"The temptation to quit will be the greatest just before you are about to succeed." - Chinese Proverb
The temptation to quit was never more real than for Bob Parsons, the head and founder of The Go Daddy Group, Inc, just a decade ago. In a recent interview with Paul Anderson, writer of 50 Entrepreneurs, Bob Parsons revealed that he almost gave up on Go Daddy back in 1999. While today Go Daddy is the world's largest provider of domain name registrar's, in 1999, shortly after the dot com bubble bursted, they nearly ran out of money and Bob Parsons was left with a decision to either cut his losses or potentially go broke.
Parsons was confronted with the moment of truth so in an effort to sort it all out, he took a vacation to Hawaii to clear his head and make the ultimate decision on the future of his company. Something funny happened to him on that trip. While going through the deepest soul searching imaginable, he met a parking attendant who despite being Parsons age, was absolutely content with what he was doing. This man was happy and he loved his work. At that moment Bob Parsons gained his perspective. Describing the moment, Bob states, "And it hit me. I said to myself, if this business fails, the worst thing that can happen is I'll be parking cars, right? It was in that moment I decided that I was going to stick with the business no matter what. I was broke before and happy as hell, I could be again, and I didn't need all that money to be happy." Bob stuck with it and within two years, Go Daddy's cash flow situation was much improved and they were well on their way to being the hugely successful company that they are today.
Throughout history, individuals have encountered the same scenario as Bob Parsons - whether to quit and cut their losses or to push on through and potentially accomplish something great. The fear of failure is often so strong that many people give up too early and are hesitant to take their ultimate personal risk. It is human nature to avoid negative and harmful situations so it becomes easier to choose the path of least resistance as opposed to the path might create a better life for you and others.
For Bob Parsons, a Vietnam veteren, he gained internal strength and learned how to overcome personal resistance in war. If you can accept that you might die tomorrow but yet are still able to push on through and do your job, then you are surely mentally equipped to face the prospects of a failing business. For most of us though the idea of losing your job, running a business into the ground or simply failing to achieve what you set out to can be so overwhelming that our mind tells us that it is the worst imaginable outcome.
To overcome this, we need to honestly tell ourselves what the worst thing that can happen truly is. Are you clinging to a job because you fear that you won't succeed doing something else? If so, how hard would it be to get back to the exact same position you are in now if all else fails? You've done it once so it should be easier the second time around.
Alternatively, you may be experiencing failure in what you consider to be your life's dream. Does this mean that you should quit because success seems bleak? Think about Bob Parsons and ask yourself what is the worst thing that will happen to me if I fail? Can you get a job doing something else and still be happy?
Pushing through and taking risks require that you have a clear understanding of what failure means. For most of us, it doesn't mean your world is going to end. Setbacks are inevitable but the trick is to push through and do what we know in our heart is truly important. The trick is to remind ourselves that we can always park cars and still be happy.
Showing posts with label miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellaneous. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Seek Out Bartenders
 |
| Photo From Flickr by Lee Coursey |
Recently I was listening to a music producer give a speech on the current economic climate of the music industry and they said something that really got me thinking about customer service in restaurants. They said that in Nashville, if you work in the music business, you should always leave good tips for your waiters. The reasoning? Behind every one of them, there is an aspiring country music star. That same waiter might walk in your music studio tomorrow.
Whatever the city you live in, can't you make a similar statement about restaurant waiters? In Los Angeles or New York City they are aspiring actors while in Seattle or Chicago they may be writers. The point is that in most places you go, the job of waiter is merely a stepping stone to something greater. If you want great restaurant service then, should you really have a waiter serve you?
When given a choice, I prefer the service level of a bartender rather than a waiter. Most people think of the idea of sitting at the bar to eat and drink as a less romantic place reserved for lushes. Contrary to popular belief, I personally find the setting of a bar extremely intimate as there isn't a table between me and the person I'm with. The service is usually significantly better as well. This isn't an accident or random chance occurrence.
A bartender is there because they trained to be there and want to be there. A waiter is there only for a check.
A bartender wants you to stay as long as you like (within reason). A waiter wants to get you in and out as quickly as possible.
A bartenders lets you establish a tab or credit all based on nothing more than trust. A waiter says pay now.
A bartender is a great listener - think of all the stories they hear? A waiter only listens to the sounds of what you are going to buy.
A bartender actually makes what he sells you. A waiter is merely an order taker.
In every service business there are people who mimic bartenders and then there are those that are nothing more than waiters. If you want great service, enlist the work of people who actually make things and are there because they want to be there. Instead of living with just average service, seek out the bartenders.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Book Review - Rework
Rework
by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Rework is a business book that every manager and entrepreneur should read. It written merely as a collection of thoughts on a variety of topics such as productivity to branding and the result is a book that shows you how to build, run and grow a business.
The wealth of knowledge this book contains should cost a fortune to learn. I have never read a single business book in all my years that had more take away value than this particular book. It is that valuable and there is undoubtedly something for everyone.
Trying to summarize the book in a few paragraphs but give you some take away value at the same time is almost impossible so because of that I have assembled a quick summary (these are notes and highlights that I took while reading various chapters that struck me as valuable).
Key points highlighted and summarized:
Learning from mistakes is overrated - when something fails, yes you learn what not to do again but what do you really learn to do? Instead, success shows you what actually does work, something repeatable that you can do again.
Be careful of longterm plans as they are merely guesses - it is okay to wing it and decide what you are going to do now as opposed to getting stuck making choices just because that is the plan you set for yourself. Long term plans stifle improvisation. They are important but when making choices, you usually have the best info at the time you are doing something, not when you are planning to do something.
Be mindful of workaholism - working for work's sake. Working more hours doesn't mean you care more or get more done, it just means you work more. Workaholics cause problems because they like working hours as a badge of honor but they also tend to not get work done efficiently as a result. They claim to be perfectionists but this is a result of focusing on inconsequential details. They make others feel bad for working less hours even if those other people just find ways to get their work done faster.
Scratch your own itch - the easier way to make a great product or service is to create something you need. When you solve your own problems you know exactly what the right answer is as opposed to the uncertainty associated with fixating on someone else's problem and trying to fill a need that may not even exist.
If you have a big idea make it and act on it. Try to sell it and don't sit around on it. The faster you move through ideas the closer you are to finding the one that really is great.
Draw a line in the sand - stand for something. Have a point of view and know what you're willing to fight for. When you know exactly what you believe in, the choice is clear for customers. They will love or hate you but there will be no in-between.
You need less than you think - there is nothing wrong with being frugal and committing less people, money or resources to work. If you stop to think about each decision like this you can probably get by with a lot less.
Embrace constraints - working with less forces you to be creative and get by with what you've got. Constraints force creativity and problem solving.
Start at the epicenter - the key thing that drives your business. To find the epicenter ask yourself, "If I took this away would the product still exist?" All the other stuff you do depends on the foundation.
Commit to making decisions. Decide and move forward. Don't wait for the perfect solution.
Be a curator - decide what stays and what goes and eliminate until you are down to the bare essentials. Constantly look for things to remove, simplify and streamline.
Throw less at the problem - cutback and trim the fat. Improve upon what is left.
Focus on what won't change - the core of your business should be this and not the next new sexy thing. Permanent stays while fashion fades. Invest in that.
Meetings can be toxic - if you must meet have a clear agenda, set a timer and begin with a specific problem. Meet at site of problem instead of conference room and point to real things with real examples End with a solution and appoint a person responsible for implementation.
Long to do lists don't get done. Prioritize visually and break things down into small and motivationally manageable tasks.
Learn to say no first. Get your priorities straight and say yes and no accordingly. There is more regret at saying yes than no. Keep things right for you and your product.
Let your customers outgrow you. Just because some of your customers have to change doesn't mean you have to compromise your business. Changing your business just to satisfy one or two customers can make you too tailored to them and not a good fit for anyone else. Then when that big customer leaves you, your stuck.
Don't act on great new ideas on impulse. Let them cool and come back to them in a few days and evaluate their importance with a calm mind.
Make great products not ones that just seem great. Buyer remorse occurs when something seems better at the store than it actually is once you get it home. That doesn't create longterm relationships. Great at home products get talked about.
Build an audience. Audiences give you a platform to share value driven information. They listen when you need them too. Quit trying to reach everyone.
Out teach your competition. Tips, case studies and tools that educate them are key.
Be like chefs. All great chefs have cookbooks that show all their trade secrets, recipes and tips. Show people how you do things. No one is going to steal your recipes and beat you at your own game.
Go behind the scenes of your business. People love seeing how things work. They want to see how things are built. They will grow a deeper level of appreciation for what you do.
Be genuine. Imperfections show the soul and art of your work.
Press releases are like spam. Instead of shooting out generic messages to everyone, make it personal to the person you want to reach. Call, write a note, make it real.
Overnight success is a myth. It takes years of grinding through the work to get noticed. Slowly build an audience instead and get people interested in what you have to say.
Company culture is a byproduct of consistent behavior. You can't force it, you just create it overtime by encouraging particular types of behavior.
Great environments show respect for the people who work and how they work. Give people the tools, trust and responsibility and they'll wow you.
When you treat people like children you get children's work. When people have to ask permission for everything you create a culture of non thinkers and a no trust environment. Policing costs time and money and kills trust.
Make people work smarter not for longer. If you want something done, ask the busiest person. Send people home at five. Your goal shouldn't be more hours but better hours.
Don't scar the first cut. Policies born to correct rare mistakes just create complex and inefficient bureaucracies. Only create new procedures, rules and policies to attack common situations that often reoccur.
Write conversationally in business. Read it out loud and ask yourself if you were saying this verbally would it sound normal?
Inspiration is perishable. If you are inspired to do something today or ready tackle a new idea then do it because the drive, inspiration and motivation might not come again.
by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Rework is a business book that every manager and entrepreneur should read. It written merely as a collection of thoughts on a variety of topics such as productivity to branding and the result is a book that shows you how to build, run and grow a business.
The wealth of knowledge this book contains should cost a fortune to learn. I have never read a single business book in all my years that had more take away value than this particular book. It is that valuable and there is undoubtedly something for everyone.
Trying to summarize the book in a few paragraphs but give you some take away value at the same time is almost impossible so because of that I have assembled a quick summary (these are notes and highlights that I took while reading various chapters that struck me as valuable).
Key points highlighted and summarized:
Learning from mistakes is overrated - when something fails, yes you learn what not to do again but what do you really learn to do? Instead, success shows you what actually does work, something repeatable that you can do again.
Be careful of longterm plans as they are merely guesses - it is okay to wing it and decide what you are going to do now as opposed to getting stuck making choices just because that is the plan you set for yourself. Long term plans stifle improvisation. They are important but when making choices, you usually have the best info at the time you are doing something, not when you are planning to do something.
Be mindful of workaholism - working for work's sake. Working more hours doesn't mean you care more or get more done, it just means you work more. Workaholics cause problems because they like working hours as a badge of honor but they also tend to not get work done efficiently as a result. They claim to be perfectionists but this is a result of focusing on inconsequential details. They make others feel bad for working less hours even if those other people just find ways to get their work done faster.
Scratch your own itch - the easier way to make a great product or service is to create something you need. When you solve your own problems you know exactly what the right answer is as opposed to the uncertainty associated with fixating on someone else's problem and trying to fill a need that may not even exist.
If you have a big idea make it and act on it. Try to sell it and don't sit around on it. The faster you move through ideas the closer you are to finding the one that really is great.
Draw a line in the sand - stand for something. Have a point of view and know what you're willing to fight for. When you know exactly what you believe in, the choice is clear for customers. They will love or hate you but there will be no in-between.
You need less than you think - there is nothing wrong with being frugal and committing less people, money or resources to work. If you stop to think about each decision like this you can probably get by with a lot less.
Embrace constraints - working with less forces you to be creative and get by with what you've got. Constraints force creativity and problem solving.
Start at the epicenter - the key thing that drives your business. To find the epicenter ask yourself, "If I took this away would the product still exist?" All the other stuff you do depends on the foundation.
Commit to making decisions. Decide and move forward. Don't wait for the perfect solution.
Be a curator - decide what stays and what goes and eliminate until you are down to the bare essentials. Constantly look for things to remove, simplify and streamline.
Throw less at the problem - cutback and trim the fat. Improve upon what is left.
Focus on what won't change - the core of your business should be this and not the next new sexy thing. Permanent stays while fashion fades. Invest in that.
Meetings can be toxic - if you must meet have a clear agenda, set a timer and begin with a specific problem. Meet at site of problem instead of conference room and point to real things with real examples End with a solution and appoint a person responsible for implementation.
Long to do lists don't get done. Prioritize visually and break things down into small and motivationally manageable tasks.
Learn to say no first. Get your priorities straight and say yes and no accordingly. There is more regret at saying yes than no. Keep things right for you and your product.
Let your customers outgrow you. Just because some of your customers have to change doesn't mean you have to compromise your business. Changing your business just to satisfy one or two customers can make you too tailored to them and not a good fit for anyone else. Then when that big customer leaves you, your stuck.
Don't act on great new ideas on impulse. Let them cool and come back to them in a few days and evaluate their importance with a calm mind.
Make great products not ones that just seem great. Buyer remorse occurs when something seems better at the store than it actually is once you get it home. That doesn't create longterm relationships. Great at home products get talked about.
Build an audience. Audiences give you a platform to share value driven information. They listen when you need them too. Quit trying to reach everyone.
Out teach your competition. Tips, case studies and tools that educate them are key.
Be like chefs. All great chefs have cookbooks that show all their trade secrets, recipes and tips. Show people how you do things. No one is going to steal your recipes and beat you at your own game.
Go behind the scenes of your business. People love seeing how things work. They want to see how things are built. They will grow a deeper level of appreciation for what you do.
Be genuine. Imperfections show the soul and art of your work.
Press releases are like spam. Instead of shooting out generic messages to everyone, make it personal to the person you want to reach. Call, write a note, make it real.
Overnight success is a myth. It takes years of grinding through the work to get noticed. Slowly build an audience instead and get people interested in what you have to say.
Company culture is a byproduct of consistent behavior. You can't force it, you just create it overtime by encouraging particular types of behavior.
Great environments show respect for the people who work and how they work. Give people the tools, trust and responsibility and they'll wow you.
When you treat people like children you get children's work. When people have to ask permission for everything you create a culture of non thinkers and a no trust environment. Policing costs time and money and kills trust.
Make people work smarter not for longer. If you want something done, ask the busiest person. Send people home at five. Your goal shouldn't be more hours but better hours.
Don't scar the first cut. Policies born to correct rare mistakes just create complex and inefficient bureaucracies. Only create new procedures, rules and policies to attack common situations that often reoccur.
Write conversationally in business. Read it out loud and ask yourself if you were saying this verbally would it sound normal?
Inspiration is perishable. If you are inspired to do something today or ready tackle a new idea then do it because the drive, inspiration and motivation might not come again.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Arrested Development: When Great Ideas Go Unnoticed
Arrested Development was a television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz that aired on FOX between 2003 and 2006. In 2006, the FOX Broadcasting Company cancelled the show much the chagrin of their fan base. Despite the show's raving reviews (listed in 2007 as one of Time magazines "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME") and multiple awards (six Emmy's & one Golden Globe), "the story about a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together" never obtained the viewership and ratings it needed to be a hit.
There are a number of theories as to why the show never took off, some of which include blaming FOX for constantly shuffling their time slot and not marketing the show well enough. While there may be some truth to those claims, the simple fact is that FOX did a poor job of bringing Arrested Development to their true raving fans, the ones that would spread the message and genius of the show far and wide.
Arrested Development was an intelligent comedy that had themes well beyond just the dysfunctional family dynamic. To succeed the show needed to find intelligent people. But the people who actually connected with the intelligent humor of the show were watching less TV than the average American. This created a dilemma that the show wasn't able to overcome (at least not back in 2006). Great ideas fail everyday for this exact same reason. When you are trying to win over an audience that is in a completely different arena from the one your game is being played, you are doomed to fail.
What FOX should have done was bring the show to its true fans and not wait for people to start noticing. The fans the show needed did in fact consume media (TV and the Internet) they just weren't consuming FOX. Their potential fans were however taking in plenty of the The Daily Show, but unlike Arrested Development, they were able to watch The Daily Show reruns straight from their computers on comedycentral.com.
It's not fair to completely blame FOX though for the shows failings when much is due to just poor and unlucky timing. Take for instance the fact that the show is about a rich and corrupt family's fall from the prominence of corporate America. A story of corruption like this works much better with today's business climate of bank bailouts, lavish CEO compensation and billion dollar Ponzi schemes.
The show would also do better in today's world because of the increased use of the Internet. Hulu, Netflix, OnDemand services and network websites, make it much easier now for a show to be accessed by their true raving fans. On top of that, by adding social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to the picture, you then give them a platform to communicate with you, spread the word and quite literally "become a fan" of Arrested Development. Simply stated, the Internet has become the ultimate platform for great ideas to spread.
The cancellation of Arrested Development teaches us that while timing is an important factor in the success or failure of an idea, you still have to find your true fans in order for your great idea to spread. However, if your fans are somewhere you are not, then stop and go to them.
There are a number of theories as to why the show never took off, some of which include blaming FOX for constantly shuffling their time slot and not marketing the show well enough. While there may be some truth to those claims, the simple fact is that FOX did a poor job of bringing Arrested Development to their true raving fans, the ones that would spread the message and genius of the show far and wide.
Arrested Development was an intelligent comedy that had themes well beyond just the dysfunctional family dynamic. To succeed the show needed to find intelligent people. But the people who actually connected with the intelligent humor of the show were watching less TV than the average American. This created a dilemma that the show wasn't able to overcome (at least not back in 2006). Great ideas fail everyday for this exact same reason. When you are trying to win over an audience that is in a completely different arena from the one your game is being played, you are doomed to fail.
What FOX should have done was bring the show to its true fans and not wait for people to start noticing. The fans the show needed did in fact consume media (TV and the Internet) they just weren't consuming FOX. Their potential fans were however taking in plenty of the The Daily Show, but unlike Arrested Development, they were able to watch The Daily Show reruns straight from their computers on comedycentral.com.
It's not fair to completely blame FOX though for the shows failings when much is due to just poor and unlucky timing. Take for instance the fact that the show is about a rich and corrupt family's fall from the prominence of corporate America. A story of corruption like this works much better with today's business climate of bank bailouts, lavish CEO compensation and billion dollar Ponzi schemes.
The show would also do better in today's world because of the increased use of the Internet. Hulu, Netflix, OnDemand services and network websites, make it much easier now for a show to be accessed by their true raving fans. On top of that, by adding social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to the picture, you then give them a platform to communicate with you, spread the word and quite literally "become a fan" of Arrested Development. Simply stated, the Internet has become the ultimate platform for great ideas to spread.
The cancellation of Arrested Development teaches us that while timing is an important factor in the success or failure of an idea, you still have to find your true fans in order for your great idea to spread. However, if your fans are somewhere you are not, then stop and go to them.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Book Review - Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life
Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life
Written By: Winifred Gallagher
Rapt is an exploration of how attention plays such a crucial role in the quality of your life. The idea that what you choose to pay attention to shapes your life is the theme of the book as it explores the impact attention has on productivity, decisions, creativity, relationships, happiness and health. Rapt supports its claims with numerous insights, studies and data from both neuroscience and behavioral psychology. Simplistically the book is best summarized with the following quote found in the introduction:
"My experience is what I agree to attend to." - William James
The idea that attention holds so much power over your life should be encouraging because it means it is possible to shape your existence, outcome and daily mood. The human mind can only absorb and attend to so much and knowing how to control this is considered the secret to happiness for many.
The title of the book, Rapt, is appropriate as the term literally means to be completely absorbed, engrossed, fascinated and focused at any given moment. Rapt attention can make time seemingly fly by, create inner happiness and help you concentrate better in all aspects of your life. If you are achieving a rapt state of attention it most likely means that you're seeking out activities and a life that is full of your undivided attention instead of the reactive, unfocused and drifting way that many of us spend our time.
Rapt offers many antidotes to take control of your attention such as meditating and choosing the right activities. Through the power of meditating one should give complete focus to a single task for prolonged periods of time such as breathing. This practiced state of rapt attention increases your capacity for living the focused life. The wisdom to consistently choose enjoyable but challenging activities enables you to work your brain just enough to experience complete "flow" which the books considers the optimal human experience. Flow is better achieved when you choose activities that stretch your mental muscles such as when you are devoting time to a challenging hobby like learning guitar, playing sports, cooking a new recipe or devoting your time to a specific project at work. It is less likely to occur though when you space out while watching TV or when are trying to accomplish twenty things at once while multi-tasking. A consistent commitment to challenging and focused work and leisure produces a better daily experience and in-turn develops you into a more interesting person.
Rapt is a book for life and work. It preaches such timeless concepts as demonstrating self-control, focusing on positive thinking and making sure you give the people in your life the full, undivided attention they deserve. According to Rapt, this is the secret to a healthy and happy life and while we can't be happy all the time, the decisions we make on where to devote our attention and mental energy, goes a long way to shaping our overall life experience. As the book explains in discussing the connection that positive and productive rapt attention has with your overall health and well being, even the longevity of your life depends on the ability to control your attention.
Written By: Winifred Gallagher
Rapt is an exploration of how attention plays such a crucial role in the quality of your life. The idea that what you choose to pay attention to shapes your life is the theme of the book as it explores the impact attention has on productivity, decisions, creativity, relationships, happiness and health. Rapt supports its claims with numerous insights, studies and data from both neuroscience and behavioral psychology. Simplistically the book is best summarized with the following quote found in the introduction:
"My experience is what I agree to attend to." - William James
The idea that attention holds so much power over your life should be encouraging because it means it is possible to shape your existence, outcome and daily mood. The human mind can only absorb and attend to so much and knowing how to control this is considered the secret to happiness for many.
The title of the book, Rapt, is appropriate as the term literally means to be completely absorbed, engrossed, fascinated and focused at any given moment. Rapt attention can make time seemingly fly by, create inner happiness and help you concentrate better in all aspects of your life. If you are achieving a rapt state of attention it most likely means that you're seeking out activities and a life that is full of your undivided attention instead of the reactive, unfocused and drifting way that many of us spend our time.
Rapt offers many antidotes to take control of your attention such as meditating and choosing the right activities. Through the power of meditating one should give complete focus to a single task for prolonged periods of time such as breathing. This practiced state of rapt attention increases your capacity for living the focused life. The wisdom to consistently choose enjoyable but challenging activities enables you to work your brain just enough to experience complete "flow" which the books considers the optimal human experience. Flow is better achieved when you choose activities that stretch your mental muscles such as when you are devoting time to a challenging hobby like learning guitar, playing sports, cooking a new recipe or devoting your time to a specific project at work. It is less likely to occur though when you space out while watching TV or when are trying to accomplish twenty things at once while multi-tasking. A consistent commitment to challenging and focused work and leisure produces a better daily experience and in-turn develops you into a more interesting person.
Rapt is a book for life and work. It preaches such timeless concepts as demonstrating self-control, focusing on positive thinking and making sure you give the people in your life the full, undivided attention they deserve. According to Rapt, this is the secret to a healthy and happy life and while we can't be happy all the time, the decisions we make on where to devote our attention and mental energy, goes a long way to shaping our overall life experience. As the book explains in discussing the connection that positive and productive rapt attention has with your overall health and well being, even the longevity of your life depends on the ability to control your attention.
Monday, January 10, 2011
New Starbucks Logo Represents a Change in the Company's Focus
Starbucks recently launched a change in their logo to celebrate their 40th anniversary (see the new logo here). Whether you are a fan of the giant coffee chain or not, it seems that Starbucks has lost site of the power of their name.
By removing their name from the logo, they are removing the most important part of their business, their brand. For Starbucks, their brand is completely represented in their name. Maybe for a company like Nike, who specializes in a number of sports related products, the swoosh is all you need because when you think of Nike, you no longer think about just shoes. However, Starbucks is in the business coffee and their name so powerfully connects to the idea of coffee, that removing it from the logo doesn't make sense from a branding standpoint. Perhaps if Starbucks goal is to expand their services to the point that the company is not primarily associated with coffee anymore, then this is a great decision (Starbucks mulling wine, cheese move). If their goal though is to merely show a fresh look, not some complete shift in their businesses focus, then removing their name could be a disaster.
There is nothing wrong with a logo change. The reality is brands get stale. The mistake is found with removing your name from a logo, when your name is the product itself. Think about Coca-Cola. They have undergone numerous logo changes but they remain the superior soft drink company. Despite the many graphical changes in the Coca-Cola logo (see the Coca-Cola logo throughout the years), the one thing that has remained constant in the logo is the name Coca-Cola. This is because their name is the product, Coke, which is synonymous with a cola drink. Just as a Rolex is an expensive watch, a Kleenex is a tissue and Campbell's is soup, to many people Starbucks is coffee.
When you go to Starbucks, you may be thinking ahead of time that you want a Caramel Machiatto, but you are also thinking that you want a Starbucks. This holds true, despite the many types of drinks available at the store. When your name almost becomes the thing itself you have a powerful brand. By removing it from the product, they are saying Starbucks isn't coffee rather a company that just happens to sell coffee among other things. That is apparent as the number of products you can buy at Starbucks seems to increase every year to the point where they have over extended their brand. Starbucks seems to be on a mission to be the cafe that sells everything, not just the few things they are good at that make them who they are. This logo change is just another move by a company that from a branding standpoint, appears to be getting out of the coffee business.
By removing their name from the logo, they are removing the most important part of their business, their brand. For Starbucks, their brand is completely represented in their name. Maybe for a company like Nike, who specializes in a number of sports related products, the swoosh is all you need because when you think of Nike, you no longer think about just shoes. However, Starbucks is in the business coffee and their name so powerfully connects to the idea of coffee, that removing it from the logo doesn't make sense from a branding standpoint. Perhaps if Starbucks goal is to expand their services to the point that the company is not primarily associated with coffee anymore, then this is a great decision (Starbucks mulling wine, cheese move). If their goal though is to merely show a fresh look, not some complete shift in their businesses focus, then removing their name could be a disaster.
There is nothing wrong with a logo change. The reality is brands get stale. The mistake is found with removing your name from a logo, when your name is the product itself. Think about Coca-Cola. They have undergone numerous logo changes but they remain the superior soft drink company. Despite the many graphical changes in the Coca-Cola logo (see the Coca-Cola logo throughout the years), the one thing that has remained constant in the logo is the name Coca-Cola. This is because their name is the product, Coke, which is synonymous with a cola drink. Just as a Rolex is an expensive watch, a Kleenex is a tissue and Campbell's is soup, to many people Starbucks is coffee.
When you go to Starbucks, you may be thinking ahead of time that you want a Caramel Machiatto, but you are also thinking that you want a Starbucks. This holds true, despite the many types of drinks available at the store. When your name almost becomes the thing itself you have a powerful brand. By removing it from the product, they are saying Starbucks isn't coffee rather a company that just happens to sell coffee among other things. That is apparent as the number of products you can buy at Starbucks seems to increase every year to the point where they have over extended their brand. Starbucks seems to be on a mission to be the cafe that sells everything, not just the few things they are good at that make them who they are. This logo change is just another move by a company that from a branding standpoint, appears to be getting out of the coffee business.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Artisan Cooking & Letterpress Training Classes
An artisan is an old Italian word used to describe a manual laborer of a specific craft or trade who produces items by hand through the use of skill and creativity. The creation of these goods through a non-standardized process and by the hands of the worker, makes each product unique. This labor intensive and imperfect process is what gives artisanal products their charm, unlike mass produced items that are all identical.
We often hear the term artisan used in cooking. People who make food and chefs alike have to rely on their skill and training to create unique, tasty items all slightly different than the previous. The process is fun, creative, challenging and rewarding and it's no wonder that so many people like me, with no culinary training or background, have such a strong interest in learning how to make great food.
Years ago, when I decided I loved to cook for all the reasons sighted above, I looked to increase my knowledge by training hands on with an expert. While I had no desire to leave the printing industry, spend thousands of dollars on a professional cooking school and become a chef, I did want to acquire some culinary expertise in select areas. That is when I turned to the Viking Cooking School, a great place for any cooking enthusiast like me who wants to learn the art as a hobby not a career.
To the everyday home cook, it might not ever dawn on them to try a cooking class. I for one never considered the idea until one night five years ago, while I was still in production, I was checking over and reviewing a proof for a Viking catalog that we were about to print and it hit me like a ton of bricks. After that cooking became a passion.
A few years later in 2007, when I was sharing a Viking catalog sample and my experience with a potential prospect, for fun I highlighted a recipe they should also try and it was received very well. Shortly after that I sent out my first Print Chef newsletter and the rest is history. But if it weren't for that cooking school advertisement, I probably never would have created the Print Chef in the first place and simultaneously discovered my love for printing as cooking connected me to printing in a way I never could have imagined.
Recently I was watching the YouTube video featured above for Hatch Show Print and I had a similar revelation to the one I had on cooking classes years ago. Commercial printing by no means should be considered artisan work as very much of it is highly standardized and mass produced. However, watching the process of letterpress printing sparked an interest in me to learn this old craft in the exact same way that the opportunity to take cooking classes did.
Letterpress printing is about as close as you'll come to artisan work in the printing industry. Because of the unique nature in the items a letterpress creates, it is no surprise that there has been a recent surge of new shops all across the world embracing this timeless craft. Just as you don't have to be a chef to enjoy the art of cooking, and unlike other forms of printing, you don't have to work in the industry or be an expert to print on a letterpress. You do however, need to train and take classes and there are many that are offered to the general public.
If reading this post or watching the video has in any way made you want to learn more about letterpress shops that offer classes for the aspiring print enthusiast, check out the resources below. This is a great starting point to find a letterpress class or workshop near you.
Letterpress Links:
The Briar Press list of upcoming letterpress workshops and events
Search the Briar Press yellow pages to find letterpress associations, museums, printers, schools and suppliers wherever you are
Cooking School Links:
The Viking Cooking School
Whole Foods Market Cooking Classes & Culinary Centers
Local Cooking Classes
Central Market Cooking School
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Art of Creating Goals You'll Stick To
Every year, right around the winter holidays, people all over the world set New Year's Day resolutions for themselves. The combination of an individual's deepest desires, hopes and dreams, forge into an idea, or a resolution and commitment to a particular goal. "This is the year that I'll finally..."
The beginning days of January start promisingly for most goals. Gym memberships go on the rise, new routines are formed and the search for the perfect job begins with great optimism. Then for most people, life gets in the way and very few goals make it past the Super Bowl in February.
Because the beginning of a year is such an epic event for us, the goals we set are usually huge. The bigger the goal, the more we celebrate the coming of the new year. After all, it is hard to get excited about small changes that aren't that noticeable. If you are overweight, you become so sick of being that way that you don't just want to lose weight, you want to be thin! What is the motivation in losing just ten pounds if you'll still be overweight?
A difficult part of changing habits is that often the payoff doesn't come quick enough and for those goals that are more accomplishment oriented (travel to Italy, sky diving, quit smoking, etc), the timing is never right. The problem with New Year resolutions that go unfulfilled however isn't that the goals are unrealistic, it's that very little thought was even put into the creation of the goal itself. Sure, in the back of your head you may have been telling yourself all year long that you need to accomplish this goal. Once the goal becomes a reality though, somewhere is the process, life gets busy and suddenly the goal doesn't seem that important anymore.
Most goals are set at impulsive moments in our lives. Whether it be a New Year's resolution, an unattractive glimpse at your body shape in the mirror or the moment your boss really ticks you off, a goal created in haste is certain to go to waste (no pun intended). If you aren't thinking clearly at the time the goal is created, eventually the rational part of your brain will catch up and say, "Hey, what exactly are we doing all this for again?" Impulsive goals give you an immediate high and aren't all that bad if they help you quickly get over pinned up anger. Once the impulse wears off though, and life returns to normal, it is amazing how insignificant that goal can become.
So how then do you create goals that you'll stick to? Goals created through hard work and by using your whole brain, not just that impulsive amygdala portion of it, are much more likely to stick. Goals that are set impulsively may be fun at the time, but you need to spend just as much time figuring out and reinforcing why it is that you are setting a certain goal for yourself as you will in actually working to achieve that goal. The more energy you put into the creation of the goal, the more loyal and connected you are to it. When you constantly feed yourself information about why the goal is important and how you'll accomplish it, the easier it becomes to trust yourself. If you stop trusting yourself though about why you set the goal in the first place, the resolution is doomed.
To put it in perspective on how your brain gets in the way of accomplishing your goals and why trusting yourself is such a critical component to achieving goals, imagine if you were in a plane about to sky dive. When you step to the edge, how could you not think about how insanely crazy it is to jump out of a plane thousands of feet in the air? You tell yourself that you don't have to do this, and you know what, you're right. So how do you actually come to the decision to make the leap?
There are risks to sky diving, ones that can get you killed, but you also choose to sky dive partly because of these risks. If there was no risk, it wouldn't appeal to thrill seekers. Before you sky dive though, you go through in depth training and learn everything you can about the real risks that are associated with it. This pre-goal training enables you to trust and believe that the knowledge and skill you have acquired to put yourself in this position, will mitigate the risks associated with the extreme situation. It also enables you to clearly, and not impulsively, decide if sky diving is really that important to you. The methodical process of learning about sky diving in a non-impulsive way, help to ensure that you won't lose your wits at jump time. As with sky diving or any other goal, the information that you acquire and the energy that you put into understanding the goal, are the key components that enable you to follow through to completion.
To see a goal to completion you need to set up reinforcements and constant reminders that help trigger the importance of your goal. If you don't set the right goal though, the one you truly want and clearly need to accomplish, all the reinforcements and reminders in the world won't prevent you from inevitably giving up on that goal. In fact, they'll be more apt to make you feel even worse about yourself.
The biggest goal setting irony is that the impulsive amygdala part of your brain that created the goal in the first place, is exactly the same part that makes you give up. This is why impulsive goals don't stick. They can't stick because you didn't create them, the reactive, fight or flight part of your brain did. Instead create goals systematically, methodically and creatively. Do the hard work necessary to create goals and go through a process. Knowledge, certainty and a clear understanding of the goal creates focus. Focus is achieved by using your whole brain and focus pushes you through because you've eliminated all fear and doubt.
Setting goals doesn't have to be as intense as sky diving. If you realistically want to achieve your goals though, spend some quality time thinking about why they are so important to you. Goals demand that you sacrifice your time and energy so figure out exactly what this commitment of energy will look like. Learn everything you can about the goal in advance, and spend the necessary time required connecting to the often difficult process that you'll have to go through to accomplish it. Having a clear picture of why your life will be better once this goal is achieved, makes it easier to push on through after the initial high has worn off.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Photo from Flickr by Neeta Lind |
The beginning days of January start promisingly for most goals. Gym memberships go on the rise, new routines are formed and the search for the perfect job begins with great optimism. Then for most people, life gets in the way and very few goals make it past the Super Bowl in February.
Because the beginning of a year is such an epic event for us, the goals we set are usually huge. The bigger the goal, the more we celebrate the coming of the new year. After all, it is hard to get excited about small changes that aren't that noticeable. If you are overweight, you become so sick of being that way that you don't just want to lose weight, you want to be thin! What is the motivation in losing just ten pounds if you'll still be overweight?
A difficult part of changing habits is that often the payoff doesn't come quick enough and for those goals that are more accomplishment oriented (travel to Italy, sky diving, quit smoking, etc), the timing is never right. The problem with New Year resolutions that go unfulfilled however isn't that the goals are unrealistic, it's that very little thought was even put into the creation of the goal itself. Sure, in the back of your head you may have been telling yourself all year long that you need to accomplish this goal. Once the goal becomes a reality though, somewhere is the process, life gets busy and suddenly the goal doesn't seem that important anymore.
Most goals are set at impulsive moments in our lives. Whether it be a New Year's resolution, an unattractive glimpse at your body shape in the mirror or the moment your boss really ticks you off, a goal created in haste is certain to go to waste (no pun intended). If you aren't thinking clearly at the time the goal is created, eventually the rational part of your brain will catch up and say, "Hey, what exactly are we doing all this for again?" Impulsive goals give you an immediate high and aren't all that bad if they help you quickly get over pinned up anger. Once the impulse wears off though, and life returns to normal, it is amazing how insignificant that goal can become.
So how then do you create goals that you'll stick to? Goals created through hard work and by using your whole brain, not just that impulsive amygdala portion of it, are much more likely to stick. Goals that are set impulsively may be fun at the time, but you need to spend just as much time figuring out and reinforcing why it is that you are setting a certain goal for yourself as you will in actually working to achieve that goal. The more energy you put into the creation of the goal, the more loyal and connected you are to it. When you constantly feed yourself information about why the goal is important and how you'll accomplish it, the easier it becomes to trust yourself. If you stop trusting yourself though about why you set the goal in the first place, the resolution is doomed.
To put it in perspective on how your brain gets in the way of accomplishing your goals and why trusting yourself is such a critical component to achieving goals, imagine if you were in a plane about to sky dive. When you step to the edge, how could you not think about how insanely crazy it is to jump out of a plane thousands of feet in the air? You tell yourself that you don't have to do this, and you know what, you're right. So how do you actually come to the decision to make the leap?
There are risks to sky diving, ones that can get you killed, but you also choose to sky dive partly because of these risks. If there was no risk, it wouldn't appeal to thrill seekers. Before you sky dive though, you go through in depth training and learn everything you can about the real risks that are associated with it. This pre-goal training enables you to trust and believe that the knowledge and skill you have acquired to put yourself in this position, will mitigate the risks associated with the extreme situation. It also enables you to clearly, and not impulsively, decide if sky diving is really that important to you. The methodical process of learning about sky diving in a non-impulsive way, help to ensure that you won't lose your wits at jump time. As with sky diving or any other goal, the information that you acquire and the energy that you put into understanding the goal, are the key components that enable you to follow through to completion.
To see a goal to completion you need to set up reinforcements and constant reminders that help trigger the importance of your goal. If you don't set the right goal though, the one you truly want and clearly need to accomplish, all the reinforcements and reminders in the world won't prevent you from inevitably giving up on that goal. In fact, they'll be more apt to make you feel even worse about yourself.
The biggest goal setting irony is that the impulsive amygdala part of your brain that created the goal in the first place, is exactly the same part that makes you give up. This is why impulsive goals don't stick. They can't stick because you didn't create them, the reactive, fight or flight part of your brain did. Instead create goals systematically, methodically and creatively. Do the hard work necessary to create goals and go through a process. Knowledge, certainty and a clear understanding of the goal creates focus. Focus is achieved by using your whole brain and focus pushes you through because you've eliminated all fear and doubt.
Setting goals doesn't have to be as intense as sky diving. If you realistically want to achieve your goals though, spend some quality time thinking about why they are so important to you. Goals demand that you sacrifice your time and energy so figure out exactly what this commitment of energy will look like. Learn everything you can about the goal in advance, and spend the necessary time required connecting to the often difficult process that you'll have to go through to accomplish it. Having a clear picture of why your life will be better once this goal is achieved, makes it easier to push on through after the initial high has worn off.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Why Upscale Restaurants Don't Have Pictures on the Menu
Selecting a meal at a fine dining establishment is often an arduous task that requires a great deal of food knowledge. The menu never contains pictures and you have to interpret the meal through the written language of food. This is no easy task either as these restaurants are less likely to use descriptors such as tender or juicy, instead opting for a basic collection of ingredients to identify the food.
The simple fact that the menu isn't designed for all to comprehend or understand creates exclusivity not found on picture menus, not to mention that many view pictures as tacky. An upscale restaurant needs that exclusive quality as that is exactly what makes it appeal to someone who is willing to pay a lot of money for their food and services.
By taking a seat, an unspoken agreement is created between the customer and the restaurant. The customer trusts the restaurant to deliver a quality meal and the restaurant trusts that the customer has the know how to order something they want.
A similar unspoken agreement is formed every time an offset printer proofs a job for press. Unless you're printing digitally, seldom do you receive a proof that is printed on the exact same type of paper that your final product will print on. While you might see a collection of unprinted paper samples, there is no way to know for sure how something will look and feel on a particular type of paper until the job is actually printed.
If you specify a particular type of paper, the printer will usually assume you know what you want and that you have the knowledge and understanding to imagine how the finished product will turn out. You are indicating your professional expertise and acknowledging that you don't have to see the final product to order it. If you are unsure though ask the printer, never guess. Just as a waiter in a restaurant is there to clarify menu items, a sales rep at a printing company is there to help you make sense of paper options.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Top Six Greeting Card Apps for the iPad & iPhone
The holidays are the perfect time to express your love for family and friends. Many people do this through the simple act of a greeting card. Whether you send a card in the mail or digitally through an e-card, greeting cards are an excellent and affordable way to solidify and strengthen bonds.
For those iPad and iPhone users, I have assembled this list of the top greeting card apps. I included both apps that integrate traditional direct mail and apps that are strictly e-card focused. Feel free to agree or disagree with this list as the biggest criteria I looked for was the apps wow factor or something truly unique that distinguished it from all other similar apps.
1. Lifecards - Postcards
Developer: Vivid Apps
File Size: 39.9 MB, Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
Developer Website: www.mexircus.com
Overview: Lifecards is excellent if you want access to a wide range of templates. With over 350 templates in Lifecards - Postcards and over 50 templates in their Christmas Lifecards version, these apps offer easy customization, a professional look and quick email or submitting options for Facebook, Twitter or Flickr. Lifecards enables you to apply filters to your photos and finish off each card with your own finger written signature.
2. Postcards From Santa
Developer: Camera Shoot Photo Postcards LLC
File Size: 1.5 MB, Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
Developer Website: santapostcardapp.com
Overview: As a printer, I have to give this app praise. Postcards From Santa successfully merges digital technology with printed direct mail. This app does exactly what you think, sends your child a postcard from Santa straight from the north pole. After you customize and order your postcard for $2.99, the postcard is printed on a high-gloss cardstock and mailed straight to your recipient. If you have multiple children you want to send a postcard to, each additional postcard only costs $0.99.
3. Simply Postcards
Developer: Simply Postcards
File Size: 4.1 MB, Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
Developer Website: www.simplypostcards.net
Overview: There isn't anything flashy about this app except it is another great option if you want to digitally create postcards from your phone or iPad and have them printed, stamped and mailed the old fashion way. This is an easy to use and free to download app. Considering the low cost and high quality of the printed postcards, this is a must have app for any fan of postcards sent through the USPS.
4. Jubilee - Birthday Cards
Developer: Vemedio & Marfil
File Size: 9.6 MB, Compatible with iPad
Developer Website: www.vemedio.com/products/jubilee/
Overview: While this app would not make the list for the most customizable template options, it does make it on account of it's integrated calendar feature. Simply keep a list in your calendar of important contact birthdays to remember and never forget to show your congratulations again. This is ideal for the sales rep who has multiple birthdays logged into CRM software or just for the person who wants to be a better friend!
5. Build-a-Card (Holiday Edition)
Developer: ISBX
Files Size: 6.5 MB, Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
Developer Website: www.isbx.com
Overview: This is a great app if you want to have a little fun with your cards. The "Picturizr" tool allows you to add a variety of items to your photo such as a Rudolph nose or an elf hat. Another great feature of this app is the ability to easily pull photos straight from your Facebook account.
6. Card Shop
Developer: miSoft, LLC
File Size: 10.0 MB, Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
Developer Website: www.miSoft.com
Overview: Card Shop enables you to create and send an array of cards for all seasons. The app features a custom stamp and postmark creator as well as a Clip Art gallery that you can use to enhance your card with a variety of graphical elements. This is also one of the only apps that enables you to add an audio voice message attachment to your card.
Others to check out:
Vintage Holiday Cards
C@rd
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
No Press Checks #2: Florence, Italy
 |
| On the steps of the Duomo in Florence, Italy |
In late September, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Italy for the first time and see Rome, Florence and Venice. For foodies like us, this was the trip of a lifetime. I can still vividly recount almost every hour of the week long journey and I'm currently working on a Blurb photo book to help capture the memory.
Between all three cities, Florence was my absolute favorite. From the Tuscan food and wine to the overall city vibe, I have never been happier from simply being somewhere.
While Florence is most commonly known for leather markets, great food and amazing renaissance art, a lesser known fact is Florence's association with printing and paper. Back in the 17th century, Florentines invented a marbleizing technique to create hand-decorated paper goods. This same technique is used today and the skilled craftsmanship used in this creation of highly customized paper products, makes Florence the stationary capital of the world.
Many specialty stores throughout the city specialize in these high-quality paper products. The hand-decorated paper isn't just made for common stationary items either as you can find an assortment of custom books, journals, photo albums, notepads, leather-bound diaries, calendars and other paper products.
To give you a printer's taste of Italy, I have listed below a few of the specialty paper stores found in Florence. I have left many off this list, including some of the most noteworthy (Johnsons & Relatives Stamperia Toscana), as I only included shops that I was able to find a website for. Ciao!
Fabriano
Parione
Pineider
Giulio Giannini e Figlio
Il Torchio
Il Papiro
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Be a Yes Man? No Man.
Is what you want to hear different than what you need to hear? One of the biggest problems in business communications, is that too many people are out there screaming yes. We call them yes men. Yes offers immediate gratification and seems harmless at the time but often results in future peril. No requires discipline and the ability to think clearly. Yes is easy. No is hard.
People sabotage themselves on a daily basis by agreeing to the impossible or just hiding the hard truth. It is easy to view no as disappointing, letting someone down, not coming through or not being a problem solver. However, sometimes no is exactly the right answer.
Reasonable people shouldn't expect you to be perfect all the time but if they do, are those the type you want to sustain relationships with? The only thing people should expect of you is to live up to what you say you will do. By always saying yes, you are setting yourself up to let them down.
While I'm an advocate for the power of no, saying no and thinking no are two different things. If your propensity is always to please, you can still say no while thinking yes. Just because you can't personally produce for someone or tell them what they want to hear, doesn't mean you should leave it at that. Instead, try offering an alternative solution or recommending a competitor. People will grow to respect you more as a result.
As you gather with friends and family on this Thanksgiving, take a moment to remind yourself of the power no. Perhaps you can check out a classic Thanksgiving Day movie, Miracle on 34th Street, that certainly embraces this concept. One of the class scenes from that movie shows Kris Kringle, a Macy's store Santa Claus, sending a mother to the competitor Gimbels for a pair skates that her young daughter wants. Word of the generosity spreads like wildfire and Macy's ends up with even higher sales as a result of their new strategy to send customers to competitors if they don't have it.
Now Kris could have said yes and over-promised on something that he couldn't deliver on (after all, Santa Claus isn't real). He also could have simply said no and left the young girl very disappointed and sad. Instead he chose to truly provide the maximum value to the customer by saying no but thinking yes, I can still help. All people would do good to remember this timeless business principle that truly wins customers for life.
People sabotage themselves on a daily basis by agreeing to the impossible or just hiding the hard truth. It is easy to view no as disappointing, letting someone down, not coming through or not being a problem solver. However, sometimes no is exactly the right answer.
Reasonable people shouldn't expect you to be perfect all the time but if they do, are those the type you want to sustain relationships with? The only thing people should expect of you is to live up to what you say you will do. By always saying yes, you are setting yourself up to let them down.
While I'm an advocate for the power of no, saying no and thinking no are two different things. If your propensity is always to please, you can still say no while thinking yes. Just because you can't personally produce for someone or tell them what they want to hear, doesn't mean you should leave it at that. Instead, try offering an alternative solution or recommending a competitor. People will grow to respect you more as a result.
As you gather with friends and family on this Thanksgiving, take a moment to remind yourself of the power no. Perhaps you can check out a classic Thanksgiving Day movie, Miracle on 34th Street, that certainly embraces this concept. One of the class scenes from that movie shows Kris Kringle, a Macy's store Santa Claus, sending a mother to the competitor Gimbels for a pair skates that her young daughter wants. Word of the generosity spreads like wildfire and Macy's ends up with even higher sales as a result of their new strategy to send customers to competitors if they don't have it.
Now Kris could have said yes and over-promised on something that he couldn't deliver on (after all, Santa Claus isn't real). He also could have simply said no and left the young girl very disappointed and sad. Instead he chose to truly provide the maximum value to the customer by saying no but thinking yes, I can still help. All people would do good to remember this timeless business principle that truly wins customers for life.
Friday, November 19, 2010
How To Make Paper Look Old and Create Direct Mail Guaranteed to Get Opened
Today, only hand-crafted, highly-customizable printed materials consistently get noticed. The new art of printing begins with a creative idea, is achieved through a unique process and shipped with a personal touch that connects to people on a human to human level.
The creation of an aged mailer offers a perfect opportunity to create a real connection to the past and revisit a time in printing when the artisan was more powerful than the machine. An aged mailer offers you the ability to touch people's senses and send them back in time.
Just think about all the times we hear stories in the media of letters delivering decades later? People emotionally connect with the past and the dated look of an aged mailer immediately makes one think of the old and forgotten times.
As a fellow print chef, you can begin aging paper right away and rekindle the past with uniquely, hand-crafted printed materials. To create this highly-customizable printed item right in your own kitchen, here are a few quick and easy to follow steps:
- Print your message on the paper before beginning the process
- Pre-heat an oven to 200 degrees
- Soak paper in tea, coffee or vinegar and plan on your mailer still smelling like your ingredient of choice (If aging an envelope, while soaking, carefully open flat at the sealed areas as glue will now be ineffective)
- Remove from liquid and sprinkle coffee or tea grinds on paper
- Rub in grinds to create an assortment of random stains
- With a dry towel or cloth, carefully pat the wet paper to remove any excess liquid and brush off remaining grinds
- Place the paper on an oven proof pan
- Put pan in oven and frequently check paper every minute to test for dryness and ensure the paper does not stick to the pan
- Remove as soon as dry and let cool (once cool, if aging an envelope, re-seal with a glue stick)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Masking our Authentic Self
In life we wear masks. These masks are of all shapes and sizes and they hide our true, authentic self.
Think about it, everyday...
...a salesman is making a promise they know they can't deliver on.
...a company is re-branding just to re-brand (GAP).
...an employee is working to build and promote a product they don't believe in.
...a printer is lying to themselves about the effects of e-readers on the printing industry and not taking steps today to adapt and change.
...someone is deceived by falling into a relationship built on lies.
...blame is assessed to an undeserving scapegoat because the fear of taking ownership of an issue or fixing the real problem overwhelms others.
...an artist becomes a suit.
...a musician or band goes mainstream, moving on from their raving fans.
...a teacher is forced to adhere to a system of education as opposed to touching student lives on a daily basis with unique, thoughtful and tailored methods.
...the truth is hidden.
We wear these masks out of fear of reality. Sometimes we are forced to wear these masks to make a living while other times we wear them because the truth just doesn't seem profitable.
Halloween gives us the opportunity every year to dress up and wear a mask in a more obvious way. In some weird way, many of us represent our true, authentic selves on this holiday more than any other day of the year. As an adult, if I like to emulate a Will Ferrell character (Mugatu) on Halloween because it's fun and makes the other people around me laugh, why is it so hard bring that same honesty, energy and laughter to work on a daily basis?
As a sales rep and marketer, I struggle with this constantly. I'll get so caught up in coming across as professional and portraying a certain image, that it becomes easy to lose sight of who I really am. No one can expect perfection out of people and sometimes just being who you are makes more business sense than the mask that you think you should put on each day.
Long term relationships are build on the kind of tough honesty where people are willing to take off their mask. However, being your true, authentic self means you are probably not standing in the middle on every issue. When you take a strong position or represent a more clear image of who you are, then you will certainly have more enemies but you'll also create bigger fans. Fans like this will stand behind you through thick and thin. Fans like this make it profitable to take off the mask.
Friday, September 3, 2010
No Press Checks: Printer's Alley
 |
| Entrance to Printer's Alley |
Within the spirit of No Reservations and in the mind of a Printchef, I want to take you on a journey that explores the remarkable way that printing has put a unique stamp on cities and countries throughout the world. When you see a post appropriately titled No Press Checks, be prepared to be dipped into the printing culture of unfamiliar territories.
All trips start from home, so my first No Press Checks occurs right here in Nashville, TN in the famous Printer's Alley. Printer's Alley, located between Third and Fourth Avenues just off Church Street in downtown Nashville, was founded in the 1800's as a mecca for the printing and publishing industry. If not for country music, many might have considered Nashville the Printing Capital of the World (History of Printer's Alley). Around the turn of the 20th century, Printer's Alley was home to two large newspapers, ten print shops and thirteen publishers (Wikipedia).
So what exactly happened to Nashville's home of printing and publishing? Well it turns out all those printers had a dark side too as saloons, gambling halls and speakeasies sprouted up all over the district. Judges, lawyers and politicians joined the crowd also and quickly the area became the center of the city's nightlife. I can only imagine what a press check might have looked like in 1910. It gives new meaning to Mad Men's Don Draper when he conveniently tells his secretary he's "at the printer" when he needs a cover to get away for dirty deeds.
 |
| Printer's Alley of today |
Monday, August 23, 2010
Mass Customization
It is said that Americans are exposed to over 5000 advertisements per day. This number rises every year and it is really astonishing if you stop to think about it. Assuming we are awake only a span of 16 hours that equates to roughly five advertisements per minutes. When I started sales I was told I needed to develop a 30-second commercial. However, at five advertisements per minute, it seems that this should be closer to only 12-seconds!
With this much competition for people's attention, it is no wonder that advertisers see such low response rates. It has become increasingly difficult (and almost impossible) to stand out and get noticed as consumers have developed incredibly strong defenses against advertisements. To the marketer, this feels like trying to kick in an iron door. While everyone else can sit there and try to figure out how to break down this door, the successful people are simply going to look for another way in. This is achieved through customization.
Customization used to be putting your own take on a recipe or imposing your own standards and procedures on an existing system. In this type of model, success is achieved by working just a little smarter than your competition and creatively positioning and marketing your brand to get more exposure. Your customers didn't buy, they were sold to. Somewhere this all began to change and increased brand exposure actually started having a negative impact when the product wasn't completely a necessity, outstanding or different to begin with.
Customization can occur on many levels and it doesn't mean just making a different product. You can make similar products that thousands of other people make but perhaps your customization is in the process or service. Whatever type of customization you are involved in, it must speak to the individual core of the person who will buy and use your product.
The internet is fast to this trend as websites have become highly customizable. News, sports, search engines, social networking sites and email provider websites all let you choose the content you want to see. The more you interact with those sites and are able to tell them about yourself, the more customization they can provide. It's like stepping into a store that sells custom tailored clothing. As soon as you step in the door, they are sizing you up and the more information they have about you (body shape and size, fashion preferences and personality) the better they are able to give you clothing that is completely for you.
The food and beverages industry is seeing the effects of customization as well. I did a search on "personal chefs" and was astonished to see everything that came up. There is even a United States Personal Chef Association. The idea that there are families who want a real chef to sit down with them in their home, understand their preferences and diet and help them prepare meals that are completely catered to each person's individual needs should frighten the restaurant industry.
Frozen foods (one of the most convenient and easy ways to eat) are moving towards the trends of customization. The company Personal Chef To Go, delivers customizable and fresh meals (not frozen) that are shipped right to your home in a thermal lined container.
The trends of customization mean good things for craft brewers as well. According to the Brewers Association, a trade group that represents craft brewers in America, craft beer volume sold was up 9 percent for the first half of 2010 despite beer sales overall being down 2.7 percent. In addition, the U.S. now has 1,625 breweries, 100 more than at the same time as last year. More and more people are starting to support local craft beer producers and turning away from the mega producers. To keep up with the trends of customization, companies like Anheuser-Busch are turning to their own line of craft-like beers such as Bud Light Golden Wheat. However, no matter how many beers a company like Anheuser-Busch cranks out, they will struggle to capture that essence that makes a local craft beer so much more enjoyable. Craft beers are often created by only a handful of people and the labor, local flavor and originality that is put into the process has as much to do with how satisfying the beer is as the taste does.
So what does this all mean for printers and marketers? You see, unlike food and clothing, humans can survive without many types of products such as printing. A person's advertising defenses are going to be higher when presented with something that isn't an essential need to survival. Therefore, despite the trends towards mass customization, a restaurant can still stay afloat on location, cost, convenience or how well they market themselves. A commercial printer however, who doesn't embrace customization, will be left behind.
Digital printing and variable data scratch the surface of customization. They allow each piece created to be completely unique to the end recipient. You can even have a specific message that is targeted to a specific demographic. However, this type of product is still produced in a highly standardized process that groups people into "versions" and not as individuals.
True customization will let the end-user choose 100% of the content and it will master the art of empowering the consumer. You see this happening with self-published photo books and storefront sites that let the end-user order exactly the personalized, user-designed marketing materials they need. Digital printing services are a necessity but to service this changing landscape, printers will have to invest in pick-and-pack fulfillment, inserting capabilities and specialized, labor-intensive kitting services. Custom marketing kits, that are tailored to the individual end recipient, will be the norm. The customer will dictate the entire process and printers that cling to their standards (sizes, stocks, turnaround time) will lose market share. Total customization will be the new standard and the ability to be flexible and adjust to new customer expectations will be the ultimate decider in which printers will continue to have the privilege to produce whatever print projects still remain in the future.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Genetically Modified
Genetic engineering takes the genetics of one organism and puts it into something else. With genetically engineered food, animals and plants are transformed primarily so we can produce more food faster and cheaper. Genetically engineering food has become so prevalent that the majority of processed foods in a grocery store contain genetically engineered ingredients (http://centerforfoodsafety.org/geneticall7.cfm).
There are many who argue that genetic engineering has adverse effects on humans, animals, wildlife and the environment. A recent documentary, Food Inc. (http://www.foodincmovie.com/), focuses on some of these concerns. While there are many concerns, in a world where people starve, is the ability to bring more food to market at a cheaper price a bad thing? It is a moral paradox and I suggest you do a little personal research to come to your own conclusions.
A similar genetic engineering concern has also been recently publicized in the commercial paper industry (Forests Of ArborGen Genetically Modified Trees OK'd For U.S. South). For years, paper companies have been planting forests of trees to be used for commercial paper. These forests help protect the conservation of natural forests.
Eucalyptus trees are being planted as they grow faster and produce high-quality pulp but they only do well in warm year-round climates such as Florida. Genetic engineering has allowing the company ArborGen to change the genetic makeup of these trees by modifying them to withstand freezing temperatures which will enable their growth in states north of Florida. The concern is that these genetically engineered trees will invade the natural ecosystem. That could cause a number of problems. ArborGen is confident they can control the trees but questions still remain.
Again, as with genetically modified food, this creates a moral paradox. We know trees are good as they take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Is it bad that paper companies are looking for more ways to increase the number of trees put in the ground? From the paper company's perspective, the alternative is to use trees from natural forests but no one wants that. In the effort to produce more trees and paper though, one has to be concerned about genes being transfered from a genetically engineered tree to a natural tree especially when it is believed by some that the eucalyptus tree uses more groundwater (lowering the human supply) and could be more flammable.
There are strong arguments for and against genetic engineering which creates the dilemma. Perhaps in a few years we'll have conclusive knowledge to know whether genetically engineering our food and our trees was a good or bad idea.
There are many who argue that genetic engineering has adverse effects on humans, animals, wildlife and the environment. A recent documentary, Food Inc. (http://www.foodincmovie.com/), focuses on some of these concerns. While there are many concerns, in a world where people starve, is the ability to bring more food to market at a cheaper price a bad thing? It is a moral paradox and I suggest you do a little personal research to come to your own conclusions.
A similar genetic engineering concern has also been recently publicized in the commercial paper industry (Forests Of ArborGen Genetically Modified Trees OK'd For U.S. South). For years, paper companies have been planting forests of trees to be used for commercial paper. These forests help protect the conservation of natural forests.
Eucalyptus trees are being planted as they grow faster and produce high-quality pulp but they only do well in warm year-round climates such as Florida. Genetic engineering has allowing the company ArborGen to change the genetic makeup of these trees by modifying them to withstand freezing temperatures which will enable their growth in states north of Florida. The concern is that these genetically engineered trees will invade the natural ecosystem. That could cause a number of problems. ArborGen is confident they can control the trees but questions still remain.
Again, as with genetically modified food, this creates a moral paradox. We know trees are good as they take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Is it bad that paper companies are looking for more ways to increase the number of trees put in the ground? From the paper company's perspective, the alternative is to use trees from natural forests but no one wants that. In the effort to produce more trees and paper though, one has to be concerned about genes being transfered from a genetically engineered tree to a natural tree especially when it is believed by some that the eucalyptus tree uses more groundwater (lowering the human supply) and could be more flammable.
There are strong arguments for and against genetic engineering which creates the dilemma. Perhaps in a few years we'll have conclusive knowledge to know whether genetically engineering our food and our trees was a good or bad idea.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
What is the Expiration Date for Paper?
Sell By ...
Just about every food and beverage product you buy has an expiration date. The sell by date is the point of no return, where the perceived quality and safety of the product can not be guaranteed. Often times when this date has passed, the physical and sensory properties of the food change. An odor is present, mold is detected or the food/beverage changes color. As food and beverage consumers, we watch these dates closely and we expect and prepare to replace items as needed. These dates make our lives easier.
The luxury of an expiration date is not available however in printing. When your looking through a paper swatch book, you won't see an expiration date. You will however see key terms that give you an idea of the durability and lifespan that you can expect from the paper. Have you ever noticed when a paper is identified as acid-free or archival? This is the paper's way of providing you with an expiration date.
Acid-free paper eliminates the lignin and active acid pulp (aluminum sulfates) during the processing. Lignin is found in wood and when exposed to light and oxygen, it will cause the paper to turn yellow and deteriorate. The components of paper naturally contain cellulose fibers that produce acid so it is impossible to create an ageless paper. Acid decay can completely breakdown paper over time by deteriorating fibers. However paper made acid-free, will at least slow down the eventual deterioration process.
Expires 08/10/2532
When an alkaline reserve is added in the paper production process, it will further strengthen the papers ability to fight off naturally occurring acid that forms from the cellulose fibers. This alkaline reserve acts as another protective agent or buffer in the fight against acids. When a paper is alkaline, you can expect an average life expectancy of a few hundred years. Depending on the grade of the paper this can vary from 100-1000 years.
Archival paper is also used to identify paper based on a strict set of standards from ANSI. It means that not only is the paper acid-free with large amounts of alkaline reserves, it is also durable enough to be used for printed items with potential significant historical value to them. Archival paper is considered such because it isn't made from wood-based pulp that contains lignin.
So when you're searching through paper books for your next potential print project and you see that a paper is acid-free and archival, expect it to at least withstand the remainder of your lifetime.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Printing With and On Your Food
If you are familiar with this blog, then you know that I often try to compare cooking and printing techniques. I compare the two because most people understand cooking and food basics but not so much with printing.
On the surface, cooking and printing have nothing to do with each other. However, despite these differences, there are many instances that utilize food directly in print and vice versa. This blog post is dedicated to exploring a few of those times where the concept of food and print work together.
- Chocolate Graphics (www.chocolategraphics.com) prints on food by embossing photographic images onto chocolate with chocolate. This embossing technology simultaneously allows them to produce 3 dimensional images with chocolate as well.
- Cantu Designs (www.cantudesigns.com) meld food with science, technology and art to create a new type of futuristic culinary experience. Chef Cantu has created a number of print and food related technologies such as edible paper and desktop printers where the print cartridges are filled with food-based inks that include foods such as carrots, tomatoes and potatoes.
- AIB (American Institute of Baking) and FDA help certify and ensure food packaging and labeling compliance on your every day print items you find in your grocery store. They help printers follow guidelines on food grade printing ink requirements.
- Soy-based inks are non petroleum-based inks that are created with vegetable oils. These inks are often the choice for environmentally conscience customers as they emit considerably less VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and are biodegradable.
- Edible rice paper is often used in cake designs to transfer a photo quality image on the outside of frosting. A designer can draw and color designs on the paper or even run the sheet through a food safe edible ink printer to achieve more detail.
Perhaps printed materials that you can eat will be the biggest opportunity for printing to stay relevant in a digital world.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Why Direct Mail? Part 1 of 2
Why use direct mail? Isn’t this form of advertising going extinct? With the world becoming more digitized every day, one might think so. However, every month you receive direct mail from the same companies over and over again. Banks and insurance companies constantly flood your mailbox. Do you think these companies would keep repeatedly sending the same offer in the mail if they weren’t seeing results? Would you continue to do something in your own business if it wasn’t working?
The fact is that direct mail works and is growing in popularity as marketers seek out a means to speak to consumers on a one-to-one level. The ability to send a targeted message to the right person is a powerful thing.
Direct mail is here to stay but if you need proof as to why you should join this movement, consider the following evidence:
- Mail is measurable. You can track the cost per response.
- Mail is real. In a digitized world, mail enables your senses to physically interact with a marketing message.
- Mail is personal. How would you send a birthday card, love letter or thank you note to someone you care about?
- Mail speaks to you. Your name is on the mail, with your address and your specific message that the marketer knows is relevant to you.
- Mail benefits from technology. Advances in data mining allow you to send a tailored message to a specific demographic and audience.
- Mail reinforces brand loyalty. When you receive mail from a brand that you already trust, the mail is received more positively. In addition, mail complements and integrates well with other forms of advertising such as TV, email, radio and a website.
- Google mails. The largest internet company in the world uses direct mail to advertise.
- Mail stands out. The average consumer receives 45 emails for every one piece of direct mail.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)