It is that time again – the time in which reasonable, wonderful business people suddenly get indignant that their holiday isn’t being celebrated properly. It doesn’t matter what holiday you celebrate (or if you don’t celebrate one), “everyone else” gets it wrong. It is awful! The one common feature of all the holidays are what they are to celebrate in each other – unity, understanding, peace, etc. NOT exclusion, criticism, or an expectation that they should do what you do because you do it. So please – be kind to each other. Understand that not everyone celebrates the same holiday in the same way or for the same reasons. Recognize that in a business context, you need to be neutral so that business can continue. My solution? For the next couple days I wish people a wonderful holiday season. Starting December 8th, I switch to […] Continue reading
Branding Lessons from the Voice
We watch the Voice each week. It is fun and entertaining. The interesting thing is each singer has the same challenges as small businesses – what is their brand? Each singer has to determine what will make them “unique”. Of course we can all think of singers who are unique. There will never be another Cher, Aretha, Johnny Cash, Rob Zombie, etc. Crooners will come and go but we’ll still buy Christmas music sung by Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Vaughn Monroe (what? You don’t have Vaughn Monroe? You are totally missing out!!!). So as a new voice on the block, how do you identify what makes you unique? You might say everything has been done. The clothes, the hair, the makeup and tattoos, the women who sing low, the men who sing high, we’ve heard it all. And then you watch a show like […] Continue reading
Cell Phone Etiquette
Recently, a friend of mine and I were in a meeting and she asked me to blog about cell phone etiquette. Â I was surprised because I thought, “what do I know about cell phone etiquette?” and then I started looking around. People are really rude when it comes to cell phones! Â So here’s what I’ve noticed: First, when going into a meeting, turn off your cell phone. Â That’s an easy thing and no one should have to be reminded. Â Take out your pen, and put your cell phone on vibrate. Next, if you are in a public place, put your cell phone on vibrate. Â The meeting we were having was in a small coffee shop so when the person at the next table received a phone call. Â It rang so loud we all jumped. When you answer the phone, think about the people around you. […] Continue reading