This and That

The 3 Links of Selling

Sales is all about links.

In order to sell, it helps to get to know people. It helps to stay in touch with them. It helps to connect with them. People like to buy from friends. More friends - more sales.

In the old days, one of the ways to do this was by playing golf or hitting the links. So at one time (some people would still say that time has not passed and insist this is the only way even now) golf links were very important.

Then came the era of LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an awesome tool for staying in touch with people. Mostly because many people are increasingly changing jobs and it's tough to keep in touch with everybody. LinkedIn has your friends maintain their contact information rather than you having to keep current.

Essentially it allows you to stay in touch whenever you want to. LinkedIn also allows you to send updates, similar to Twitter of Facebook, which are a good, soft way of staying in touch with people.

LinkedIn is also a great tool for connecting to people whom you don't yet know because you can see who is connected to and ask for a warm introduction.

The third link is about links to your website and blog. Increasingly people are finding business partners and suppliers on the Internet and the most common way to do this is through Internet searching. In order to rank high on the Internet searches (you really want to be on the first page), you need to have what's called a high PageRank. PageRank is determined by the number of quality inbound links coming to your page.

As you can see, it's all about the links.

Digital Wild West

I’ve had the fortune of blogging here since the inception of this blog and deliberately never wrote anything marketing-related with regards to my current employer. Today is one exception I hope you will grant me.

So I’m not accused of 'ambush shilling' or taking 5 minutes of your time that you will never get back - I’m warning you now. You can close this browser and get out of Dodge. I won’t take offense. I promise.

Still here? Thank you. So let’s saddle up ‘pardner’ and we’ll mosey on out for a little ride!

Some may know I have the fortune of working at Harlequin Enterprises. Yes, that Harlequin. The Harlequin that is one of the leading publishers of women's romance and fiction around the globe.

Recently we launched a new campaign promoting our HQN imprint series ‘The McKettricks’ by author Linda Lael Miller. So what's so special about this online marketing campaign?

Last fall our Creative Director Margie Miller teamed up with our Director of Digital Content & Social Media Malle Vallik to create a unique behind-the-scenes video that shows the making of a Harlequin cover. We had never done anything like this before. Take a look.

Now I’ll admit I’m not a big cowboy fan but I appreciate good content. And although I’m biased, I think this documentary is terrific. As Malle points out in her blog, it gives you a greater appreciation of the work that creative directors and photographers do on a regular basis.

How has the campaign done? We’re very pleased with the response so far. We took some excellent content and promoted it via various online marketing and social media channels by directing people to Take A Cowboy Home which features the video content, sample editorial, cool contest and (most importantly) where to buy the books.

We also got some great support from the fine folks over at MSN who created a unique section promoting this campaign. Not to mention many friends/fans/authors/bloggers who spread the word via various social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

So everything is perfect and we ride off into the sunset, right? Not so fast. There were a few things I learned from this campaign. Call them the '3 Cowboys' like the McKettrick brothers:

1. Many companies work in silos. Often campaigns are created and other teams such as Social Media, PR, IT and/or Legal are left out until the end and then added like a check-box. Do not make that mistake. Involve key groups from cradle (so they become stakeholders) to the grave (so they share in the successes and learnings).

2. It will not always be utopia. There will be hiccups. The issue is not ‘if’ they happen but ‘when’ they happen. And how your team reacts to quickly address them and ensure they don’t happen in future. We started creating a ‘list of oops’ so we include them in our campaign post-mortem report.

3. This is my biggest takeaway. Regardless if you sell books, lotion, laptops or luggage - it's my view you must have a good combination of strong content and promotion for your digital campaigns. They are not mutually exclusive and together make them all the more stronger. Especially in the digital wild west.

Who is Arianna Huffington?

Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of seeing celebrated author and blogger Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post, speak at the Telus Centre for Performance and Learning in downtown Toronto.

Chatting with a good friend just prior to the event, I tried to explain to her who I was going to see. The conversation was a fraught with difficulty, as my friend was not really familiar with the Huffington Post – or online news aggregators or blogs or the internet, in general. It was an uphill conversation.

After all, if my friend wasn’t familiar with the Huffington Post website, how could I describe the woman at the helm? Who is Arianna Huffington? Is she a dedicated journalist? Is she a left-wing politician? A rich business owner? A media darling?

The answer: yes.

Arianna is fascinating speaker and eminently quotable. Once she started her lecture, I found myself frantically jotting down notes, scribbling madly as one bon mot after another came flowing effortlessly from the podium. The event was billed as “The Brave New World of the New Media: How technology is changing the way we think, learn, play, work and vote”. Well, yes. That about covers it.

The agenda was lively and diverse. Arianna covered a variety of topics, switching hats from journalism to politics to lifestyle, each time cleverly conveying jewels of wisdom:

Wearing her Newspaperwoman and Journalist Hat
Journalists sometimes get seduced by access. They get the “fly on the wall” detail, but miss the story. Example: China shut off the internet and gave access to select reporters. This was a significant moment in journalism. It's easier to snow a few reporters than thousands of internet users.

Why be citizen journalists? Why do all the online stuff? Answer: self expression is the new form of entertainment. This does not undermine the role of professional journalism. Media will always need journalists to edit the content, frame the stories and give them context.

What we need is a hybrid; a world that brings together the accuracy, fairness and content of traditional journalism as well as the immediacy, accessibility and transparency of new media.

Wearing her New Media Advocate Hat
With regard to traditional media vs. new media: we need to be better at biopsies, not autopsies. Old media is acting like nothing has changed, merging into traffic using a horse and buggy. We can't use an analog map in a digital world.

Traditional media is ADD: breaks the story and then...nothing. New media is OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder): stays on the story day after day after day.

Content follows the user. As a media outlet, we can't expect the world's eyeballs to come to us. We need to go to where the eyeballs are.

People don't consume, but share news. Citizen journalists contribute to the national conversation. New media gives a voice to the voiceless.

Wearing the Politician and Liberal Pundit Hat
The American middle class is in trouble. Wall Street got bailed out, but Main Street did not get the same treatment.

In the U.S., the markets are treated like a Victorian lady - “she” can't handle bad news.

Not everything is Right versus Left – that's a lazy way of looking at politics. We need to take responsibility for our content: objectivity not stupidity.

Instead of Hope, we need Hope 2.0. It's not enough to just cast your vote, people need to stay engaged and contribute if they want to realize change.

Wearing her Lifestyle Guru Hat
Surrounded by our devices, we must learn to disconnect too. Technology can move ahead of social adaptation. We should use technology, but not let it use us.

Unplug and recharge, especially at night. Remove your wireless devices as far away from the bed as possible. Create your own oasis and retain your humanity. Our most precious resource is ourselves.

Arianna had dinner with a man who bragged about only needing four hours of sleep a night. She quipped, “That's too bad. This dinner would have been a lot more interesting if you had gotten five.”
----
So if you ask me now, who is Arianna Huffington? I’d answer: she's an author, a syndicated columnist, a new media advocate, a blogger, a humanist, a politician, a public speaker, a liberal pundit and a businesswoman. She’s the ultimate “all of the above”.

By Kerin Donahue, marketing coordinator at the Canadian Marketing Association

Two Pigs an Oinking and a Chicken in a Pen

I opened up a Christmas card the other day from my cousin and was thrilled to receive two pigs (she assured me there was no pun intended). Will my pigs be arriving in a one horse open sleigh on Christmas day? Hmm good question, if they are arriving via one horse open sleigh I won’t be seeing them; they’re going direct to Zimbabwe. I’m guessing this was in response to the goats I gave her last year.

In this festive season we often get caught up in consumerism. We’re decking the malls and buying incredible amounts of stuff for people that “have everything”. We’re so busy purchasing, partying and stressing all of the holiday festivities that we forget to adopt an attitude of gratitude.

This year, we’ve all experienced some kind of financial repercussions from the economic downturn. That being said, we’re still well over half way up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs while a good chunk of the globe is in need of food, shelter and clothing.

And don’t even get me started on our political freedom. As a post boomer female, I haven’t experienced workplace prejudice; I’ve shared equal rights with my male counterparts and had the ability to be all that I can be. It may seem like a small thing but on the world stage where many girls are struggling to get an education it's paramount.

It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day hassles, focus on the things that aren’t going right and believe that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Wake up, we are in Shangri-La and the grass doesn’t get any greener. We have the right to choose and an attitude of gratitude and the good life is a choice. I learned this little trick many years ago that may help if you’re down, feeling sorry for yourself or otherwise irritated. Write down 5 things that you are grateful for. Do it every day and eventually that feeling will disappear. As Aristotle so aptly quoted “We are what we repeatedly do – excellence then is not an act but a habit”. Why not start the New Year with new habit – an attitude of gratitude.

Co-workers for a while. Friends for life.

Let’s face it, I’m writing this blog because it’s my turn. I’ve been asked before but always managed to wiggle my way out of it. Until now. “Do one for December,” I was told. And, like all good creative people, I respond well to deadlines. Sort of.

Finding a topic was my biggest challenge. My first idea, albeit an obvious one, was to talk about deadlines. After all, asking a Creative Director to take time out of a really hectic December schedule to write a blog is basically asking for a commentary on deadlines. Why must everything be done before December 24th?

My next topic idea was to discuss what a tough year 2009 was. And boy was it! I’m glad to see the end of this one. But as a veteran of the business, I have to admit, I’ve seen worse. I’d be happy to swap battle stories with any other vets out there – over a glass of wine of course.

Other topics entered my frantic brain, but they all felt too negative. An old memory flashed through my mind. Once, when I was in my 20’s and looking to switch agencies, I discovered I didn’t get a job I wanted because the Creative Director thought I was bitter and jaded. And that was before I actually became bitter and jaded. Hmmm… Happy thoughts…. Happy thoughts…

Then I received a phone call from a friend, one of my best friends in fact, inviting me out for drinks. And I knew I had my topic. Sure it’s a tough, relentless, harsh, often thankless business (happy thoughts, happy thoughts), but it can also be very rewarding. In particular, in the friendships you make.

My friend, let’s call her Beth, and I met over 10 years ago – working at the same direct marketing agency. As creative partners (she’s an art director, I’m a writer), we bonded over 3am arguments over which concepts were stronger, over headlines that were too long, or layouts that just didn’t work. We shared the joy of a brilliant idea and the panic of a bad one.

Life eventually took us in different directions – different countries in fact – but we never lost touch. And now, back in the same city, we talk pretty much daily… even if it’s just to complain about something.

And Beth isn’t the anomaly. Many of the people I’ve worked with over the years have become good friends. We invite each other out for lunch, coffee and drinks. We go to each other’s parties. We’re facebook friends. We email each other youtube videos. We tell stories and laugh at the things that once made us hide out in the bathroom and cry. We dance together at the CMAs. And we hug… every time we see each other.

Recently an intern asked me, “what’s the best part about being in the advertising business?” And I had trouble answering her. (“You’re bitter and jaded,” flashed through my mind again.) But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I know what I’d say: it’s the people you work with. Friends. Friends for life.

By Shelley Sutherland, Vice-President, Creative Director, Rapp Canada (and CMA Direct Marketing Council member)

Maintaining a Network

"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations."

Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

One axiom I have in networking with people is to try to add value (to the people I network with - not me) 98% of the time. This builds a "goodwill" account and gets the stuff I send read. It also helps to build a following.

One principle in networking is to "gently" stay in touch with people. What I mean by this, is being respectful of their time and mind space.

This meshed with the concept of having many people in my network. Of course I would prefer to meet with everyone in my network daily for an hour but that would limit how large my network could be. And it would no doubt violate the time and space of people I was networking with.

Marketing is what we do when we have limited time to interact.

So I decided to start sending out daily quotations from famous people. I know that email is an "interrupting medium" so I chose to only send them by twitter, linkedin, facebook and post them to a Tumblr page and to a section on my blog. That way if people "chose" to look, they would see them.

Of course being a time management guy, I largely automated the process by using Ping.fm to post to all sources at the same time and using Hootsuite to send them at preset times. So right now I have my quotes set to go out for the next 90 days and even without me logging in, they go out. I often read books that are rich in quotes so can add 10 or more at a time in a short sitting (or even more efficient, have my trusty assistant, Elliot, do that for me)

Once I started to send out the quotes, people said "Jim likes quotes" so would send me quotes that all I needed to do was to cut and paste. Only once did this get me in trouble when I posted a quote that was not said by the person who I attributed it. And I had just moved to the US at the time so did not understand the political nature of the quote (Making rich people poor does not make poor people rich - I attributed to Abe Lincoln but he never said it).

And by attributing quotations to other people, they often seem to have greater weight than my own words. In a way I get their brain/power attributed to me.

And for that matter, if I could not find a quote, I could always make one up and attribute it to the great Anon.

Of course not all people like quotes:

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

I guess that is why Emerson is not connected to me on Linkedin.

Coffee Talk

Now that the recession is officially over (well maybe not officially over but certainly a marked improvement compared to this time last year) it’s time to refocus, regroup and engage your team. That’s right, engage your team. Why? So they in turn can engage your customers. According to Gallup, organizations that achieve both customer and employee engagement are rewarded with customers who deliver a 23% premium over an average customer. Hmm a premium, music to my ears – couldn’t we all benefit from more customers that deliver more $.

So what’s the magic bullet, how do you engage your team? Well, it’s not a magic bullet but it is proven; firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement versus firms that communicate less effectively. This stat is courtesy of the folks at Watson Wyatt.

The challenge, all of us are doing more with less and squeezing in effective communication time is tough. Behold the power of “Coffee Talk”. Short but sweet; this meeting is best held on a Friday morning or afternoon for 15 to 20 minutes- tops.

As the leader, you bring in or supply your team’s favourite beverages – coffee, tea, lattes - you get the idea. Depending on the size of your team you sit, you stand, whatever works in your space. Here are the:

5 Coffee Talk Rules

Rule # 1: Kudos - Each person on the team shares something that went right this week. It could be a new client, accolades from a client, a tough deadline that was met – the sky’s the limit!

Rule # 2: Mission Critical aka Did we drop any balls? - Using a round table format figure out what went wrong. Next discuss - Did we fix it? Does it still need to be fixed? How can we prevent this problem from happening again? Can we systemize the fix?

Rule # 3: Heads Up - This is a recap of what’s on the horizon for next week, next month whatever works within your organization. This is designed to bring potential problems to the forefront. Is someone swamped? Who can lend a hand? Is someone stuck? Who has a solution? This informal brainstorming and planning goes a long way in getting everyone on the same page and building team cohesion.

Rule # 4: Parking Lot It - Is there a problem to big to solve in a short session, a process that is broken and needs repair. Many meetings get unwieldy as people go off on tangents about every bugaboo they’ve experienced since the dawn of time. Don’t squash it, just parking lot it. Put it to the side and schedule another meeting to prioritize and deal with Parking Lot items.

Rule # 5: Give a little bit - If time permits get everyone on the team to share something about them. To level the playing field, have each person answer the same question. What was your best vacation and why? What was your favourite childhood story? This simple process builds trust and helps people to get to know each other, both precursors to creativity and innovation – something every workplace could use more of.

So go ahead, pour a cup ‘a jo, share the coffee talk rules and watch your workplace transform from a “he said she said” finger pointing place (well maybe this isn’t exactly how it is at your place of business but you get the idea) to a “we’re all in this together, making a difference” mode.

Four Things Marketing Cannot Do.

Marketing can solve any problem - right? Wrong.

1 - Marketing cannot create repeat customers. Once a customer has experience with your company, they will judge you based on how that interaction went. Marketing can help to get the first sale but after that, the company, product or service speaks for themselves louder than any marketing.

2 - Marketing cannot fix bad service. No amount of marketing can convince a customer your company is good if your service is poor. I almost laugh when I see hugely expensive advertising campaigns for companies I have dealt with that leave me on hold for an hour without solving a problem they created.

3 - Marketing cannot change who you are. For example, would Wal-mart win by saying it sells fine wine? Would Saks Fifth Avenue be able to convince customers they are the "lowest price"? Customers will simply not think it is plausible. Over time you can change the customers' perception of your company but that takes a lot of time. Marketing alone though cannot change who you are in the market. You need to be who you say you are.

4 - Marketing cannot hide the truth. In this day of the internet, it is very short sighted for any company to think they can market away the truth long term. And trying to do so would not only be virtually impossible but outrageously expensive.

In the end, marketing can enhance a good product or service but can do little to make a poor product or service sell or be accepted in the market. I am a big believer in marketing (or why would I write for CMA?) but believe spending time and money on delivering excellence should be the first step for any entrepreneur or business.

Excellence first - marketing later.

Surprise

Not many things surprise me after so many years in this business, but I have to admit, this did:

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/09/google-does-not-use-keywords-meta-tag.html

Since starting my own creative consultancy two years ago, I've written many websites for clients who think that key words actually matter. So you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Google doesn't use the "keywords" meta tag in their web search ranking. Obviously this isn't as earth-shattering as learning that cigarettes are bad for you or that Balloon Boy was a hoax, but it does raise an eyebrow given that Google hasn't exactly advertised this news. Thoughts?

The Power of the Pitch - Elevator Pitch That Is

Talk to any company and the mantra is the same – we want to grow our business. Here’s where it gets a little fuzzy. The weight of this growth falls on the shoulders of marketing and sales. It’s marketing’s job to get the leads and sale’s job to close them. Don’t get me wrong, that’s why they are there and that is their job, however there’s a hidden sales force right before your very eyes that can unearth a gold mine if you engage them. I’m talking about your entire organization – yup everyone from the receptionist to the CFO.

Here’ the thing – the # 1 reason why people buy is relationships – fyi # 2 is the company, #3 the product/service. I remember sales guru Jeffrey Gittomer’s advice to a room full of eager entrepreneurs and sales people – you want more customers – make more friends – people do business with people they like. Now here’s where it gets interesting - you have a team of employees that all have a network of friends, all you need to do is equip them with the right message. I’m not suggesting you turn your organization into a hard core group of hunters, I’m suggesting you provide them with a powerful message that compels people to say hmm tell me more or gees I should really talk to one of your salespeople. Behold the power of the elevator pitch.

I must confess, in the past I have attended many a family gathering and should have used the elevator pitch – no-one could figure out what the heck I did – hmm you’re not going to generate many referrals that way. As a result, I have fine tuned the elevator pitch so even your Aunt Martha gets it. The formula is simple (adapted from author/speaker John Assaraf).

Highlight the customer problem you solve – i.e you know how.....waiting for a heating guy to come on a sub below zero freezing day to fix your furnace drives you crazy?
Present the solution your company provides – i.e. well what we do it is......guarantee we will be there in an hour to fix it or you don’t pay.

Simple, to the point, I not only get what you do, I see why you are different than your competitors. We learn through stories and metaphors. When you tell me a mini story that highlights what you do, I start to see myself in that picture. You peaked my interest “ Wow you guarantee that you will be there in an hour, how do you do that?”

Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family and friends, break bread and test your elevator pitch. It could lead to a new customer or two, definitely something to be thankful for.

Consumption smoothing - how to stress test your marketing strategies

Will a cut back in consumer spending have a dramatic impact on your business performance? The key to succeeding in these challenging times is to explore scenarios that you haven't looked at in the past because business cannot use the same strategies for a different set of economic conditions or marketing outcomes. Consumption smoothing is an emerging trend that may be of interest to marketers. It’s a popular approach used by consumers to insure their consumption in the presence of risky and variable incomes.

What is Consumption Smoothing?

Consumption smoothing is an economic concept which seeks to balance spending and saving to attain and maintain the highest possible living standard over the course of one's life. This idea is notable because of its difference in approach to common knowledge about consumer behaviour during periods of economic growth. However, in uncertain times, the concept can have a significant impact on the growth and profitability of your brands if you identify customer groups who are most likely to experience consumption smoothing.

What does this mean for marketers?

Here are five ideas on how senior marketers could approach this emerging trend:

1. Explore new consumer segmentation models.

Account for risk profiles of your most profitable customers. Adding a variable that measures attitudes to risk may provide an indication of how consumers will react to changes in household incomes, economic conditions and pricing changes.

2. Revise price elasticity models.

Research indicates consumer behaviour in a crisis is characterized by consumption smoothing at various levels. In sum, these behavioural adjustments result in significant reallocation of consumption expenditures depending on the profile of your most profitable customers. Brand portflio pricing strategies that account for potential shifts in purchase patterns can deliver more profitable growth strategies.

3. Assess the potential impact of consumption smoothing on your brand portfolio.

Consumer smoothing is accentuated in some categories and for some brands that have specific profiles that make them more vulnerable to changes in economic conditions and consumer spending patterns. Using scenario planning techniques may result in increased visibility of potential strategies.

4. Ask the right questions.

Often marketers take the approach of looking at their competitors for cues on superior strategies. This could be a suboptimal approach if these strategies do not undergo rigorous stress testing for emerging consumer behaviour.

5. Look at best practices from past recessions.

Explore successful strategies adopted by brands with similar profiles in past recessions. The analysis may shed some light on opportunities for initiatives that can lead to superior results.

Please email me if you may have any questions or would like to receive more information about consumer smoothing trends in your product category.

Obsolete Marketing

I’m obsessed with anything CBC Radio; well specifically I’m obsessed with Metro Morning with Andy Barrie and Q: The Podcast with Jian Ghomeshi.

On September 17th, Jian had Anna Jane Grossman on the program. Anna has written, Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By. It is a book about some of the things and practices that have become obsolete lately. Simple things like manual car windows, dial-up modems, and plaster casts (the ones that let you live in infamy on the broken arm of a friend), and funny things like body hair, phone sex (now it’s all about sex-texting), and afternoon specials (the TV after school specials that is...).

The interview between Anna and Jian got me thinking. What are some of the things and practices that have become obsolete in marketing?

One that comes to my mind is the pop-up ad. Pop-ads are useless and annoying little things; they appear as if from nowhere when you least expect it. They were initially conceived as a clever way to attract web surfers to a specific web address, or a sneaky way to capture email addresses. It would seem to me that the only thing pop-up ads do are to slow down the page being loaded and annoy users using a page they want to be on. They are so annoying that Internet users have the option to block pop-up ads.

Can you think of any other marketing tools/practices that are now obsolete?

5 Ways to Beat the Attention Shortage

Economist Herbert Simon put forward the theory that abundance of one resource creates a shortage in another.

The internet has allowed for the fast, easy and almost free creation of massive amounts of content. Overabundance. This has created a scarcity of attention. This poverty of attention is the problem for marketers. How to gain attention when there is so much competition.

5 ways to break the Attention Poverty cycle are:

1 - Stay right on target. There are certain publications I look forward to and read cover to cover every issue because their topic is highly interesting to me. The moral is - speak to people who are interested in you message.

2 - Use illustrations and pictures with captions. Pictures can break the attention block and captions get read.

3 - Use headlines to capture attention. The headline is to an advertisement or message what the first chapter of a book is. Get them hooked and they will read it all.

4 - Keep it short. People choose what to pay attention to by how long they think it will take them to deal with it.

5 - Make it simple. People like simple and any roadblock or complexity will stop them. Simplicity pays.

Some of these are old fashioned marketing 101 but some (like the keep it short) are even more important now than ever.

In Praise of Brevity

I think it all started with email. It became easy, fast and cheap to send a message. So the inevitable happened - information and the number of messages people are sent exploded (note that I did not say the number they received).

As a marketer, your job is to make your message, regardless of the medium, be one of the many that actually gets through.

I have noticed an interesting screening mechanism that people use - the length of the message. If the message is short they read it. If it is long, they do not.

Look at business books. The length has dropped to about 200-250 pages in order to be saleable. People no longer think they get more value if a book is a 1000 page tome.

Instant messaging is a hot phenomenon, especially with younger people who have grown up in the age of uber technology and information overload.

And Twitter's rampant success with a maximum of 140 characters is remarkable. We can all learn from Twitter; it can teach us to keep it short. I advocate that every marketer should sign up for Twitter and try sending 20-30 Tweets. It is good training on how to get a message across in less words.

Cut the message length and increase the impact. Less is more.

Are You Galvanized or Paralyzed?

These are uncertain times. Many people and companies are facing hardship. This is a world of great economic turbulence. This turbulence has two effects on people - it can paralyze them so they do nothing and simply retreat into their shell and "complain" how harsh the world is to them. In others, it galvanizes them to take action.

The current conditions just are. Accept them. Use the harshness to create energy and action.

Not all actions are the right actions but taking some action is much healthier than not. This is a good time to "Fail Often, Fail Fast, Fail Cheap". Try new things. Some will work, others might not. To fail is not to be a failure, to not try is to be a failure.

The current economy (which I beleive is actually getting better) is the same condition everyone and every company has to deal with. Many of your competitors will be paralyzed. This can work in your favour.

My brother, Glen's company, Skygeneration, owns a number of wind turbines. He is an environmentalist who is saving the world. He is constantly harrassed by NIMBY's (Not In My BackYard). This causes these 2 reactions. It wears him down first but then he uses that to energize himself to act. He chooses to be Galvanized to action. In his case he literally uses the adversity to create energy and power.

So next time you are hit with some adversity, choose to be galvanized. Think about harnessing the energy positively.

Be Galvanized not Paralyzed.