Do you do the toughest thing first?

Posted on December 16, 2010 by markkolier

In everything you do personally or professionally there are easy things and difficult things when it comes to your daily task list. If you are like me, you have a to-do list on which you list the important tasks of the day or week. There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with crossing things off the list.

My question to you is do you do the easiest things first to cross them off your list and then tackle the real thorny problems? Or do you climb that mountain first and tackle the toughest task and then have things get easier from there?

For example, I don’t love going to the gym. I’m fine with it once I am there but before I go, I am thinking about it frequently before I arrive. So I’ve addressed that by making the bulk of my gym visits the first think I do in the morning. Leaving before 6AM in order to be back home (where I prefer to shower and get ready for work) is also hard but when I’m on my way back from the gym at 6:45AM I often think that for the most part I’m done with the most arduous part of my day.

Some days when I get to work I know I’ve got a task on my list that is either highly unpleasant and/or a great deal of work. There is always temptation to knock off the less pressing tasks on my list but I try my best to avoid that temptation and tackle the big one(s) first while I am still somewhat fresh and not worn down from a long work day. And I always feel better once I’ve begun working on that tough task because getting started is often the most difficult part. What happens after that is that (most of the time) the task never seems to be as difficult as I thought and more importantly the worst is behind me.

Whether it’s a family issue that needs to be hashed out or a business issue, procrastinating seems to only make the task less palatable. If you are thinking of a New Year’s resolution I suggest that you start taking on the toughest things first. I guarantee you will give yourself a great gift.

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You can’t have a signed copy of an e-book

Posted on December 15, 2010 by markkolier

I received a nice gift from a good friend and associate last week. It was a signed copy of restaurateur Danny Meyer’s 2006 book ‘Setting the Table’ (very good book too). I didn’t know it was signed until I opened the cover and saw the signature. It made me smile and it made me think about e-books and the constant drone that e-readers and e-books are going to eliminate the need for the printed book.

Having spent a good part of my career helping clients put ink on paper – a business that has changed (ok been reduced) dramatically I can relate to new technologies sweeping out the status quo. And while I still enjoy my 1st generation Amazon Kindle, I find that I carry it around mostly when I am traveling as a hedge to be sure I always have more than enough to read. I still enjoy a good old-fashioned printed book –hardcover or soft cover.

Now there are color e-readers and they come with even more features. This morning I read in the New York Times http://nyti.ms/dPXmMI about e-readers that can display picture books in spread form such that you can see the spread page as the author intended in the actual book. I think that is a good and useful feature. And yet I wonder if Mom or Dad and their young child would ‘curl up’ to read a picture e-book?
If you are out at a book signing would you ever hand over your Nook to the author to sign the latest copy of their hot new book? I am sure there will be a way (if there isn’t already) for authors to sign e-versions of their books. But to me it will never be or feel the same.

The point is that there is ample room for both e-readers and printed books to compatibly co-exist. I don’t want to give up my printed newspaper (although when I travel I am happy to read the e-version of my favored publications), or magazines. And I’ll say it –I am willing to pay more for the expense to put actual ink on paper.

I’m not sure it’s a luxury to have a printed book but if I were to have a signed copy of a book from any author, an e-signed book would leave me cold.

How about you?

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How the NCAA is like the Chinese Government

Posted on December 13, 2010 by markkolier

The National Collegiate Athletic Association was officially constituted in 1906 and took its present name in 1910. It was the flying wedge, football’s major offense in 1905 that spurred the formation of the NCAA. In its early years the NCAA was primarily a discussion group and rules oriented group, but in 1921 (source –NCAA.org – http://bit.ly/a63r9M ) the first NCAA championship was held.

In the years since its founding college sports have become a huge money making business. And big money is earned for the universities, for television and radio networks, and for the officials that make up the governing body of the NCAA itself. Current NCAA President Mark A. Emmert (named April 27, 2010), has a base salary of well over $ 500,000 annually. So it follows that the NCAA governing body brass is a well-paid bunch. They do not want to give up power. Sound familiar?

Two weeks ago Auburn quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton was ruled eligible to continue playing despite the fact that reportedly his father had been involved in a ‘pay-for-play’ scheme. This was apparently unbeknownst to his son.

USC athletic director Pat Haden told The Los Angeles Times that he was surprised by the NCAA’s ruling on Newton. USC was hit with sanctions this past summer in the wake of the Reggie Bush investigation. (Full disclosure – I am a USC alumni) “In the Reggie Bush case, when the parent [did] something inappropriate the kid and the school suffered,” Haden told The Times.

Bush returned the Heisman Trophy and the school was hit with a postseason ban, scholarship reductions and probation after the NCAA found that Bush and his parents accepted extra benefits from agents and sports marketers when Bush was at USC.

For the record I am not unhappy that Mr. Newton remained eligible to compete. I do feel that the two situations are not at all dissimilar but the response from the NCAA is inequitable.
How is the NCAA like the Chinese Government? For one thing both have a bunch of old-timers who are trying their hardest to hold onto their power when the world around them is changing rapidly. The Chinese government response to Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo’s situation reminded me of how the NCAA handles things. The both handle things heavy-handedly and without equanimity.

And yet I believe that even the Chinese government is changing slowly, (but for the better) at a greater rate than is the NCAA. At least it seems as if the Chinese government is conscious of the world outrage at them disallowing one of their own citizens to go and collect one of the highest honors awarded on the planet.

The NCAA’s refusal to consider ‘pay-for-play’ athletes is evidence that they simply are not in touch with what is going on. Seventeen and eighteen year old athletes like Reggie Bush and Cam Newton help contribute millions of dollars to their universities, their cities, and the NCAA itself. They take a huge risk in doing so from the standpoint that an injury could end their careers and thus their earning potential as an athlete. Offering them a four year education and room and board is not a fair trade.

I say give them a four year education that they can use at any time and ask them to be enrolled in one class at the university for the time that they are participating in an NCAA sport. Pay them a salary – a decent salary. This way when a wealthy alumni comes along and offers to take care of the athlete’s parents by buying them a house they will have reason to resist an irresistible temptation. Think about it. Could you really pass on taking care of your parents if you had the means and opportunity?

To me it’s a sad commentary when the socialist government of China and an organization like the NCAA cannot be seen as being ideologically that far apart. True the NCAA has not gone out and ‘eliminated’ dissenters as the Chinese government has done but somehow I have a belief that things will change in China before they do in the NCAA.

What do you think?

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Assistants and Associates have to be better at screening phone calls

Posted on December 10, 2010 by markkolier

I called a good friend of mine the other evening at his office at 5PM. He just took a very important job at a big investment firm. Since he has moved over there he’s called me several times and I have called him back several times but we’ve not been able to connect and are engaged in an old-fashioned game of phone tag.

When I called an assistant (nice sounding) answered his phone. I asked if he was in and she said ‘Yes may I ask who is calling’. OK so that would mean that he was in the office I thought. I told her who I was and she put me on hold and then got back on and said he was in a meeting and could she take a message. Huh? Didn’t she know he was in a meeting before that? Or maybe my call was not important enough to interrupt his meeting but apparently other calls might have been? It did not make me feel all warm and fuzzy that’s for sure.

I am counting on the fact that my longtime friend had no intention of disrespecting me, but if I did not know better that’s exactly how I would feel. This led me to thinking that there needs to be more training of people on your team on how to better handle people that call.

Before there were emails and faxes the telephone was the primary way to reach people. Yes I know – so old school. And years ago I made a lot of phone calls – cold calls too. It got to the point that I began to write down and number the excuses the administrative assistants (read secretaries in those days) would give me as to why so and so could not take my call. One of my favorites was (#47) ‘He’s in his office but he’s out of his office’. It actually left me speechless whether it was intentional or not.

I (like everyone) still get cold calls as well and don’t have caller ID in my office so occasionally people get through to me. I appreciate good professional approach and will give time to those that take the time to ask if this is a good time for me and what they want to discuss. But if someone else in my office picks up my phone extension I only expect that whoever it is be treated as if they are an important person from the start. Until we know that is not the case we have to assume it is.

Here are three tips on what to say when screening a phone call if you are not sure if that person can be disturbed or not:

1) Let me check to find out if he has a moment
2) She has someone in her office but let me check
3) He’s on a call – would you like to be put into his voice mail?

You would not want to disrespect your friends or your possible next big customer would you?

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Borders Books and Barnes & Noble getting together

Posted on December 8, 2010 by markkolier

My first thought when I read it Tuesday morning in the New York Times http://nyti.ms/dEthVh was – what took so long? The bookstore market has been shrinking for years and to have these two companies beat each other up for a declining market share just seemed stupid. While the idea is not new it took William A. Ackman’s track record to get people’s attention and interest.

What’s also interesting is that Google recently announced http://nyti.ms/hNVvqO that it is set to open an E-book Marketplace. The timing of both of these news items is probably not a simple coincidence.
I like going into bookstores (either Borders or B & N as the customer experience in both places seems similar to me) but don’t go all that often. And bookstores continue to offer a very different feel from libraries although if libraries start serving coffee and food I wonder if they will further their growing usage across the United States. (Some libraries do and many university libraries already do…)

My son likes to go to Borders and check out the latest Manga which he can read in the store – without purchasing – sort of like a library. The bookstore employees expect this as you can find many people reading books in the store that don’t necessarily purchase anything. This might seem a bit odd but the overall atmosphere is good in both Borders and B & N and that laissez-faire attitude is appealing to people and contributes to why people like to go there to browse.

Another thing I like about those mega-bookstores is the ability to get a free wireless connection. Again something that is very appealing and makes people want to go there and spend some time reading, working, maybe drinking coffee. And sometimes they might even buy a book.

The news had both company’s stock prices on the rise and that’s also no surprise. Calling off a war will surely offer opportunities for cost savings as a shared effort to offer a vastly different experience as opposed to that of Amazon’s Kindle and other e-reader companies (Barnes & Noble has its own e-reader called the ‘Nook’) should offer some protection from new competition in the bookstore marketplace. I’ve wondered for a while why libraries also do not offer books for sale. Think about it – why not?

E-books are great and here to stay and that market will continue to grow but printed books are also here to stay. I don’t think consumers are ready yet for a world without bookstores where books could only be purchased online or taken out at the library. So I hope that the union of Borders and B & N is a long and successful one.

One last question – with all the business reading I do and all the content available to read online I find it so difficult to take time to read as many books as I’d like, so I ask how many books do you read per year?

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The problem is it isn’t real life

Posted on December 6, 2010 by markkolier

At our agency we talk about the value of authenticity in marketing and that people can sense when they are being put on. Last week’s news featured reports http://bit.ly/gKfszd from Celebration, Florida on a murder that took place on over the Thanksgiving holiday. Ordinarily that would not be all that remarkable except that it was the first murder ever recorded in this community created by Walt Disney in the 1990’s. Disney did relinquish control several years ago and the now independent community is simply part of Osceola County. At the outset the idyllic community received criticism that it was a bit ‘too perfect’ – almost ‘Stepford Wives’ – like.

Celebration is a town where people give Christmas gifts to their favorite Starbucks barista, where welcoming wooden rocking chairs sit lakeside on a sidewalk without being stolen, and where reportedly neighbors tend to get suspicious if they notice you’re not around.

What has always troubled me about the whole idea of Celebration is that it represents intentional in-authenticity. It was as if people there wanted to live a life that they could only dream might be possible. But what if the dream turned out to be a nightmare?

Another place (oddly in Florida as well) that has an ersatz feel to it is ‘The Villages’ in Lady Lake. I hesitate to write about it since I have family that live there and know several people’s whose parents have retired there and absolutely love it. The Villages has more than 70,000 residents, more than 40,000 homes, 34 golf courses, nine country clubs, and is the largest gated retirement community in America – and one of the most popular destinations for New Yorkers in their golden years – where the female-to-male ratio runs 10 to 1.

I visited The Villages a number of times in the 1990’s and 2000’s. It reminded me of a real life ‘Sim City’ game. It began with a few town houses and condominiums and has grown amazingly such that it has its own school system and full infrastructure. The residents ride around in their own golf carts (not all that unusual in retirement communities) and there is dancing and music in the two town squares every night.
The Villages also has had the distinction of having one highest rates of sexually transmitted disease rate among those over 65 the country, one report claims. http://bit.ly/gfck70

What I remember the most about The Villages is that the whole place felt artificial. People were happy (and that’s great) but at the same time it seemed to be outside the bounds of the real world. That might be ok for the people there but it made me really uncomfortable.

The problem is that it’s just not real and I could never and would never want to be become accustomed to living in a place like that.

How about you? Are you believer in keeping it real?

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We’re all salesmen – get over it

Posted on December 3, 2010 by markkolier

I was out to lunch this week with a very successful and smart woman who started her own television production company in 2001 and has continually grown the business over the past 9 years. She remarked to me that she is thinking about hiring a salesperson since she is not a salesperson herself. I told her – ‘Of course you are’. I thought – ‘Don’t you realize how all the business came to be in the first place?’

I think the word ‘salesman’ may be the root of the problem. Over the years we’ve come up with all kinds of synonyms for being called a salesman. Business Development is now in vogue in particular. Another I hear is ‘Chief Revenue Officer’. Whatever the heck that means. (I don’t think it has anything do with Indians but I am not certain). For nearly my entire career I have been a salesman. When I started more than 25 years ago I too felt that the word ‘salesman’ conjured up images of Willy Loman and the ‘need to be liked’. I did not care for that concept at all.

However although the company I founded almost 15 years ago has changed a great deal and my role has morphed as well, I am still a salesman. And by the way so are all the people that work with me. We are in a service business and every single point of contact with clients is a sales function.

Another problem with the term ‘salesman’ is that it suggests that somehow people are going to be pitched something that they do not want or do not need. And there are plenty of salesmen out there that fit that description to a ‘T’ so the aversion to being called a salesman is not without foundation. In my early days my customers would sometimes refer to me as a ‘vendor’. I really hated that one too. It reminded me of selling hotdogs on 6th Avenue in New York City.

Even if you are not on the line to help bring in business to your company you sell internally all the time. Trying to get others to see your point of view or help complete a project on a deadline. Selling comes in many forms.

Whether you call it sales, business development, or creating revenue opportunities the song remains the same. What people do all the time is attempt to persuade each other to see their own point of view and ideas. Presenting the attributes of a product or service is often referred to as an art form – i.e. the ‘art of persuasion’. And it’s absolutely acceptable to practice it, endorse it and even to like it. In fact it’s not only acceptable, it’s a necessity. Without sales there are no businesses.

I remember a good radio spot for the Wall Street Journal from several years ago – the guy said ‘If I am not a resource, I am just a salesman’. While the ad made a pejorative out of being a salesman the message was exactly right. Every one of us should be concerned with creating value for our customers and that value starts with doing our very best to know the right things to do for each client and then execute on that plan.

So think about it – aren’t we all salesmen?

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Taking the day off from Twitter and Facebook – is it a sacrifice or a vacation?

Posted on November 30, 2010 by markkolier

I will start by noting that I like Alicia Keys’ music and whole vibe actually. I respect Lady Gaga as a premiere performer who really gets in touch with her audience.

So why was I shaking my head when I read that both Ms. Keys and Lady Gaga (can she be Ms. Gaga?), are going to turn off Twitter and Facebook for World Aids Day this Wednesday December 1? They are going to publicize their ‘digital deaths’ in a campaign labeled ‘Digital Life Sacrifice’.

From NBC Philadelphia –
”Don’t expect any Facebook or Twitter updates from Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys on Wednesday. They’re taking a break from social networking for an important cause. The two are among the many celebrities who will log off from social media platforms on World AIDS Day as part of the Digital Life Sacrifice campaign, The Associated Press reported. The campaign will benefit Keys’ charitable organization; Keep a Child Alive, which helps families impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Among the other celebs who are taking part in the campaign are Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams and Jennifer Hudson. Their “last tweet and testament” videos were shot and will be used in advertisements to symbolize what the initiative characterizes as digital deaths.

The celebs will log back into their social media accounts when Keep a Child Alive achieves its $1 million fundraising goal. The charity was started almost a decade ago with Keys serving as its first Global Ambassador.“

The premise here is that people will be ‘shocked’ into greater awareness over the AIDS crisis by not being able to get updates on their favorite stars on Twitter or Facebook. OK so here’s my question: The seriousness of the AIDS epidemic, (and it is indeed an epidemic) is just that – serious. Does the denial by celebrities of Tweets and Facebook updates sound serious to you? And is this going to motivate people to donate money to the cause so that their favorite stars will start those updates coming as soon as possible? Is this a big sacrifice for stars to halt their tweeting and updating their everyday life events and thoughts?

To me it sounds a bit like the celebs are really saying –”Great we will be able to take a vacation for however long on the inane items we post to our fans and followers until they pony up the cash.” Is that possibly an extortion-like threat under the auspice of doing ‘good’?

I don’t get it folks. It sounds noble but smells bad to me. Agree? Disagree?

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What will be the hot tech gift this holiday season?

Posted on November 29, 2010 by markkolier

After a somewhat encouraging Black Friday and ensuing holiday shopping weekend (up 6% over 2009) today is Cyber Monday and many feel this may be the biggest shopping day next to the last Saturday before Christmas (that’s December 18th this year in case you are planning that last minute experience).

It seems likely that tech gifts will lead the charge this season. As a result of the recession in the U.S., the consensus is that U.S. consumers have changed their buying habits forever. Consumers seem emboldened enough to spend more this holiday season than last.

What are the hot gifts? i-Pads maybe? If you have several hundred dollars to spend (and are willing to saddle the recipient with a $ 40/month for web access) that could be a way to go. The Android tablet is almost ready to be released but not in time for the holiday season – I’ve heard good things about it so watch out for that.

How about an HDTV? Prices on those have plummeted and 32 inch HDTV’s can be had for under $ 300. Are you familiar with Slingbox? www.slingbox.com This cool item allows you to access TV shows from your home or office remotely. There’s an HD version as well as a non-HD version. For something less than $ 200 you get an easy to use sleek device that allows you to access any content you would receive at home on any laptop, i-Pad or remote computer. I have not tried it yet but I am guessing it is feasible to hook up your laptop to a hotel TV and then stream movies onto the hotel TV and not have to pay $ 14.99 to the hotel to watch a first run movie.

Slingbox also makes a product that enables you to watch content on your ‘compatible’ mobile phone. I’m not one to watch movies or even television shows on my smartphone but I know watching video content on Smartphones is an increasingly popular thing to do.

A Netflix streaming subscription is also a nice gift – at $ 8.00 per month you can buy a whole year of movies and television shows for under $ 100.

There are many cooler tech gifts on the market this holiday season – got any good ones you would care to share?

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Groupon might be gobbled up by Google

Posted on November 24, 2010 by markkolier

Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at Google, is reported to be interested in Google’s purchasing internet coupon star Groupon. In Kara Swisher’s ‘All Things D’ report http://read.bi/bgRQwy the price tag is said to be well above $ 3 billion. Reportedly Groupon brings in revenue of over $ 50 million per month.

I think Groupon www.groupon.com is a terrific concept and it takes the notion of using the ‘crowd’ or more properly crowd-buying to a new level. In fact if you want to watch a pretty funny video taking a tour of Groupon’s office, look here http://read.bi/gHqosU. I’ve seen CEO Andrew Mason talk before and he strikes a good balance between a smart guy with a good idea and someone that understands how to grow a good business. This combination is not as common as one would think.

Google has taken its lumps lately with its deployment of Street View and the privacy issues centered around its use in Europe in particular (if you have not used Street view http://bit.ly/10EwIU you should take a look as it is both cool and creepy). Buying Groupon would be a very smart move for Google where more recently it has been reported that Google is giving its employees a 10% raise and $ 1,000 bonus to keep them from defecting to rival Facebook.

That’s right Google and Facebook are now rivals. I wonder if watching them duke it out will be fun.

Enjoy your turkey. And as New York Met fan I sincerely hope they did not just hire one as manager.

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