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Electric Impulse Communications, Inc. Newsletter
January 2006
- Herbie's Helpful Hint
- Who Said It?
- Mishmash of Value:
- Who is Your Simon Cowell?
- The Real Lesson Behind Troy Smith
- Why Jim Tressel is My Hero
- Once You Get Beyond the Rocks
- Applebee's is an Applebust
- January Case Study: Kennedy Center High Profile Presenters
- Live and On TV
- Answer
I. Herbie's Helpful Hint
Don’t be like everyone else.
My dad didn't like to follow the traditional path. "Leslie," he would
say, "it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they
spell your name right." In preparing last month's newsletter,
I thought about how this applies to newsletters. Some marketing
guru once said that newsletters should go out the first of the month.
So the world listened.
And the world scrambled to be the first, at the first of the month.
They send them out the night before, the day before, the morning
prior. I don’t like to do things like everyone else, now you know
why. Besides, my newsletter has too much good stuff to be lost
in a sea of first-of-the-month newsletters. So I am making a change
to the first Friday of the month. Let me know what you think.
What can you do to be different from others?
II. Who Said It?
"It takes a whole lot of money to look this cheap"?
III. Mishmash of Value:
1.Who is your Simon Cowell?
When Jennifer Hudson was a contestant on American Idol, Simon Cowell told her she was not good enough, and wouldn't get any better. Now, whatever you think of Simon he offers a professional eye and he certainly has been correct more times than not in identifying musical talent. She is now not only starring in DREAMGIRLS the movie, but most certainly will be Oscar nominated. What if she had listened to Simon, packed her bags, and gone home to be a waitress or receptionist? Just making it to a finalist on Idol, certainly is further than most will ever go. Why not simply see that as the zenith and quit?
Lesson Learned:
Haven't we all listened to a Simon Cowell? One
of the most difficult challenges in life is knowing which mentors
to believe and when to believe them. How are you doing at deciphering
the messages and messengers in your life?
2. The Real Lesson Behind Troy Smith
Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy. Ho-hum you might say. Another super jock wins a super award. Look again; there is a lesson to be re-learned by all of us. Troy Smith wasn't a primary high school recruiting target. His teammate and friend, Ted Ginn Jr. was the highly recruited side of this dynamic duo. Troy was recruited in a strategic move to land Ginn. Ginn was the diamond in that recruiting class while Troy Smith was the last player recruited.
Lesson Learned:
What we can re-learn is to be less judgmental in
deciding the worth of a prospect. What clients do you have that could
be the Heisman Winner in your world? What small changes could you make
to go from just another in your field to the Heisman stand out?
3. Why Jim Tressel is My Hero
Near the end of Jim Tressel's first season, I called Debbie, his executive assistant. I begged, pleaded, and cajoled her to have Coach Tressel in some way communicate with my father, who had just had another open heart surgery. While my dad was a huge OSU fan, he was not a donor. So other than having been a water boy and fan, I didn't have much leverage on my side. She said she would see what she could do.
The day before Tressel's first OSU-Michigan game, my dad received a get well card signed by the whole team.
Lesson Learned:
I don't know nor do I care if Tressel ever heard my
request. He had an organization well oiled to fulfill requests...
even the week of the OSU-Michigan game. Do you have things in place
in your company to fulfill client requests with or without your presence?
4. Once You Get Past the Rocks
In Puerto Vallarta, we stay on the beach. Pretty to look at, but dangerous to walk. The beach is heavily covered with rocks: small rocks, big rocks, rocks, rocks, rocks. You have to get past the rocks to snorkel or swim. On the last day I finally decided to meet the challenge and walk the rocks. The last guest to walk the rocks ended up with stitches. So I walked, crawled, and weaved my way over the rocks. And I enjoyed a brief snorkeling expedition when I wasn't swallowing salt water.
Lesson Learned:
In snorkeling and business, sometimes we have to get past
the rocks to enjoy the scenery.
5. Applebee's is an Applebust
My Moshe is a Tyler Florence fanatic. You have to watch the Food Channel to know Tyler, a celebrity chef. Moshe saw a commercial showing the merger of Applebee's and four of Tyler's recipes. So one night, we set out for Applebee's. The meal was a big disappointment. Moshe pointed this out to management. The answer was that they had recently had a major overhaul of employees and the current employees did not have sufficient training.
Lesson Learned:
Are your employees adequately trained? Our market does
not care about why something is not done well, only that it is or is not.
You however, need to know why.
IV. January Case Study: Kennedy Center High Profile Presenters
Situation: Entertainers with a life long career of achievement are honored on a special night at the Kennedy Center. Friends and peers are asked to say a few words about each honoree.
What Happened: Each presenter used old fashioned notecards. Imagine that. Reba McIntyre used them really poorly. She made a production out of laying each card down on the podium. So much so, that you started watching that instead of listening. Tom Hanks and Reese Witherspoon used their cards without the cards becoming the focus.
Lesson Learned:
Even talented, high profile people have to practice a talent they do not use on a daily basis. Reba got in the way of her own words, do you?
V. Live and On TV
1. TV Time/Warner Civic Forum of the Air
Channel 23 Leslie Ungar host for these shows
Airs: Sunday at 9 am, and Local on Demand
WONE Sunday 6 am WAKR Sunday 8:30 am
A Conversation about Prostate Cancer
Guests: Tripper Morris and Dr. Todd Breaux
Watch February listings and Local on Demand
Heart to Heart in the Workplace
Guests: Nicholas T. George and Larry Vuilleman
Watch March listings and Local on Demand
2. Live-Please come and say hello if you are in the neighborhood
January 24 Cuyahoga Falls Chamber
January 23 Torchbearers
January 31 Hudson Rotary
When could I speak to your group?
3. "The Electric Impulse" Blog is just the place you're looking for!
Instead of waiting until the next newsletter, you can
access my blog at anytime to hear and contribute to real
time events. We update it frequently and would love to
have you participate in these online discussions. Follow
either the link below to access it directly or access
my blog at anytime. http://electricimpulse.wordpress.com/
VI. Answer:
Dolly Parton - 2006 Recipient -The Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Achievement