New Year, New You

2010 has not been kind to a lot of people.

We all need to be reminded that we can "not only survive life’s unexpected changes and transitions but also thrive. Powerful change is possible. You are fully capable of creating a life that you choose."

The people that matter in life will not define you by the mistakes that you have made or the size of your bank account - and those who do define you by those criteria are not worth your time or energy.

Create the future you want. Pursue happiness. Start today.

Quote Of The Week

‎"You were born original. Don't die a copy." ~ John Mason

No Predictions For 2011

"If you allow your thoughts to be infinite so too will be the possibilities you experience." -Bay Ghorishi

It's that time of year again when all the "visionaries" make their predictions for the new year ahead. It's easy to get sucked in this ego-fest and make not so bold statements like "this will be the year of mobile marketing." But making predictions and pontificating doesn't pay the bills for most of us. Ultimately, the best advice for the year ahead is "try harder and think bigger - you are better than you think you are and you can accomplish more than you think you can." That's it.

When you predict what will matter in the year ahead you have already set limitations to what is possible. Stop doing that. As the quote above says, try allowing your thoughts to be infinite and new possibilities will arise.

So let us never speak of 2010 again. It's time to rip off the rear view mirrors and forge ahead.

Spotting Opportunity

Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. -Napoleon Hill

How many times have we chased new business that appeared to be the best/surest opportunity for us only to have wasted time, effort, and money in a futile pursuit. Sometimes spotting opportunity means looking in less obvious places. Sometimes opportunity is where you think you'd find it least - disguised by other factors. I always hated the "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" poster. But, the fact is that there are countless examples in business of people spotting opportunities where others only found defeat.

When Leo Burnett created his advertising agency during the Great Depression, he had a bowl of apples in his lobby for employees and visitors. These apples served as a constant reminder to his critics who said that opening an advertising agency in the middle of the depression was a bad idea. They said he'd soon be selling those apples on the street. However, he saw opportunity where others did not. Today Leo Burnett is an iconic agency employing many thousands of people all over the world.

Remember this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed." - Chinese Proverb

So start looking for opportunities where others are not. Like the proverb says you may be closer than you think.

New York City Quote

“You come to New York to find the ambiance that will evoke your best. You do not necessarily know precisely what that might be, but you come to New York to discover it.” - Anna Wintour

Speaking of No Fear (watch this)

Jeb Corliss wing-suit demo from Jeb Corliss on Vimeo.

Dare To Fail - Again

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly" - Robert F. Kennedy

I have met a great number of "successful" people in my life. And, by "successful" I don't necessarily mean "wealthy" (Unfortunately, the word success is too often tied only to financial success). However, I sincerely believe that every successful person I have met has one thing in common - they do not fear risk.

The fear of risk is perhaps the single greatest factor that separates the "doers" from the "followers." Followers fear risk. They get very uncomfortable with change - they do not like the unknown (Not that there is anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say). On the other hand, most successful people that I have met can not bear to follow - they must go first. They are not afraid to fail because they have the confidence that if they fail - even if they fail to great embarrassment and humiliation - they know they have it within themselves to try again and ultimately win. This trait is not one of arrogance at all, but rather it is based on a kind of inner-strength that may have been there since birth. Often, the battles that these kinds of people fight is with themselves - not external forces (Take it from me, there have been many times that I wanted to punch myself in the face).

I have always been curious if people can overcome their fear of risk. And what happens if they push past this fear and then fail. Will they have the ability to pick themselves up off the ground and try again or will they be so disappointed that they will return to their former self - never to take chances again?

More than anything, I hate to see people give up. As Lance Armstrong said, "pain is temporary but quitting lasts forever."

Quote To Consider

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try."

NEVER FORGET THIS

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

The Art of Design: Hidden Value

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO has said; “There are only two potential futures for any organization: either you innovate and grow, or you get commoditized and ultimately die." He (correctly) goes on to talk about how design should be thought of as a discipline that solves problems, not merely a creative exercise to make cool looking stuff.

In my 20+ years of experience in marketing/communications/technology I have come to believe that the best innovation more often results from great design thinking than it does great business thinking or technological developments. In fact, much of today's technological advances were sparked by design thinking. Designers help change the conversations taking place among a company's marketers, inventors and strategists.

Today's best designers have trained their minds to focus on designing experiences, not just products. Therefore, they are starting to think more like engineers and architects than "art school" grads. And, we're all the beneficiaries of this approach.

So next time you see a "cool design" think deeper and assess what you might really be looking at. Perhaps you are witness to real innovation.

Quote To Consider

"Life is not about accumulation. It's about making a contribution; something of high purpose and meaning." - S. Covey

These Phones Today...

It is truly amazing how quickly the technology is improving on cell phones. We are all witness to an amazing time in history, let alone tech/marketing/advertising, etc.

Human behavior has changed as a result of changing consumer attitudes and the ability for humans to adapt faster to technological advances than any other time in history. That little cell phone in your hand says it all - it empowers you to communicate better, more often, and more freely than at any other time in your life. Of course, this can be used for good or for bad (depending on your perspective, it either provides more freedom or takes your freedom) - but the option is there.

I actually took the photo above using my BlackBerry. And, I was able to immediately email it to a number of people, even from the top of a mountain. Naturally, I took this all for granted.

The times they are a changing...

Quote Of The Day

"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." -Ben Franklin

Hollywood Wants To Be In Ad Business (again)

The big Hollywood talent agencies just can't keep away from Madison Avenue. A few months back WME (the merger of William Morris Agency (WMA) and Endeavor) announced the formation of Lverage (yes, that's how they spell it). It's billed as a new global marketing services company. As I have come to expect from Hollywood, the foundation for Lverage is being built upon some acquisitions and shifting of desks. Their goal is to actually displace - not enhance - a brand's AOR relationship.

I have worked with WMA on a number of initiatives and there are lots of very smart people there. However, until they are able to attract and retain the right leadership for these kinds of "start-ups", it will remain yet another shiny object they dangle in front of brands.

Hollywood is great at dumping money on the desks of execs who already have already achieved financial success (they just don't seem to get the fact that there is no incentive or passion in these kinds of people to work hard any more - they all leave after a few short years). To be successful, Lverage needs leaders that will attract teams of people that will do the real work. And, they need better business development people - people with credibility, not Hollywood types that move on from project to project burning bridges as they go. One thing will never change in the advertising industry - people buy from people first. It will take people with solid relationships and CHARACTER to convince brands that this isn't yet another slick new Hollywood power move.

Many have predicted that Lverage will slowly fade away and dissolve into the big WME machine. That's likely true, but I think the "big agencies" should welcome this kind of competition. Negotiating talent deals is night and day from creating brand strategies and developing creative that drives consumer actions. Oh, and working with demanding brand clients is a lot different than pacifying a temperamental movie star. Right?

Quote Of The Week

"If your agency doesn't produce much actual work, you might be a consultancy. Up your rates accordingly." - Lee Clow

The Endless Goodbye (India) - Great Spot

Endless Goodbye from JWT Delhi on Vimeo.

Production Agencies Evolve

I found it timely that Match.com decided that they didn't need a "traditional" agency to implement the vision the Match team had for their campaign. Instead, they relied solely on their production company and internal resources to create and launch the campaign. Here's a quote from their EVP about the decision:

"We were in an RFP process and we had this idea. We had this vision about the campaign, and when we started talking directly with the production company, we decided to try this out with one date. When you work with an agency, you work with many different vendors. With Picture Shack, it was a one-stop shop. We used directors [our contact has] worked with and then everything was done in the production shop form pre-production all the way through to editing. We have the same team touch every piece of the entire campaign; I think it's pretty unheard of in the industry."

Advertising agencies will continue to see competition from places they did not expect. They are no longer the "safe choice" they once were and therefore need to start re-positioning their service offerings and messaging to address this fact with brands. When the agency starts acknowledging that the have their eyes wide open and understand that the brand/client has more choices, brands will come to respect and rely on the agencies more.

It's an open-source world in more ways than technologically. So, be open in your thinking and your discussions with potential clients.

Branson likes me!

Got this email:

Richard Branson is now following you on Twitter!

Very cool if he himself actually clicked to follow me. Doubtful he has time for that though.

Anyway, he's a guy I really respect so it's fun to think he might have read something I posted.

The Future of Advertising

We are often too obsessed about what the future will hold and "what's next?" in our industry. But you gotta love this quote from the always clever Saneel Radia:

"When a brand only says the same thing and only talks about itself, there are drawbacks. If you're the guy at the party doing that, I'd want to punch you in the face. I don't care to hear all the time about the new exciting things you have going. I'd like you to behave a bit more humanly. That's why I think we'll probably see things that look a lot less integrated. We may start to embrace the one-off a little more. I say that realizing that 'one-off' is regarded as a dirty word—'that's a great idea but it's a one-off.' But it shouldn't have a negative meaning. We'll see ideas that are created specifically for a particular medium. The same brand can act differently in different environments yet have its message based on the same core values throughout. Over the next 10 years, I think we'll see less uniform integration."

Read the full article at http://bit.ly/dT8vG1

What is Leadership Really About?

True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders.-R.Townsend.

When you are around great leadership, you just know it. Whether it be in business, government, or the military, it's easy to spot the great leaders from the average ones. They have energy and passion for sure, but more importantly they have a way of bringing people together with a common purpose - a purpose that is crystal clear and inspiring. In other words, great leaders unify people - not divide them. And the extraordinary ones understand that their leadership is meant to benefit others, not themselves.

In the business world, leaders do not always come in the form of CEO's, sometimes they are account managers, strategists, or creative types. Their role is unimportant to them, it is the qualities they have as people that matter, not what it says on their business card.

Leaders are not always winners, in fact some of the best are those that have failed at one point or another. These failures make them even more valuable as leaders, because they understand that the outcome of their actions won't always be defined as a success.

Leaders must always be willing to roll up their sleeves with co-workers and involve others in the pursuit of common goals. But most of all, the really great leaders have humility and compassion. Being a truly great leader isn't always about vision and courage - a real leader will not be able to motivate people if those people feel that he or she does not understand what makes them tick.

Think about the great leaders you've know in your life. Jot down those attributes that you feel made them great. I bet that things like "hard worker" and "persuasive" are low on the list of what you thought made them effective.

Quote Of The Week

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." - Bill Gates