool to show up late for a client meeting, it’s not cool to show up late at poker. Why? Well, for two reasons. First, you want to feel out the flow and tempo of the game before it actually begins and second, arriving late is likely to stress you out. It’s never good to arrive stressed out at a client – and it’s never good to arrive stressed out at a poker game. You need to be relaxed to win.

4. Look around you. Poker, like PR is not all about you – it’s about your surroundings as well. In as much as you’d never issue a news release without understanding what your competitors are doing, so to do you need to look around at what’s happening with the rest of the table. Proud of your trip fives, well, what happens if a flush is on the board and you’re playing against four others, each of whom are raising … well guess what? Suddenly your trip fives are not that good.

That said, poker’s just a game and thank goodness I do not need to make a living playing it.