this thursday night i’ll be attending a closed-door dating event hosted by Dr. Helen Fisher, ABC, and Chemistry.com. there will be cameras and everything and i had to sign a waiver saying that if i end up going out with any of the dudes they set me up with (they chose 5 for me), i have to agree to have cameras go on the date! the event is attached to Fisher’s new book (a work in progress) that will be featured in an upcoming hour long Barbara Walters/ABC News Special broadcast next January. the whole thing’s a touch wacky, but it also sounds like a fun experiment. the big question now is … what to wear. the producers emailed to say solids not prints. decisions, decisions.
“In truth, Wall Street is in for a radical makeover. Fewer people, lower margins, lower risk, lower compensation — and ultimately, fewer talented people.”
i agree with him and would add that it’s not just wall street. it’s all industries. it’s all breaking apart, spreading out. this isn’t necessairly a bad thing. it’s just different. for the past 150 years we’ve built up, up up. now it’s time to look inward and move out, out, out. around and across. across oceans, across regions, across what we thought were divisions but maybe needn’t be.
we’ve all known for a long time that bill o’reilly is a total douche. many high profile personalities are. many are also total rageaholics to boot. i’ve known a few in my day who’ve go as far as THROW blunt objects at their subordinates. it’s ridiculous. i love when these indiscretions become the world’s business. instant karma. think alec baldwin, david o. russel. and now bill. for a full, wonderful potpourri of bill meltdown videos, be sure to visit team building is for suckers.
I used to love newspapers. I subscribed and read. Not cover to cover, but pretty extensively. Several papers. Now I don’t read any. I cancelled the WSJ over a year ago. I let my weekend subscription to the NYTimes lapse over 6 months ago. I plan not to renew with The Economist when my subscription’s up.
There is something about the physical bulk of printed papers and mags that grosses me out. In the information age, info is ubiquitous ─ why would I want such a huge portion, assembled by someone whose taste and interests don’t necessarily mirror mine ─ hoisted on me each day or each week? I am a smart person who quite enjoys creating my own survey of the day’s stories. I pull stories off the web. I make my own media.
Ugh. The term itself makes me wanna blow chunks. There’s little value-added to the term value-added.
Question: if everyone is dealing with the same problem, wouldn’t it be advantageous to mix up the approaches you’re taking? (Hence the appeal of Obama).
I’m so tired of hearing honchos brag about the Harvard MBA’s they’ve got on the payroll. Does a Harvard MBA REALLY add that much value? You like the thought of it … the idea that you can go to the store and buy yourself the exact thing you need. You want to think that Harvard has done some good weeding out for you, more than you could do on your own. And surely they’ve done something valuable … But there are hundreds of other Harvard MBAs where yours came from. And your competitors are hiring them too. They’ve learned similar things at the same time. I’m not saying your guy is bad, I’m just saying you may need to be more creative than that. In addition to him, you might consider, gasp, finding some talented women and minorities. People from different industries, nationalities, backgrounds and cultures. Certainly it’s hard to merge disparate cultures and sensibilities, but that’s what it takes to get the advantage. To compete in today’s crazy mashup world, you actually NEED diversity (as opposed to doing it because you were shamed into it). Different kinds of people, different kinds of thinkers, different kinds of ways of viewing the world. The usual suspects can only take you so far …
Will there ever be NEW superstars ever again … the kinds that we all know about? Would it be so terrible if there weren’t?
Does personal media mean people will live more … when they shape the worlds themselves instead of taking a package handed to them? When they live the movies and make the movies instead of just watching them?
a few months back i was in an office with three alpha males under 40 … they nipped at eachother’s ears like frisky little puppies … it was exhausting to watch. the PR guy called the New Media guy an “executive,” to which the New Media guy took offense.
“I’m not an executive!“
labels matter. and over time i’ve come to the conclusion that New Media guy is a hollywood wannabe. a banker who wishes he were some sort of creative producer/director/shot caller. no one wants to be perceived as the type of heavy that inspires Medellin director Billy Walsh to wear his infamous tshirt. but we all want the dough and the ’safety.’
I’ve often discussed with fellow Marcom professionals how odd and cool it is that we’re the ones who actually create the strategies at our organizations. Those who do the heavy lifting on the strategy templates, the Board presentations, the communications plans know that it’s their IDEAS that are the most valuable part of what they’re contributing. Not the document, or PowerPoint slides, the binders or any other supporting form of media. Marcom people create the framework, and the framework leads to the story, and the story leads to the work − everyone’s work. In the ideal world, the Marcom folks work closely with the leaders they are supporting. When they’re too far removed, no one benefits. The best experiences I’ve had were when I was working directly with those I was supporting. I learned how they spoke, what they envisioned, what they valued, liked and disliked. When they are good, smart people, it’s a plum job. You get to learn so much, see so much, grow so much. It’s like being a CEO yourself, but on a much more livable strain.
this thursday night i’ll be attending a closed-door dating event hosted by Dr. Helen Fisher, ABC, and Chemistry.com. there will be cameras and everything and i had to sign a waiver saying that if i end up going out with any of the dudes they set me up with (they chose 5 for me), i have to agree to have cameras go on the date! the event is attached to Fisher’s new book (a work in progress) that will be featured in an upcoming hour long Barbara Walters/ABC News Special broadcast next January. the whole thing’s a touch wacky, but it also sounds like a fun experiment. the big question now is … what to wear. the producers emailed to say solids not prints. decisions, decisions.
Ugh. The term itself makes me wanna blow chunks. There’s little value-added to the term value-added.
Do French women really get 
