Tag: White House

Turning Tragedy into Triumph

It’s on the Post. It’s on Linkedin. It’s in your face.

It’s about tourism to America. Or the decline of.

You would think people love to flock to the big Apple, to Disneyland and to Las Vegas.

But lately, it doesn’t happen (tourists prefer destinations like Turkey over the USA).

To top that, we got bad news like “they closed the White House tour”, ” the Monument is in repair” etc..

Tell that to those who are planning their family vacation to attend this year’s Cherry-Blossom Parade.

In Marketing, we seek to create a conducive atmosphere (to induce spending), like the Experience Economy which Las Vegas has mastered.

Wouldn’t it be counter-intuitive to finish rebuilding the Twin Towers at quicker pace, and use that as a draw.

Look, we were knocked down, but not out.

Come and see the resilience, the sacred history, and the undefeated spirit of a freedom-loving people (Discover American).

It would create high-paying jobs (using future tourist revenue), and not just for NYC.

Tourists would likely end up touring both East and West Coast.

Think like a tourist. What would you be looking to do and see? (the Dakotas?)

What differentiates the US  from the UK and other EU countries?

Teach a short course in English, with terms like Filibuster, Sequester etc…

I would stay away from visiting a house in disarray and disagreement which induces more stress than spending.

Corona did a good job showing pristine beach front, under the shade of umbrella and 2 beers in the foreground.

Now, that’s vacation away from stress and strain.

They can do that with two bottles, how much more can we do with two buildings, rising from the ashes.

Turn Tragedy into Triumph. Build and they will come.

They always will. Just need to be nudged.  Call out Hollywood, line up the stars (our new ambassadors).

I remember that one time, when Quincy Jones called everybody to leave their egos outside the door. Outside, they might be stars in their own rights. Inside the studio, We are the World. And they ate it up. The synergy and energy of first-class vocals, in harmony and collaboration. Build it and they will come. From very afar, to rediscover America and American, people who can turn tragedy into triumph.

White fence to White House

In-your-face campaign slogans. Last-minute push. Local, State and National level. Voter drive in full drive.

From Alfred Smith (Catholic) to Kennedy (Catholic) onto Romney (Mormon). Religion on the fringe, now got NYT full-page endorsement by Billy Graham.

I thought the Reverend was supposed to play neutral, and be wise-man to Presidents, Red or Blue.

It’s great to see the two sides going at it. There is hope that the best man will emerge.

Once again, the world waits and watches. This every-four-year balloon-filled ballroom celebration called Election Victory (With every successive presidency, things tend to get more lavish and costly, despite the Recession and huge Unemployment figures).

Last time, young voters turned out to assert  “Yes We Can”. This time, Utah is no longer content with staying inside the Tabernacle. They want to move from the White Fence to the White House.

Then the last frontier is for women to occupy it (no punt intended for the use of verb).

We then have to come up with a new term for First Husband.

Sensitive men, supportive men, statesmen.

My grandchildren generation perhaps. Maybe one-two punch: an Asian woman in the White House.

Already held Department of Labor and Energy, Asian American have been on the rise.

I saw various choices for local leadership where I live.

Hispanic women are also on the rise. How about that for demographic shift.

The ping-pong match has been along party line: Kennedy-Nixon, Carter-Reagan,  Gore-Bush.

What has been more subtle is the rise of the rest, right here in America.

First people came, FOB. Then they acculturated i.e. Language, culture, commerce, sports, arts and perhaps, politics.

The idea of Americanism lives on, although its expression changes. More nuances (Iraqi and Syrian refugees).

Yes, people put on T-shirts, even cheering for their alma-matters’ or their kids’ team.

But to harness the drive and ambition, the energy and expectations of millions who left the known for the unknown called America, we need to expound the formula (Bill of Rights) and adapt it to new context and constituency.

Already voting is in multi-lingual.

Already voting is by scanning.

But what about those who don’t show up.

Why?

They must have heard about the idea of America, of freedom of expression and election.

Perhaps they are too busy mending the white fence to worry about who is moving in or out of the White House.

Perhaps they need to be taken care of, to be listened to. Perhaps they need to be taken into consideration and counted in as valuable national assets. After all, to raise a child in the US costs about $200,000. How is that for national treasures and future promises that keeps America competitive. You don’t need Kotler of Harvard to tell you we are slipping, and if not corrected, on a downward trajectory. The rise of the rest means people might not decide to come at all. It needs both pull and push factors for one to leave the known for the unknown. Nowadays, the choice is not a clear-cut.

In fact, tourists from Paris and elsewhere were told to leave behind their belonging and make a run from Sandy, the storm.

That storm swept through both the White House and any white fence on its path. Glad it’s only a few days to drop the importance for the urgent, white fence for the White House.

 

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!

Fragmented and segmented

Marketers have had a field day over the last few decades: market fragmented and segmented.

The former is a reality in our pluralistic society. The later, careful study and strategy to go after niche markets.

Microtrend covers this very topic: knitting, teen markets etc…as long as the niche constitutes 1% of the total mass market.

It’s a paradox: while American travel more, buy more online, and outsource more to overseas; foreigners who came FOB ended up clustering in Chinatown, Chicano town etc.. to  insulate themselves culturally.

In my neighborhood, the “turf” and territory have invisible boundaries: one supermarket got turned over from Korean to Chinese owner, both cater to Vietnamese-American.

Next block, you will find a Vietnamese restaurant, struggling to have walk-ins in the middle of a predominantly Hispanic strip mall.

Meanwhile, the “white” folks in mobile-home parks either too old to move away, or couldn’t decide to cash out during the real estate boom (mobile home here was worth more than a house elsewhere), hence missed out the bubble.

Talking about fragmentation.

Being a marketer, mindful of ethnic variety and overseas flavors, I have never stopped being amazed.

Underneath it all, everyone seems to enjoy a loss-leader hot dog at Costco, or Tu-Th Pop Eyes specials.

America and its lowest common denominators.

At the public park, I also notice Asian women still wear hats to avoid skin cancer. No more cone hats (which BTW, were most efficient per material used, heat-preventive and light-weight), but straw and trendy hats Victoria Secret models would wear for summer catalogue.

In short, the process and idea of Americanization is still going strong. New blood are being added daily, if not hourly (at major ports of entry).

But they seem to follow a certain set pattern of acculturation: first outwardly, then internally (bi-lingual households, interracial marriages etc..).

Segmentation divides a map into red/blue states, Southern White, Non-Hispanic White (European American) …Not as easy as just buying a Super Bowl ad, since digital media start taking an increasing larger share of the Ad pie.

In this close election, this point hit home, for the White House or the green house (another micro trend: home-grown organic fresh).

Chicago’s former self

I finished the epilogue to “the Devil in the White City” longing for more.

That’s how good the read was.

The architects and builders reached out to the sky, and in Ferris’ case, taking the people up with him for an amusement ride in 1893.

The Fair (DreamLand) later inspired DisneyLand.

But not all was quiet on the lake front.

We had a Jack-the-Rippper type abducting and mutilating women orginally drawn to bright light and big city.

Near the closing of the Fair, the mayor got shot, turning the Closing ceremony into a burial and burning of man’s monumental greatness

(White City turned Black City).

White City as it turned out cast dark shadows.

America in the Gilded Age.

Full of ambition and aspiration.

World leader in manufacturing and masonry.

Builders and dreamers.

The sky was the limit (not credit limit as of late).

Later, we had the Wright brothers and Frank-Lloyd Wright.

But during that period, just Westinghouse and Edison (GE), birthers of electricity.

Just Buffalo Bill and Fair builders trying to “outEiffel” Eiffel.

They had a race of a thousand miles, preferably to arrive at the Fair on the same horse.

One fair attendee from Poland who had used kerosene lamp all her life, upon seeing the city of lights, uttered “It’s Heaven”.

Unfortunately, only the train track remains (with dark fiber routes lay dormant). The rest was burned to the ground, with no regret. It was not  the first time the city was in flame. (Mrs O Leary’s cow would kick the lantern later to cause the Chicago Great Fire).

America’s second largest city has its current mayor who left the White House for the White City.

Chicago who hosted the Democratic Convention and its bloody confrontation during the Vietnam War.

Chicago with its boderos and board rooms.

Chicago, a school of economics, which favors “Adam Smith‘s invisible hand”.

Chicago South Side, in contrast to the White city.

Chicago, the band, with “Doesn’t anybody know what time it is”.

Chicago Chicago, the musical and Chicago World Fair, a memorial of America’s Imperial Past.

Its future and America’s are so inter-twined that its leaders had once been a community worker before entering the White House.

Chicago, my first great city outside of the insulated Happy Valley. To have finished “the Devil in the White City” to me was like to have my first taste of that Polish sausage and sauerkraut, or like that Polish girl who first saw electricity: it embodies human greatness and its possibilities (and its need for redemption as well). If only we launched another mandate to complete a World Fair with ensuing deadline, or “ask not…what your country can do for you”. In both instances,  Michigan Lake or Moon Landing, America rose to the challenge and out-shined its own complacency and comfort zone.

Transparent trail

I saved up my visual history in 3/4 inch, VHS, slides, prints, CDs, hard-drive, flashdrive and cloud.

Not so much for me, but for my daughters .

That collage documented my fits and starts.

Each person is a narrative whose ending remains a mystery ( ‘in my end, is my beginning”).

In the Year of Magical Thinking, the widow-writer kept wishing that her husband would return (hence, magical ),

and refused to give his stuffs away.

The hard part about closure is to get through denial.

We have come a long way, since Watergate (White House secret taping) to Wikileaks.

The best way to avoid having some thing bad traced back to you is not to leave one in the first place.

What is whispered shall be announced from the roof top.

I blogged about de-clutterization. But this time, it’s not about our hoarding habit (fax machine?).

It’s about using whatever format or latest update (Adobe) as tool and transparency as policy.

Companies spent enormous amount of time, energy and money to whip up great-looking “About us”.

Until prospective customers detected incongruity and inconsistency  (reputational lag).

We live our digital lives one day at a time in open-source mode, with myriads of combinations to collaborate and co-create (the sharing economy).  We will have to relearn TRUST as online currency before Web 3.0 can happen (co-create).

The twin brother-in-law of Congress woman Giffords said on CBS: “from space, I saw this beautiful planet and I wouldn’t guess there were so much – bad things such as random shooting – going on . We can do better “.

Out in open space, with no one watching, one presumes, like Nixon, that misspoken words are not coming back to haunt.

But in cyberspace, the opposite is true. We do live our virtual lives with more-real-than-real-life ramifications. We leave behind our digital fingerprints and carbon footprints, together form a narrative, to be mined years from now by “bots”. Faint-of-hearts need not apply! (as of this edit, Apple just purchased a company whose software can pinpoint where we have been i.e. GPS plus past footprints to predict our next likely frequent stops).