Rocks Are Hard

The Golden Rule At Work

"Treat others as you would like others to treat you." 

The Golden Rule -- taught in schools and in houses of worship around the world. Often forgotten in the workplace. And a standard of interaction -- a modus operandi -- that builds teams, eliminates confusion and creates a positive, productive work environment.  And as importantly a standard that fosters a great client-agency relationship.

How does this show up?

• Always Provide Context With Instruction: Always provide reasoning and context for instructions, due dates or projects so people understand what they're doing and why, this allows them to better do the work you've assigned.  You probably don't like it when you don't know why you have to do something, so:
  • a) make sure you always provide context -- especially if the instruction is different than orginally discussed;  and
  • b) ask for context if you don't have it.   
•  Always Give the Whole Picture: Most of us operate better when we understand the ultimate goal (see above bullet). When working together under deadlines, make sure your teammates have all the information they need (what else will preclude you from helping? what is your schedule? what resources do you need to accomplish your task?) so that project leads can plan accordingly. Nothing is more frustrating than adjusting a schedule to find out that that schedule won't work either because you didn't have the all the information.
• If You Have An Issue With Someone Tell Them First. He said, she said. She said, she said. He said, he said. Not constructive. If you have an issue with someone, find a quiet place to talk it out RESPECTFULLY. If you aren't getting to a good resolution, bring in someone else to moderate. The Reasonable Person Theory is put to test here. Be reasonable. Be respectful. Treat the other person like you want to be treated and resolution will come. 
• Tell People When They Do Well. AND When They Can Improve. 'nuff said.
• Tell OTHER People When Someone Has Done Great Work. 'nuff said.
• Answer every inquiry with "How Can I Help You?" What if every time you needed something from somebody they said "How can I help you?" and they meant it? What if you said it every time someone came to you? What a difference this question makes.
• Never Say No. No immediately puts up a defense. If you think 'no" evaluate what you're thinking. Say, "let me get mull it over and get back to you." Say "interesting. Let me think about how to accomplish the goal." Say "cool idea. Let's knock it around the team and we'll come back to you with a plan."   The answer might be "no" to the question presented. But there is usually a way to get to the goal that is actually YES to the intent and NO to the immediate action plan. Think Yes.

If we can treat our team mates and our clients the way we'd like to be treated, we will be so far ahead of the game that no one will be able to touch us -- in client service or in the workplace.

Control Yourself And You'll Be Ahead of the Game

I've always said that in the uncontrollable world of service firms and PR that we don't control much (the irony of course is that we'll all control freaks)  -- our clients, their competitors, the government, the media, the people we reach out to -- but if we can contol ourselves we are way ahead of the game.

Why?

Because MOST PEOPLE DO NOT control themselves.

They don't think everything through before they present it. They don't really hone hone hone their work so that response is more likely. They don't research before they outreach. They don't keep on top of their reading, so they're a few steps behind.  They think their plans will unveil in perfect lock-step order.

So if we prepare, if we think about contingencies, if we research, if we do good work, if we think ahead, and if we are flexible, and if we don't overreact when things don't go our way -- then we're ahead of the rest of the group.

And now it's even more important to control yourself. Because the world is topsy-turvy. The market is up; the market is down. The market is upper; the market is up and down in the same day. People are nervous. Thousands of people who never thought they'd have to worry about their six figure jobs lost them and are wondering what they'll be doing to bring home the bacon.

The next 18 - 24 months are going to be hairy. Service remains service; but the pressure is about to turn up. Clients will be under increased pressure to keep their own jobs. And it all rolls down hill.

Stay on the game; be flexible; control yourself and you'll win no matter what happens.

It Doesn't Work That Way: Relevancy in Today's Media Market

From where I sit it doesn't matter how old you are or what process you use in generating positive coverage for companies, products and people. What matters is HOW RELEVANT YOU ARE.

This is particularly true for companies providing consumer products and services.  We've had a rash of conversations about this topic with clients in the last 6 weeks --  spurred on by Sequoia's Deck. Clients wondering why some of their/our outreach programs have stalled.

PEOPLE! We were/are  in the middle of a worldwide financial crisis the dynamics of which the experts don't understand (hello! when John Doerr says he doesn't understand what's going on, that there is time to worry), on top of a game-changing presidential election on top of highly contentious statewide and regional elections. PEOPLE! If your company or product or executive doesn't have something precient to offer about these issues, you're not going to get covered in a meaningful way. Really, not many companies MATTER in this environment.

COMPOUNDING this problem is the huge number of reporters who have lost their jobs in the last 12 months -- todays reporters are covering more topics, in more formats, and simply do not have the time to respond to everything they like. Today, the pitch needs to be "cut and pasteable" so that if they like it, the cut and paste and bookend it and they're done -- you've got your story, without any feedback and they're on to the next. It's not rude, it's practical.

Of course we saw this coming and started changing tactics in mid September. We moved to con calls and virtual meetings over in-person meetings. We started changing up the pitches and "loading in" different options so that when the election was done, reporters would have a suite of stories to pick up. 

And it's working. The whole situation started changing last Wednesday -- loosening up with more reporters freed up from the election back to their regular business. 

So now the pitches seem to be working and moving into print or tv. BUT NOT JUST ANY OLD STORY. Stories that are RELEVANT to the national financial situation, to the time of year, to the trends going on (job losses, healthcare costs, smaller personal budgets, etc.). 

So -- the job is to get postive, business-driving coverage for our clients. In many cases today that will mean, NOT delivering the kind of stories the client wants, but stories where the client is cast in a positive and relevant light in relation to the macro trends impacting the consumer today. That is the job -- stop doing what doesn't work, start doing what does.

Be relevant. Focus. Be HELPFUL to reporters. And help your client understand what is possible and what is not for their programs.

Rocks are Hard

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And Another Thing...While I'm at the Advice Table

Yesterday I shared some advice I'm going to give to a total stranger who emailed me looking for a job.

A few more things come to mind.

• Shower before you come to work - every day before you come to work

• Wear deoderant - really, I mean it

• Don't where a do-rag, a raggedy scarf, or a messy headress -- if your religion or your health requires covering your head, please do -- I've never met anyone who wears something on their head for religious or health reasons who treated that garment with anything but care and respect -- but just wrapping a scarf around your head because you "didn't want to shower this morning" no ok (see number 1)

• The first questions out of your mouth in an interview should NEVER be:

• 1. How much vacation time is there? (followed up with the response, "oh that's not enough)
  2. How long until I really move up the ladder here and get some real work?
  3. When do I get my new iPhone?
  4. or: i can't use a blackberry, they're just not cool -- I'll be needing an iPhone.
  5. What are you office hours? (followed by: ummm, yeah that 8:30 start time isn't going to work for me)
  6. Is there a car allowance?
  7. Google has free lunch, and laundry and yoga classes - what's your plan? (Oh, and yeah, Google is pulling those back and PS Google doesn't want their staff EVER TO LEAVE)
• Do not leave your medications on your desk for all to see just because you "forget to take them if they're not in front of me."
• LEARN HOW TO EAT PROPERLY; This includes

1. Put your napkin in your lap as soon as you sit down 
2. Use your utensils from the outside in - the fork and spoon at 12 o'clock are for dessert
3. Do not slurp    
4. Take butter from the plate and put it on your bread plate -- do not stick your bread into the communal butter  
5. Don't get drunk at dinner with colleagues or clients  
6. Your drinking glass is above your knife  
7. Ask for people to pass you things - don't reach across other people at your table to get the cream  
8. EAT WITH YOUR MOUTH CLOSED  

• At your first company meeting, don't say "I know I may be new hear but don't think you can push me around."
• Don't talk about sex at work -- sex you're having, sex you wish you were having, preferred positions or number of partners -- ever.
• Politics does not belong at work -- unless you are a politician, are  working for a political campaign or politician. Do not solicit colleagues for money for the causes you support. Do not. Do not wear a political T shirt or button. No really, it's not cool.
• If your boss keeps it at home, SO SHOULD YOU. (but don't assume that the inverse is true)

Just a few REAL THINGS that have I have experienced to keep in mind.

Telling the Truth To Strangers

Last night I watched Life which stars Damien Lewis of "Band of Brothers" fame (which if you haven't seen you need to see) -- and a key line stuck out for me:

"you do that too. Tell the truth to strangers."

It's hard to tell the truth all the time. But without the truth we live incomplete.

Perhaps we think we're doing well, but actually, we're up to snuff - but no one tells us because they don't want to hurt our feelings, or it's too much effort, or they just don't know how, so we don't understand why we don't advance, or why we don't get invited to meetings.

Telling the truth to strangers can actually be easier -- we don't know them, we're not invested in what they think about us, it takes some time maybe, but not so much impact perhaps.

I got an email from a young woman the other day who sent me a cover letter and resume to apply for a job. She has excellent written communication skills - although a bit verbose - and clearly she's not a slacker. But she clearly hadn't read our website because a) if she had she would know that we don't ever have entry level positions and b) she didn't use any of our language. Frankly it pissed me off and I was going to ignore it and just not reply.

But now I'm going to email her back and tell her the truth, in the hopes that she can apply the truth to her job search efforts and land one that she wants soon. And here's part of what she's going to read:

1. Never ever send a cover letter and a resume as attachments in Word. If you insist on using attachments (which will get stopped by many email servers) ALWAYS PDF your documents. It's more professional, it can't easily be manipulated, and it says to the receiver that you know what you're doing.
2. If you insist on send a cover letter as attachment, make it easy to read. Serif font with not too tight kerning and SPACE please between the paragraphs.
3. Actually don't ever send a cover letter -- that's what the email body is for.
4. Always READ the website before you send an unsolicited resume. 
   1.  Know who you're sending to. If they say "experts-only" and "no junior staff" that probably means no entry level jobs.  
   2. Reflect the language of the company. Don't use the same language for every cover letter - hello! We can spot a form letter a mile away.
   3. Choose something on the website that appeals to you (for us: my favorite opera is ____, or I'll tell you my most embarrassing professional moment in person.)
5. Submitting your resume to an online job search service is NOT the same as sending it directly to a person at a company. All those words you chose that would pop out of the auto-software sifter that Monster uses don't read very well.
6. Please don't use transitive verbs or passive sentence structure.

This woman clearly has something to offer. Hopefully I can tell her the truth in a way that she can hear - because I'm not that different from all of the rest of the presidents of firms out there.

You're Not Done Until You're Done

How often have you revved copy or a pitch or a deck or an icon not to be done?

It's all great work, but it's not totally informed work.  That is -- your work is "finished" at point 1 in an internal process. An internal process that may have 10 steps -- your client's boss, his boss, other marketing stakeholders, legal, and other bodies in and out of the company.

Getting to step 1 approval is often arduous work. Brainstorming, honing, editing, feedback, honing some more and finally presenting to the client. So that THEY can present and socialize it internally. And by the time it comes back you it's butchered, or you have to start over again (even after acknowledged great work), and it's back to the drawing board.

It's the agency process. Presenting things that your client can then present without too much work on their part. Presenting things with a strong recommendation and even a presentation/buy-off strategy (e.g. "go for A and have B in your back pocket") -- NOT presenting options for them to choose from, presenting solid ideas and recommendations on course of action.

This is the difference between agencies who serve their clients well and those who don't understand what it's like to hold the internal position and serve their clients for their own interests.

This came home to me recently when I was the client. And the company serving me made me work harder to do their work than if I had done it myself.

NOT THE POINT. The point is to take work off my plate, not add to it.

It's not done until it's done. 

The End. 

Artificial Boundaries

For a while now the 4 guiding principles for selecting clients has been

1. is someone other than Lee interested in working with this company? (Based on the premise that you're more effective working on things that interest you)

2. Are we the right fit for a client? Service mix + style + ability to listen + expertise.

3. Can they pay us? Because we like to eat.

4. Are they good people? Or better said are we sure they're NOT assholes. Because who likes to be beat up everyday? This does NOT preclude, have high expectations which I think is mutual exclusive to the asshole who usually has impossible expectations.

Of course 2 and 3 will always be important -- because if you take on a client you're not a good fit for, that relationship is doomed from the start and you know you'll have to churn it soon (or it will churn you) and of course cash is king - getting paid allows us to pay our employees, etc.

1 and 4 though are TOTALLY ARTIFICIAL boundaries to the business. We've all worked on business we could care less about and we've all worked for assholes. By choosing to adhere to 1 and 4, we artifically constrict the business.

And there is value in that -- in very low employee turnover. In very low client turnover. In a pretty good deal in terms of work.

Imagine what we could do if we stretched just on number 1? I'm not sure I want to ever stretch on number 4 as an independent business.

mmmmmmm -- gets the wheels turning.