September 2009

In a people business you have to be for the people. I’ve spoken about this before, but I don’t think you can say it enough. It’s a hard balance to achieve.  Clients are the basis of our business, so it goes without saying that we have to focus on them and their needs. But you can’t forget your own people.

With everyone under the gun these days it’s easy to lose sight of how a client’s fears around their business can spill over into their own accountability zone. I’m not saying there is a lot of finger pointing happening, but when a client is getting pressure they tend to pass that pressure on, it’s a normal human response. It’s also a normal human response for the owner of a company to pass that pressure down.

I say do your best to stop the madness. When things start to spiral, and they can, take a step back, look at historical data and make your decisions. I know this is something I have to do since I can tend to get myself into a lather. I think it’s critical to keep your own people accountable since that’s what’s happening with your clients, but it’s also important to remember to temper fear. Your long-term strategy is to grow good people, not just to keep your clients happy.
 

My grandfather was the patriarch of my family. He died yesterday at the age of 99, just a day after his birthday. He was blessed to have been in good health up to the end. At that age the body just gives out, which is what happened to him. He just slowly wound down until he didn’t have anything more to give.

I loved my grandfather. He was a stoic man. He shared little of what he was thinking, but you knew you could always rely on him when you needed him. Growing up I had wished he was a little more warm and fuzzy—all kids want that kindly grandfather type. But what I didn’t get in the way of warmth I got in the way of security. And I never doubted that he loved us, it just took some growing up to realize his style of love was different from what you saw in the movies.

Speaking of movies, I love old Hollywood films. I’m actually pretty obsessed with the past 100 years of pop culture. My grandfather had incredible stories from growing up in New York City in the ‘30s. He would frequent bars I knew in the West Village, or spend summer afternoons on the Island. He was a scratch golfer and caddied at the ripe age of 8 (in 1918) at one of the oldest golf courses in the country (Knollwood in Westchester). As an avid golfer I was thrilled when he gave me some gutta-percha balls he had found on the course way back when. It was exciting to hear his stories because it brought all my backward musings to life, gave them real life context.

After New York, the family moved to Miami in the forties and they would spend summers in New Hampshire where he caddied at a resort. It sounded like a storybook to me, a great old film. Up until the time he entered the nursing home my grandfather maintained our family homestead in North Miami—a little bungalow where he raised his four children.  Over the years the house remained the same, as did the modest neighborhood—a rarity in the land of over development. When I’d go to see him it felt just the way it did when I was a kid visiting from North Carolina—a little subtropical haven with fruit trees and spiky grass, lizards and parrots roosting in the eaves.

I’m going to miss my grandfather, but I am so thankful that he died well (just like my grandmother). He may not have led a glamorous life, but he enjoyed the life he had been granted. And it was a good one, a solid, simple good life. Bye-bye, Poppy, see you later!
 

In business there is SO much posturing. Everyone is worried about not appearing smart, or buttoned up enough or “on the proverbial ball.” Honestly, it’s just silly. NO ONE, I don’t care WHO you are, can be that “on it” all the time. 

My motto for the end of 2009 (and it’s been an interesting year, hasn’t it?) is: TRY to lighten up a bit and keep it real. We basically do this anyway, but I think it’s going to be more important in 2010. Now, this does not mean fall down on the job, get sloppy and throw caution to the wind. But if you read my blog from yesterday, I think it’s a good time to BREATHE, assess reality (as you know it) and keep it real.

Example: I got a deck yesterday from an associate that was a bit “over thought.” Totally understandable, she is doing Herculean things and is in a perfectionist mode. I get it. But I had just heard that my grandfather had passed away and I now had to leave town in the middle of fashion week. So, instead of getting bummed about an edit job that I wasn’t prepared to do, I took a deep breath, remembered what it was like to be sitting in her seat, thanked God for her commitment to my business and got down to it. We kept it real and we now have an amazing deck. I sure do hope I can do that more often. Just keeping it real!
 

I'm launching a new business that was birthed out of my agency experience. The business is web-based and will offer people a place to share ideas and receive gifts, etc., for their participation and time. We developed it because we saw an opportunity and more than that felt connected to this concept (details to come!). But here's the thing: what the heck to name this new platform?

Just how important is a name? Brand Building was named by my ex-partner/owner (originally we were a division of Toth Brand Imaging). He felt strongly that our name should "say" something. I wasn't too keen on the name, but since he was the boss, I went with it, and I'm glad I did. The name really works for us and has given us a powerful way to express who we are and what we do.

When we played around with the name for this new venture, some "interesting" ideas came to light such as “cake”, “up and loop” (which is pool spelled backwards, and I don't want to tell the crazy ideas we had around that iteration). Usually, names take FOREVER to find. So, you can imagine how thrilled we were when our own brilliant Laura Thomas came up with "24/Savvy." Watch out guys, if you want great ideas for living your life (and great products to help you do it for free!), then we're your destination.

Stay tuned!