Media Life Magazine
By Toni Fitzgerald
Dec 22, 2011
With a stronger-than-expected upfront and the most promising crop of fall shows in several years, broadcast television once again topped buyers' list of must-have media in 2011.
Though ratings continue to fall for the Big Five networks and scatter pricing was somewhat lower to end the year, 2012 looks promising as well. Plus, Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D., CEO of Executive Decisions Systems, Inc of Littleton,CO., a national media marketing training company and Publisher of LeNoble's Media Sales Insights says..."As owners and managers push local-direct revenues into long term contract terms, the dependency on 90% of local revenue derived from traditional, transactional business will wane."
Next year the Olympics and presidential election will bring a flood of money to broadcast at both the national and local levels.
While the Big Five admittedly have programming issues to address, their strength remains the ability to deliver a gigantic audience in a way no other medium can match, as the record-setting Super Bowls have proven the past two seasons.
"I think the overarching goal of broadcast network programming is unchanged: to produce the kind of 'event programming' that plays to the medium’s strength," says David Scardino, entertainment specialist at the Santa Monica, Calif.-based agency RPA.
"It may be that that goal is not often attained, but it surely remains paramount."
The networks did not find any new must-see event programming during the fall, but buyers agree that they had more success than in past years.
A number of shows debuted to strong numbers and continue to deliver good ratings some three months into the season, and only one of the Big Four networks, NBC, has seen its adults 18-49 rating decline versus last year.
"There really haven’t been any breakout hits—at least as we used to define the term—but rather success has been on a broader front and a greater number of new series," Scardino says.
"'X-Factor' and 'New Girl' are probably the ones that stand out, but, at least at this point, '2 Broke Girls,' 'Last Man Standing,' 'Unforgettable,' 'Suburgatory,' 'Revenge,' 'Grimm' and 'Once Upon a Time' have all received full-season pick-ups and show some potential for further growth. That’s a pretty good list compared to some recent seasons."
That list could grow in the coming year, when more than a dozen new series are slated to premiere, including several with very strong buzz like Fox's "Alcatraz," NBC's "Smash" and ABC's "GCB."
Of course these days broadcast includes more than just the traditional Big Four, and some of 2011's greatest successes were seen by Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.
Univision was the only top-six network to grow during the 2010-'11 season among 18-49s, and Telemundo recently acquired rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, a huge upset over longtime carrier Univision that will ensure big bumps in both ad revenue and ratings.
Still, broadcast does have some hurdles ahead.
London agency ZenithOptimedia recently predicted that broadcast ad revenue would fall 1 percent in 2012, predicting that the lack of live primetime Olympic events would result in lower ad sales than previous Summer Olympics.
And the increasing growth of cable ad revenue may cut into broadcast's share as well.
At the programming level, broadcasters are still dealing with the increasing usage of DVRs and how to schedule with that in mind. This year only 73 percent of premiere week viewing took place live among adults 18-49, down from 76 percent last year.
Finally, buyers continue to wonder when and how NBC will pull itself out of its ratings doldrums.
"I think from a pure ratings standpoint [the big concern] has to be NBC, especially with their NFL schedule about to end," Scardino says.
"That said, they have 'The Voice' coming back as well as what I thought was the most exciting new show (at least from the clips available), 'Smash,' so maybe things will look better for the network in March."
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
8 Warning Signs of a Bad consultant
Since I have been a national media consultant for radio and TV companies since 1984 I have seen many so-called sales consultants come and go including those who proclaim to have all the answers. The main objective is to commit to helping media properties generate revenue. For companies using what my partner and I call, System 21, we have a guarantee of $200K of new, direct, long-term business gained in the first 6 months or you get your money back. We have trained 455 station sales professionals and their managers, totaling 37,000 people in 25 years and still see TV and radio companies spending thousands of dollars annually on these so-called consultants without their providing necessary tools to take to the field to use with direct clients or providing a risk averse environment with financial guarantees. As a result, I encourage managers to consider what I have shared above and those of another author below. Happy Holidays!! Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. Publisher Dec 16, 2011
December 13, 2011 9:07 AM
By Jeff Haden
(MoneyWatch) Hiring a consultant can be the perfect solution when your small business needs specific or specialized short-term expertise. Hiring the right consultant can be tough, though, and after you've checked credentials and talked to references, your decision is often based on the conversations you have with a potential consultant.
With that in mind, here are eight warning signs of a potential consulting engagement that won't work out like you hope:
"Implementation will be easy and seamless." Every project is disruptive. The best projects are often hugely disruptive because they involve considerable change. A consultant who downplays the disruption factor is inexperienced or fibbing. A consultant who sugar-coats the difficulty up front is unlikely to communicate proactively when problems inevitably occur.
"Don't worry. We have all the answers." A consultant's job is to provide answers, in particular the answers you don't have. After all, if you had the answers, you wouldn't need a consultant. The best consultants are willing to say, "I don't know -- let's figure it out," because the best projects are collaborative.
"We provide a turn-key solution." There are very few turn-key solutions unless a consultant provides simple equipment, hardware or applications, and even then, at least some amount of training or process modification is generally necessary. There will always be more training and start-up pain than you assume. Make sure "turn-key" means, "We'll work with you until everything is running smoothly."
"You know, I'm not sure your employees can handle that." A consultant who downplays the skills of your employees is likely to be angling for a long-term engagement. Except in unusual circumstances, with the right training your employees can take over just about any task. Good consultants will show you how to bridge the gap so that eventually your employees are self-sufficient.
"That's enough detail. I already have a good understanding of the requirements." Some consultants love fuzzy requirements because misunderstandings or gaps create wiggle room later. Some even see scope-creep as a standard way of generating additional revenue. On the other hand, great consultants want to know as much as possible -- the better they understand your expectations, the better they can deliver on those expectations. Think of it this way: A consultant who makes identifying requirements easy up front will often struggle to deliver a great project. Look for a consultant who goes the extra mile in nailing down details. Clear expectations are everything.
"You could handle that yourself, but I really don't recommend it." Poor consultants never point out ways a customer can save money. Great consultants operate just like you do. They try to build long-term business relationships, and they see losing a little revenue now as better than losing customers later when they realize they purchased services they didn't need.
"That's exactly what your employees want." Your list of needs, and the list of needs your employees create (especially end-user employees) are often two very different things. Employee wish lists can be very long and very profitable for a consultant. A great consultant tries to reconcile various perspectives and owner/user needs so the project scope is clearly defined. A clearly defined project protects you -- and ensures your employees aren't disappointed later when everything on their wish list isn't included.
"Absolutely." Rarely can a consultant provide everything you want for the price and schedule you need. The word "No" might be disappointing, but sometimes it's the best answer you can get. Think twice about a consultant who appears to agree to anything just to get the gig. Great plans -- and great completed projects -- are based on reality, not on wishful thinking. Hearing "No" before you get started is a lot better than finding out something isn't possible after it's too late.
December 13, 2011 9:07 AM
By Jeff Haden
(MoneyWatch) Hiring a consultant can be the perfect solution when your small business needs specific or specialized short-term expertise. Hiring the right consultant can be tough, though, and after you've checked credentials and talked to references, your decision is often based on the conversations you have with a potential consultant.
With that in mind, here are eight warning signs of a potential consulting engagement that won't work out like you hope:
"Implementation will be easy and seamless." Every project is disruptive. The best projects are often hugely disruptive because they involve considerable change. A consultant who downplays the disruption factor is inexperienced or fibbing. A consultant who sugar-coats the difficulty up front is unlikely to communicate proactively when problems inevitably occur.
"Don't worry. We have all the answers." A consultant's job is to provide answers, in particular the answers you don't have. After all, if you had the answers, you wouldn't need a consultant. The best consultants are willing to say, "I don't know -- let's figure it out," because the best projects are collaborative.
"We provide a turn-key solution." There are very few turn-key solutions unless a consultant provides simple equipment, hardware or applications, and even then, at least some amount of training or process modification is generally necessary. There will always be more training and start-up pain than you assume. Make sure "turn-key" means, "We'll work with you until everything is running smoothly."
"You know, I'm not sure your employees can handle that." A consultant who downplays the skills of your employees is likely to be angling for a long-term engagement. Except in unusual circumstances, with the right training your employees can take over just about any task. Good consultants will show you how to bridge the gap so that eventually your employees are self-sufficient.
"That's enough detail. I already have a good understanding of the requirements." Some consultants love fuzzy requirements because misunderstandings or gaps create wiggle room later. Some even see scope-creep as a standard way of generating additional revenue. On the other hand, great consultants want to know as much as possible -- the better they understand your expectations, the better they can deliver on those expectations. Think of it this way: A consultant who makes identifying requirements easy up front will often struggle to deliver a great project. Look for a consultant who goes the extra mile in nailing down details. Clear expectations are everything.
"You could handle that yourself, but I really don't recommend it." Poor consultants never point out ways a customer can save money. Great consultants operate just like you do. They try to build long-term business relationships, and they see losing a little revenue now as better than losing customers later when they realize they purchased services they didn't need.
"That's exactly what your employees want." Your list of needs, and the list of needs your employees create (especially end-user employees) are often two very different things. Employee wish lists can be very long and very profitable for a consultant. A great consultant tries to reconcile various perspectives and owner/user needs so the project scope is clearly defined. A clearly defined project protects you -- and ensures your employees aren't disappointed later when everything on their wish list isn't included.
"Absolutely." Rarely can a consultant provide everything you want for the price and schedule you need. The word "No" might be disappointing, but sometimes it's the best answer you can get. Think twice about a consultant who appears to agree to anything just to get the gig. Great plans -- and great completed projects -- are based on reality, not on wishful thinking. Hearing "No" before you get started is a lot better than finding out something isn't possible after it's too late.
Land your biggest sale in 2012, Part 3: Size matters
CBS MoneyWatch: Sales Machine
December 15, 2011 7:21 AM
By Tom Searcy
To get big sales, you have to speak with big buyers who have big problems. The outcome of selling big solutions to small buyers and selling big buyers on solving small problems is the same. They don't just say, "No." It's worse than that. They say, "Yes...later."
The language of "Yes...later" can vary. It can sound like:
-- "Let me think about it..."
-- "After the next quarter we should look at this..."
-- "I have to get a few things ready here first..."
-- "I want to do this, I just have to get a few other things off of my plate..."
The bite-size guide to landing your biggest sale in 2012, Part 1
Land your biggest sale in 2012, Part 2: How to pick your target
The result is the same. When there is a mismatch in size between the buyer and the problem, it is either too intimidating a solution to tackle or too small an issue upon which to focus. When you are seeking to sell your record-breaking sale, here are five things to keep in mind.
1. Speak in the buyer's problem language. The language of big problems is the language of time, money and risk. If you are speaking about product features, service guarantees and comparative analysis of your benefit, then be sure to list one-for-one with your competitor.
2. Speak to the right level of buyer. You know you have to go higher to get executive sponsorship for bigger sales. This isn't new. The real issue is that it's not just sponsorship to be delegated to a lower level buyer. You need to stay with the executive sponsor through the entire process to get the sale done. That means focusing on his or her problem and staying on point.
3. Focus on the early outcomes. Real improvements for your customers on bigger sales can be seen in the near-term. They are the currency of first steps and they give your buyers the necessary early results to encourage them and quiet potential detractors. This doesn't mean outrageous claims; it means measurable progress that can be observed early.
4. Show how the change will take less than they fear. Big sales delay and die based upon fear, not for a lack of interest or anticipated benefit. Uncertainty is the grit in the gears of change. Spell out every step and show how you and your company will carry the load.
5. Set the first step as NOW. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Don't sell past the next step in the process. Focus on what is necessary to be understood by you and your buyer from one step to the next. Accomplish the bigger sale one step at a time.
In story telling there is the idea of light and shadow. In sales a similar idea is the idea of big and small. You need to balance big problems with smaller steps to make progress.
Your record-breaking sale means pushing yourself to talk to bigger people about bigger problems, then showing the path for the buyer to see with confidence that each step will be safe, measurable and valuable.
December 15, 2011 7:21 AM
By Tom Searcy
To get big sales, you have to speak with big buyers who have big problems. The outcome of selling big solutions to small buyers and selling big buyers on solving small problems is the same. They don't just say, "No." It's worse than that. They say, "Yes...later."
The language of "Yes...later" can vary. It can sound like:
-- "Let me think about it..."
-- "After the next quarter we should look at this..."
-- "I have to get a few things ready here first..."
-- "I want to do this, I just have to get a few other things off of my plate..."
The bite-size guide to landing your biggest sale in 2012, Part 1
Land your biggest sale in 2012, Part 2: How to pick your target
The result is the same. When there is a mismatch in size between the buyer and the problem, it is either too intimidating a solution to tackle or too small an issue upon which to focus. When you are seeking to sell your record-breaking sale, here are five things to keep in mind.
1. Speak in the buyer's problem language. The language of big problems is the language of time, money and risk. If you are speaking about product features, service guarantees and comparative analysis of your benefit, then be sure to list one-for-one with your competitor.
2. Speak to the right level of buyer. You know you have to go higher to get executive sponsorship for bigger sales. This isn't new. The real issue is that it's not just sponsorship to be delegated to a lower level buyer. You need to stay with the executive sponsor through the entire process to get the sale done. That means focusing on his or her problem and staying on point.
3. Focus on the early outcomes. Real improvements for your customers on bigger sales can be seen in the near-term. They are the currency of first steps and they give your buyers the necessary early results to encourage them and quiet potential detractors. This doesn't mean outrageous claims; it means measurable progress that can be observed early.
4. Show how the change will take less than they fear. Big sales delay and die based upon fear, not for a lack of interest or anticipated benefit. Uncertainty is the grit in the gears of change. Spell out every step and show how you and your company will carry the load.
5. Set the first step as NOW. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Don't sell past the next step in the process. Focus on what is necessary to be understood by you and your buyer from one step to the next. Accomplish the bigger sale one step at a time.
In story telling there is the idea of light and shadow. In sales a similar idea is the idea of big and small. You need to balance big problems with smaller steps to make progress.
Your record-breaking sale means pushing yourself to talk to bigger people about bigger problems, then showing the path for the buyer to see with confidence that each step will be safe, measurable and valuable.
Land your biggest sale in 2012
CBS MoneyWatch:Sales Machine
By Tom Searcy
December 14, 2011
It is more important to avoid the wrong target than it is to pick the right target for landing your record-breaking sale in 2012. In this five-part series, I want to lay out a road map for landing a transformational sale for you and your company.
To land big sales, a record-breaking sale, you need to close the aperture through which you look at your market to a pinprick and hunt only those accounts that fit. Joe Mauer, the Minnesota Twins batting average leader for 2009 said that the reason he was successful was that he swung only at pitches he could control, not just those he could hit. If he hit every pitch he could, he would probably get out more times than not. But since he was not paid to hit, but rather to get on base, he had to hit what he could control.
The bite-size guide to landing your biggest sale in 2012, Part 1
The same is true in hunting your biggest sale. There are plenty of companies you could sell and could work with that you that you should leave alone. Maybe it's the wrong time, or they have the wrong problem to solve, or they buy for the wrong reasons. Or maybe they're just the wrong people. Regardless of category, they are just wrong and therefore you should not be selling to them.
How to pick your target:
1. Start with size. What is the scale of organization that will generate the largest sale for you? You may measure it by number of employees if you are in insurance. Amount of square feet of carpeted space in an office building if you sell commercial cleaning. Number of suppliers and distribution centers if you are in logistics. The point is that there is a critical mass threshold necessary to make your cut.
2. What's their problem. 90 percent of what you and your competitors provide is similar enough that the difference only matters to you, not your prospect. What is the 10 percent of the problem that you solve uniquely? Big people pay big money to have you solve a big problem for them.
3. Point of entry. To land bigger sales, you have to talk to people higher up in the organization. Wherever your target is now for first contact, you are either too low in the organization to land your record-breaking sale or you are high enough, but in too small a target. You need to change one or both.
4. Speed to purchase. To make your biggest sale in the next year, you are looking for a prospect who is making his or her decision faster. That means that the issue has the following qualities:
-- Scale: The problem is big enough to get attention and visible enough that it has to be fixed.
-- Frequency: A single incident will be addressed internally or through disciplining the incumbent. The buyer's issue has to be persistent and frequent enough to move people beyond annoyance to change.
-- Urgency: What is the triggering event that makes the buyer want to change? If this is just a low-level issue, then people adapt and learn to live with it. Oh sure, they'll meet with you, hear your ideas, consider your proposal...and then do nothing. There has to be a triggering event, otherwise you have wasted your time.
5. Causal link. Your buyer has to see in real numbers and benefits a direct link between your solution and the benefit that they are seeking. ROI, business case, TCO and all sorts of other mechanisms and representations are used to answer the rather simple question: "If I make this change, what is the real hard-benefit I will get from your solution?" The stronger the link, the better your chances.
The point I am making is that you should not even begin the process of intentionally targeting an account as your record-breaking sale if you can't answer these questions first. That means that instead of prospecting and hoping to find the right set of favorable circumstances, you are going to target and research to determine in advance these five criteria. Odds are strongly in your favor of winning when your targets match these.
By Tom Searcy
December 14, 2011
It is more important to avoid the wrong target than it is to pick the right target for landing your record-breaking sale in 2012. In this five-part series, I want to lay out a road map for landing a transformational sale for you and your company.
To land big sales, a record-breaking sale, you need to close the aperture through which you look at your market to a pinprick and hunt only those accounts that fit. Joe Mauer, the Minnesota Twins batting average leader for 2009 said that the reason he was successful was that he swung only at pitches he could control, not just those he could hit. If he hit every pitch he could, he would probably get out more times than not. But since he was not paid to hit, but rather to get on base, he had to hit what he could control.
The bite-size guide to landing your biggest sale in 2012, Part 1
The same is true in hunting your biggest sale. There are plenty of companies you could sell and could work with that you that you should leave alone. Maybe it's the wrong time, or they have the wrong problem to solve, or they buy for the wrong reasons. Or maybe they're just the wrong people. Regardless of category, they are just wrong and therefore you should not be selling to them.
How to pick your target:
1. Start with size. What is the scale of organization that will generate the largest sale for you? You may measure it by number of employees if you are in insurance. Amount of square feet of carpeted space in an office building if you sell commercial cleaning. Number of suppliers and distribution centers if you are in logistics. The point is that there is a critical mass threshold necessary to make your cut.
2. What's their problem. 90 percent of what you and your competitors provide is similar enough that the difference only matters to you, not your prospect. What is the 10 percent of the problem that you solve uniquely? Big people pay big money to have you solve a big problem for them.
3. Point of entry. To land bigger sales, you have to talk to people higher up in the organization. Wherever your target is now for first contact, you are either too low in the organization to land your record-breaking sale or you are high enough, but in too small a target. You need to change one or both.
4. Speed to purchase. To make your biggest sale in the next year, you are looking for a prospect who is making his or her decision faster. That means that the issue has the following qualities:
-- Scale: The problem is big enough to get attention and visible enough that it has to be fixed.
-- Frequency: A single incident will be addressed internally or through disciplining the incumbent. The buyer's issue has to be persistent and frequent enough to move people beyond annoyance to change.
-- Urgency: What is the triggering event that makes the buyer want to change? If this is just a low-level issue, then people adapt and learn to live with it. Oh sure, they'll meet with you, hear your ideas, consider your proposal...and then do nothing. There has to be a triggering event, otherwise you have wasted your time.
5. Causal link. Your buyer has to see in real numbers and benefits a direct link between your solution and the benefit that they are seeking. ROI, business case, TCO and all sorts of other mechanisms and representations are used to answer the rather simple question: "If I make this change, what is the real hard-benefit I will get from your solution?" The stronger the link, the better your chances.
The point I am making is that you should not even begin the process of intentionally targeting an account as your record-breaking sale if you can't answer these questions first. That means that instead of prospecting and hoping to find the right set of favorable circumstances, you are going to target and research to determine in advance these five criteria. Odds are strongly in your favor of winning when your targets match these.
Friday, December 9, 2011
The new rules on dressing for success
CBS Money Watch: Money Machine
By Tom Searcy Topics Marketing
Nov. 28, 2011
I have a number of super-successful Silicon Valley clients who dress in ripped denim, Vans shoes and t-shirts. They are worth hundreds of millions, even more, but it's a status symbol to dress like you're homeless to attend board meetings.Conversely, I have worked with trash-hauling company executives who dress in suits and ties every day of the week. And this contrast shows the dramatic shift that has occurred in business attire in recent years, as each industry has developed its own rules.
So how do you learn the rules? Back in the early 1990s, as a young exec, I read Dress for Success by John T. Molloy. It gave me a clear understanding of how to dress to impress. But the "business casual" dress movement has turned all of that book's ideas into quaint nostalgia. But fair or not, dress still has an impact on how you're seen. For sales people, especially, first impressions matter.
My daughters will confirm that I am not a fashion plate, but I do have some simple rules for successful dressing if you are in sales.
Know your prospect's uniform.
Before you meet with a prospect, you should know that company's dress code. "Business casual" has a lot of meanings. Call the front desk at the company and ask what the company's dress code is and what the men and women wear. Or ask your contact. The point is, part of your responsibility is to understand that company's culture, including its dress code. Ask for examples, especially of the senior most person who will be in your meeting.
Dress one step up.
If your prospect is in denim, you wear khaki. They wear sport coats without ties; you are in suits without ties. The point is that you always dress one step further up the clothing ladder than your prospect, but not two. One step says that you respect and value them. Two steps can send a loaded message.
It's not just what you wear--but how you wear it.
Polished shoes, pressed shirts and well-fitted pants always. At this point, some of you are thinking, "Does he really have to say this to people?" while others are saying, "Why do I have to tuck in my shirt?" But when your clothes are pressed, buttoned down and well-fitted, you convey that you are a person who pays attention to the details and are professional
Grooming trumps style.
Even if you're wearing a great suit, if you've got a terrible haircut, you'll give a bad impression. As crazy as it sounds, everything on the grooming punch lists - fingernails, facial hair, haircuts and oral hygiene--matter.
Know your company's uniform.
One of my clients makes sure that when his sales reps are making their sales calls, they wear a very specific uniform. (His company's clients accept this because they see it as an extension of the brand; the company sells safety products.) It doesn't matter if the reps are presenting in a board room or on a manufacturing plant floor, they wear the sample simple uniform. Obviously, if you work at this company, you follow this dress code in order to fit in.
Remember, you can dress in a way where your attire is the only message people remember, or you can dress in a way that takes nothing away from the message of value your company brings to them.
By Tom Searcy Topics Marketing
Nov. 28, 2011
I have a number of super-successful Silicon Valley clients who dress in ripped denim, Vans shoes and t-shirts. They are worth hundreds of millions, even more, but it's a status symbol to dress like you're homeless to attend board meetings.Conversely, I have worked with trash-hauling company executives who dress in suits and ties every day of the week. And this contrast shows the dramatic shift that has occurred in business attire in recent years, as each industry has developed its own rules.
So how do you learn the rules? Back in the early 1990s, as a young exec, I read Dress for Success by John T. Molloy. It gave me a clear understanding of how to dress to impress. But the "business casual" dress movement has turned all of that book's ideas into quaint nostalgia. But fair or not, dress still has an impact on how you're seen. For sales people, especially, first impressions matter.
My daughters will confirm that I am not a fashion plate, but I do have some simple rules for successful dressing if you are in sales.
Know your prospect's uniform.
Before you meet with a prospect, you should know that company's dress code. "Business casual" has a lot of meanings. Call the front desk at the company and ask what the company's dress code is and what the men and women wear. Or ask your contact. The point is, part of your responsibility is to understand that company's culture, including its dress code. Ask for examples, especially of the senior most person who will be in your meeting.
Dress one step up.
If your prospect is in denim, you wear khaki. They wear sport coats without ties; you are in suits without ties. The point is that you always dress one step further up the clothing ladder than your prospect, but not two. One step says that you respect and value them. Two steps can send a loaded message.
It's not just what you wear--but how you wear it.
Polished shoes, pressed shirts and well-fitted pants always. At this point, some of you are thinking, "Does he really have to say this to people?" while others are saying, "Why do I have to tuck in my shirt?" But when your clothes are pressed, buttoned down and well-fitted, you convey that you are a person who pays attention to the details and are professional
Grooming trumps style.
Even if you're wearing a great suit, if you've got a terrible haircut, you'll give a bad impression. As crazy as it sounds, everything on the grooming punch lists - fingernails, facial hair, haircuts and oral hygiene--matter.
Know your company's uniform.
One of my clients makes sure that when his sales reps are making their sales calls, they wear a very specific uniform. (His company's clients accept this because they see it as an extension of the brand; the company sells safety products.) It doesn't matter if the reps are presenting in a board room or on a manufacturing plant floor, they wear the sample simple uniform. Obviously, if you work at this company, you follow this dress code in order to fit in.
Remember, you can dress in a way where your attire is the only message people remember, or you can dress in a way that takes nothing away from the message of value your company brings to them.
3 Online Advertising Trends To Watch In '12
MediaPostNews: Marketing Daily
by Cella M. Irvine, Dec 5, 2011, 8:00 AM
It’s that time of year again, when people like me hold forth on where we’ve been as an industry this past year, and where we’re headed. When you think about it, of course, it’s a little silly to assume that come Jan. 1, the focus of a whole industry suddenly shifts at midnight when the ball drops. In my mind, the key themes and issues for digital advertising in 2012 look a lot like the ones we grappled with in 2011. The same things that excited us about digital in 2011 will see us into the new year. But, technology evolves at a breakneck pace these days, and with every new capability comes a new opportunity to engage.
After all, delivering good advertising (and by “good,” I mean relevant) is really about harnessing a moment. It’s about harnessing the user’s intent at the very instant he’s looking for information, looking to find an answer, or looking to solve a problem. We’re all at our most receptive to advertising when it’s consistent with what’s on our mind at a given time. And technology allows us to understand what’s on the user’s mind and match it with a relevant message from an advertiser. Making that connection – on every platform and in every context – will continue to drive the direction of digital advertising in the coming year.
There are other macro-level dynamics at work here, too.
SOCIAL ON THE RISE: Audiences are changing, for good: The so-called “digital natives” are growing up fast, and we need to change our approach to engaging them. This generation’s social-media adoption is broad and deep. Digital natives turn to friends and family as a primary source of authority, and call for transparency after witnessing a great deal of corporate and institutional incompetence and corruption (think Enron, Tyco, etc.). Digital-native consumers will expect that what is of most value to them will come to them, from friends or networks, rather than from sources they search out. As a result of this shift, social-media ad revenues have skyrocketed, and are predicted to reach $8 billion next year. But if brands want to make that money really work for them, they can’t just throw any old social-media strategy to the wall and see what sticks. They need new ad formats that push those Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to consumers in a relevant context, as opposed to pulling them away to social sites. In the right context, social can work with content to add significant value for the consumer, rather than eliciting useless “Likes” that advertisers struggle to monetize.
VIDEO IS ROLLING: As they say, when you’re looking for answers, you should always “follow the money,” and that definitely holds true in advertising. If your first stop on the money trail is social, then video is close behind. Video – beyond pre-roll and in-stream – is dynamically innovating our space. In 2011, we have seen online video emerge as the fastest-growing digital ad format. In 2012, we will see online video that is more creative, engaging, and useful. Advertisers are no longer simply taking what works on TV and placing it online. We are seeing a revolution in video, with more creative content coming directly from users, which helps brands develop a more meaningful engagement with consumers. At Vibrant, our approach is bringing sight, sound and motion together to deliver an immersive, user-initiated experience that is delivering compelling results for advertisers.
SMARTER ANALYTICS: Behind the scenes, as ads grow more dynamic and multifunctional every day, marketers who need to demonstrate ROI continue the search for better metrics. After all, the best campaigns are interactive, offering users utility and entertainment via search boxes, news tickers, and gaming portals. So advertisers are looking more closely at user behavior with pre- and post-click data that gives them more mileage from their campaigns. Finally, we’re seeing a burst of new technologies that can more clearly measure reader engagement and retention, and I think there will be a continued interest in gathering and analyzing data that can go beyond CTRs and counting clicks. With these results available, we will see that all content is not created equal, and that despite the recent increase of volume of content, results will come from placements in better quality environments.
Social, video, and measurement: That’s what I think 2012 will be about. These elements played an important role in what we’ve done in 2011 and drive the direction of the innovation and creative possibilities digital advertising is capable of achieving in the coming year. And we’ll be using technology to connect with consumers in better, more relevant, more sophisticated ways that serve both advertisers and consumers.
by Cella M. Irvine, Dec 5, 2011, 8:00 AM
It’s that time of year again, when people like me hold forth on where we’ve been as an industry this past year, and where we’re headed. When you think about it, of course, it’s a little silly to assume that come Jan. 1, the focus of a whole industry suddenly shifts at midnight when the ball drops. In my mind, the key themes and issues for digital advertising in 2012 look a lot like the ones we grappled with in 2011. The same things that excited us about digital in 2011 will see us into the new year. But, technology evolves at a breakneck pace these days, and with every new capability comes a new opportunity to engage.
After all, delivering good advertising (and by “good,” I mean relevant) is really about harnessing a moment. It’s about harnessing the user’s intent at the very instant he’s looking for information, looking to find an answer, or looking to solve a problem. We’re all at our most receptive to advertising when it’s consistent with what’s on our mind at a given time. And technology allows us to understand what’s on the user’s mind and match it with a relevant message from an advertiser. Making that connection – on every platform and in every context – will continue to drive the direction of digital advertising in the coming year.
There are other macro-level dynamics at work here, too.
SOCIAL ON THE RISE: Audiences are changing, for good: The so-called “digital natives” are growing up fast, and we need to change our approach to engaging them. This generation’s social-media adoption is broad and deep. Digital natives turn to friends and family as a primary source of authority, and call for transparency after witnessing a great deal of corporate and institutional incompetence and corruption (think Enron, Tyco, etc.). Digital-native consumers will expect that what is of most value to them will come to them, from friends or networks, rather than from sources they search out. As a result of this shift, social-media ad revenues have skyrocketed, and are predicted to reach $8 billion next year. But if brands want to make that money really work for them, they can’t just throw any old social-media strategy to the wall and see what sticks. They need new ad formats that push those Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to consumers in a relevant context, as opposed to pulling them away to social sites. In the right context, social can work with content to add significant value for the consumer, rather than eliciting useless “Likes” that advertisers struggle to monetize.
VIDEO IS ROLLING: As they say, when you’re looking for answers, you should always “follow the money,” and that definitely holds true in advertising. If your first stop on the money trail is social, then video is close behind. Video – beyond pre-roll and in-stream – is dynamically innovating our space. In 2011, we have seen online video emerge as the fastest-growing digital ad format. In 2012, we will see online video that is more creative, engaging, and useful. Advertisers are no longer simply taking what works on TV and placing it online. We are seeing a revolution in video, with more creative content coming directly from users, which helps brands develop a more meaningful engagement with consumers. At Vibrant, our approach is bringing sight, sound and motion together to deliver an immersive, user-initiated experience that is delivering compelling results for advertisers.
SMARTER ANALYTICS: Behind the scenes, as ads grow more dynamic and multifunctional every day, marketers who need to demonstrate ROI continue the search for better metrics. After all, the best campaigns are interactive, offering users utility and entertainment via search boxes, news tickers, and gaming portals. So advertisers are looking more closely at user behavior with pre- and post-click data that gives them more mileage from their campaigns. Finally, we’re seeing a burst of new technologies that can more clearly measure reader engagement and retention, and I think there will be a continued interest in gathering and analyzing data that can go beyond CTRs and counting clicks. With these results available, we will see that all content is not created equal, and that despite the recent increase of volume of content, results will come from placements in better quality environments.
Social, video, and measurement: That’s what I think 2012 will be about. These elements played an important role in what we’ve done in 2011 and drive the direction of the innovation and creative possibilities digital advertising is capable of achieving in the coming year. And we’ll be using technology to connect with consumers in better, more relevant, more sophisticated ways that serve both advertisers and consumers.
TV Shifts To Playback Model, VOD Offers Ad PotentialMe
MediaDailyNews
by Wayne Friedman, Dec 5, 2011, 4:01 PM Comment
CBS has seen a surge in recent video-on-demand viewing, according to the network's chief research officer David Poltrack.
Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, Poltrack says CBS got 70 million VOD views this fall -- a 19% rise -- versus the same period a year before. Because VOD is primarily a TV experience, and consumers accept advertising on VOD, Poltrack believes "VOD remains a advertising medium of great potential."
Today, he says all of TV has shifted to a playback mode -- where total playback exceeds the live airing of TV programs. But overall, the pace is slowing down. While DVR technology is now in 44% of TV homes, overall time-shifting was up 8% in TV homes and 6% for younger viewers. This is down from a double-digit pace at the same time a year ago.
Looking a specific time shifting, Poltrack says "
" now gets more than half of its viewers from time-shifting versus its live airing. "Family" gets 8 million time-shifting viewers, while its live airing is around 10 million. CBS' "NCIS" gets 5 million total viewers and around 17 million viewers overall.
Poltrack says CBS got 7.5 million full program views on CBS.com and the CBS Audience Network during the first premiere week. Its unique viewers during that period were up 50%.
CBS now places 10 to 14 commercials in its online programs -- much higher than when it started years ago, due to consumer acceptance of more advertising. For all its online video content, CBS gets a 96% completion rate, which Poltrack says is easily the highest among its competitors.
As result of this and higher online cost-per -thousand viewers, Poltrack says "the online viewer is surpassing the value of a live viewer. This is a significant tipping point."
Overall, Poltrack estimates advertising revenue for broadcast networks will see a decent rise in 2012 -- not entirely due to the typical spikes from expected from Olympic and big political hikes that occur every two years. Broadcast sales would be up 5%, he says, partly due to a pickup in the economy.
There has been slowing and/or erosion of some top cable networks, which he believes means that broadcasters will begin to win back some of the $1.6 billion in ad dollars he estimates have migrated to cable.
by Wayne Friedman, Dec 5, 2011, 4:01 PM Comment
CBS has seen a surge in recent video-on-demand viewing, according to the network's chief research officer David Poltrack.
Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, Poltrack says CBS got 70 million VOD views this fall -- a 19% rise -- versus the same period a year before. Because VOD is primarily a TV experience, and consumers accept advertising on VOD, Poltrack believes "VOD remains a advertising medium of great potential."
Today, he says all of TV has shifted to a playback mode -- where total playback exceeds the live airing of TV programs. But overall, the pace is slowing down. While DVR technology is now in 44% of TV homes, overall time-shifting was up 8% in TV homes and 6% for younger viewers. This is down from a double-digit pace at the same time a year ago.
Looking a specific time shifting, Poltrack says "
" now gets more than half of its viewers from time-shifting versus its live airing. "Family" gets 8 million time-shifting viewers, while its live airing is around 10 million. CBS' "NCIS" gets 5 million total viewers and around 17 million viewers overall.
Poltrack says CBS got 7.5 million full program views on CBS.com and the CBS Audience Network during the first premiere week. Its unique viewers during that period were up 50%.
CBS now places 10 to 14 commercials in its online programs -- much higher than when it started years ago, due to consumer acceptance of more advertising. For all its online video content, CBS gets a 96% completion rate, which Poltrack says is easily the highest among its competitors.
As result of this and higher online cost-per -thousand viewers, Poltrack says "the online viewer is surpassing the value of a live viewer. This is a significant tipping point."
Overall, Poltrack estimates advertising revenue for broadcast networks will see a decent rise in 2012 -- not entirely due to the typical spikes from expected from Olympic and big political hikes that occur every two years. Broadcast sales would be up 5%, he says, partly due to a pickup in the economy.
There has been slowing and/or erosion of some top cable networks, which he believes means that broadcasters will begin to win back some of the $1.6 billion in ad dollars he estimates have migrated to cable.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Consumers No Scrooge With Sale of Seasonal Decor in U.S.: Biggest Retail Time Since Retail Pre-Recession
If your clients are still holding back...here's why they should jump into media now and catch some of the excitement..Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, December 5, 2011
NEW YORK – Early-bird shoppers aside, who were the big winners over Thanksgiving weekend?
According to The NPD Group, Best Buy was the fourth most frequently shopped retailer behind full-line merchants Walmart, Target and Amazon, which sell a much wider variety of products. Best Buy also enjoyed the highest conversion rate, with more than 58 percent of shoppers actually making purchases, compared with just 38 percent last year, representing the largest gain among the four rivals.
Credit Suisse retail analyst Gary Balter concurred with NPD’s assessment based on Black Friday store visits in several markets across three states. “Best Buy seemed to be the relative winner as stores were at least as busy as last year and traffic was solid well past the initial doorbusters,” he wrote in a research note.
Levin Consulting, which fanned out across more than 200 stores on Black Friday, agreed. “Our team was very impressed with Best Buy’s execution, and with how they are going directly after Walmart and Amazon in terms of pricing,” noted CEO Adam Levin. “They have leadership in the hottest categories [and] we were also impressed with their multi-channel approach this weekend, making the specials available online.”
At the same time, added Balter, Best Buy offered “unique in-store-only offers forcing the visit.” Indeed, Anthony Bonevento, general manager of a 33,000-square-foot Best Buy store in Holmdel, N.J., reported a record turnout of 1,000 early-bird shoppers by midnight of Black Friday. Most queued up for hours, and in one case more than a day, for a chance to snag a 60-inch 1080p Sharp LED TV for $800, a 55-inch 1080p Samsung LED TV for $1,000, a 42-inch 1080p Sharp LCD TV for $200, a 15.6-inch dual-core Lenovo laptop for $180, a 24-inch 1080p Dynex LCD TV for $80, and a Toshiba Internet-ready Blu-ray Disc player for $40.
“It’s hands-down bigger than last year,” Bonevento told TWICE. “In fact, it’s the biggest crowd in four years.”
Elsewhere, Kmart, which was open for the 20th consecutive year on Thanksgiving Day, said customers started arriving as early as 2 a.m. on Thursday. Store managers reported the Ario 32-inch TV ($199), Leader i7 tablet ($100) and a 7-inch Sylvania netbook ($80) among their hottest sellers.
Sister chain Sears opened its doors at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, but customers lined up as early as midnight to snag more than 900 doorbuster deals including the 60-inch Sharp LED for $1,000, a 42-inch Panasonic LED for $600 and a Kenmore laundry pair for $470.
Even after the initial doorbuster crunch, “both Sears and Kmart stores across the country continued to experience a steady flow of foot traffic,” a Sears Holdings spokesman said.
Bloomberg Business
by Chris Burritt
Dec 7, 2011
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Peggy Curtis spent Thanksgiving week out of work, the first layoff in her 37 years making cigarettes in a Reidsville, North Carolina, factory. Instead of moping, she went shopping for holiday decorations at Home Depot Inc.
“The economy is tough, but that’s not going to stop me,” said Curtis, 58, whose $600 spree so far includes enough lights to illuminate nine Crape Myrtle shrubs. “I love Christmas.”
With little to cheer about these days -- 8.6 percent unemployment, fears of European contagion -- Americans are splurging on LED lights, 16-foot-tall inflatable Santas and pre- decorated artificial trees. This year U.S. consumers will spend $6 billion on decorations, the most in at least seven years, according to the National Retail Federation, which began tracking the data in 2005.
Home Depot, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, and second-biggest Lowe’s Cos. are trying to capitalize on the holidays, boosting orders for trees and decorations to help offset sinking demand for appliances amid projections that housing prices will keep falling next year.
“This is a business we should own,” Home Depot Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome said by telephone from Atlanta, where the company is based. “We were selling the most trees of any retailer in America, but we weren’t offering the ornaments or the light strings or the tree stands. So we expanded our assortment.”
Holiday decor sales may climb 8.1 percent this year, rising for a second straight year, according to the Washington-based NRF, citing an October survey of consumers by BIGresearch. More than 68 percent of consumers may indulge, the highest level in three years, the NRF said.
Fourth-Quarter Sales
Pushing trees, ornaments and lights will help fourth- quarter sales at Home Depot and Lowe’s, Joe Feldman, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group in New York, said yesterday. Typically the last quarter of the year is the slowest for the home- improvement chains, generating about 22 percent of revenue.
Shoppers are drawn by new technology, Lowe’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Niblock said in an interview. Hot sellers include solar-powered lights, LED bulbs that keep burning even if one breaks and a $99 gadget that makes lights blink in time with “Jingle Bells” and other carols.
Thomas Schuitema, who owns the Broadway Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, Michigan, “had to have” a string of LED lights that create the effect of snow falling down each bulb. They cost $160 and now adorn his restaurant.
“They just caught my eye,” said Schuitema, who has been decorating the eatery for 18 of his 54 years.
Inflatable Decorations
During the past decade, home-improvement stores have taken advantage of their size -- 10 times bigger than the typical drugstore -- to grab sales with ever-growing displays of trees and inflatable decorations, said Scott Manning, Home Depot’s merchandising vice president in charge of seasonal items.
Since selling its first cut tree 26 years ago, Home Depot has given holiday decor more space and stepped up marketing. It displays garlands and ornaments at store entrances and last month gave buyers of more-efficient LED lights a $5 rebate for trading in their old incandescent strands.
At a Lowe’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, an inflatable Santa waves and nods at shoppers entering the store. It’s new this year, as is a blow-up Santa and sleigh at Home Depot, which has boosted holiday sales every year through the economic slump, said Jean Niemi, a company spokeswoman.
Inflatable Santa gets around. He drives motorcycles and airplanes and helicopters. At Lowe’s, he looms over the entrance to the garden center. Inside the store, up on a shelf, an outhouse door pops open and Santa pops out, with an elf holding his nose.
Cut Trees
Home Depot has boosted sales of holiday merchandise by three times in the past six years, Manning said. It sells the most cut trees, more than 2.5 million in 2010, and bought about 10 percent more this year, he said. He declined to provide sales figures.
Lowe’s, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, increased holiday orders by 5 percent to 10 percent in each of the past two years after “pulling back” on the bet consumers would buy fewer non-essential items including decorations, Niblock said.
And there
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, December 5, 2011
NEW YORK – Early-bird shoppers aside, who were the big winners over Thanksgiving weekend?
According to The NPD Group, Best Buy was the fourth most frequently shopped retailer behind full-line merchants Walmart, Target and Amazon, which sell a much wider variety of products. Best Buy also enjoyed the highest conversion rate, with more than 58 percent of shoppers actually making purchases, compared with just 38 percent last year, representing the largest gain among the four rivals.
Credit Suisse retail analyst Gary Balter concurred with NPD’s assessment based on Black Friday store visits in several markets across three states. “Best Buy seemed to be the relative winner as stores were at least as busy as last year and traffic was solid well past the initial doorbusters,” he wrote in a research note.
Levin Consulting, which fanned out across more than 200 stores on Black Friday, agreed. “Our team was very impressed with Best Buy’s execution, and with how they are going directly after Walmart and Amazon in terms of pricing,” noted CEO Adam Levin. “They have leadership in the hottest categories [and] we were also impressed with their multi-channel approach this weekend, making the specials available online.”
At the same time, added Balter, Best Buy offered “unique in-store-only offers forcing the visit.” Indeed, Anthony Bonevento, general manager of a 33,000-square-foot Best Buy store in Holmdel, N.J., reported a record turnout of 1,000 early-bird shoppers by midnight of Black Friday. Most queued up for hours, and in one case more than a day, for a chance to snag a 60-inch 1080p Sharp LED TV for $800, a 55-inch 1080p Samsung LED TV for $1,000, a 42-inch 1080p Sharp LCD TV for $200, a 15.6-inch dual-core Lenovo laptop for $180, a 24-inch 1080p Dynex LCD TV for $80, and a Toshiba Internet-ready Blu-ray Disc player for $40.
“It’s hands-down bigger than last year,” Bonevento told TWICE. “In fact, it’s the biggest crowd in four years.”
Elsewhere, Kmart, which was open for the 20th consecutive year on Thanksgiving Day, said customers started arriving as early as 2 a.m. on Thursday. Store managers reported the Ario 32-inch TV ($199), Leader i7 tablet ($100) and a 7-inch Sylvania netbook ($80) among their hottest sellers.
Sister chain Sears opened its doors at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, but customers lined up as early as midnight to snag more than 900 doorbuster deals including the 60-inch Sharp LED for $1,000, a 42-inch Panasonic LED for $600 and a Kenmore laundry pair for $470.
Even after the initial doorbuster crunch, “both Sears and Kmart stores across the country continued to experience a steady flow of foot traffic,” a Sears Holdings spokesman said.
Bloomberg Business
by Chris Burritt
Dec 7, 2011
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Peggy Curtis spent Thanksgiving week out of work, the first layoff in her 37 years making cigarettes in a Reidsville, North Carolina, factory. Instead of moping, she went shopping for holiday decorations at Home Depot Inc.
“The economy is tough, but that’s not going to stop me,” said Curtis, 58, whose $600 spree so far includes enough lights to illuminate nine Crape Myrtle shrubs. “I love Christmas.”
With little to cheer about these days -- 8.6 percent unemployment, fears of European contagion -- Americans are splurging on LED lights, 16-foot-tall inflatable Santas and pre- decorated artificial trees. This year U.S. consumers will spend $6 billion on decorations, the most in at least seven years, according to the National Retail Federation, which began tracking the data in 2005.
Home Depot, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, and second-biggest Lowe’s Cos. are trying to capitalize on the holidays, boosting orders for trees and decorations to help offset sinking demand for appliances amid projections that housing prices will keep falling next year.
“This is a business we should own,” Home Depot Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome said by telephone from Atlanta, where the company is based. “We were selling the most trees of any retailer in America, but we weren’t offering the ornaments or the light strings or the tree stands. So we expanded our assortment.”
Holiday decor sales may climb 8.1 percent this year, rising for a second straight year, according to the Washington-based NRF, citing an October survey of consumers by BIGresearch. More than 68 percent of consumers may indulge, the highest level in three years, the NRF said.
Fourth-Quarter Sales
Pushing trees, ornaments and lights will help fourth- quarter sales at Home Depot and Lowe’s, Joe Feldman, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group in New York, said yesterday. Typically the last quarter of the year is the slowest for the home- improvement chains, generating about 22 percent of revenue.
Shoppers are drawn by new technology, Lowe’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Niblock said in an interview. Hot sellers include solar-powered lights, LED bulbs that keep burning even if one breaks and a $99 gadget that makes lights blink in time with “Jingle Bells” and other carols.
Thomas Schuitema, who owns the Broadway Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, Michigan, “had to have” a string of LED lights that create the effect of snow falling down each bulb. They cost $160 and now adorn his restaurant.
“They just caught my eye,” said Schuitema, who has been decorating the eatery for 18 of his 54 years.
Inflatable Decorations
During the past decade, home-improvement stores have taken advantage of their size -- 10 times bigger than the typical drugstore -- to grab sales with ever-growing displays of trees and inflatable decorations, said Scott Manning, Home Depot’s merchandising vice president in charge of seasonal items.
Since selling its first cut tree 26 years ago, Home Depot has given holiday decor more space and stepped up marketing. It displays garlands and ornaments at store entrances and last month gave buyers of more-efficient LED lights a $5 rebate for trading in their old incandescent strands.
At a Lowe’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, an inflatable Santa waves and nods at shoppers entering the store. It’s new this year, as is a blow-up Santa and sleigh at Home Depot, which has boosted holiday sales every year through the economic slump, said Jean Niemi, a company spokeswoman.
Inflatable Santa gets around. He drives motorcycles and airplanes and helicopters. At Lowe’s, he looms over the entrance to the garden center. Inside the store, up on a shelf, an outhouse door pops open and Santa pops out, with an elf holding his nose.
Cut Trees
Home Depot has boosted sales of holiday merchandise by three times in the past six years, Manning said. It sells the most cut trees, more than 2.5 million in 2010, and bought about 10 percent more this year, he said. He declined to provide sales figures.
Lowe’s, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, increased holiday orders by 5 percent to 10 percent in each of the past two years after “pulling back” on the bet consumers would buy fewer non-essential items including decorations, Niblock said.
And there
Monday, December 5, 2011
3 habits of highly effective leaders
CBS Money Watch
November 30, 2011 11:44 AM
By Amy Levin-Epstein
Are you a leader? Whether you're an executive or an entry-level employee, leadership is a truly essential skill that can propel you and your career to bigger, better things. That holds true for both leaders of large teams and self-employed people who are guiding a team of one.
I recently spoke to leadership consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger, whose new book, Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders For a Complex World, is already garnering praise from industry executives and academic experts at Microsoft, Fidelity, Harvard University and Boston College. Here are some of her insights on what good leaders do -- and what separates them from the pack.
What are three habits a competent leader practices regularly?
The first habit is asking different questions. This is about expanding your curiosity.
The second habit is taking multiple perspectives. This habit is about listening well and understanding the perspectives of others.
The third habit is looking at systems, and that one reminds us that while the human brain likes to break things down into manageable parts, it is the unwieldy combination of those unmanageable systems that opens us up to new possibilities.
Do even the best leaders make mistakes?
Yes. They'll get mad and make mistakes and hurt people. And sometimes they won't even recognize that they've done that. But the best leaders never stop learning, never become so arrogant or complacent that they stop believing they have room to grow. They never become so hopeless or discouraged that they believe it's not worth the effort. John F. Kennedy wrote that "leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." The good leaders (almost) never forget this.
What else separates great leaders from everyone else?
They create environments where people can be at their biggest. We all have the experience of people who make us smaller and less capable versus those who make us more capable in their presence than we are without them. Good leaders remember that their perspective isn't the only truth, and they welcome entire human beings into the workplace -- inconvenient emotions, vague hunches, thoughtless mistakes and all. When people see us in our messy wholeness, we can spread out and become bigger.
If I want to become more of a leader today, how should I start?
The most important thing? Believe that you can change and begin to look for the ways you might need to by asking for feedback from others. Forgive yourself for your limitations (rather than denying them or beating yourself up about them), and then seek to grow beyond the way you understand the world today
November 30, 2011 11:44 AM
By Amy Levin-Epstein
Are you a leader? Whether you're an executive or an entry-level employee, leadership is a truly essential skill that can propel you and your career to bigger, better things. That holds true for both leaders of large teams and self-employed people who are guiding a team of one.
I recently spoke to leadership consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger, whose new book, Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders For a Complex World, is already garnering praise from industry executives and academic experts at Microsoft, Fidelity, Harvard University and Boston College. Here are some of her insights on what good leaders do -- and what separates them from the pack.
What are three habits a competent leader practices regularly?
The first habit is asking different questions. This is about expanding your curiosity.
The second habit is taking multiple perspectives. This habit is about listening well and understanding the perspectives of others.
The third habit is looking at systems, and that one reminds us that while the human brain likes to break things down into manageable parts, it is the unwieldy combination of those unmanageable systems that opens us up to new possibilities.
Do even the best leaders make mistakes?
Yes. They'll get mad and make mistakes and hurt people. And sometimes they won't even recognize that they've done that. But the best leaders never stop learning, never become so arrogant or complacent that they stop believing they have room to grow. They never become so hopeless or discouraged that they believe it's not worth the effort. John F. Kennedy wrote that "leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." The good leaders (almost) never forget this.
What else separates great leaders from everyone else?
They create environments where people can be at their biggest. We all have the experience of people who make us smaller and less capable versus those who make us more capable in their presence than we are without them. Good leaders remember that their perspective isn't the only truth, and they welcome entire human beings into the workplace -- inconvenient emotions, vague hunches, thoughtless mistakes and all. When people see us in our messy wholeness, we can spread out and become bigger.
If I want to become more of a leader today, how should I start?
The most important thing? Believe that you can change and begin to look for the ways you might need to by asking for feedback from others. Forgive yourself for your limitations (rather than denying them or beating yourself up about them), and then seek to grow beyond the way you understand the world today
Friday, December 2, 2011
TV isn't broken, so why fix it?
CNN Business Insider
By Matt Rosoff
December 2, 2011 --
(CNN) -- The technology industry is absolutely bent on reinventing television.
According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, one of his last big accomplishments was figuring out how to make a better TV.
"I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use," Jobs told his biographer. "It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud....It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."
Since then, the world has gone crazy speculating about how great this iTV (or whatever it's called) will be. It will apparently be powered by Siri, Apple's voice controlled assistant that appeared in the iPhone 4S earlier this year. Analyst Gene Munster thinks it will come in several sizes, be controllable from your iPhone or iPad, and -- this is Apple after all -- cost twice the price of a normal TV.
Apple isn't alone.
Google just released the second version of its Internet-meets-TV software, Google TV. This is despite the fact that first version was such a flop that hardware partner Logitech had more Google TV returns than sales in the first quarter of 2011. (Not surprisingly, Logitech is not going to be on board for round two.)
Microsoft is also getting into the act again, after countless failed attempts stretching back almost two decades. (Remember WebTV?) This time, it's teamed up with TV providers like Comcast and Verizon FiOS to deliver shows to the Xbox 360 game console. The big benefit: users will be able to search for shows by giving voice commands to Kinect, the nifty Xbox add-on that recognizes voice and gestures.
Smaller companies like Roku and Boxee are also in the game.
But nobody seems to be able to answer the big question: what exactly is so broken about TV anyway?
It's true that the TV guide in most cable systems is pretty awful -- it looks like Yahoo circa 1994. It's a pain fiddling with a bunch of different remotes. It might be kind of nice to watch YouTube videos on a big screen in the living room.
But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most TV viewers simply won't care enough about any of this stuff to shell out $1,500 for a new Apple TV, or spend a few hundred bucks and countless hours fiddling around adding a new box to their TV set and figuring out how it works.
All of these are destined to be niche products at best -- just like every other attempt to improve TV over the last 20 years.
Here's why.
The tech industry is filled with engineers and geeks. They naturally want to optimize the TV experience, to make it as efficient and elegant as possible, requiring the fewest number of steps to complete a particular task while offering the greatest number of amazing new features.
But normal people don't think about TV that way. TV is passive. The last thing we want to do is work at it.
And right now, we're not working that hard. It's not that tough to keep track of a few favorite shows -- Breaking Bad is on Monday, NFL games happen on Sunday, SportsCenter is every night at 11, and CNN is on channel 56 if something big is happening in the Middle East or Washington. You turn the set on, turn to the right channel, and that's it. Done.
The rest of the time, we're not all that picky. As long as there's something on -- anything -- that is reasonably engaging, we're cool. Most of us are even OK spending a few minutes just shuffling through channels at random. (Remember -- "channel surfing" was used to describe this habit long before "Web surfing" came around.)
Over the years, Steve Jobs himself identified a lot of the reasons why it's hard to change the TV industry. Cable companies give set top boxes away, which makes it hard for anybody else to break in. The cable industry is "balkanized," which makes it hard to pick a single partner like Apple did with AT&T and the iPhone.
But the real clue comes, again, from the Isaacson biography. Jobs talks about having a really tough time balancing his return to Apple in 1997 with his obligations as CEO of Pixar. "I would go to work at 7 a.m. and get back at 9 at night and the kids would be in bed. And I couldn't speak, I literally couldn't, I was so exhausted....All I could do was watch a half hour of TV and vegetate."
That's why we love TV just the way it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
By Matt Rosoff
December 2, 2011 --
(CNN) -- The technology industry is absolutely bent on reinventing television.
According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, one of his last big accomplishments was figuring out how to make a better TV.
"I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use," Jobs told his biographer. "It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud....It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."
Since then, the world has gone crazy speculating about how great this iTV (or whatever it's called) will be. It will apparently be powered by Siri, Apple's voice controlled assistant that appeared in the iPhone 4S earlier this year. Analyst Gene Munster thinks it will come in several sizes, be controllable from your iPhone or iPad, and -- this is Apple after all -- cost twice the price of a normal TV.
Apple isn't alone.
Google just released the second version of its Internet-meets-TV software, Google TV. This is despite the fact that first version was such a flop that hardware partner Logitech had more Google TV returns than sales in the first quarter of 2011. (Not surprisingly, Logitech is not going to be on board for round two.)
Microsoft is also getting into the act again, after countless failed attempts stretching back almost two decades. (Remember WebTV?) This time, it's teamed up with TV providers like Comcast and Verizon FiOS to deliver shows to the Xbox 360 game console. The big benefit: users will be able to search for shows by giving voice commands to Kinect, the nifty Xbox add-on that recognizes voice and gestures.
Smaller companies like Roku and Boxee are also in the game.
But nobody seems to be able to answer the big question: what exactly is so broken about TV anyway?
It's true that the TV guide in most cable systems is pretty awful -- it looks like Yahoo circa 1994. It's a pain fiddling with a bunch of different remotes. It might be kind of nice to watch YouTube videos on a big screen in the living room.
But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most TV viewers simply won't care enough about any of this stuff to shell out $1,500 for a new Apple TV, or spend a few hundred bucks and countless hours fiddling around adding a new box to their TV set and figuring out how it works.
All of these are destined to be niche products at best -- just like every other attempt to improve TV over the last 20 years.
Here's why.
The tech industry is filled with engineers and geeks. They naturally want to optimize the TV experience, to make it as efficient and elegant as possible, requiring the fewest number of steps to complete a particular task while offering the greatest number of amazing new features.
But normal people don't think about TV that way. TV is passive. The last thing we want to do is work at it.
And right now, we're not working that hard. It's not that tough to keep track of a few favorite shows -- Breaking Bad is on Monday, NFL games happen on Sunday, SportsCenter is every night at 11, and CNN is on channel 56 if something big is happening in the Middle East or Washington. You turn the set on, turn to the right channel, and that's it. Done.
The rest of the time, we're not all that picky. As long as there's something on -- anything -- that is reasonably engaging, we're cool. Most of us are even OK spending a few minutes just shuffling through channels at random. (Remember -- "channel surfing" was used to describe this habit long before "Web surfing" came around.)
Over the years, Steve Jobs himself identified a lot of the reasons why it's hard to change the TV industry. Cable companies give set top boxes away, which makes it hard for anybody else to break in. The cable industry is "balkanized," which makes it hard to pick a single partner like Apple did with AT&T and the iPhone.
But the real clue comes, again, from the Isaacson biography. Jobs talks about having a really tough time balancing his return to Apple in 1997 with his obligations as CEO of Pixar. "I would go to work at 7 a.m. and get back at 9 at night and the kids would be in bed. And I couldn't speak, I literally couldn't, I was so exhausted....All I could do was watch a half hour of TV and vegetate."
That's why we love TV just the way it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Social Media Profiles Hurt Jobseekers More than Help
MediaPost's Blogs:The Social Graf
by Erik Sass, Nov 28, 2011, 2:56 PM
Hopefully most readers of this post are aware that their social media profiles are fair game for potential employers, who may peruse the photos and updates posted to a Facebook page to gather evidence as to the character and sobriety (often literally) of a prospective job candidate. This week brings more evidence that ill-advised social media content can hurt your chances, courtesy of a survey of executives responsible for hiring decisions in Australia.
The survey of 1,255 bosses and other hiring executives, conducted by Pure Profile on behalf of Australian telecom Telestra, found that 28% of the respondents use social media to screen job candidates by doing research into their backgrounds. Within this group, respondents said they were turned off by something posted on a profile around 40% of the time. That compares to one-third who said that something posted on a profile helped decide them in favor of a particular candidate.
No surprise, one of the biggest mistakes made by job applicants in their social media profiles was criticizing their current employer: 44% of Australian employers who use social media for screening said they automatically disqualified jobseekers who posted critical comments about their current workplace, according to the Pure Profile-Telestra survey. Other frequent mistakes were making discriminatory remarks, with 37% saying this was an automatic deal-breaker, and posting inappropriate photos, with 31% of employers giving the old heave-ho. Again unsurprisingly, Facebook was the most popular source of information on job candidates, used by 41% of bosses who screen applicants through social media, followed by LinkedIn at 31%, Twitter at 14%, and YouTube and MySpace at 7% each.
Interestingly, social media surveillance may continue even after someone lands a job: 43% of Aussie employers say they accept friend requests from their employees, and 33% say they check their employees’ social media profiles -- including 18% who monitor them to make sure the employees aren’t badmouthing the company online, and 15% who monitor for productivity.
Back in the U.S., there’s no question employers are zeroing in on social media profiles as sources of information about job candidates -- sometimes with the help of professional background researchers. In June of this year I wrote about a decision by the Federal Trade Commission which effectively allows everything an individual puts on social media (which is publicly available under their privacy settings) to be archived by third parties for up to seven years, for the explicit purpose of background checks -- even if the individual has deleted the content in question from his or her own account.
The FTC determined that a company called Social Intelligence Corp. was operating within the bounds of the law when it created "cached" archives of social media profiles for review by employers, including potentially damaging photos and statements. According to Social Intelligence Corp. CEO Max Drucker, the company focuses on screening social media profiles for the usual suspects -- racist remarks, sexually explicit content, pictures with guns, knives, or other weapons, and other illegal behavior (think bongs).
There are some limits on how employers may use archived social media content, however. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, companies are required to tell prospective employees (or, say, credit applicants) that they are going to perform background check and obtain their permission to do so. Also, companies must tell the applicant about any damaging information they find online.
by Erik Sass, Nov 28, 2011, 2:56 PM
Hopefully most readers of this post are aware that their social media profiles are fair game for potential employers, who may peruse the photos and updates posted to a Facebook page to gather evidence as to the character and sobriety (often literally) of a prospective job candidate. This week brings more evidence that ill-advised social media content can hurt your chances, courtesy of a survey of executives responsible for hiring decisions in Australia.
The survey of 1,255 bosses and other hiring executives, conducted by Pure Profile on behalf of Australian telecom Telestra, found that 28% of the respondents use social media to screen job candidates by doing research into their backgrounds. Within this group, respondents said they were turned off by something posted on a profile around 40% of the time. That compares to one-third who said that something posted on a profile helped decide them in favor of a particular candidate.
No surprise, one of the biggest mistakes made by job applicants in their social media profiles was criticizing their current employer: 44% of Australian employers who use social media for screening said they automatically disqualified jobseekers who posted critical comments about their current workplace, according to the Pure Profile-Telestra survey. Other frequent mistakes were making discriminatory remarks, with 37% saying this was an automatic deal-breaker, and posting inappropriate photos, with 31% of employers giving the old heave-ho. Again unsurprisingly, Facebook was the most popular source of information on job candidates, used by 41% of bosses who screen applicants through social media, followed by LinkedIn at 31%, Twitter at 14%, and YouTube and MySpace at 7% each.
Interestingly, social media surveillance may continue even after someone lands a job: 43% of Aussie employers say they accept friend requests from their employees, and 33% say they check their employees’ social media profiles -- including 18% who monitor them to make sure the employees aren’t badmouthing the company online, and 15% who monitor for productivity.
Back in the U.S., there’s no question employers are zeroing in on social media profiles as sources of information about job candidates -- sometimes with the help of professional background researchers. In June of this year I wrote about a decision by the Federal Trade Commission which effectively allows everything an individual puts on social media (which is publicly available under their privacy settings) to be archived by third parties for up to seven years, for the explicit purpose of background checks -- even if the individual has deleted the content in question from his or her own account.
The FTC determined that a company called Social Intelligence Corp. was operating within the bounds of the law when it created "cached" archives of social media profiles for review by employers, including potentially damaging photos and statements. According to Social Intelligence Corp. CEO Max Drucker, the company focuses on screening social media profiles for the usual suspects -- racist remarks, sexually explicit content, pictures with guns, knives, or other weapons, and other illegal behavior (think bongs).
There are some limits on how employers may use archived social media content, however. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, companies are required to tell prospective employees (or, say, credit applicants) that they are going to perform background check and obtain their permission to do so. Also, companies must tell the applicant about any damaging information they find online.
Traditional TV Still Reaches Key Student Demo
MediaDailyNews
by Wayne Friedman, Nov 28, 2011, 3:12 PM
All students, college and high school, still do most of their TV watching in conventional ways on a TV screen.
A new study from New York-based Youth Pulse (Ypulse), the youth marketing research/information company, says college and high-school students view TV shows on traditional TV 53% of the time. Just looking at college students alone, this number drops to 46%.
An analysis from the company suggests that college students with more of an out-of-home busy schedule than high-schoolers can't always rely on accessing traditional TV. There is also an issue of finance.
Of those college students that have a TV set, 11% have no service. They probably use it for streaming, gaming or watching DVDs. If they do have some subscription TV service, it is probably a basic, low-cost channel service.
The survey says 34% pay at least part of the bill themselves. Thirty-eight percent say their parents pay the monthly bill for their TV service, while 26% say it comes as part of the package with their dorm room or apartment.
Few students are unfamiliar with nontraditional, digital online viewing.
For example, only 12% of high schoolers say they have never watched a TV show online. According to Ypulse, only 28% say they can’t live without TV, compared to 83% who say they can’t imagine life without music.
The study came from 1,647 interviews between July 29 and August 17, 2011 and 1,499 interviews between Sept. 29 and Oct. 26, 2011.
by Wayne Friedman, Nov 28, 2011, 3:12 PM
All students, college and high school, still do most of their TV watching in conventional ways on a TV screen.
A new study from New York-based Youth Pulse (Ypulse), the youth marketing research/information company, says college and high-school students view TV shows on traditional TV 53% of the time. Just looking at college students alone, this number drops to 46%.
An analysis from the company suggests that college students with more of an out-of-home busy schedule than high-schoolers can't always rely on accessing traditional TV. There is also an issue of finance.
Of those college students that have a TV set, 11% have no service. They probably use it for streaming, gaming or watching DVDs. If they do have some subscription TV service, it is probably a basic, low-cost channel service.
The survey says 34% pay at least part of the bill themselves. Thirty-eight percent say their parents pay the monthly bill for their TV service, while 26% say it comes as part of the package with their dorm room or apartment.
Few students are unfamiliar with nontraditional, digital online viewing.
For example, only 12% of high schoolers say they have never watched a TV show online. According to Ypulse, only 28% say they can’t live without TV, compared to 83% who say they can’t imagine life without music.
The study came from 1,647 interviews between July 29 and August 17, 2011 and 1,499 interviews between Sept. 29 and Oct. 26, 2011.
How NOT to fail at negotiating: what we can learn from the supercommittee
CBS Money Watch
November 29, 2011 8:00 AM
By Tom Searcy
Guess what, the supercommittee failed. I know, I know...I was shocked, too! Could it have been in the way it was designed? Possibly. Let's consider some of the basic mistakes that were made in the design of the supercommittee that guaranteed failure just as those same mistakes would result in the same outcome in any business negotiation.
Here are three sure-fire conditions to create failure in a negotiation process:
1. Both sides have the same non-negotiables -- It is hard to imagine a successful outcome to negotiation when both parties have established opposite positions on the same "non-negotiable" items. It means that no one is negotiating in good faith, but rather for some other purpose...say, political theater, perhaps?
2. Send surrogates, not decision-makers -- Negotiation and "carrier-pigeoning" other people's messages are two very different activities. If you want to negotiate in good faith, you have to send people with enough authority to frame an agreement, make concessions and accept the general tenets of offers. When everyone at the table is ceremonial, it's Kabuki.
3. Don't define what winning looks like -- Most good journeys start with a mutually understood destination that everyone agrees to. If only one party knows the destination and forces the other along against its will, it's called kidnapping. Defining what winning means is also not the same thing as defining what losing means. This committee was brought together with a clear understanding of what failure would mean, but not the same clarity of what winning would require.
Negotiation is not only for national and international policy. Private corporations negotiate all the time. This frequency does not always mean that they avoid the traps listed above. Frankly, the reasons the traps were there is that they are typical and easy to fall into.
Now that you know how not to negotiate, here are several recommendations to increase the potential of success:
1. Start with common ground -- The best negotiators I have seen begin the discussion with common ground -- items both parties can agree upon and from which a shared vision can be built. By declaring the common ground, you create a safe place to return to when things become heated.
2. Empower real negotiators -- Of course, final sign-off for negotiated agreements requires approval of a higher body such as the board of directors, congress, the business owner and so on. However, if you want progress in the process then your negotiators and theirs must be able to maneuver in good faith with dialogue that carries support. Don't send empty suits -- your counterparts will do the same and both sides will waste a lot of time.
3. Take the time to define "winning" for both sides -- Defining the conditions of success at the outset should not be confused with negotiating. Negotiations are about getting to the outcomes that have been agreed upon in spirit at the beginning of the conversation. If you don't have enough trust to mutually declare and agree upon what a successful outcome is, there is little chance of achieving a negotiated agreement.
A great primer on negotiating was written about the Oslo Accords by one of the chief negotiators, Uri Savir, and it's called "The Process." Some of the ideas in this post come from the things he taught at a conference I attended on negotiation in Vietnam.
November 29, 2011 8:00 AM
By Tom Searcy
Guess what, the supercommittee failed. I know, I know...I was shocked, too! Could it have been in the way it was designed? Possibly. Let's consider some of the basic mistakes that were made in the design of the supercommittee that guaranteed failure just as those same mistakes would result in the same outcome in any business negotiation.
Here are three sure-fire conditions to create failure in a negotiation process:
1. Both sides have the same non-negotiables -- It is hard to imagine a successful outcome to negotiation when both parties have established opposite positions on the same "non-negotiable" items. It means that no one is negotiating in good faith, but rather for some other purpose...say, political theater, perhaps?
2. Send surrogates, not decision-makers -- Negotiation and "carrier-pigeoning" other people's messages are two very different activities. If you want to negotiate in good faith, you have to send people with enough authority to frame an agreement, make concessions and accept the general tenets of offers. When everyone at the table is ceremonial, it's Kabuki.
3. Don't define what winning looks like -- Most good journeys start with a mutually understood destination that everyone agrees to. If only one party knows the destination and forces the other along against its will, it's called kidnapping. Defining what winning means is also not the same thing as defining what losing means. This committee was brought together with a clear understanding of what failure would mean, but not the same clarity of what winning would require.
Negotiation is not only for national and international policy. Private corporations negotiate all the time. This frequency does not always mean that they avoid the traps listed above. Frankly, the reasons the traps were there is that they are typical and easy to fall into.
Now that you know how not to negotiate, here are several recommendations to increase the potential of success:
1. Start with common ground -- The best negotiators I have seen begin the discussion with common ground -- items both parties can agree upon and from which a shared vision can be built. By declaring the common ground, you create a safe place to return to when things become heated.
2. Empower real negotiators -- Of course, final sign-off for negotiated agreements requires approval of a higher body such as the board of directors, congress, the business owner and so on. However, if you want progress in the process then your negotiators and theirs must be able to maneuver in good faith with dialogue that carries support. Don't send empty suits -- your counterparts will do the same and both sides will waste a lot of time.
3. Take the time to define "winning" for both sides -- Defining the conditions of success at the outset should not be confused with negotiating. Negotiations are about getting to the outcomes that have been agreed upon in spirit at the beginning of the conversation. If you don't have enough trust to mutually declare and agree upon what a successful outcome is, there is little chance of achieving a negotiated agreement.
A great primer on negotiating was written about the Oslo Accords by one of the chief negotiators, Uri Savir, and it's called "The Process." Some of the ideas in this post come from the things he taught at a conference I attended on negotiation in Vietnam.
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