Rocks Are Hard

Hire a Waiter or a Bartender

Recruiting is a tricking business in the best of times -- add the situation we live in today and it's even nuttier. Definetely an art form, not a science (no matter what anyone tells you). 

At Double Forte we've tried many different processes to recruit great people. Today we have a bit of a different approach that takes into account the situation we find ourselves in today.

• No one with 10 years of experience: for one thing there are VERY few people in our biz with 8-12 years of experience -- why? because almost no one got hired between mid-2000 and mid-2004 --so there's a big, 5 year donut hole in the talent pool)
• More people want to manage than want to work (don't get me started)
• An abundance of people who feel certain types of work is below them
• A tidal wave of applicants who want their career handed to them

.... to name a few. 

So we look outside the check list of traditional requirements to find that special person that fits our purpose.  And we're down to this:

• Does the person have a lean-forward, can-do attitude. Does their current situation prove it?
• Can the person write two sentences, one after the other, that convey a powerful thought with proper spelling and grammar? (I assure you this rule DQs a large percentage of people)
• If it's a higher level position - what does the person bring to the table to augment what we already have? 
• Does the candidate exhibit initiative?
• Teamplayer? Yes or No. 

This net -- with weird-shaped holes -- catches a lot of great candidates...  for other jobs.

Then the last filter -- BIG BONUS points if they've been a waitress or bar tender and put it on their resume.   (See this great New York Times profile of Amy Astley of Teen Vogue "Always Be Proud to list 'Waitress' On Your Resume). When you have to live and die (or pay rent or eat ramen) based on tips, you learn SERVICE the hard way...and it doesn't leave you.

 Who gets through is a special  breed - our breed.

Our herd is getting larger, one special person at a time. 

Double Forte Acquires The Barn Group

Well I haven't attended this blog in a long time, but have exciting news to share.

Double Forte has acquired long-term partner agency The Barn Group, a specialty artisan wine and food public relations and marketing services firm!

Together, Double Forte and The Barn Group bring deep expertise in large-scale national food and beverage companies as well as in smaller, artisan wine and food companies to offer exceptional experience from both worlds to our growing list of clients.

The Barn Group was founded by Managing Director Maggie Zeman in 2006; it will maintain its headquarters in Healdsburg, Calif. and will also have offices at Double Forte's HQ in San Francisco.

Maggie and her team have built a stellar reputation for The Barn Group with boutique wineries, wine organizations and food companies throughout Northern California.  She is a brilliant strategist, an amazing client advocate, and a consumate communications professional.  The Barn Group is a perfect complement to Double Forte's Food & Bev practice. 

I've known Maggie Zeman for a long time -- first as a competitor, then as a client, then as a colleague at Red Whistle, then as a partner firm and now as a partner.  

Frankly we've looked at partnering with many boutique firms in the last year or so and The Barn Group is the first to pass the Double Forte sniff test:

1.  "Do we have complementary work styles, ethics and priorities?"
2.  "Can we help each other?"
3.  "Will our businesses be stronger together?"
4. "Will we have fun together?"

I'm sure these are not in the right order, but they work for us! The Barn Group is in and already our clients are benefitting from the added expertise on both sides of the business.

I'm thrilled that Maggie and her team are part of the Double Forte family and we look forward to a great future together.

I invite you to check out The Barn Group at www.barngroup.com.

Cheers! 

 

Deadlines: A Primer

Deadlines aren't for you, they're for someone else. Because someone else needs what you're working on to get what they're working on done. So with that in mind, let's review:

1.Never EVER set Friday 5pm as the deadline. All that means is that the person you're sending something to is going to have to stay late or work on the weekend to act on it. And you're on the hook until your work is cleared...so you're working late or over the weekend too.  If someone gives you that deadline, RESET it to Friday at noon.

2. Same thing with Monday morning. All this means is you're working over the weekend.

3. Any day at EOD as the deadline guarantees a crappy day and working into the night. Move it back so you have time to answer any questions the person you're delivering something to might have.

4. If you're not going to make a deadline, tell the person ASAP and renegotiate   to   figure out how to get it done. RUN, don't walk on this one.   Your work not getting there on time can set off a whole domino effect you can't see and the fact that you missed it will feel MUCH larger than you can predict.  Really, if you have a 3pm deadline, you are sure to know before 2:59 that you're not going to make it.  Renegotiate a deadline as soon as you know you're in trouble so everyone around you can plan too.  No excuse.

5. No matter how great your work is, if it's late  it doesn't count.  No, don't argue with me.

The End.

Please Say Please

When the going gets tough - it's time to pour on the manners.

Please and Thank You go a long way in a difficult situation.  Go a long way in ANY situation.

For clients who regularly say please and thank you, my experience over 24 years says they get better service, better results, more for their money. For co-workers who use please and thank you, my experience says work gets done faster without as much drama and bitterness.

Even if you are giving a direct instruction, please and thank you have a serious place in the dialogue. It shows you respect the other person. It demonstrates that you are dependent on them to do something well for you.

At the same time, please and thank you do not mean the request or directive is necessarily a suggestion. Rather that the person has respect for you. If your "current" understanding of your day does not accommodate the request or directive, it is incumbent on you to explain that you have a full deck and to accommodate the request you will need to shuffle the deck and then seek input on how to get it done.

(Of course this sign is all wrong, but it makes the point!)

I know I respond better when the please and thank you buttons are pushed.

So Please say "please" and Thank you for saying "thank you" as you go about your day.

It is the give and take of working together.

A Sense of Urgency is Something You Feel, and it DOES NOT Feel like Panic

A sense of urgency -- let's define it.

A drive to deliver something BEFORE it's due so that you can be ahead.

An understanding of what the other person is dealing with so that you can provide what they need IN TIME to make a difference for that person.

A respect for the other person's day.

A sense of CALM because you're not always up against a deadline.

Now, actually I'm not talking to my staff. I'm reminded of these things because in many parts of my life I am the client and frankly service out there sucks. Why am I chasing these people down? How come everything I need to act on comes in when I need to act on it?

Double Forte-ains -- a sense of urgency -- a calmness around delivery -- will always differentiate us from those around us.

A Sense of Urgency

Now this may be repetitive, but it bears repeating - a sense of urgency (as opposed to panic) is the KEY to great service.

Urgency -- that it be done well

Urgency -- that you prepare for a good meeting, call, interaction

Urgency -- to deliver what you promise

Urgency -- to think AHEAD

Urgency is what separates us from all the crappy PR firms out there.

Be Urgent NOT panicked. Be planful and not knee-jeck. And secure your place in the ecosystem forEVER.

The End.

2009: Year of the "A" Game

Ok People - it's a new year and as with all new starts (a new month, a new year, a new page, a new notebook, Labor Day when I break out all the new pencils) it's time to cast a theme to help guide us.

And it occurs to me, among all of the turmoil in the economy and unpredicability around us that once again, focus is our friend and that if we control ourselves we will be FAR ahead of the game.

And what does control mean? It means BRINGING YOUR "A" GAME EVERY DAY.

We can have bad calls or less than stellar plays, but we MUST play an A game every day.

Decide what your A game is and play it.

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.

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. 

Just Say No to No

  In the last four weeks all the rules have changed...again. I'm not sure anyone knows what the rules are yet, but I think I can tell you what they will include:

1. Attitude Matters -- a good attitude, the willingness to help, the pavlov reaction to help and solve and pitch in, will be a important key for employees, contractors, agencies to getting, keeping and upping their positions.

Your job is NOT just your job: your job is to pass the ball, throw up the defensive block, create the diversion, get the assist to your colleagues around you. It may go against the Wall Street "Greed is Good" it's all about me pov, (and hey is that a bad thing?) but I believe that everyone will get further by moving forward together.

Just say no to No. EVEN IF NO IS THE ANSWER. You can get to NO, just don't make that the first word out of your mouth. Be willing to consider, be willing to solve, be willing to counsel to get to the result even if the request brings in a screaming "NO!" into your brain.

Take a breath. Listen to the request. Write it down. Ask a question about the goal. UNDERSTAND the goal.

Then go figure out how to get to the goal.  If we focus on Scoring the Goal instead of rejecting the play we don't think will work (yes I've been watching football and baseball lately) then we win.

Now is when experience matters. Now is when knowing what can work and what won't will make the difference in results. BUT IF YOU CAN'T BE HEARD BECAUSE YOU SAY NO FIRST it won't matter.