Tag: Cosco

Heart and Soul

The intangible qualities. We can only recognize them when we see them.

How can we put a measure on that which makes us human i.e. mortal yet full of life versus a machine whose sole existence is to carry out instructions and perform repetitive tasks without getting bored (the sad thing is when the machine gets to do interesting things, while human boring things).

Fordism has spreaded from automobile assembly line to the entire manufacturing process as we see today (Foxconn and workers’ tension).

Heart and Soul , however, are a bit elusive:  Air on the G String, Nocturne; Shubert can move you, a movie clip can make you feel  joyous or sad, elated or evaporated (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face).

B movies and production houses have succumbed to poor substitutes e.g. sound track and laugh track.

Anything with an audience e.g. a lesson plan, a presentation, all-hands meeting; requires heart-and-soul delivery . To be flawless, one needs to go through 3 stages of rehearsal (courtesy of recent LinkedIn article on presentation rehearsal: You Sucks stage, Robotic stage, and finally You Rocks!).

Aim for standing ovation. Paint a broad stroke of vision, the type of speech Jesse Jackson would give at convention.

Facts and feeling. Sweat and tears. Fire and brimstone.

Orators of the past were known to speak at tent meetings for hours on end, most notably John Wesley. Today we only have day-time television which caters to the lowest common denominators : “Jerry, Jerry” ( with bouncers on the set). Or Maury, Maury …also w/ bouncers.

Jean-Luc Godard said: “all we need for a movie is a gun and a girl”. Hence, it seems as though all content was just  to fill the programming gap, waiting  to sell soap, soup and cereal.

Via Twitter, we saw glimpses of greatness, but only in 140 characters.

To stir the heart and soul, we need some work-up time.

Warm them up then chill them out. Stirring and settling.

Then BAM!. Hit them at the gut level. A call to ACTION.

Truth  has its own ring and can stand on its own legs.

Don’t get in its way.

Fear not.

Ask not.

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

He who is no fool to lose that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.

I have a dream.

Man from Hope.

It took a village.

Great orators stirred us and their sound bites stayed with us.

We feel a lump in our throat. It resonates and reinvigorates us.

It stirs up our Heart and our Soul.

It passed muster.

Quality is what you recognize when you see it.

The rest, any machine can do, at the automobile or chocolate factory.

Le Temp Modern. I love Lucy. Foxconn Apple plants. From Detroit to Disneyland, at the turn of  the 20th century to present time, are we happier now? (studies show China experiencing similar dissonance i.e. wealthier, but not happier, due to eroded “iron rice bowl”). Or the gas line and hot-dog line (at Cosco) have weighed you down?

Wake up Hot-Dog Nation. We can do better. Think and Ask Not. Feel the pain. Use it. Start rising. And don’t stop there. Have a dream. A different dream (by definition dreams are supposed to be out of this world. What are you being afraid of: that it might come true?)  Seek First. That Thy will be done,….but first on Earth.

Empathize and Energize

You wish your co-workers are all into that. They know how you feel, and because of who they are, they take it up a notch.

The virtuous cycle. Feeding into it is like fueling the fire. Passion, dedication and yes, winning.

Don’t you miss working in teams with those qualities? Pettiness has no place there. Grumpiness? Out.

Just win.

Know how you feel. I felt the same way. But I found that…. FFF.

One cannot just go out to Costco or Target and get a software package that says “Empathy” or “Energy”.

BTW, the Cosco‘s of the world are expanding, pushing Mom and Pop stores to the outskirts.

Meanwhile, fresh produce and Supermarket chains just can’t justify open more location in inner cities where kids have no choice but fast foods. I know the First Lady got her pulse on this issue (as opposed to Jackie O and Nancy Reagan who just wanted to remodel the White House or consult an astrologer).

Back to Empathy and Energy.

Energy is contagious. At the Olympic, they still do the Wave. You get caught in the spirit of the time and the place.

Just a sea of humanity, cheering and jeering.

You want to be energized? Hang out with high-energy people. The paradox of energy is that it needs to be burned to reproduce (just like the Phoenix rises from the ashes).

Empathy, on the other hand, requires immersion. You step into the other’s person shoes and character. Feel the emotion: sadness, joy, triumph, and disappointment.

Who wouldn’t go through those ups and downs at times.

Companies don’t realize people are people i.e. there are days, they feel elated. Then, other days, they can barely show up. The leader’s job is to be cheerleader, counselor, coach and not police.

Let’s hope your team support each other as you lead them to victory. Nothing is sweeter than to win as a team. Bravo!

Ads during downturn

You might think that business are spending less on advertising during the down turn. Think again. Financial, insurance and banking, all pumped more ad dollars into the system.

Meanwhile, more VC‘s are of “angel” nature (this explains why Facebook can afford taking its time before next year’s IPO), the 21st century version of Independent Film producers Model.

Just as we need to see growth, we all read about Google and ATT facing anti-trust hearings.

Maybe they should pump more dollars into PR’s and ads e.g. “we are the good guys!” But Yelp is yelling for help.

Talking about ads. Last week, we saw something so “black Friday’ish” at Target.

Its site crashed. Its stores ransacked.

Wow!

What recession?

It is to show that Costco and Target are reading the signs of the time right.

The former gives people peace of mind, in bulk.

The later, affordable clothing, in style (its demographic target: stay-at-home moms but want to get in with the action – fashion wise).

Ad has always been at the forefront (even during the time of war “Uncle Sam wants you”).

It nudges and leads the public opinion. It helps Netflix CEO draft  a written apology (e-mail blast).

It reinvents, renames companies and divisions (Netflix and Qwikster, streaming and snail-mailing) and erases (un-branding) names (remember Cingular?).

It could even handle personal “exit strategy” i.e. NYT obituary (of Mondale’s and Ted Kennedy‘s daughters).

We need copy writers. We need ad men and women.

They persuade, inform and entertain us, even during the down turn.

It’s so counter-intuitive for companies to spend more when they know consumers are spending less. When we come out of this Recession, advertising will be reaping a huge reward both on and offline. Advertising has proven to be resilient across multi-platforms : successful companies rely on ads by choice, suffering companies  rely on ads by default (can’t afford opportunities cost). Ads during the downturn.