Archive for May, 2012

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

You can read the rest here.

This fact struck home to me when reading Aaker’s latest missive on Coke:

Under CMO Joe Tripodi, who actually arrived just before Kent became CEO, the marketing group has a lot of new faces, a clear vision for its brands (for example, Coke is about universal refreshment and moments of happiness), and innovation throughout. Coca-Cola was named marketer of the year in 2011 with a litany of visible successful programs including becoming the leading brand in social media with over 42 million Facebook “Likes.”

“The antidote to a life online seems to me surprisingly simple. We must pay more attention to building a life offline, in which we seek depth, take time for reflection and define for ourselves what really matters, rather than letting a passel of promiscuous pings set our priorities.” Tony Schwartz

Mark Penn eloquently makes the case for negative ads

So I’ll say something unpopular. Negative ads are by and large good for our democracy. And when they are not – when they overreach unfairly, they boomerang and the people who ran them take a well-deserved hit. But when they focus us on something important -like who would make a better commander in chief, who would fix the economy or when they bring up past events that need a real vetting – they do a service. They don’t let politicians off the hook and hold them accountable for their past actions.

Last week I wrote a short piece on a a mentor that impacted me. You’ll see that in print soon.

As I reflected on the piece over the weekend it occured to me that one of the mentors that most impacted me was one of my teachers way back when I had hair. Barbara Morgan. She taught English at Dilworth. I regret not mentioning her in the same sentence as Michael Dell.

One day she made a comment to me in passing that I then sought to apply every day. It went something like, “Lark, you are good. But when you work hard, you are exceptional”.

All around me were much brighter kids – I could see that then. Much brighter. But as soon as I applied that lesson, I started doing as good, or better than them. 

Same is still true to today. Chris’ post got me reflecting on this. He remembers a quote from Vidal Sasson:

“The only place you will find success coming before work is in a dictionary“

Damn Right. Chris’ life seems to have mirrored mine, as he reflects:

During the first 20 years of my career, there is no doubt my star rose faster than many others because I quite simply worked harder than just about anyone else. I certainly was not smarter, so I drove my career forward by underpinning the attributes I did have with bloody hard work. Consistently. Persistently.

Now- in fairness, I went too far for sure, and for many years devoted my life, literally, to work. I’d work most weekends, and brutally long hours during the week. In truth, I loved it. And in truth, I kind of regret it now, as I did miss out on a lot of life; during that 20 year period.

I have some of those same regrets, but the joys far outweigh them. And like Chris, its why I put so much emphasis on productvity and efficiency. Every second counts. Even the seconds you aren’t counting.