28 Years of Motion by BJ McKay

08:48 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Poor Customer Service... A Blessing?

I had parked my car in a pay parking lot prior to a meeting.  I knew this type of parking lot accepted only cash, and figured I'd just hit up an ATM after my meeting and get on with my day.  After my meeting I realized that my wife had used my card and I was left without a card to access my bank account.  Damn.I hunted down a branch of my bank on foot while downtown, and with relief entered to get some cash.  There was one man ahead of me taking out more cash than a person should ever need to carry.  There were 7 employees at the bank branch, and three tellers behind the counter.  I walked up to the entrance and waited for a few minutes and realized that I was going to have to wait until "cash man" was done with his monster transaction.  My first inclination was to continue to try and make eye contact with someone until I made them uncomfortable enough to serve me.  That seemed to be a reasonable next step.  Then...  I took a deep breath, and began to appreciate the moment.  It sounds silly, but in my 15 minute wait for service, with no one else in the bank, I found a sense of peace.  As the tellers continued working on something important, I just stood there with a light smile on my face.  It really didn't bother me anymore.  This moment was a gift.  A chance to catch my breath and just be.In the midst of tense or frustrating situations involving customer service take a breath, and become aware of your surroundings.  Especially, other customer’s reactions to the situation.  It is a real moment of awareness.  If it takes an extra 5 minutes to buy eggs is my day really ruined?  If I have to wait an extra 10 minutes for a refill on my Coke at lunch, does my frustration really equal the inconvenience?

My answer is no.  I'll just take my breath and a smile and patiently wait my turn.

07:29 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

You will sign up for a higher interest loan on purpose.

In reading Sway by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman, I found a study that was compelling enough to share.  As a sales and marketing professional hearing studies like this continues to dissappoint me.  I want to communicate objectively as possible, providing real value to consumers, and then earning the sale/business.  This paragraph is in reference to a consumer lending bank who sent out multiple variations of a basic loan offer letter.  Here is the exerpt that I am referencing:

Men who received a picture of one of four smiling women were much more likely to sign up for the loan than were the men who received a picture of a smiling man.  According to the study, the magnitude of this effect is "about as much as dropping the interest rate 4.5 percentage points."

A picture of a beautiful women equals an increase in 4.5%?!  With that knowledge, it becomes difficult to avoid using sex to persuade a consumer to buy our clients products.  We, as marketing professionals, have a responsibility to serve our clients by providing the most compelling and effective campaigns to grow their business.  The most compelling pull remains the human connection.

It would be novel to deliver a crisp value proposition that can provide meaningful change for a consumer looking to purchase our clients product.  However, placing an image of a beautiful person may remain the most effective model for converting a consumer touch point into a sale.

I feel as people become more aware of the gimmick marketing, true ingenuity in product development and communications with the consumer will become more transparent.  Showing consumers what is behind the curtain can be the most dynamic move we can make as marketers.  Sharing the true value proposition, and devleping a storyline that weaves our product into their daily lives.  That being said, pasting an attractive person on a label or within an ad is still proven to be the most effective means of earning the sale. 

07:15 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Enthusiasm the Lost Art

Living and working in the Midwest, I have had the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder quickly.  Throughout my last four years I have noticed a growing trend that is both threatening and dissappointing.  My enthusiasm for life, ideas, growth, and opportunity is being met with disbelief and criticism.  I've heard people say, "is this guy for real?"  Yes!  I'm for real, and the enthusiasm is genuine, and far from the contrived version worn by the opportunists putting on a show.

As I watch my children grow, and see how excited and enthusiastic they are for little events each day, I ask myself when most adults lost this treasure.  Locked in cubicles, reading spreadsheets, downing the 10th cup of coffee to finish off a proposal due in the morning, somewhere amidst the seriousness of our careers this enthusiasm for life has been suffocated.  When we were kids if something wasn't fun, we stopped doing it and moved on.  In business, I see people continue to work without fun or energy involved in what they are doing.  It doesn't make sense to me.

Economic conditions and legitimate concern for the wellbeing of our families may play a role.  Health of mind, body, and the quality of our relationships also bears weight in our level of enthusiasm.  I am not an idealist, but I can see opportunity in great challenges and lessons in every loss.  Those are the focal points everyday.  Worry and acting serious have never been productive for me in my business or personal endeavors.  If anything, my serious moments are contrived.

If I've learned anything its that people act on their self interest.  People, in general, like to have fun and be around others who make them laugh and appreciate the good in the world.  These rules apply firmly to business as they do social environments.  People have enthusiasm for something in life be it fishing, sports, stamp collecting, hiking.  Let's unleash that same energy and enthusiasm in the place in our lives where we spend most of our time.  Work.

09:25 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

The Struggle in Thinking HUGE!

With my home base in the Midwest, I have had the privilege of working with local businesses with a few employees, and multi-billion dollar corporations.  One day I can be traveling overseas and the next day I can be meeting with a local family owned company.  There is a lot that I have learned working and developing ideas in both areas.  The most compelling difference can be witnessed in the mind of the client.

I have had business owners literally go bananas over an innovative and fresh idea that is a one-of-a-kind solution to a communications problem, and then balk at moving forward.  I go back to my office after these occasions for my typical post mortem on the call, and wonder.... Did I go too far?

It seems as if the global mindset, that is truly relevant for mom and pop businesses, is almost too much to believe in a down economy with high gas prices, and plenty of "woe is me," to focus attention on.  While the corporations absorb the ideas and take definitive action.  "Let's move on this... NOW!"  Those are my marching orders.  So when folks are interested in the success our company has had working with large clients, it's the small businesses that provide the biggest challenges for me.  Those are where the hardest battles are fought to get an idea into the marketplace for our clients.Most think about incremental change, and have been conditioned to expect less.  Jaded by past marketing firms that have failed to deliver. 

I like to think about how we can take over the universe, and then work backward from there with our idea.  Local businesses can leverage so much against box stores and large competitors, but instead look to the past to set benchmarks for the future.A paradigm shift needs to take place in the blue collar manufacturing based cities throughout the United States.  A paradigm that embraces the power of thinking huge, and taking on the world with a relevant idea.

07:21 am | 0 recommendations | 3 comments

24/7/365 Family

3 hours.  That is the amount of time on average I see my children each day during an average work week.  3 hours.  My children ages 3, 2, and 2 months, are amazing and need their dad.  My wife is now working full time as a mom, which is a career shift for her leaving teaching after 4 years.  She is caught in this transitional period where we are forced to reorganize our days to bear the demands of our responsibilities.

Strain, is what this period feels like for our family.  Everyone is hungry for attention, including my wife and I.  It seems we do not have the supply to meet the demand.  So the question of the day is, "Who gets to be disappointed today?"  Regaining the balance in this environment is the only option, and it involves asking uncomfortable questions and finding a win-win for our family.

This week my wife and I talked about this intangible cloud that rests above our family, and what we need to do to regain control of our days.  We have tried in the past to make sweeping changes, only to revert back to old habits in hours let alone days.  This time we are going to focus on the foundation of our relationship, spending one hour per night without the television talking about our future, and goals as a team.  Making this one change in the daily grind, I hope, will trickle down to other areas of our family lives that need attention.

The days are still over packed and time is far more valuable than the dollar at this point.  I've learned that no matter if you are wealthy or poor, successful or down trodden; we all get the same 24/7/365.  It is a universal fact that each day comes and goes at the same rate for every person on this Earth.  So I'll strive to keep listening, learning, sharing, loving, and living the best I can. 

Work/life balance is a topic that is therapeutic for me to write about.  I hope that the stories I share about my experience will resonate with others facing the same challenges.

03:16 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

24/7/365

Today is a carbon copy of everyday.  The day starts too early, and the day ends too late.  Married and father of 3, this 28 year old is in constant motion.  Constantly.  Always.

I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of articles penned on the Holy Grail of work/life balance.  I feel this mecca of contentment, peace, security, and fulfillment happen in moments.  If it was put on a chart it would read like a volatile stock listed on the NYSE.  How well do we appreciate those precious moments of balance?  Does a type A personality even notice when they happen, or are we already looking for the next mountain to climb or that problem around the bend?

Not a day goes by where I am not anxiety ridden about how I am performing for our clients.  My track record and client satisfaction scores are terrific, but part of me feels the anxiety and the constant concern that I am not doing enough is what makes that happen.  This is one example of why the balance each day is tough to grasp. 

At what point can I say, "I'm finished."  It is a term of absoluteness in the creative industry that never can be recited with confidence.  It's never finished, it always could have been better.  Why can't I be at peace with this reality?  I can't imagine that I'm alone in this internal tug-o-war to always be my best.

Everyday is filled with excitement, and no time to appreciate it.  Every success is overshadowed by pending goals and overdue tasks.  How do we emerge from this spiral?  It would be a shame to have to wait until retirement to really soak in the success and development occuring at this stage in life.

Stop, rest, relax, contemplate, are all goals that are outside my capacity to achieve.  I am confident that I am powerless to do these things well at all.  With my leg ticking constantly as a write, and my mind straining to focus on the topic at hand, I do not feel like I am built to be still.  Ever.

This is a reality that not only infects me, but my family as well.  I'll move into that dynamic next time.  I have to get back to moving, calling, texting, emailing.  Constantly.  Always.