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Tag Archives: New Business World

Social Media ‘Evolution’ At Nation’s Investment Firms

26 Thursday May 2011

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Ethics, Government Regulation, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Public Relations, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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Blogging, compliance, FINRA, investment firms, New Business World, New York Life, Public Image, Regulatory Notice 10-06, Rule 10-06, SEC

USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Can your investment advisor write a blog about his or her job? Can they Tweet that they just read a great article on oil futures and add a hyperlink? Can they post that they had a big day in the market? Prior to January 2010, the answer was no…not unless they wanted to risk her or his job.

Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules didn’t specifically prohibit business-related Social Media participation, but SEC regulations on advertising and communications have been presumed to extend to online engagement and in a vacuum of good guidance, most major firms took the position of forbidding their representatives from participating in Social Media formats. This removed the fundamental aspect of Social Media that benefits commerce on the Internet, the one-on-one connection.

In January 2010, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 10-06, which gave investment firms parameters for allowing their representatives to use Social Media within the bounds of SEC and FINRA regulations. The reaction was not instantaneous because firms had to solve the issue of how to supervise agent’s online communication. Protocols had to be established, software had to be adapted and installed, and training of agents had to be implemented; however, there has been a rapid Social Media ‘evolution’ in investment advising during the past 12 months.

For some firms, a deliberate, but ‘conservative approach’ to implementing Social Media engagement is being employed. One industry representative said, “…we had to help agents know what they can talk about and what they can’t talk about.” But she added, “…I’d rather be doing this now than wait three years and try to figure it out…Social Media exists and it’s not going away.”

For New York Life the direction was made very clear according to Ken Hittel, Vice President, Corporate Internet, who said, ” Our CEO, (Ted Mathas) made it very clear that agent participation (in Social Media) is a requirement.” New York Life uses a software program to meet SEC and FINRA regulations of supervising agent’s Internet interactions. Hittel said that the implementation of the program, “…went smoothly and was completed in a couple of months.”

The SEC regulations on advertising and adviser/investor communications are not new and apply to all methods of interactions, including those performed via the Internet. A FINRA podcast outlines five issues that apply to all forms of investment communications. All statements made by an agent must:

  • not be exaggerated or misleading and all material facts must be disclosed
  • clearly identified the firm and agent
  • not include or imply any forward-looking statements
  • provide the customer/investor a sound basis to evaluate the services or market
  • file any statements regarding mutual funds, variable products, and/or exchange traded funds within 10 days of being published

Each investment firm is expected to train their agents on how to comply with SEC and FINRA requirements. Hittel said that the New York Life agent training program is “..not just compliance.” He pointed out that Social Media creates 12,000 “Brand Ambassadors” for the company and they based their Social Media training on a “best practices” approach. Hittel said that there is a saying at New York Life, “…that you can do anything, not everything,” which is reflected in New York Life’s approach to Social Media engagement. The firm has established a progressive program for Social Media participation by their agents…within the scope of SEC and FINRA regulations.

Courtyard in Dallas: A Hotel For Real People

04 Wednesday May 2011

Posted by Paul Kiser in Business, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Internet, Re-Imagine!, Travel

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Tags

Courtyard by Marriott, Customer Loyalty, Dallas, DFW Airport, hotel, Irving, lodging, Management Practices, New Business World, Texas, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

I spend more time than most people I know in major market hotels and typically they can be lumped into the category of ‘people warehouses.’ Sometimes I find a hotel that has made an attempt to make the lodging experience something more than a Orwellian, mega-corporate vision of a room with a bed. It is rare; however, to find a hotel that was intentionally designed to make a real person welcome and wanted.

Courtyard by Marriott Front Desk in Dallas, TX

The Courtyard by Marriott DFW Airport South in Dallas, Texas is one of those rare exceptions.

Located near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and near two freeways (Texas 183 and 161) the Courtyard hotel could easily fall into the trap of the thousands of chain hotels near major transportation centers that seem to be set up to process travelers as quickly and efficiently as possible, but absent of any warmth. The Dallas DFW Courtyard by Marriott is efficient, but it is also friendly, customer-focused in the important details, and well designed.

The desk and flat screen television in my room

When I walked into the hotel I found a relatively small registration desk as opposed to those massive registration desks in some hotels where it looks like they could take care of 20 guests at once, but only have one person on duty. I was greeted with a friendly smile by a devastatingly attractive young woman named Amy who made me feel like I was the only person she would be helping that day. There was another young man there named Chris, but for some reason I didn’t notice him as much. 🙂 I did have a chance to talk to him later in the evening and he was very helpful.

In addition to the friendly staff, I also noticed that the front desk has an opening in the middle so that the person behind the desk can step through quickly and easily. The design made me feel like they were real people behind the registration desk, not caged robots.

A Self-Service Board Pass Print Station

As I was going to my room I noticed that the sleeve for the plastic room key said, “This key is not meant to lock you in your room.” That is was the first time I have ever had a hotel openly express that to me as a guest.

The room size was slightly larger than most hotel rooms, and the arrangement and the furniture were atypical for a standard hotel room., It made it feel more like a suite than a warehouse. The room had free WiFi Internet access and a flat screen television, which are two of my critical tests of quality. Free Internet says, “we know you’re a mobile person and access to the Internet is important to you so we’re not going to gouge you for $14/day for it.”

A flat screen television demonstrates that the hotel is keeping their facility updated. Old televisions are bulky, ugly, and tell me that the money I spend for the room is not being reinvested in the facility. Another test of quality is access to outlets in the room and the Courtyard has them, including outlets on the wall lights near the bed.

Food/Bar Counter Makes the Entire Lobby a Gathering Place

I had already decided to go out for dinner before I arrived, but I changed my mind once I had seen the lobby/restaurant area. This hotel has a unique lobby design. Opposite of the registration desk is a partial oval bar/counter for ordering food and/or drink, but behind it are tables and chairs as in a restaurant dining room.

Around the room are pod-like areas with flat screen televisions scattered about, all on different channels. The food preparation area (kitchen) is not in sight. Every thing about this area, and another large lobby area opposite the registration/bar area is designed to welcome people to congregate and relax. It is a Starbucks®-like model, only with full food and drink service. The food was excellent and the service from the man and another young woman in the food service area was great (and yes, she was also devastatingly attractive.)

Additional Gathering Space in the Lobby Area

The lobby also has a large touch screen digital bulletin board to access hotel and local information and a separate area with video screens of DFW airport flight status reports AND a station to print out airline boarding passes. The Courtyard does not forget its customers are often travelers and these key details prove that the hotel works hard to accommodate the needs of traveling guests.

I found that everything about the Courtyard by Marriott indicated that they have Re-Imagined the concept of a hotel and they have used the viewpoint of the guest, not the accountant, as the guide in its design. In addition, the Alex Nguyen, the Director and General Manager of the facility must have a strong ability to convey to his staff the need for reaching out to the guests and making them feel at home. I know I will not forget my short stay there and I appreciate design of the facility and the warmth of  the staff.

Well done!

(This article was not solicited or approved by the Courtyard by Marriott, nor was this article written with any understanding of compensation, nor quid pro quo exchange.)

Sandoval/Reid campaign money not a stimulus for Nevada

24 Wednesday Nov 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in About Reno, Branding, Communication, Consulting, Ethics, Government, History, Honor, Management Practices, Politics, Pride, Print Media, Public Relations, Traditional Media

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Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Democrats, Governor, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, Newspapers, Politics, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Republican, Republicans, Rory Reid, Sandoval

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Article first published as
Sandoval/Reid Campaign Money Not a Stimulus for Nevada
on Technorati

We endured relentless political ads on television and radio, but Nevada didn’t hit the jackpot in campaign dollars flowing into the State from the Governor’s race. Despite the fact that almost $3.8 million dollars was spent by the Sandoval for Governor Campaign in the months leading up to the election, 80% of the money was payable to recipients outside the State. Rory Reid’s campaign also spent a significant portion of its money to out-of-state firms with MSR Media Strategies, LLC in Fairfax, Virginia netting almost $2.8 million from the Reid campaign.

Sandoval Campaign Expenses
(Spreadsheet listing all campaign expenses through October 21, 2010)

In a detailed review of Governor-Elect Sandoval’s campaign reports, 63% ($2.4 million) of campaign expenses were made payable to Strategic Media Services, inc. in Washington, D.C. for advertising. While some may argue that money spent for advertising comes back to the State in the form of purchased television and radio air time and newspaper ads, one Nevada media consultant pointed out that most media outlets in Nevada are owned by out-of-state media corporations, so political ads that ran on many local stations were payable to non-Nevada interests. The one exception is the Intermountain West Communications Company that owns several television stations including in the western United States including KSNV-Las Vegas, KRNV-Reno, and KENV-Elko. 

David Neal, President of Strategic Media Services, inc. (Sandoval’s leading campaign expenditure) and Kyle Osterhout, Partner of MSR Media Strategies, LLC (Rory Reid’s leading campaign expenditure) were not immediately available; however, two media experts with campaign related experience said that the standard fee for media agencies is 15% of the advertising purchase. In some cases a campaign may negotiate rebates from the media agency based on volume of business; however services such as the production of the ad are typically not included in the 15% fee.

The Las Vegas area did benefit from 19% (over $720,000) of the campaign funds with over $400,000 paid to political and media consultants.  Almost half a million dollars went to the three Las Vegas firms of October, Inc., Autumn Productions, and Autumn EMedia. The latter two are subsidiaries of November, Inc.

The Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Carson Valley garnered only 1 percent (less than $30,000) from the Governor-Elect’s campaign and rural Nevada received less than $10,000.

NEXT:  Where the money came from in Sandoval’s campaign

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Nevada Best Kept Secret: #1 in Crime

05 Friday Nov 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Crime, Crisis Management, Ethics, Government, History, Politics, Pride, Print Media, Public Relations, Rotary, Taxes, Traditional Media, Travel, Violence in the Workplace, Women

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

auto theft, Blogging, Blogs, crime rate, crime statistics, Employment, Executive Management, HR, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, Newspapers, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, rapes, robbery, Rotary

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Article first published as
Nevada #1 Crime Rate Not Acknowledged
on Technorati

On a late October morning a Wal-Mart employee was ‘disgruntled’ and he decides it’s time to take action. He smuggles a gun into the store and buys ammunition for it in the Sporting Goods department. He then goes to the restroom where he hides in the handicapped stall mulling his decision. He makes a final commitment to confront his bosses and leaves the restroom, straight toward the manager’s office. Once there he confronts the manager, the one he likes, and, at gunpoint, orders him to call two other managers to the office. When they arrive they find an angry man with a gun. At some  point the three managers make a run for it and all three are shot. All three live, but their lives will never be the same.

Last week’s shooting of three managers in a Wal-Mart in Reno (Nevada, USA) should not be surprising in a State that has the worst crime rate in the United States. Nevada has been ranked as the Most Dangerous State for the last four years (2006-09) by Morgan Quitno’s (morganquitno.com) annual crime rate report.

Nevada’s Crime Story

  • Nevada ranks #1 in women being killed by men (1)
  • Nevada ranks #1 in stolen cars per capita (2)
  • Nevada ranks #1 in robbery per capita (2)
  • Nevada ranks in the top 10 for assaults per capita for the last 4 years (3)
  • Nevada ranks in the top 10 for forcible rape per capita for the last 4 years (3)

What is a surprise is the deafening silence about the State’s notorious ranking by local media. The top 50 hits of a Google search of ‘Nevada High Crime Rate News Media’ offer no mention of the issue among the State’s primary television and print media resources. It also was not an issue discussed in most of the major political contests this year despite the fact that Nevada’s #1 status in unemployment, foreclosures, and bankruptcies were all fodder for candidate mud-slinging.

It should be noted that Nevada’s crime rankings are not an artifact of the 2007-09 Recession. The State has been a leader in crime independent of the economic environment. It is unknown if Nevada’s out of control crime issues are effecting tourism because for over half a decade the State has experienced a steady decline in gaming revenues because of increased competition due to Indian gaming in California and other States. Any impact of Nevada’s high crime reputation would be masked by the larger trend; however, as there seems to be little awareness of the State’s crime issues, it is unlikely that it has had an impact…yet.

Nevada’s gaming industry would likely suffer more revenue losses if the crime woes were widely publicized and lower gaming revenues would have a trickle down effect on newspaper and television advertising revenue but, there is no evidence that the local media intentionally avoids the subject to risk offending their advertisers. Gaming also plays a significant role in Nevada politics but, there is no evidence that politicians avoid discussing the issue for fear of offending potential major contributors to their campaigns.

However, the lack of discussion seems to only be feeding the problem. If any effort is being made to turn around Nevada’s position as the Most Dangerous State it is being done without fanfare ….and without success.

NOTES:
(1) – Statistic for 2008 (from crimeinamerica.net)

(2) – Statistic for 2009 – #2 in 2005-08 (from disastercenter.com)
(3) – Statistic for 2006-09 (from disastercenter.com)

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HR/Security Hot Topic: Should you watch your employee’s personal Internet activities? (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.)

28 Thursday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Consulting, Crisis Management, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Government Regulation, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Pride, Privacy, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Recreation, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Violence in the Workplace, Website

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

background checks, Blogging, Blogs, case law, Employee evaluations, Employee privacy, Employer liability, Employment, Employment Law, employment verification, Executive Management, Facebook, HR, Human Resources, Internet, lawsuit, LinkedIn, Management Practices, monitoring employees, New Business World, performance reviews, Privacy, Privacy on the Internet, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotary, security, Social Media, Social Networking

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

One of the hottest topics in the world of employment is whether or not an employer should monitor his or her Internet activities. This is a subject I’ve written about before, but it is an issue that is still emerging and has yet to have any significant case-law to provide guidance to employers.

It is well-known that a large number of employers perform a ‘Google’ search on the Internet before they hire an applicant, but now companies are feeling the need to continue to monitor an employee’s Internet activities after hire. Many experts, especially those involved in employee liability prevention support an employer’s right to monitor an employee’s Internet activities even when those activities occur off-duty and offsite. The logic is that it is prudent to aware of anything an employee might say or do that could embarrass the employer, or any indication that the employee might take an action that might involve the company and its facilities.

These are rational arguments, but I believe that monitoring an employee’s activities is opening the door to bigger liability issues. Sound odd? Here’s the scenario I see happening in three Acts.

Should the Employer be Big Brother?

Act One: A busy-body employer or manager casually checks his or her employee’s Facebook, MySpace, and/or Twitter accounts. The employer might even do a Google search on an employee from time to time. When the employer or manager finds something that they see as objectionable they confront the guilty employee and take the proper action. It becomes known throughout the company (and the employee’s family) that the employer monitors its employee’s personal Internet activity.

Act Two: An employee has been reprimanded for content they have posted on the Internet. Six months later the same employee posts information on the Internet that he  is considering suicide and describes in detail how he is going to kill himself. Two weeks later the employee carries out the suicide as described. The family is aware the employer monitors the employee’s Internet activity and sues the employer claiming that the employer should have reasonably been aware of the planned suicide and taken action.

Act Three: Companies find themselves with two polar opposite choices. Either the company does not monitor their employee’s Internet activities or the company assigns resources to constantly monitor the Internet on every employee to insure they capture any relevant data for which the company should take action.

I was trained in Human Resources under the policy that what the employee did on her or his own time was off-limits to the employer unless it had a direct impact the job performance. That policy has had to be adjusted in a world where work and off-duty time can often be hard to differentiate, and where drug testing, researching credit scores and background checks have become standard operating procedure for many companies. However, an employee’s personal Internet activities is almost impossible to track in a society that is increasing involved in hours of daily online social networking. The question is whether an employer wants to be liable for monitoring its employees 24/7/365 and being held responsible for taking the appropriate action, or whether the employer would be better served by not being sucked into liability issues that can be avoided by simply not playing the role of Big Brother ?

I know which strategy I would recommend to my clients.

More Articles

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  • Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Rotary Related

  • Rotary@105: 7 Relationship types that affect membership retention (Part II)
  • What most non-Rotarians don’t know about Rotary
  • Rotary@105: Making Rotary Sexy
  • Rotary@105: Grieving change
  • How Rotary can..must..will plug into Social Media
  • Rotary PR: Disrespecting the Club President is a PR/Membership issue
  • Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
  • Rotary@105:  What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics
  • Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals the Impact of Social Media
  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Rotary@105:  What kind of animal is Rotary International?
  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
  • Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
  • Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!

Science Related

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Personal Experience Related

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  • I mow my lawn because…
  • Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
  • Nevada’s oldest brewery opens a Reno location
  • Two Barbecues and a Wedding
  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

Our Country and History Related

  • I’m not angry, nor am I stupid … and I voted
  • Point of Confusion
  • What I’m not buying this year
  • Nevada: State of Disaster
  • Thank you, Mr. President
  • America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico

Rotary@105: 7 Relationship types that affect membership retention (Part II)

27 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Women

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alien, Blank, Blogging, Blogs, Club Members, Common Interests, Competitor, Customer Loyalty, Equality, Executive Management, Facebook, Friend, Internet, LinkedIn, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Mentor, New Business World, Partner, Public Image, Public Relations, Rival, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Seven Benchmark Relationships, Social Media, Social Networking, Star, Stranger, Submissive, Subordinate, The Star, Trust, Twitter, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

NOTE: This article is a secondary article to
Relationships Typing: 3 factors that the affect quality and depth of friendship

As mentioned in the first part of this article, I have defined three factors that seem to determine the quality of my relationships. 1) Trust, 2) Common Interests and/or Experiences, 3) Equality.

By using a 21-point scale to rate each factor in various relationship types we can see how Trust (or the lack of), Common Interests and/or Experiences (or the lack of), and Equality (or the lack of) define the relationship. Below are seven types of benchmark relationships and how they might affect membership retention in a Rotary club.

Too much friendship?

The Star
We all have people who we look up to, but there are just a few people that we put on a pedestal. I see the Star relationship as one where the trust level is relatively high (+7 on a scale of -10 to +10) as well as the common interest level (+8 on a scale of -10 to +10), but we feel inferior (a -9 on a scale of -10 to +10) to this person. In this relationship the depth and quality of the relationship is usually shallow. These people are not close friends, but rather an admired acquaintance. A new member in a Rotary club might see the Club President as the Star.

The Mentor
The Mentor is a different version of the Star. The difference is that we trust the Mentor implicitly (+10) and we have a strong common interest (+9); however, we see ourselves as inferior (-6) to our Mentor. The Mentor has achieved a level of success that we hope reach and our relationship is based on a mutual effort to gain an equal level of success in the future. I think it is a mistake to believe that a Mentor relationship can be imposed. The only successful Mentor relationships I have observed are those that have occurred by a mutual agreement of both parties. In over nine years in Rotary have witnessed few successful Mentor relationships. When it does happen it is a win-win situation for both members, but the Mentor must be highly skilled and/or knowledgeable, a passionate person, and a great trainer. In addition, the ‘trainee’ must recognize the Mentor’s superior knowledge and have a desire to learn from him or her. If not, the relationship will fail.

A Partnership is not necessarily a friendship

The Partner
I see the Partner as a relationship seeking mutual benefit for both people, but without the level of trust of a Mentor relationship. In a Partner relationship the trust is conditional (0, not + or -) and the two people usually see the other as his or her  equal (0) or at least they have something of value that balances the relationship, but the common interest is high (+9). I would consider the Partner relationship to be a symbiotic or co-dependent relationship and while the relationship may seem to be a strong bond, the slightest feeling of inequality or betrayal can end the relationship. In Part I of this series I mentioned that the employer/employee relationship might be a partnership, but I also believe that some marriages can start out, or devolve into Partner type relationships. In a Rotary club a member who has established mostly Partner relationships with other members is likely to have no deep attachment to the club and likely to leave.

The Friend
Of all relationships, I think a Friend is the hardest to achieve. A quality friendship involves a high level of trust (+9) and a significant level of common interests and/or experiences (+6), but also a genuine feeling of equality (0) must exist. The trust and equality factors for a friendship are difficult for most people to offer to another person. It is a special relationship and one to be highly valued, but once achieved it is a strong bond that lasts over time and distance. If every member were to have only one other true ‘Friend’ in his or her club most members would never consider leaving.

The Rival or Competitor
A rival is a relationship, even though we usually don’t think of it as one. It is a relationship based on mistrust (-8) of another person and somewhat ironically, a relationship that includes a high level of common interests (+8). I think that while we may feel we are superior to our rival that the truth is that we are afraid that we are not, thus I give an equality rating of (+3) to a Rival relationship. The Rival relationship is one of the worst possible relationships that could develop in a Rotary club. Sooner or later the club is going to be drawn into the conflict or one or more members will leave because of it. Ironically, it is the high level of common interest that seems to set up the Rival/Competitor situation. Without the envy or jealousy caused by the common interest both people would probably ignore each other.

Common Interest can enhance a relationship, or create conflict

The Subordinate or Submissive
Note that with the Subordinate relationship I am talking about someone who sees another person as their subordinate or submissive. This can be an employer/employee type relationship, but it is any relationship where a person sees him/herself as superior (+10) to another person. The trust level is relatively high (+5) as the person with the bigger ego expects the subordinate to obey their wishes and typically there is somewhat of a common interest (+3), but not necessarily a significant level of commonality. The big problem I have seen with this type of relationship is that the target of this attitude may not feel that they should be the subordinate. In a Rotary club it is surprising easy for a club leader to see other club members as their subordinate. Nothing creates a false sense of power like a title and in a volunteer organization titles are meant to assign responsibility, not authority, but not everyone understands that concept.

The Alien or Blank
It seems somewhat pointless to talk about the lack of a relationship as a type of relationship, but the I find it interesting to understand that some people just don’t show up on our relationship radar even though we may see them on a regular basis. I didn’t fully understand this until I was in Rotary, but after a few years in a club you learn the some people can disappear in plain sight. I feel the lack of a relationship, when there realistically should be is a type of relationship and I refer to it as an Alien or Blank relationship.

The quality of Friendship
I would not argue the point that it takes two to make or break a relationship; however, I would argue that the quality and depth of any relationship is determined largely by our own attitudes, in concert with the way the other person treats us. Understanding the factors that influence a relationship is the first step to making positive changes. In a Rotary club, failing to recognize that not all relationships are constructive can have major consequences on membership retention.

In Part I of this series I talked about a facilitator at a meeting who didn’t want to dilute his ‘friendships’ with people in the Social Media. My response to him is this: friendship is more about what we bring to the table and not the method of connection. The Social Media is not a threat to good friendships, just a different way to engage in them.

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  • Rotary@105: Making Rotary Sexy
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  • Rotary PR: Disrespecting the Club President is a PR/Membership issue
  • Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
  • Rotary@105:  What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics
  • Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals the Impact of Social Media
  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Rotary@105:  What kind of animal is Rotary International?
  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
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Science Related

  • Negative Time: The Self-fulfilling Prophesy a Scientific Possibility?
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  • I mow my lawn because…
  • Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
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  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

Our Country and History Related

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  • America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico

I’m not angry, nor am I stupid…and I voted

25 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Ethics, Government, Government Regulation, History, Internet, Lessons of Life, Passionate People, Politics, Pride, Public Relations, Random, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Taxes, US History, Women

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Christine O'Donnell, Democrats, Election, Election 2010, Elections, Meg Whitman, Mike Steele, Nevada, New Business World, Politics, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Republicans, Sharron Angle, Social Media, Tea Party, Vote, Voting, Wackos

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

I have seen the ads for the Democratic candidates that make the claim that their opponents are ‘extremists’. I disagree with this assessment of some of the Republican/Tea Party candidates. They are not extremists, they are just stupid.

  • When the Nevada Republican candidate for Senate, Sharron Angle, suggest’s that ‘some people’ are angry enough to “invoke their Second Amendment Rights”, in an attempt to scare people into voting for her, that’s just stupid.

  • When California Republican candidate for Governor, Meg Whitman, is blaming illegal immigrants for all the problems in her State, but then it’s revealed that she employed an undocumented worker, that’s just stupid.

    Angle: Manning up in stupid

  • When Delaware Republican candidate for Senate, Christine O’Donnell, uses campaign contributions to pay for her personal household expenses that’s just stupid.

  • When Sharron Angle says her opponent should ‘man up’ as if she is some tough cowboy out on the range, it sounds silly, and it’s just stupid.

  • When Meg Whitman, a multi-millionaire and former CEO, is called a ‘whore’ by an unknown person in her opponent’s party and milks it as if she is some poor, defenseless, innocent Southern Bell, whose honor has been violated, that’s just stupid.

O'Donnell: God's Chosen messenger to the US Senate

  • When Christine O’Donnell, who ‘dabbled’ in witchcraft says that she ‘prays God will open people’s eyes’ so they will vote for her that’s just stupid.

  • When the Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican party, expenses his trip to a West Hollywood strip club to party funds, that’s just stupid.

    Michael Steele: RNC Chairman

  • When Republican party candidates blame the economy on our government, instead of the unethical business men who traded our country’s future for profit for themselves and their investors, that’s just stupid.

Today I voted, and I didn’t vote for stupid. I voted for Harry Reid who serves as a statesman for Nevada and for our country and who will be the best possible representative Nevada could hope for in the difficult times ahead.

I voted for Rory Reid because I believe that Nevada must change direction from the low/no tax strategy (no income, corporate, capital gains, inventory taxes) that we have had for decades and now we are the 1st in unemployment, crime, and foreclosures, and among the worst in education.

I also voted YES on all four State Amendments and two local Advisory Questions.

I voted to have the Governor appoint Supreme and District court judges because I don’t like it when judges campaign. The electorate rarely pays attention to judicial offices and I would rather they be vetted in a formal process, not paraded in public like beauty candidates.

I voted YES to have an intermediate court established. In a conversation with a Supreme Court Justice it became apparent that Nevada’s Justice system has a major bottleneck of cases that could be cleared out if we had a system similar to other States.

I voted YES to allow the Legislature to resolve minor conflicts of our tax code with Federal law.

I voted YES to repeal/revise the knee-jerk eminent domain law. It has problems and it needs to be fixed.

I voted YES to ‘beg’ the State to seek the consent of local governments before raiding their revenues.

I voted YES to encourage the consolidation of the Reno/Washoe governments. I wish Sparks was included. We have three government entities in this valley and it is a ridiculous duplication of services.

This year we will learn whether stupid wins the day or not. John F. Kennedy put it the best: ‘you can fool some of the people all the time and you can fool all the people some of the time’. If stupid wins this year, the fools will be running the village. Heaven help us.

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  • Rotary@105: Making Rotary Sexy
  • Rotary@105: Grieving change
  • How Rotary can..must..will plug into Social Media
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  • Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
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  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Rotary@105:  What kind of animal is Rotary International?
  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
  • Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
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  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!

Science Related

  • Negative Time: The Self-fulfilling Prophesy a Scientific Possibility?
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  • Things I didn’t know about being a Father to a four-year-old boy
  • Riding Reno: The Ladies of Reno
  • Up in the air down in Texas
  • I mow my lawn because…
  • Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
  • Nevada’s oldest brewery opens a Reno location
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  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

Our Country and History Related

  • Point of Confusion
  • What I’m not buying this year
  • Nevada: State of Disaster
  • Thank you, Mr. President
  • America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico

Starbucks is Re-Imagining the business…again

22 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Traditional Media, Travel, Website, Women

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

alcoholic drinks, Bars, Beer, Blogging, Blogs, Coffee, Customer Loyalty, Digital Starbucks, Executive Management, Free Internet, Free WiFi, Internet, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, New York Times, Newspapers, NYT, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Selling, Social Media, Social Networking, Starbucks, tea, The Wall Street Journal, Tom Peters, USA Today, Value-added, wine, WSJ

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

This week Starbucks continued to add value to its stores and more Re-Imagining seems to be in the forecast. A few months ago Starbucks did the smart move of offering free WiFi for everyone (see article below) and on Wednesday they took it one step farther with a Digital Starbucks that features free web content if you sign on to their WiFi service while you’re in the store.

(Free WiFi at Starbucks)

Now when you use the free WiFi service in any Starbucks you can also read a digital version of the day’s Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or the USA Today. The New York Times requires software download of a reader, but the USA Today loads up its own reader and retains the exact look of the paper copy. The site also includes Yahoo! news and GOOD content.


In addition to news, the Digital Starbucks offers access to a selection of entertainment, wellness, business/career, and local online resources. There is also a page to access most of the functions found on the Starbucks website. It seems apparent that Starbucks has teamed with AT&T, the WSJ, NYT, USA Today, and several others to offer this value-added service. Recently all Starbucks stores received new labeled newspaper stands with the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today in the top three shelves with the local paper given the bottom shelf. In my October tour of stores in Houston, Boston, Denver, and Reno I have seen more papers sold out than I have ever seen at a Starbucks store. Obviously the collaboration is a win-win.

A screen shot of the DG Wellness page

While some information has been sent out regarding the new online features most people have not caught on to the major remake of the log-in page and the new free media resources. That will change over time and I expect Starbucks will see a positive increase in store traffic as customers become aware of what they can access for free at their local store. I have already noticed high occupancy of the key ‘power’ tables (tables next to a power outlet) in almost every store I’ve visited since the free WiFi service started on July 1st.

Starbucks After Hours
The value-added virtual Starbucks is small change compared to what may be coming to some Starbucks locations. As reported in this Monday’s USA Today, the company has been testing wine and beer service at a Seattle location. The three-month remodel of a standard store resulted in a cafe-type look and feel, moving away from the glorified fast food feel of most coffee houses. The move is designed to generate more late day revenue when coffee sales die down. There is little doubt that local bars may find a Starbucks too much to compete with as it creates a middle ground for those like getting out in the evening, but seek a relaxed atmosphere free of loud music and single men on the hunt.

While I remained concerned that Starbucks is allowing accountants have too much say in store operations, I have to congratulate them on bringing value-added service and innovative ideas into the forefront. The winner is the customer … the only person that matters.

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  • 2Q 2010 Social Media Tools: Facebook/Twitter sail on, LinkedIn/MySpace don’t
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  • Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance
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  • WiFi on Southwest Airlines: Is it ‘Shovel Ready’?
  • Starbucks makes a smart move: Free WiFi
  • Foul Play: FIFA shows what less regulation offers to business
  • The Shock of the McChrystal Story: The story is over before the article is published
  • Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General
  • Epic Fail: PR ‘Experts’ don’t get Twitter
  • King of Anything: Social Media vs Traditional Media
  • Twitter is the Thunderstorm of World Thought
  • Signs of the Times
  • How Social Interactive Media Could Transform Higher Education
  • How to Become a Zen Master of Social Media
  • Death of All Salesmen!
  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
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  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
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Rotary Related

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  • Rotary@105: Making Rotary Sexy
  • Rotary@105: Grieving change
  • How Rotary can..must..will plug into Social Media
  • Rotary PR: Disrespecting the Club President is a PR/Membership issue
  • Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
  • Rotary@105:  What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics
  • Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals the Impact of Social Media
  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Rotary@105:  What kind of animal is Rotary International?
  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
  • Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
  • Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!

Science Related

  • Negative Time: The Self-fulfilling Prophesy a Scientific Possibility?
  • Physics in 2010: The more we understand, the less we know

Personal Experience Related

  • Knowing when it’s over or beyond over
  • Dear Teresa Laraba, SVP of Southwest Airlines Customer Service
  • Things I didn’t know about being a Father to a four-year-old boy
  • Riding Reno: The Ladies of Reno
  • Up in the air down in Texas
  • I mow my lawn because…
  • Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
  • Nevada’s oldest brewery opens a Reno location
  • Two Barbecues and a Wedding
  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

Our Country and History Related

  • Point of Confusion
  • What I’m not buying this year
  • Nevada: State of Disaster
  • Thank you, Mr. President
  • America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico

Knowing when it’s over or beyond over

22 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Internet, Lessons of Life, Passionate People, Random, Relationships, Travel, Women

≈ 3 Comments

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Boston, Customer Loyalty, Female, Garmin, GPS, Maps, New Business World, Nuvi, Nuvi 265, Public Relations, Relationships

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

There comes a time in every relationship when you start suspecting problems, and then there is the point when you know it’s over. In the past two weeks I’ve discovered that I’m in a relationship that is not only over, it’s become adversarial. I can’t say I’ve been unaware that there were problems, but I have become dependent on her and it was just easier to ignore the signs than to confront her. Now she has begun a campaign of sabotage and I’m forced to do something.

I’ve played this game before. It’s always the same story. First she is unbelievably helpful and at times she surprises me with her intelligence. But then I begin to rely on her and that’s when things go south..or sometimes north, but it goes wrong regardless of the direction and then you end up alone in the rain somewhere in the Pacific Coastal range with no cell phone signal…but that’s another story.

It was Father’s Day when we met. Her name is Samantha, and she has a clear, well-enunciated voice. I stayed up late with her that first night and I couldn’t wait to take her for a ride in the car. I was impressed with what she knew and it felt like love. Then came the little mistakes. Little warning signs that should have told me that she wasn’t as perfect as I thought. Then she changed. It seemed like she was deliberately misleading me. I became frustrated, but I told myself that maybe I had expected too much.

Then last week came the proof. This time it was intentional. This time it was malicious. I was driving in the early morning in a Nor-easter rain storm to the Boston airport. It was dark, I was stressed, and my plane was not going to wait for me if I got lost. Still, I was 90% sure of where I was going, but I had her there in the car calmly reassuring me that I was where I needed to be. Then it happened. I knew I had to stay on I-90 through the tunnel to get to Boston’s Logan Airport. The airport is basically on an island so there are not a lot of options on how to get there.

The Other Woman

She said it and I didn’t imagine it. She told me to exit I-90 and go south on a road that would have taken me away from the airport. Had I obediently done as she ordered I would have been scrambling for at least 30 minutes to try to get back (you have to know Boston roads to understand why) to the airport. My sweet, innocent Garmin Nuvi 265 GPS device had turned on me and was deliberately trying to make me miss my flight. She is evil!

Now I know that she is out to get me and it makes driving stressful. Did she give me the right exit, or is she just messing with me again? I know it’s all over between us, but I have a hard time letting her go. Damn you Sam!

If you see me driving and yelling when no one is in the car, be cautious … who knows who is in the driver’s seat.

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Dear Teresa Laraba, SVP of Southwest Airlines Customer Service

20 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Relationships, Respect, Travel

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Blogging, Blogs, Boarding Groups, Cattle Boarding, Customer Loyalty, Executive Management, Internet, Management Practices, New Business World, Open Seating, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Senior Vice President, Southwest, Southwest Airlines, SWA, Teresa Laraba, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Teresa Laraba
Senior Vice President Customer Services
Southwest Airlines

Dear Teresa:

Last Friday I felt betrayed by Southwest Airlines and while the outcome of the event was not horrible, the stress it caused me has profoundly effected the trust I place in your airline. I also felt that some of your key people failed in their duty toward customer service.

I have been on 28 Southwest flights since the beginning of August and the one that was the longest was last Friday’s flight from Boston to Reno. I was on the flight for almost eight hours. I knew it was going to be a long flight, but I always pay for Early Bird boarding so that I can get a window seat and settle in. I have relied on this service to make the ‘open seating’ policy less of an ordeal, especially on long, full flights where the last to board are the Big Losers who have to sit in the middle seat.

The Boarding Pass of Shame

The day started out stressful as a major storm hit the northeast and I had to drive through heavy rain, in the dark to get to the airport. After getting to the airport, gassing up the car, and turning it in, I took a sigh of relief as I went to get my boarding pass. I had early boarding, which was critical on a flight that would be five minutes short of 8 hours on the same plane. I finally found the TSA line and as I stood there I looked to see where I would be in the ‘A’ Boarding Group. I was shocked to see that I was in the ‘B’ Boarding Group, and that I was at the end of the ‘B’ Group.

I got through the security line and went to the Gate Counter. I asked the gate agent at the counter, (who seemed like she was in a bad mood at 6:30 AM in the morning,) if this was a mistake. She said that there was a ‘computer glitch’* and that all Early Boarding passengers lost their Early Boarding status. She told me I would be refunded $10.

(DEFINITION: Computer Glitch – One of our computer programmers applied a change to the system that screwed everything up, and while it was human caused, we’re going to make it sound like a mechanical problem, so we don’t have to take responsibility for the error and actually do something to make it right.)

Southwest Airlines doesn’t seem to understand that when you fail to do what you promise, giving back the money you took in exchange for that promise is not making it right. Giving money back for a service not performed is what you are legally obligated to do, it’s not doing me a favor. It is essentially saying, “We’re not going to try to screw you out of your money for our failure to do our job.”…thanks a lot.

So I was going to sit in the middle seat for an eight-hour flight because Southwest screwed up and that was your ‘best’ customer service response. I complained further and the gate agent reluctantly said she would let me board at the end of the ‘A’ group. That was a good half measure at a solution, but I still don’t know why she didn’t offer it when she first admitted the error.

I was still frustrated so I called your Customer Service line. I was met with the same cold, uncaring, “..we’ve had a computer glitch and you’ll be refunded your $10.” When I told her that I was going to be stuck on the same plane for eight hours she acted like she didn’t believe me. I then helped her with the math and explained the three time zones we would be crossing, to which she said, “Oh, yes, that is eight hours.” In her defense she did suggest that I could talk to the gate agent, but I had already done that with little results.

I’ve flown SWA a lot recently, and I’ve come to trust the Early Bird boarding system. I used to try to pull my boarding pass at 24 hours before boarding in order to get a decent seat with limited success. The Early Bird boarding option has made all the hours in a loud aluminum tube where I have no rights, no say, and no real food, … bearable. BUT, on the longest flight of 29 (tomorrow is #29), the system failed me…big time. What I’ve learned from this not only is the Early Bird boarding system unreliable, that when there is a problem, Southwest does not, 1) recognize the significance, or attempts to minimize the problem, and 2) offers no reasonable solution unless you really complain.

I do have three positive experiences to report that kept this flight from being a disaster. First, I was able to get a window seat and that kept me from going over the edge. Second, another SWA employee, (Mark, I think) who actually loaded the passengers on the plane, recognized that the loss of the Early Bird boarding passes was a major problem. He made it clear that anyone with Early Bird boarding would be allowed on the plane at the end of the ‘A’ Group. He admitted that it was a big problem and he apologized several times for it.

That was it! Admitting it was a major problem, apologizing for it, and then attempting to make it right was the key to showing that someone cared. The gate agent and the phone ‘customer service’ showed a lack sympathy or concern. Your ‘customer service’ staff has become too good at minimizing the problem and being ‘professional’ by not caring.

The third positive came from the flight deck. We boarded the plane to sit there for an hour so someone (a professional mechanic) could come and tape up an exit sign that was hanging down. However, the pilot (possibly the co-pilot) came out and personally explained, multiple times what was going on and during the flight he came out and walked the plane explaining where we were in the flight. He cared enough to show his face and give us the news, bad and good.

I don’t understand why your customer service staff is so uncaring, leaving the rest of the employees at SWA to pick up their slack? I will likely continue to fly SWA because we really don’t have a choice anymore, but I will go back to pulling my boarding passes 24 hours in advance, even with my Early Bird boarding fee, just because I can’t trust your system to do what it supposed to do, and because when it fails, your CS staff could care less.

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What I’m Not Buying This Year

13 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Ethics, Government, Government Regulation, History, Honor, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Politics, Pride, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Taxes, The Tipping Point, US History

≈ 3 Comments

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Blogging, Blogs, Christine O'Donnell, Conservatives, Crime, Depression, Ethics, Executive Management, Good Government, Hispanic, Illegal Aliens, Illegal Immigrants, LoCOS, Management Practices, Mexican Nationals, Mexico, Nevada, New Business World, Political Parties, Politics, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Recession, Republicans, Rotary, Sharron Angle, Tea Party, Unemployment, Unethical Business Practices

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Tis the season and there are a lot of political candidates out there selling their version of what is wrong with this country/state/county/city and how they are going to fix what ails us. This year is different from most because it seems that a lynch mob has taken over a prominent role in politics and like most lynch mobs they don’t need facts, they just need someone to be angry at and someone to blame.

It would be easy to label the people behind this political lynch mob as ‘stupid’, but that is probably overly harsh. These people are driven by emotions, not a lack of intelligence, so stupid is not the correct term. I prefer to describe the lynch mob as people who have a Lack Of Critical Observation Skills (LoCOS for short.)  This year the LoCOS are trying to sell a lot of garbage and I’m not buying it. For example:

Nevada: The best at doing it wrong

LoCOS:  Lower taxes will improve the economy
To the LoCOS who are selling the load I have one word. Nevada. Nevada has no Income tax. Nevada has no Capital Gains tax. Nevada has no Corporate tax. Nevada has no Inventory tax. Even conservative business groups rate Nevada as one of the most ‘business-friendly’ states. Nevada is to business what the Bunny Ranch was to male ego.

According the LoCOS argument, Nevada should be awash in new business. Nevada’s economy should be booming. Nevada should be the poster child of the low tax concept.

The fact is that the State exposes the Lo Tax/Mo Biz as a myth. Nevada is Number ONE in unemployment (2nd place Florida is over a full point better than the Silver State.) Nevada is Number ONE in crime. Nevada is Number ONE in housing foreclosures. Nevada is consistently among the lowest in unbiased education rankings. Nevada is proof that lower taxes does not make for a better economy.

(Article: Nevada’s State of Disaster)

LoCOS: Business is better at running our government
Let’s remember that it wasn’t government that put us in a recession but business…BAD business. Government was an enabler, in that it stopped regulating and monitoring the unbridled greed of the incestuous investor-run business world, but at the end of the day it was business people who made all the decisions. The corporate executives chose to ignore the obvious result that would happen from their greed and dove head on into unethical practices that doomed our economy.

Greed is inherent in business. Greed is why business exists. There is no ‘care for fellow citizen’ in the business world. Business is based on competition, winners and losers, and often the losers are not the weakest, but rather loser’s are the one’s with morals. Business only keeps to a moral compass when there is an unbiased arbiter oversees its activities. That is the role of government.

This year we are seeing the perversion of investor-run business with clearer eyes. The Chamber of Commerce has abandoned their mission of promoting good business in the community in favor of attacking local governments and promoting only those candidates that will remove the protections for honest business and our citizens. It is ironic that anyone would suggest that business, with its greed-driven motives and proven track record of unethical practices, should replace good government.

Don’t get me wrong, a strong economy needs good, healthy businesses, but good, healthy businesses need a strong government to create and monitor the rules for which guide and protect all. The leap of logic of the LoCOS, that our government should be run as a business, is as absurd as saying that FIFA needs fewer referees on the soccer field.

LoCOS: The trillion-dollar debt is bad
The LoCOS must have Alzheimer’s.

I’m not in favor of a large deficit, especially when it involves sending US dollars to finance the destruction of another country …. but I’m really not in favor of is a Depression. That is what we faced in early 2009. Business had raped our economy through outrageous, unregulated practices and we were on the brink of an abyss that had no bottom. Again, business, not government caused our economy to fail. Initially, our country let big banks suffer the consequences of what they had done, but it quickly became apparent that what was about to happen was the massive collapse of the entire economic system, which would have forced the United States government to take over the day-to-day operations of almost all of our major financial institutions.

Cheney's Folly: The start of our debt problems

The alternative to a nuclear meltdown of our economy was to lend money to those institutions, help initiate controlled purchases of ailing banks, and invest government money in key assistance programs. Was it a bailout? Yes, but it was investing, not buying, which meant we would get the money back in almost every case.

The government also invested money in the mismanaged auto industry that, if not preserved, would have sent us into Depression-era unemployment overnight. Yes, it increased our nation’s debt. A debt that had gone from surplus in President Clinton’s years, to a deficit under George Bush. It would have been better if we had not spent so much money on Cheney’s overseas folly and already been in the hole when the house of cards of bad business fell, but there was no choice. The decisions made in late 2008 and early 2009 were necessary and save our country from disaster.

Have we recovered? No. But the LoCOS rage over a big deficit is being driven and financed by the major corporations that would prefer the citizen forget what really happened. I wish business hadn’t forced us to use trillions of taxpayer’s dollar to remedy their greed, but we had no choice.

LoCOS: Government is bad
Government is really, really good providing it is run by reasonable people who truly care for the citizens … all the citizens. There is one difference between civilization and anarchy and that is government. Every time I hear the LoCOS point out an example of bad government I can think of a hundred ways that government has made our country great. I mentioned to a person that the airlines need to be regulated again and they pointed out how, under government regulation, an airline was forced to maintain a route to a small city that was not profitable. Yes, that is tough, but what about the scores of lucrative routes that government regulation handed that same airline on a silver platter? I’m really weary of the single exceptions to how great government has been in making this the strongest country in the history of the world. Single exceptions do not make an argument for destroying our country.

Government is the foundation of our society and the only people who don’t benefit from a strong government are the greedy and unethical. When we were in school we would have rather had no teachers telling us what to do, but that wouldn’t have made our education better. It’s time we stopped making the argument of a 5th grader…and time we started respecting what a blessing it is to have a government that keeps our society from devolving into anarchy.

The Face of the LoCO People

LoCOS: Electing stupid people is smart
This one mystifies me. A candidate from any other party would be laughed out of politics for saying or doing something stupid and yet candidates for the LoCOS wear their stupidity like a new hat.
LoCOS candidates are avoiding the media, saying one thing, then changing their story. They scream about illegal aliens and how they are destroying our country, then it’s revealed they were employing them. They dress in Nazi uniforms. They steal other people’s work and claim it as their own. They take campaign money and pay their personal bills with it. They have to explain to people why they are not a witch. They threaten violence on people, yell about almost anything, deceive, and often outright lie…and the LoCOS cheer on.

I know that the quality of candidates of the LoCOS is a reflection of the lack of respect they have for our country and government, but isn’t prima facie evidence that the LoCOS can’t really be trying to improve our country when they are represented by the worst of the worst?

LoCO S: Illegal aliens (=Hispanics) are destroying this country
First, let’s remember that a major portion of the United States (California, Nevada, Utah, southwestern Wyoming, western Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas belonged to Mexico until the mid-1800’s. We took the land from them at gunpoint and paid fifty cents on the dollar for the land. I could make a strong argument that Mexican nationals are not really the illegal aliens in Alta California, Nuevo Mexico, and Tejas, but I will let that dog rest.

(Article: America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico)

Regardless of the history of Mexico and the United States, the fact is that a typical tactic of a lynch mob is to find a symbol (person or group) that has little or no opportunity to defend themselves and present them as evil. This is a tactic used by the KKK, the Nazis, and every ultra-right wing, nationalistic, racist group. It doesn’t matter of whether the targeted group is guilty of anything, just that they, or no one else, is able or willing to stand up and challenge the accusations. Mexican immigrants are the perfect target for a group like the LoCOS.

The facts are that:

  • Most Mexican undocumented immigrants lead quiet, peaceful, law-abiding lives in the United States (a fact that the LoCOS lie about)
  • Mexican undocumented immigrants are working jobs that no American citizen wants to do
  • That the United States is the primary enabler of the drug wars in Mexico (we buy the product and sell them the arms)
  • Mexican undocumented immigrants can’t file for Income Tax refunds (which most would get if they were citizens) so the United States collects and keeps all the money deducted from their pay.

But according to the LoCOS, they are pure evil and responsible for our all our economic and societal ills. In Arizona, a sheriff’s deputy called that he was under attack by Mexican drug smugglers and was shot. He became the hero of the LoCOS.

Deputy Puroll's wound

Despite a massive effort, no drug smugglers were found. Now it turns out that the wound was from a bullet fired at close range (not from 25 yards as he claimed) and likely self-inflicted. Almost no one questioned the story of the deputy at the time, despite the inconsistencies in his account. Why should they, blame it on the Mexicans. Naturally, the story has to be true!

To me, the whole issue of ‘illegal aliens’ is a tornado in search of a trailer park. The damning terminology, the use of single examples, and falsified facts all indicate that the LoCOS need to create a threat and it the Muslims are too far away to pick on so the target is Mexican nationals.

The New Testament of the Bible has clear instructions on how a Christian is behave. Jesus said to love thy neighbor as thyself. The Apostle Paul says, “…as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another..” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). The LoCOS often boast of their devotion to Christ and then desecrate his teachings by their un-Christian attitude towards those of Hispanic descent.

I’m not buying it.

LoCOS: Threatening our government and the electorate with armed rebellion
Several members of the LoCOS, including LoCOS candidates have indicated that ‘some people’ may be mad enough at our government to invoke ‘their Second Amendment Rights’. I don’t care how you say it, to suggest that some people are going to take up arms against their fellow citizens (if the LoCOS don’t get their way) is wrong. In this country we vote, and we don’t take up arms to enforce the LoCOS will on the majority. Anyone who suggests this is a threat to our Constitution and to this country. Mad or not, there is a line that cannot be crossed over.

I know that everything I said here will not make any difference to the LoCOS. In fact, they will be outraged that I spoke out against their unbridled illogical arguments. You can’t reason with a lynch mob. But sometime in the future we will all look back on this and say, “What were the LoCOS thinking?” The problem is that they are not.

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  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
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Your Privacy Rights on the Internet: Read before you write.

11 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Pride, Privacy, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, Internet, LinkedIn, New Business World, Privacy on the Internet, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Your Rights

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

I have had several discussions with people who have a fear of the Internet and Social Media tools. The common issue that arises is regarding privacy, which to me is an interesting concern. Being concerned that you’re giving up your privacy if you use the Internet is, to me, a Homer Simpson moment.

I’m not sure where anyone got the idea that writing something and sending it out over a public system of servers, visible to almost anyone, and recorded for all time would be private, but for those of you who have that impression, let me read you your rights:

Your Right to Privacy on the Internet

  • You have a right to stay silent.
  • You have a right to not participate in Internet/online activities.
  • You have a right to consult an attorney before you participate in any Internet/online activities.
  • You have the right to stay in your house, block up the windows and never go out into public.
  • If you choose to participate in any Internet/online activities, anything you say can and will:
    • be considered a reflection of your public image
    • be available for anyone in the world to access
    • be recorded for the remainder history of the civilized world
    • be used against you now, or in the future
  • If you choose to NOT participate that will NOT prevent:
    • People from talking about you on the Internet
    • People using your image for almost any purpose
The Internet, and Social Media tools like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn allow people to communicate in a way we’ve never been able to communicate before. It is not intended for private discussions, but it is an open forum. That makes some people uncomfortable, and while I understand that, I also have to wonder why people have a need to say something they are not willing to say publicly?

There is still a time and place for a personal, one-to-one conversation to discuss matters between the two people, but isn’t that better to be done in person? Privacy is not what one should expect when using the Internet, but it is the place for ideas and concepts to be discussed in an open environment that values the input of all. Yes, sometimes the stupid people have louder voices and win the day, but at some point people will look back and learn who was behaving stupidly and who was really correct.

Here are four things I try to keep in mind when participating in online activities:

  1. Sometimes I’m going to say something stupid. I’m human and I will have to buck up and take responsibility for it.
  2. Sometimes people are going to ridicule what I have to say. That doesn’t mean they are correct and it may be a reflection of their poor judgement, not mine.
  3. By participating I will learn more than I could if I did not participate. Sometimes the lesson will be difficult, but that will usually mean I will learn more.
  4. Social Media is not the alpha and omega of life, but it is one of the most powerful communication tools ever conceived.
Now you have been read your rights… you can take it from here.

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Social Media 3Q 2010 Update: Who Uses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & MySpace:

08 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Traditional Media

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Age, Blogging, Blogs, Demographics, Facebook, Gender, Internet, LinkedIn, New Business World, Newspapers, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary International, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, TweetDeck, Twitter, USA Today

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

The third quarter 2010 demographics of Social Media users according to Google’s Adplanner services has a few surprises. Facebook actually dropped from 550 to 540 million users in the third quarter, and Facebook users over age 54 dropped from 16% to 10% in the last six months. Based on the data from the 2nd and 3rd quarters there is a significant slowing in the growth of the major Social Media tools.

Among the numbers are the interesting age group distributions of each of the networking sites. The data gives important clues of what each site is being used for in addition to who is using it.

Facebook’s Fire Cools
No one can dispute Facebook’s impact on the world. It is BIG, and with millions of posts and interactions each day, the influence of its users is the envy of every marketing professional. Traditional media professional and other old people will be tempted to look at the 3rd quarter data and declare that the Social Media ‘fad’ is over and on the decline. That would be a statement of ignorance.

Facebook 3rdQ 2010 DAILY visits

Facebook’s growth could not continue indefinitely and its amazing growth in users from 2008 to the start of 2010 was being fueled by a viral exploration of a new media that allowed people to connect in a way they never had before. Now that exploration has calmed and I believe we are seeing the coming of age of Social Media.

The drop of 10 million users during the third quarter is only significant in that it shows a leveling off of the growth. The average time on the site is over 23 minutes, which is much longer than the other three major U.S. Social Media tools (MySpace 14:40 mins., Twitter 13:10 mins., LinkedIn 9:50 mins.) That is important as more time spent means more interaction and more influence by users and advertisers.

Facebook reaches almost 57% of the people in the United States (35% worldwide) which is a staggering statistic. If USA Today could reach 57% of Americans (without giving the newspaper away to every hotel guest) and know that the readers were spending over 23 minutes looking at their paper they would probably be the only newspaper in the United States… and mega rich. As of March 2010, USA Today has a circulation of only 1.8 million compared to Facebook’s over 65 million visitors (based on cookies.)

3rdQ Facebook Users by Age

1stQ Facebook Users by Age

One statistic that keeps bouncing around in the Social Media world is that “women over 55 is the fastest growing group of Facebook users.” That it is old data. While the over 55 group had climbed to 16% at the end of March 2010, it is now the fastest shrinking age group and Facebook users under 18 years old have been the fastest growing group during the last six months.

Finally, 57% of the Facebook users are women, which is about the same as six months ago. That seems to confirm that Facebook is about ‘social’ networking and making personal connections. Facebook continues to be the place where buying decisions are influenced through small group interactions. Business and Marketing people will find that if they try to manipulate these discussions it will eventually backfire on them. Facebook is where business should LISTEN, not talk.

Twitter 3rdQ 2010 DAILY visits

Twitter Continues to Pause
The biggest surprise in the 3rd Quarter with Twitter was that it did not break the 100 million user mark. At the end of the 2nd Quarter it was at 96 million users, which was up by 16 million from the 1st Quarter. However, Twitter only grew by 2 million and now stands at 98 million users.

Twitter’s daily visits have leveled off for the last six months, and some might see this as an ominous sign for the hyper-fast post Social Media tool; however, this is deceiving as many Twitter users, (like myself,) don’t go to the Twitter site to use the tool, but rather use an application, like TweetDeck, to interact on the site. Thus the visit count would not be recorded as a site visit.

Twitter’s lack of significant growth in the number of users may be do to a continued lack of understanding of the value of the Tweet world and a period of constant ‘Fail Whales’ in the 2nd Quarter and early 3rd Quarter. The service has seemed to address the major problems in system overloads, but lately has had a return of a few service interruptions in the past few weeks. Obviously, if Twitter continues to have problems it won’t be able to survive in an environment where reliability is oxygen to users.

As for the lack of understanding of the value of Twitter, the service will struggle to grow until people can learn that the impact of Twitter is not in the posts, but the conversations and the URL links to other blogs and webpages. Twitter is like Headline News for new ideas and concepts. Often posts reveal a new approach or cutting-edge information that won’t be in the traditional public arena for months. That is why I still see Twitter growing if they can rid themselves of service interruptions.

3rdQ 2010 Twitter users by Age

1stQ 2010 Twitter users by Age

One interesting development in the latest data is the shift in the age demographics. Twitter seems to have made a shift to younger adults. The 18-34 age group is up by 16%, while the 35-64 age group is down by 9% from six months ago. Also, teenagers (under 18) have dropped by 6% since the 1st quarter and now make up only 4% of all Twitter users. The apparent dislike for Twitter among teenagers is a clear age defining characteristic. I have had two separate teenagers say to me “You’re not on Twitter, are you!?”

Apparently Twitter gives you cooties. Who knew?

MySpace Back From the Brink?
I have predicted the end of MySpace for sometime, but in the 3rd quarter it did something bizarre … it gained users. It had dropped 14 million users from the 1st to the 2nd quarter and then it gained one million users back in the 3rd quarter. MySpace now stands at 67 million users. Not earth-shaking, but certainly noteworthy. LinkedIn would sacrifice several interns to have that many users. MySpace also has more women. Female users consist of 64% of the MySpace population.

MySpace 3rdQ 2010 DAILY visits

The reason? Well, no other major Social Media tool lets you search by gender … and age … and height … and race … and body type … and sexual orientation … are you getting the picture? MySpace is a social dating site as much as anything else and lonely people make up a lot of our world’s population. So maybe MySpace has found its niche as a romance network and that will stop the freefall of the past two quarters.

3Q 2010 MySpace users by Age

3rdQ 2010 MySpace users by Age

Yes, there are more teenagers on this site than most (14%), but 63% of the users are between 18 and 44 years old. One caveat. MySpace has limited the ‘find-a-friend’ search function to give the results of people age 18 and over. That is a smart move to protect minors; however, some teenagers have simply listed themselves as an age of 18 or older to circumvent the limitation. I caught a few teenagers that list themselves as 19, but on their main page description they indicate their real age. This is likely why the number of ‘under 18’ users have dropped from 34% to 14% in six months.

LinkedIn Drifting in Niche
The 3rd quarter statistics show that despite millions of people looking work, the business person to business person website of LinkedIn is not growing. It is at 41 million,
which is actually higher than the end of 2nd quarter, but the same as the end of the 1st quarter.

LinkedIn 3rdQ DAILY visits

Like MySpace, LinkedIn has found its niche. Essentially, LinkedIn is a business-oriented website that provides a job exchange service. Most users are using the networking website as their digital résumé in order to attract job offers. In the Tom Peters ‘Re-Imagine’ business world where branding is a key element of survival, LinkedIn is Mecca for self-promotion.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn is not as successful as Facebook and Twitter in two-way interaction. Both of those Social Media tools do not have as much as of an ‘agenda’ by individual users as LinkedIn. Users of the business-oriented network seem to spend more time professing what they know and don’t spend as much time listening to others. This is the traditional media model of one-way communication, which is the style of communication that Social Media has displaced. For some, the self-promotion run amuck style of some LinkedIn users is a turn off that may hurt the site in the long run.

3Q 2010 LinkedIn user by Age

1stQ 2010 LinkedIn users by Age

It will be interesting to see how LinkedIn will fare as the business-caused Recession of 2007-09 eases and people are employed again. LinkedIn could be a key to a sudden labor shortage in 2012 as those companies with the best opportunities will be able to target and recruit candidates through LinkedIn, leaving other employers to either compete or settle for what’s left over.

Age and gender on LinkedIn reinforce the business-world orientation as more males (57%) are users and the distribution of the age groups reflects the working world. Interestingly, while LinkedIn still has more users over 54 years old (15%), this is 7% drop from the 1st quarter. That is offset by an 8% jump of the 24-34 year old users in the last six months.

4th Quarter Predictions?
I believe we are seeing a refinement of each of the big four Social Media tools. Facebook has become the social sharing network, Twitter is the thought-provoking, learning network, MySpace is the social relationship network, and LinkedIn the branding and résumé network. The demographics are settling in to reinforce the existing nature of each of the networks. Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn will likely end 2010 about where they are now unless something viral either cause a rush of new users, or sends people running away. Twitter still has potential significant growth, but I don’t see that happening in the 4th quarter.

The volatility of the Social Media networks have made it difficult to understand what they will eventually represent in our world; however, now that there seems to be a calming of the major networks, the value and purpose is becoming clearer. That will allow the big four to lock in their market; however, it will also open the door for other networks to identify areas of opportunities and weakness. My prediction is that 2011 will be the entrenchment of the Social Media, followed by more competition by other networks seeking to improve or offer alternatives to the established services.

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Richmond Embassy Suites: The best at true Hospitality!

01 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Honor, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Recreation, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Rotary@105, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Travel, Women

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Customer Loyalty, Embassy Suites, Executive Management, Free Internet, Free WiFi, Hospitality, hotels, HR, Internet, Kathleen Lyons, Management Practices, Motels, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Richmond, Richmond VA, Rotary, Starbucks, teamwork, Value-added, Virginia

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

In August I stayed in hotels in seven different cities (Dallas, TX; Bloomington, IL; Chicago,IL; Minneapolis, MN; Norfolk, VA; Richmond, VA; and Virginia Beach, VA..) In a previous post I expressed my displeasure with pay-for-Internet at the Millennium Hotel* in Minneapolis, which was slightly unfair as the hotel was a pleasant, although completely expected, experience. As a people warehouse the Millennium Hotel fits the mold that is typical of most business traveler-type hotels. However, out of the seven hotels of which I was a guest, there was one that made a big impression on me, the Embassy Suites in Richmond, Virginia.

(*Millennium Hotel: Go Away)

The main entrance the Embassy Suites in Richmond

The Embassy Suites hotel in Richmond, Virginia is not a flashy, Vegas-type hotel. From the outside it is a modern, yet modest building tucked back from busy streets; however, access to the Interstate is nearby. Like many hotels it is surrounded by a massive asphalt parking lot; however, the entrance is behind a landscaped island of trees. The great thing about the foliage is that it creates the sense from the outside that this hotel is not just a people warehouse like so many others.

After entering the hotel one doesn’t have to hunt for the Registration Desk as it is positioned in such a way that it oversees the entrance area, but it doesn’t intrude into the path of a guest walking to their room from the parking lot.

The Inner Courtyard

The striking feature of the hotel is the inner courtyard. I have seen this design before, but it was a refreshing change from institutional interior designs of most people warehouses. The open interior gives a community feel to the hotel rather than the impression that you just walked into a U-Store-It facility, as is the feel of most hotels. The interior landscaping and flowing water features create a tropical environment. This hotel was number six for me during my August travels and it was a refreshing change from the five previous corporate institutions of I had visited.

My room was also vastly different from my previous guest experiences. This was a true ‘suite’ and not just a room with a bed. There was a clearly defined living space with a television, desk, couch, and bar area. The bedroom was in the rear of the suite with a door that would allow privacy if two people were in the room and one wanted to watch television or work while the other one slept. The bedroom had a counter with running water and its own television. The bathroom was in the transition area between the living room and the bedroom offering easy access from both rooms. The entire suite is a brilliant design.

Of course the Internet was free (my minimum requirement) and I had no problems making a connection. If needed, I could have easily made the suite my home base. It is a comfortable living and working environment. I would have had no concerns about hosting small meetings in my room. I had everything I needed except for my Starbucks Chai Tea.

The Embassy Suite's Dining/Reception Area

One of my issues with most hotels is the assumption that people don’t want to interact with other people when they stay in a hotel. I’m as reclusive as most, but to visit a city and never come out of my hotel room is what creates that ‘warehouse feeling’.

At the Richmond Embassy Suites the open feel of the courtyard was put to good use by encouraging guests to congregate twice a day for a free manager’s reception each evening and free breakfast each morning. The reception offered adult and non-alcoholic beverages along with a variety of choices of snack items (hors devours.) The breakfast was as good or better than the breakfasts I’ve eaten at eaten at most Sunrise Rotary Clubs. Those who have eaten a breakfast at a Rotary Club may think that may not be saying much, but I typically pay $14 to $15 to eat a Rotary breakfast and this was free. The free gatherings were the most ‘value-added’ service I have experienced in a hotel.

From the few interactions I had with the hotel staff it was obvious that the Chief Executive of this property, Kathleen Lyons, and her staff understood the meaning of the word ‘guest’. I was always treated with respect and a smile. It was apparent that they were pleased that I choose their hotel over the other options in Richmond.

Giving great customer service is not that mysterious, but it requires that everyone from the bottom (no offense intended, Ms. Lyons, but in my world that means you) up to the top (the maintenance and housekeeping staff) must enjoy what they do and enjoy working with people. It was clear that the Embassy Suites in Richmond is not run by ‘management’, but managed through leadership. Bravo to Ms. Lyons and her team!

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  • Starbucks makes a smart move: Free WiFi
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  • Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General
  • Epic Fail: PR ‘Experts’ don’t get Twitter
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  • Twitter is the Thunderstorm of World Thought
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  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
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Rotary Related

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  • How Rotary can..must..will plug into Social Media
  • Rotary PR: Disrespecting the Club President is a PR/Membership issue
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  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
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  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
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  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!

Science Related

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Personal Experience Related

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  • Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
  • Nevada’s oldest brewery opens a Reno location
  • Two Barbecues and a Wedding
  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

Nevada: State of Disaster

30 Thursday Sep 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Crisis Management, Ethics, Government, Higher Education, History, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Random, Respect, Rotary, The Tipping Point, US History

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Executive Management, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotary, Rotary District 5190

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Among our Country’s 50 States, Nevada has been imploding for several years and is on the brink of complete collapse. Nevada ranks:

  • 1st in Unemployment at 14.4% (over a point higher than the next highest State)
  • 1st in Foreclosures (1 in 84 homes)
  • 1st in Crime (2009 – CQ Press)
  • 44th in 8th Grade Math Scores (2009)
  • 48th in 8th Grade Reading Scores (2009)
  • 49th Smartest State (2004, 2005, and 2007 – based on 21 factors)
  • 45th Healthiest State (2009 – United Health Foundation)

Nevada has managed to take advantage of traditional and non-traditional industries to keep its economy viable, but it has typically been dependent on easily exploited, non-competitive markets (gaming, quickie marriage, quickie divorce, and …quickies.) Unfortunately, in the past decade the strategy of taking advantage of human vices and lusts has failed as other States have decided they’re not as moral as they thought. As one might expect, Nevada’s government has been as precariously designed on a Natural Law type framework where accommodation of business needs supersede governing for and by the people.

Clouds on the Nevada horizon

As the statistics show, all that has now caught up with the Silver State and the result is a failing, under-funded, dysfunctional society that is so deep in a hole that they can’t see the way out. But to understand Nevada, a person needs to understand the history of a State that had a premature birth and since then it has behaved like the bastard child of our Country.

Nevada’s Sordid History
Nevada was founded in 1864, not because it met the minimum requirements for Statehood, but because of a marriage of convenience when; 1) President Abe Lincoln needed more political support and, 2) the residents were trying to rid themselves of Mormon control.

The re-election of Abe Lincoln eight days after Nevada became a State was not a coincidence as the political powers in Nevada openly favored President Lincoln. By giving Nevada Statehood, President Lincoln was assured that his Administration would maintain control as the Civil War reached a crucial stage in the last year of the conflict.

Nevada's State Flag

At the same time, many of the residents of the region were motivated by a distaste for the governance by the Utah Territory authorities as it was being handled by the Church of Latter-Day Saints where all positions were filled by faithful Mormons. Fortunately for the soon-to-be Nevadans, the Church was not in good graces with the U.S. Government and the Mormon Rebellion in 1857-8 (a saber rattling affair) led to the Mormons retreating back into the Salt Lake area, leaving the door open for residents to split off the western two-thirds of existing State as the Nevada Territory. They then pursued Statehood ensure a local government free of Mormon domination.

Although initially rejected, Nevada’s application for Statehood became seductive to the Republicans who sought to outmaneuver political opponents in Washington, D.C. Thus, Nevada’s motto, “Battle Born” is probably more reflective of the political games of the time, rather than the State’s birth during the Civil War.

Open For Business
Though it is the nation’s 7th largest State by area, it is in the bottom third of the Country as measured by population. Eighty-five percent of Nevada’s 2.5 million people live in either Las Vegas or Reno and only 14% of the residents were born in the State.

Because Nevada’s population has always been small and transient, it has been easy for the State government to be controlled by business interests. In the early years mining, ranching, and railroad interests heavily influenced the government and while Railroad owner’s power has faded, the gaming industry has stepped in to take their place.

One example of how the State has been run by and for business men is John Sparks, for which Reno’s sister city is named. John Sparks was a shrewd, unethical man who purchased small parcels of land in Eastern Nevada around water sources and then denied access to other ranchers. In this way he could use public land for grazing his cattle but prevent other ranchers from having access to water for their cattle. He and a partner eventually became mega-land owners through shady manipulation of Homesteading laws.

Although he lost most of his wealth when his company’s cattle died in a severe winter near the end of the 19th Century, he was elected Governor in 1902. In political office he became the darling of the Railroad owners who gave him free train travel from his home south of Reno to his office in Carson City. Governor Sparks political legacy is measured by the favorable railroad legislation produced during his administration. In 1905, the City of Sparks was founded soon after his death and to this day associates itself with its ‘railroad heritage’.

The Road Not Taken

The mining industry has the longest association of political clout with the State and even today enjoys an unusually favorable tax status in Nevada as they pay taxes on net profit. Because the taxes are calculated on net instead of gross profit, the mining corporations can avoid paying taxes in years of high revenue by spending more money on equipment and services. Much of the money spent goes to companies outside the State, leaving the Silver State holding the bag, not the money. Mining companies have major lobbying forces in Nevada that not only promotes their interests with State legislators, but also have been rumored to aggressively go after citizens and groups who oppose their favored tax status.

How favorable is Nevada’s mining tax status? This year mining is projected to contribute on 1.4% of the State’s revenue. That is roughly equal to the total tax paid for renting a car in Nevada OR the tax paid on liquor purchases. It is half the tax collected on cigarette and tobacco sales. Mining is a $1.5 Billion dollar industry in Nevada and contributes one of the smallest portions to the States revenue, but is voraciously defended by senior legislators of both parties at both the State and Federal levels.

In the last half of the 20th Century, gaming interests have assumed a share of influence as almost 25% of the State’s budget is financed by gaming taxes. Because of the massive lobbying efforts of mining, gaming, and Chamber of Commerce groups, the State government is run predominantly by and for conservative business interests. Nevada is ranked as one of the top business-friendly States and is a safe haven for wealthy individuals and corporations who seek to take advantage of Nevada’s lack of corporate, inventory, income and capital gains taxes.

The Failed Argument
Conservatives across the nation have suggested that taxes are killing the free market and all economic ills would disappear if not for the evil of a government-created fair playing field. That argument is proven wrong in Nevada. Despite the State’s business-friendly environment, it has the highest jobless rate in America and businesses are not thriving, but dying. There is no spin anyone can put on Nevada’s grand experiment. Government is not the source of our economic ills.

In a recent political debate in California, the Republican candidate for Governor argued that businesses were leaving California because of more favorable business environments in neighboring western States. She even went so far as to name them. Ironically, the one State she couldn’t add to her list, Nevada, has a more favorable businesses environment than any of the State’s named. If her argument were true, why aren’t businesses flocking to Nevada?

The Disaster Brewing for Decades
Politicians have known for decades that the economy of the Nevada was unsustainable and that economic disaster is a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’. Dependence on only a few industries for the State’s economy has always kept Nevada vulnerable to significant changes in economic and/or business conditions. For years, Nevada’s main source of tourism and gaming revenue have been consistently in decline because of California Indian gaming.

2010 Projected Nevada Tax Revenue

Over reliance on the gaming tax revenue coupled with the lack of traditional tax revenue sources like income taxes have pushed the State to make up for it by having among the highest sales and gasoline taxes in the nation. The lack of corporate and capital gains taxes on wealthier tax payers has pushed the burden on those who are least able to pay.

Epic Failed State
Last year, like many States, Nevada felt the crushing blow of the 2007-09 Recession. Massive cuts (Higher Education was presented with a 36% cut in the Governor’s budget) and a few minor tax increases made it possible for the 2009 Legislature to finalize a budget. But in 2011, the well is dry. No one can predict how the politicians will come up with a budget, but with the Tea Party’s domination of Nevada politics and a hysteria over cutting taxes that don’t even exist it is obvious that any solution will involve gutting programs and shredding the State’s infrastructure. As Nevada is already No. 1 in crime, unemployment, and foreclosures, the continued devolution of the State’s government will mean we can only watch the situation go from worst to Epic Fail.

Poor Role Models: Governor's Dinner in Washington, D.C. - image thanks to 8NewsNow.com

Political Wackos Rule
A rational person would probably look at the current situation in Nevada and determine that this would be the time to find people of high moral character and great thinkers to take control of the crisis. This would also the time to capitalize on those people who are in positions to use their influence and power to act on behalf of the State at all levels of government. Unfortunately, a lynch-mob mentality has besieged the electorate and a blood-hunt by the national Republican Party has poured millions of dollars in an effort that will eviscerate Nevada’s voice in American politics.

There is little reason to believe that anything can prevent Nevada from an economic meltdown along with a catastrophic failure of government infrastructure. The cities and counties will experience the full brunt of the disaster as the Nevada constitution prohibits Home Rule, which means that they cannot take independent action to preserve themselves by isolating and controlling their revenue sources.

There is one positive aspect of this situation. As the nation works to recover from the Recession of 2007-09, every other State in the nation will be able to say, “Well, at least we’re not Nevada.”

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Dear Business Person: It is 2010. Please update your brain.

17 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Government Regulation, History, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Traditional Media, Website

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Business, Customer Loyalty, Education, Executive Management, Facebook, Internet, LinkedIn, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, MySpace, Networking, Nevada, New Business World, Newspapers, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Referrals, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Sales, Selling, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Value-added, Year 2002, YouTube

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Recently I listened to a presentation on how to network to increase referrals of potential customers. The speaker made her living by teaching people how to do this, so there is no doubt she knew her subject. Personally, I agree that face-to-face networking skills are critical if you are going to be in business, especially if you have direct customer contact.

However, she quoted statistics from a 2002 study done by the Chamber of Commerce on referral effectiveness based on the method of contact. 2002. That is where she lost me.

How far back is 2002? In 2002, the Department of Justice announced it was going to investigate Enron, the UN Security Council froze the assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, the Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, The US Secretary of Energy declared Yucca Mountain, Nevada to be a suitable nuclear waste depository, the Space Shuttle Columbia completed a mission to update the Hubble Space Telescope…it’s last before it would be destroyed on re-entry from it’s next mission in 2003, the United States led coalition invaded Afghanistan, A Beautiful Mind won Best Picture, United Airlines and WorldCom filed for bankruptcy, Congress approved a resolution to go to war with Iraq, and President George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security.

Columbia Space Shuttle Breakup in 2003

To some, it may seem like 2002 was yesterday, but when discussing a topic on how business referrals are made in 2010, quoting data from a single, eight year-old study makes me question the relevancy of any of the information provided. Note that the Internet was only eleven years old in 2002. The first Social Media site, Friendster was started in 2002. It wasn’t until 2003, that the more known sites of LinkedIn (May) and MySpace (August) were introduced. Facebook didn’t come on-line until February 2004, YouTube began a year later, and Twitter didn’t start until July 15, 2006.

The world of communication and business have changed dramatically in the past 36 months, let alone the changes over the past eight years. To discuss ‘networking’ from a perspective of the world in 2002 is to be in Denial* of the world of 2010. While ‘more experienced’ business people scoff at “these young people” and their Social Media, the reality is that referrals are being replaced by customer recommendations read off of blogs and other Internet sources. ‘Experienced’ business people can be angry, condescending, and ignorant all they want about the impact of Social Media on business…but it won’t change what has happened. Many people blame government regulation for business failures, but more businesses fail because of outdated business minds and practices than anything other cause and we are neck-deep in 2002 business thinking.

(*See Rotary@105: Grieving Change)

Face-to-face networking is important, but compare the number of face-to-face interactions/connections that a person can make in a day with the number of interactions/connections that can be made through blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter in an hour, and it becomes apparent that dismissing the power of Social Media makes a business person appear uninformed and outdated…sort of like a man who wears shorts, sandals…and black socks. That analogy may not make sense to some people, but then again, those people probably aren’t reading this blog…or any others.

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  • Millennium Hotel: Go away, spend your money elsewhere
  • Is it time to fire yourself?
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Selling Watered-Down Beer: The best spin campaign in advertising

10 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Rotary, The Tipping Point, Traditional Media

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

advertising, Beer, Blogging, Customer Loyalty, Executive Management, light beer, lite beer, Management Practices, Marketing, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Selling, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

It is one of the best spin campaigns ever sold in the age of advertising. Few people would ask for diluted beer, but mega brewers have managed to make the ‘light’ in light…or lite beer seem like a health drink instead of one of the most clever advertising sell jobs in history.

Have you ever wondered what makes light beer, light? It’s a question most people don’t ask, but they should. Don’t get me wrong, making light beer usually is a different brewing process than brewing regular beer. Different enzymes are used to breakdown the carbohydrates, which helps reduce the calories; however, in the end the prime ingredient in most light beer is….water. Light beer is, at least in part, water-down beer. Of course, mega-brewers don’t put it that way. In fact, they go out of their way to avoid the subject, but to achieve any significant reduction in calories, some water must be added. One brewer’s motto is, “It’s the water, and a lot more,” but with their light beer the motto should be, “It’s the water, and more of it.”

One ad campaign that amuses me is the brewer that touts ‘only 64 calories’ with their light beer. I’m not an expert, but from my research, the only way you can get down to 64 calories is to add as much water as possible while retaining a beer flavor. That demonstrates the power of advertising. To create a product that people pay more to get less. Never underestimate how advertising can disguise the reality of a product and create an impression that the product has more value added by giving you less.

Lets not tell wineries about this.  We don’t need light wine.

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  • Foul Play: FIFA shows what less regulation offers to business
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  • Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General
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  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
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  • Pay It Middle: The Balance between Too Much and Too Little Compensation
  • Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance
  • Relationships and Thin-Slicing: Why the other person knows what you’re really thinking
  • Browser Wars: Internet Explorer losing, Google Chrome gaining ground
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  • How to Become a Zen Master of Social Media
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  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
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  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?
  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Rotary@105:  What kind of animal is Rotary International?
  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
  • Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
  • Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!

Rotary@105: Grieving Change

07 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book Review, Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Science, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Traditional Media, Website

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Acceptance, Anger, Bargaining, Blogging, Blogs, Book, Change, Club Members, Customer Loyalty, Denial, Depression, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Executive Management, Facebook, Grief, Grieving, Grieving Loss, History of Rotary, Internet, LinkedIn, Loss, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, New Business World, On Death and Dying, Paul Harris, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Social Media, Tradition, Twitter, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

On October 16th, our Rotary District (5190) will hold the second annual Public Relations (PR) seminar. It is a difficult topic because PR is a vital component to all aspects of Club operations, especially Membership recruitment and retention; however, for very ‘human’ reasons many members/clubs may not ready to listen to many of the key concepts because they are not ready to face the reality of the current situation.

To understand the resistance to the topic I need to refer to the 1969 book by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying and her model of the grieving process. Her book became a major work in the fields of psychology and counseling for decades and while many experts now reject the idea of ‘stages’ of grieving, her model serves to remind us that people are influenced by their emotional state and some information will not be easily accepted when change intersects with tradition.

On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

In the book, Kübler-Ross proposes that the grieving process involves five stages that help us recover from personal crisis back to a more balanced life where the incident or loss does not rule our lives and influence our decision-making. The stages are: 1) Denial, 2) Anger, 3) Bargaining, 4) Depression, and finally, 5) Acceptance.

So what is happening in Rotary that would cause a member or a club to be in crisis? Two issues come to mind.

Membership in Crisis
First, Rotary has been battling a significant membership issue for almost 15 years. For example, in 2005, Rotary Zone 23 (now re-zoned as Zone 25) had 568 clubs consisting of 33,921 members and five years later (2009) Zone 23 consisted of 33,304 members in 588 clubs.  While the number of clubs had increased by 20, total membership had decreased by over 600 people. This is only about a two percent loss over five years; however, the problem is that, 1) this has been a consistent trend for most of the last 15 years, and 2) every Rotary International President for the last nine years has pushed for increased membership as part of the key programs for his year.

The facts are simple: Rotary is bleeding membership and clubs are getting smaller (in Zone 23, an average of 3 members smaller over five years.) In seven years Rotary has brought in 1.2 million members…and lost 1.2 million members. Membership in North America, and many other western countries is on the decline. If current trends continue, over the next 15 to 20 years many community Rotary clubs will shrink until they are no longer relevant and then disband. Many small clubs are already facing this problem today and have less than five years to solve their membership crisis.

A New Business World
The second issue is external to the Rotary club. Business and communication is undergoing a rapid change and all the rules are changing. The Internet and, in particular, Social Media have challenged how business operates in a world where one person can be heard by millions, and if that person is talking about your product or service you have to be plugged in and listening or be lost in ignorance of what your customers and potential customers know about you. This new world demands personal involvement, yet many people (especially older business people) don’t want to be forced to participate in Social Media tools that put them and their company up for public scrutiny. There is a growing division between older professionals that tend to reject Social Media tools and younger professionals that tend to accept them. Guess in which category most Rotarians fit?

Action Obstructed by Grieving
Public Relations offers potential solutions to both issues. By becoming aware of the Club’s public image (how non-members perceive Rotary) the members can adapt their PR plan to maximize the value of the club projects and programs to help non-members understand the purpose and scope of Rotary. Members can also be aware of behaviors and information that reinforce negative stereotypes that non-members may have about Rotary, then avoid situations that might damage the reputation of the club. P
R can also help members understand and adapt to the Social Media tools and use them to the best advantage for the club…and their business.

The problem is that discussion of these solutions is premature when someone is grieving. It is akin to telling the man who just lost his wife that, “there are plenty of fish in the ocean.” The combination of scrambling to understand a new business environment while facing a slow bleed of Rotary club members has many Rotarians in the one of the stages of grieving.

For some it is the first stage: Denial:

Stages of Coping with Loss

“There is no membership crisis. The world is the same today as it always has been. Our club is fine, we’ve been around for decades and we will continue to be here for decades to come.”

For others it is Anger:

“This is our club! We don’t need to change, if someone wants to belong to our club they need to change to our way of doing things! Don’t tell me what to do, I’ve been around a lot longer than you! Most of our members aren’t even on Facebook!”

For some it is Bargaining:

“We need QUALITY members, not more members. What help are we going to get to make these changes? How do you know this will work? How do I know this is not just a waste of time?”

And for some it is Depression:

“….”

Of all of the stages, a club should fear depression the most. Apathy and membership are never good combinations; however, for some members who are overwhelmed by change, the depression over the issues will open the door for them to quietly leave Rotary. In some cases, a member who is entrenched in tradition may not be able to accept change and leaving Rotary is the only option, but hopefully we can be aware that grieving change is part of the process and present the message in a way that will help members to the final stage of grieving, Acceptance.

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Communication: Repetition of message does not increase awareness

03 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Government Regulation, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Traditional Media, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

air safety, Blogging, Facebook, flight attendant, Internet, LinkedIn, Management Practices, New Business World, pre-flight briefing, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Southwest Airlines, SWA, Twitter

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

“….Welcome to Flight 2333 to Norfolk….”

August was a busy month of travel for me. On four round trips in one month I spent over 40 hours on sixteen Southwest Airline planes and heard the pre-flight safety briefing 19 times. That would theoretically make me one of the most knowledgeable passengers on flight safety. One would think that I could repeat the flight attendant patter verbatim by now. But I can’t. I travel enough that the safety briefing is merely spam to me.

“…We would like to point out a few of the safety features on this Boeing 737. To fasten your seat belt slide the metal tab in the buckle. To release the belt pull up on the tab on the top of the buckle…..”

Attention will be paid to that which is unique

I know that this briefing is intended to provide a safe traveling environment and maybe there is someone who is allowed out in public who doesn’t know how to buckle a seatbelt, but really, does mindless repetition make us safer? The answer is ‘no’. Repetition can be useful in helping the brain hardwire complex information, but when the information is perceived to be too basic most people stop listening.

The failure of the passenger pre-flight briefing to inform serves as a good lesson for business people. A lot of smart people should know this, but I still find business men and women who live by the erroneous assumption that the more they get their message out, the more successful will be their endeavor. I have one group that sends at least one email to me everyday, and sometimes more than one email. I support the purpose of this organization, but I am considering blocking their emails because they have become spam to me.  When I open their email I read a few words and I file it away.

A ‘Hoser’ is what I call people who flood a Social Media tool with posts. On Twitter, I never read Tweets from someone who has multiple posts in quick succession. Sometimes people use applications that allow the Tweets to be posted on a schedule, which I think is a mistake.  When I see the same face on five consecutive posts I consider ‘unfollowing’ them over reading what they have to say. The same is true on Facebook and LinkedIn.

More about using Social Media in Aristotle’s Rules of Social Media

To be successful Public Relations and Marketing professionals must accept that a message must be more than a pre-flight briefing. If the message is just about repetition then not only will the audience not get the information, they will be annoyed by it. This is a hard lesson for traditional media ‘experts’ because they lived through a time when the audience had to get spam to get the entertainment (commercials embedded in television shows or ads embedded in magazine/newspaper articles.) Traditional media was designed to force the audience to accept the spam, but the Social Media is oriented to the audience, not the advertiser, and this means the reader has the power of the ‘off’ switch. To be heard, and understood PR/Marketing professionals must reject the old annoying ways of the past and use style, not repetition to get the message out.

As for the airlines, the pre-flight briefing will never go away even though it is completely ineffective. The briefing has little to do with informing people and everything to do with asserting the authority of the flight attendants. By standing up and lecturing the passengers on what passengers can and can’t do, they are identifying themselves as the people in charge, which is important in the unlikely event of a crisis on the plane.

However, the problem is that when your message is largely being ignored because it lacks content, the risk is that passengers won’t listen to other announcements. That’s another important lesson for PR professionals.

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Millennium Hotel: Go away, spend your money elsewhere

27 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Travel

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Blogging, Customer Loyalty, Executive Management, Free Internet, Free WiFi, hotels, Internet, Management Practices, Millennium Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Value-added, WiFi

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

This week I spent a couple of nights in the Millennium Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Now this is a good hotel and it has everything you would expect for the business traveler. The rooms are clean and reasonably updated. The staff is pleasant. It has a restaurant and a bar (although it struck me that maybe both were afterthoughts in the lobby design.) It has a pool on a fitness room (I didn’t go to hunt for them, but I’m assured that they exist.) It has a television with a selection of stations and optional pay-for-movies.

They have everything you might expect, save one item. Free WiFi/Internet. To access the Internet in the Millennium Hotel in Minneapolis you must add $10 (okay, $9.95) to the daily room rate.

Some business practices reflect old ideas.

This means one of two things. Either they decided to contract out their Internet service and they are getting some kind of kickback, or they have a bean-counter in their organization that has said to management, “Hey, we can boost our room rate by $10 if we charge for the Internet!”

It doesn’t matter why they charge for Internet service because what it says to me is simply, “We would prefer that you go elsewhere for Internet service.” In my case, I go to Starbucks where I can get online for free…and buy my tea with my extra $10…and then, rather than go back to the hotel to eat I find a place near Starbucks. Is that what they want their guests to do? Apparently.

A better place to spend $10/day

Next month I will be going back to Minneapolis and I will find my hotel on Priceline.com. That may land me back in the Millennium Hotel and once more I will go outside the hotel to connect to the world…and spend my money. I wonder if they have a clue? I seriously doubt it.

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Is it time to fire yourself?

27 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Business, Communication, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Government Regulation, Higher Education, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Tom Peters, Universities

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Employee evaluations, Employment, Executive Management, HR, Management Practices, New Business World, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

One thing I have observed in government, hospitals, universities, and small business management is that all of those fields tend to be people collectors. What I mean is those particular fields have a high incidence of people who have passed their expiration date.

Why?

Government, hospitals, and universities tend to: 1) pay their employees well, 2) offer good to great benefits, 3) offer prestigious positions, and 4) have incompetent human resource professionals. A person who lands in any of these three fields may be an excellent performer for several years; however, every human being needs new challenges and after five to seven years they lose the excitement of the job. The problem is that because they have moved up to the top of the pay scale (pay scale: an example of HR incompetence) the person discovers that if they were ever to leave that job they would have to: 1) take a pay cut, 2) risk losing their excellent benefits, and 3) not find as prestigious position as what they have in their comfy current job.

Now that excellent performer is trapped like a caged animal in a job that has no challenges for them. The result is what we have in America today. Government services, hospitals, and universities that are operated by uninspired people who’s most important priority is to go home at the end of the day. And where is the human resources professional? Standing there preaching that all those systems they created that cause employee burnout are absolutely vital for retaining employees.  People collectors.

Show me an organization that prides itself on long-term employees and I’ll show you a group of people who shoved innovation and creativity into a file drawer decades before.

So why did I include small business owners in with this unhappy, unproductive group of people?

For small business owners the trap of mediocrity is different, but it has the same result.  Initially, a new business owner is excited by the challenge of creating a business from nothing. If they are successful they find the satisfaction of beating the odds, which is like a drug to a business owner. Then comes the fear of losing everything they built. That fear always, always, always leads to becoming conservative. Don’t take chances and don’t risk failure. But it doesn’t stop there.

Eventually, the intelligent business owner realized that his/her business has become stagnant. He/she then tries a series of half measures that stirs the pot but doesn’t make anything new happen. They shake up their sales team, join a peer group (they serve the same function as HR), purchase clever productivity software, or…God forbid, hire a consultant. The result is a temporary change in activity that fails to address the real problem. Fear of failure. Thus, the small business owner becomes a people collector, and they are the one collected. Stuck in a place they can’t get out of and yet, don’t want to be.

My best advice I can give to a small business owner who is stuck in this trap? Fire yourself. Put someone in charge of your company, expect that they will drive it into the ground, and go out and build a new business. At the very least you will no longer live in fear, but you will more alive than you have been in years.

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  • Rogue Flight Attendant shows his arrogance, Airlines dislike for the customer
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Up in the air down in Texas

19 Thursday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, College, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Government Regulation, Higher Education, Lessons of Life, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Travel, Universities

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Blogging, Blogs, Dallas, Employment, Executive Management, GPS, HR, Management Practices, New Business World, President George Bush Turnpike, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Social Media, Texas, Toll roads, traveling, turnpike, Value-added, WiFi

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

I’m traveling a lot for my corporate acting/role-playing gigs lately and that has kept me out of my normal routine. During the last two weeks I have been traveling for The American College and playing multiple roles with students in their Master’s degree program.

I love traveling, but hours on a plane, all day seminars, and a quirky Microsoft Outlook/firewall issue (it conflicts with most hotel WiFi) puts me in a position of scrambling to stay up with email. Everything else begins to fall behind and my blog is one of the victims.

I spent three days in Dallas, Texas and I learned that they like to name their roadways after people. They also like toll roads. The problem with naming roads after people is that the President George Bush Turnpike is a lot for the GPS to spit out before it says, “exit right now”.

Lover's Lane in Dallas

Toll roads are not as common in the western United States, but over the past two decades Denver has been joining their eastern sister cities with pay-to-use roads. Both Denver and Dallas are going over to the dark side with cashless toll roads. The concept is that you don’t have stop and pay to use the roadway. Instead you obtain a transmitter that records your car and deducts the toll from your account.  Great idea, but it has a wicked ‘gotcha’.

The “gotcha’ is that if you don’t have a transmitter, they just take a picture of your license plate and send the bill to the owner. The problem is that rental car companies are making a killing heaping fees on renters who are caught unaware by the cashless toll roads. I went to downtown Dallas for dinner when I left my GPS took me to a toll road. I didn’t know it was cashless until I was on it and it was too late to exit. GOTCHA!

Dallas is the only city I know that will charge you $2 to drive by the airport. I understand that this road is the access to all the terminals at the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) airport, but it also continues past the airport and if you are using the road to get from south of DFW to north of DFW it will cost you $2. Ironically, I dropped someone off at the airport and it only cost $1 even though I spent longer in on the DFW property.

Thanksgiving Square in Dallas

Despite my negative comments, I liked Dallas. It reminded me of Denver, without the mountains…and warmer…a lot warmer. I spent just enough time in Dallas to get a 10,000 foot view and that is not enough to really know the city. The next time I’m back I will have a better plan to ferret out the cool things to do in Dallas.

I met with the District Governor and District Membership Chair for the Dallas/Fort Worth region and discovered that Rotary clubs in Texas are not that much different from the clubs in northeast California/northern Nevada. We face similar challenges in membership recruitment and the adaptation to using Social Media tools is on a similar pace; however most of their clubs have an existing website. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with them and learn about Rotary Texas style.

I was in Chicago last week and I have trips to Minnesota and Richmond, VA coming up. Might as well make this a travel blog…or not.

More Articles

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  • Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
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  • How to Become a Zen Master of Social Media
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  • Death of All Salesmen!
  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

I mow my lawn because…

17 Tuesday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Government Regulation, Higher Education, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Recreation, Relationships, Rotary, The Tipping Point

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Agent Smith, Blogging, Blogs, Club Members, Customer Loyalty, Executive Management, HR, inevitability, lawns, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, movie, mowing, mowing the lawn, Mr. Anderson, nature, Neo, New Business World, overcoming the odds, parenting, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Social Media, The Matrix, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Mowing the lawn is a futile task.

It’s like Agent Smith said to Mr. Anderson (Neo) in The Matrix as he held him as the subway train rushed toward them:

Do you hear that Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability. It is the sound of your own death.

That is what my lawn says to me everyday as it smirks and says, “Do you hear that Mr. Kiser? That is the sound of inevitability. It is the sound of nature winning.” It doesn’t stop with the grass. Everyday we face the battle against the march of  time. We live in a reality that will always have the last word…and last laugh. We cannot win….

Agent Smith: The sound of inevitability

…but I don’t see it that way.

I mow my lawn and I do it as an act of defiance. Yes, it is going to grow back, and yes, I could spend my time some other way than weekly harvesting my valueless grass, but that would be giving up.

We can have small victories. We can defy the odds and make nature work for her ‘inevitability’. Yes, the grass will grow, but look at my lawn and today… it didn’t win. The day belongs to me and my lawnmower. Take your inevitability and chew on it, Mother Nature, because today I own you.

In the past few years I have noticed that many people have given in to Agent Smith. They see only the inevitability. Everything will only lead to failure, so why try? The only problem is that everything great that humans have accomplished have been done by defying inevitability. bridges, tunnels, interstate highways, monuments, dams, water systems, sewer systems, powerlines,….the list goes on. It is in our nature to defy nature…and win….even if it is only for today.

Whether it is the start of a new school year, greeting the 833rd customer of the day, inviting the 18th prospective new member when the first 17 didn’t join, planning the fundraiser…again, walking around and talking to the employees for the third time today, or convincing someone that a new creative idea really can work, we beat the odds and make inevitability wait and that’s why we exist.

Beating inevitability

So I will continue to mow my lawn…until Alexander is old enough to do it.

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Rogue Flight Attendant shows his arrogance, Airlines dislike for customers

16 Monday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Business, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Government Regulation, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Travel, Violence in the Workplace

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Air travel, airline rules, Airlines, avionics, bad behavior, Blogging, Blogs, cell phones, Customer Loyalty, drama queen, electronic devices, Employment, FAA, flight attendant, hero, HR, jetBlue, Management Practices, New Business World, petty behavior, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Southwest Airlines, Steven Slater

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Last week Steven Slater was anointed as the working person’s hero by CNN and based on Internet response it would seem that most admire this jetBlue flight attendant and his dramatic act of quitting his job over the intercom, grabbing two beers, opening the plane door, inflating the emergency escape slide, and leaping into history. His behavior was allegedly in response to a passenger that refused to listen to his order to sit down as the plane taxied to the gate, and it has somehow elevated Slater to fame and offers of mega-financial deals.

Yet, the facts indicate that he is anything but heroic, and more accurately described as an arrogant, customer-loathing, self-obsessed man who betrayed the passengers on his plane and showed how control-obsessed some flight attendants have become in putting their petty desires over customer service.

Steven Slater - It's all about him

First, the facts of the alleged incident that supposedly drove him to his tantrum are in dispute. He claims that while the plane was taxiing to the gate a passenger stood up to get his bag and that while confronting the passenger the bag came down and hit him in the head. Yet, passengers claim the injury to his head was there earlier in the flight and no one can validate his fight with a passenger. By his own admission, Slater said he has thought about doing this act for 20 years.

Also, when Slater opened the starboard door and blew the slide, the plane was at the gate with the jetway in place. If the port side external door was not open, it could have been easily opened and he could have exited without the big show that took a plane out of service….but it wouldn’t have been as dramatic.

I do not doubt that there was some incident, but it seems that the facts according to Steven Slater don’t quite match the story. If a passenger stood up and began getting his bags before the plane had made a complete stop then that passenger was certainly in the wrong, but here is the catch, flight attendants have almost unlimited authority and if there was a major issue Slater only had to report the incident and the passenger would be spending some quality time with the New York Police. The passenger has no such power over the flight attendants, so why would Steven Slater portray himself as some beaten down victim at the mercy of a passenger?

Note that Steven Slater’s drama not only disrupted and punished the passengers on his flight, but his act also affected the passengers waiting to board that plane when it left New York. The plane had to be taken out of service leaving hundreds of people stranded. Slater’s co-workers were left to clean up his mess and he is a hero? To whom? What possible positive example does this petty, childish, little boy set for anyone? That bad behavior is rewarded?

Of course there are problem passengers. I have witnessed people who are rude, offensive, and ignorant of everyone around them. I will not defend these people, but I will say that most passengers are well-behaved even when they are dealing with a ground staff or flight crew that has belittled and/or humiliated them.

What I see more often on planes is not rude passengers, but rude flight crews that revel in power over their customers. No where in the business world do employees hold more power than flight attendants have over their passengers. Bizarre rules that have no meaning are enforced beyond common sense.

My favorite rule is turning off all electronic devices. Most Southwest flight attendants use the phrase, “..anything with an on/off switch must be completely turned off.” The rationale is that electronic devices will interfere with the plane’s ‘sensitive’ avionics, which is not true. Every urban area is blanketed with cell phone towers, microwave towers, and millions of electronic devices that transmit electromagnetic signals. Below 10,000 feet are electromagnetic waves that are far more powerful than anything a passenger can carry on a plane. If there were a danger of electronic interference it is more likely to come from external signals, rather than internal signals. In addition, the FAA and the airlines have yet to re-create an avionics problem that they could trace back to a mobile phone or an passenger’s electronic device. However, every airline enforces these rules even though they are only FAA advisories, NOT requirements.

The mix of petty rules and petty flight attendants, along with airlines that see passengers as the evil that they must deal with in order to gain a better dividend for their investor has created an abusive situation in the skies and on the ground. It’s not an excuse but passengers are reacting to the way they are being treated. I don’t condone bad behavior by passengers, but I’ll be damned if some drama queen* should be glorified for being the worst customer representative in an industry that hates their customer but still wants their money.

(*I know Steven Slater is openly gay and I am not slamming gays with the ‘drama queen’ remark. In theatre, and in life, there are drama queens, both male and female, and if the shoe fits…)

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  • Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
  • 2Q 2010 Social Media Tools: Facebook/Twitter sail on, LinkedIn/MySpace don’t
  • Epic Fail: PR ‘Experts’ don’t get Twitter
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  • Starbucks makes a smart move: Free WiFi
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How Rotary can…must…will plug into Social Media

28 Wednesday Jul 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Traditional Media, Website

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Club Members, Facebook, History of Rotary, LinkedIn, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, New Business World, Paul Harris, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Rotary policies, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter, Value-added

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Social Media (sO-shul  mE-dE-ah) – 1) any Internet function that allows user comment or input, 2) interconnected Internet tools that promote participation in the sharing of ideas, concepts, and information between users or members, 3) a type of interactive communication on the Internet that bypasses the non-interactive, one-way, broadcast-type communication of traditional media (e.g.; newspaper, magazine, radio, television, books, etc.) 4) an evil plot devised by mostly young people who seek to destroy traditional media, end all privacy, and rule the world by talking to each other.

Paul Kiser

Rotary is not an organization that reacts quickly to change. The parent organization meets only once every three years to discuss and propose major policy changes and even then the meeting consists of senior representatives (Past District Governors) from each Rotary District. Rotary clubs themselves often consist of members that disproportionately represents males over 50, (of which I am one,) and that group is not normally known for its adaptation skills in changing environments. In many ways, Rotary is the poster child for rigidity, rules, and tradition.

The problem is that we don’t live in a world that rewards the slow or unadaptive. We have moved into a period of rapid change that is similar to the Crusades ‘convert or die’ philosophy and nowhere is this more obvious than in the world of Social Media. Never before have we seen a key function of our world, namely communication, advance in such a short time period. We now live in the Peter Drucker and Tom Peters world of Ready, Fire, Aim!

Consider the revolution of computers. From the introduction of personal computers from 1975 to 1985, the personal computer at home and in the office was a novelty. It was an interesting device, but limited in its usefulness. By 1985, the personal computer was starting to become a staple in business and by 1995, the computer was firmly entrenched into our everyday lives. It took approximately 20 years for computers to go from ‘a toy’ to staple of life.

Compare the computer revolution to the Social Media revolution. Just over six years ago Facebook didn’t exist. Just over four years ago Twitter didn’t exist. In the past three years the way we communicate has so drastically changed that email is considered on par with snail mail by most people under 30 years old.

Social Media Revolution

(What’s changed? See the Social Media Revolution Video)

So what does this mean for a world-wide service organization like Rotary? Change. Change like our organization has never experienced in its 105 years. But it will be good change…for most of us.

Open Discussion of Issues
The Social Media revolution is characterized by open discussion of ideas and concepts. Over the next 18 months we should expect to see more members who are passionate about Rotary writing personal blogs. These individual blogs will not be sanitized messages approved by Rotary International, but personal viewpoints (like this one) discussing current issues at the Club, District, and RI levels. Sometimes the ideas and opinions expressed will be uplifting, sometimes awkward and/or uncomfortable, and sometimes they will just be wrong. The point is that there will be discussion of Rotary…good…bad…or both, and we should expect it.

The leadership of Rotary, from Club Presidents to the RI President, can either pretend it is not happening and hope it will go away, or they can decide to participate. My vote is participation. A District Governor may serve her or his District for a year and speak once at every club, but a blog is forever and is accessible to everyone in the world. Wise input from knowledgeable leaders can help promote positive discussions, and discourage inappropriate discussions. The worst thing to do is to allow a single Rotarian to create misguided impressions of Rotary by not correcting or responding to incorrect statements.

This must be done with care, as we are all aware that in the 1980’s Rotary International (RI) took a stand against a California club that allowed women to join, thus beginning a fight that ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court where RI ended up on the wrong end of the law.

Still, we do have key principles that must be protected as was the case in 2006-07. A California club began promoting a project to buy special ammo clips for U.S. soldiers at war in Iraq and Afghanistan and was pedaling this program to other clubs. Clearly, this was a violation of Rotary’s peaceful mission to serve and of RI’s Constitution. Such violations of our principles must be addressed and corrected by the leadership of Rotary.

Rotary leadership must take care in participating, but they should not only comment, they should write their own blogs. A more open discussion of Rotary related issues will serve to make our organization stronger and will help guide the leadership to address true member issues, not just what filters up through the Chain of Command.

Better Communications – Smaller Chunks, Targeted Audience
In the 1960’s a newsletter was vital information that couldn’t be accessed anywhere else. As copy machines in the 1970’s and 80’s got better the quality of the newsletters got better. The spread of color inkjet printers (HP made a killing on color ink) of the 1990’s brought newsletters to the height of their glory and anybody and everybody put out newsletters about anything. Today, a newsletter is only slightly higher on the value scale than junk mail. The problem is that few people have time to spend 15 minutes reading it and much of the information is not of interest to the reader. In addition, the quality of the editing and design of a weekly club newsletter goes from professional grade to…well, not so much. Often the editor is a volunteer who is passionate about the club, but may or may not agree with the current priorities of the club leadership.

Enter Facebook and Twitter. Most clubs I’ve been involved in regarding incorporating Facebook or Twitter into club communications have included this statement, “But most of our club members don’t use Facebook.” If there is a defining remark about the state of a club’s recruitment situation, that is it. Over 500 million people use Facebook and Rotary clubs don’t think it is relevant because their current members don’t use it. If your membership is not using the most current methods of communication, that should tell you why people in the real world see Rotary and your club as out-of-date and out of touch.

Facebook and Twitter provide information in small readable chunks. No one has to read all 10,000 words in the newsletter to get the information they need, they just read what is of interest to them and they read it in a format that gives it to them when they are ready to read it. Those that don’t use Facebook or Twitter will find that they know less and less about what is going on in the world around them and ignorance is not a Rotary value. The club that doesn’t have an active website and Facebook Fan Page within 12 months will most likely be the club that is consistently struggling to maintain membership. It that simple.

Fortunately, I know that Rotary clubs will adapt to the new Social Media whether anyone wants it or not. They will adapt because those clubs that don’t will waste away, while those that embrace Social Media will begin to see new, younger, smarter members fill in the ranks. It’s the way change works according to Darwin.

Paul Harris began Rotary to make connections with other people. Paul Harris would have loved Social Media.

More Articles

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  • Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
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  • Epic Fail: PR ‘Experts’ don’t get Twitter
  • King of Anything: Social Media vs Traditional Media
  • Rotary PR: Disrespecting the Club President is a PR/Membership issue
  • WiFi on Southwest Airlines: Is it ‘Shovel Ready’?
  • Starbucks makes a smart move: Free WiFi
  • Two Barbecues and a Wedding
  • Foul Play: FIFA shows what less regulation offers to business
  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • The Shock of the McChrystal Story: The story is over before the article is published
  • Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General
  • Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
  • War Declared on Social Media: Desperate Acts of Traditional Media
  • Pay It Middle: The Balance between Too Much and Too Little Compensation
  • Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance
  • Relationships and Thin-Slicing: Why the other person knows what you’re really thinking
  • Browser Wars: Internet Explorer losing, Google Chrome gaining ground
  • Rotary@105:  What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics
  • Twitter is the Thunderstorm of World Thought
  • Signs of the Times
  • Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals the Impact of Social Media
  • How Social Interactive Media Could Transform Higher Education
  • How to Become a Zen Master of Social Media
  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service
  • Death of All Salesmen!
  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
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