I was having lunch with a business friend yesterday and we were talking about people who lack the ability to focus on the task at hand. These days it seems more difficult than ever given the unending flow of information and distractions. I noted that what people really need to do is narrow the scope down – no unlike the red dot laser targeting we see on television and movies when someone points a weapon at something or someone.
In fact when a television or movie notices the red dot laser is focused on them, they often raise their hands and simply give up. The jig is up and they are beaten.
How can people use this red dot laser metaphor in their professional lives? First and foremost, use it to help drown out all the white noise that gets in the way of focusing on THE most important thing that is at hand. Identify what that most important thing is and narrow the target by aiming that red dot laser right into the heart of the matter.
Close your email inbox, close your internet browser, put your phone on do not disturb, turn your mobile to silent. Take time every day to shut out the distractions and use your red dot laser focus to move on the most critical thing facing you and your business. Try it for fifteen minutes or longer. If you can do this regularly you will be that much closer to accomplishing that critical mission.
So are you using your red dot laser like focus already? If not will you give it a try?
I don’t watch a lot of network television (or television in general) and even less in the summer. When I do watch it is to relax and aside from a couple of favorite shows on cable, I primarily watch sports on networks and local and national cable channels. I do read a few national magazines and am an inveterate reader of newspapers (yes I know SO old school).
Over the weekend when I was flipping through the channels before heading out I saw the network baseball game and golf tournament. For some reason my thoughts drifted to fast food and realized that I had not seen an ad on television for McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s for a long time. Thinking more about it I don’t recall seeing them on page in magazines either or even hearing any of them on the radio. And by the way I watched a good amount of the Primetime Emmy’s last night and did not see one ad for any of them.
The last I recall hearing about any of them was the cheeky McDonald’s ad about the dollar that is hungry and what you can do with it. That might have been earlier this month so it’s likely that I just have not been listening to radio all that much lately.
I asked around to a couple of people if they were familiar with any ad campaigns for any of the big three burger leaders (actually McDonald’s is way far out in here so putting them in the same conversation would thrill Burger King and Wendy’s). Nobody I talked to could name any campaign.
Could the targeting be THAT good? Are the big three running ads in places of which I am not aware? I’m not one to eat in fast food restaurants any more than a handful of times a year. And I understand that I am far from the target audience in age or demographics. But I cannot remember any time where I had no idea of any of the campaigns run by the fast food outlets. Maybe they scale back campaigns in a big way in the summer time and are readying a deluge for the fall? With football season around the corner I could see that.
But what gives here? Am I missing the boat entirely? Are you aware of current ad campaigns run by McDonald’s, Burger King or Wendy’s? Oh and I don’t miss Jared at all thank you very much….
I’ve been a fan of the HBO show ‘Entourage’ since it debuted more than 5 years ago. It’s a half hour fun respite which offers a view into how things might be in Hollywood. There are thirteen episodes per year and next year is the last season and there apparently will only be 6 episodes made or so. It’s gotten so popular that it is being moved to syndication although I have trouble seeing how that will work since the language and content both appear to be not ready for broadcast television.
This season one of the story lines has Turtle helping his now girlfriend Alex promote her Uncle’s tequila brand made in Mexico called Tequila Avion www.tequilaavion.com . A good and interesting story line that branches out into nearly all the characters (not the Ari Gold character brilliantly played by Jeremy Piven, but I’d love to see Ari getting blotto on Avion).
What I did not realize until this week is that Tequila Avion is an actual product sold in stores. I saw a billboard promoting the brand and my jaw kind of dropped. A story in the New York Post this month http://bit.ly/bQ2tnb offered background on the founders of Avion and how they did not pay a penny for all the ‘priceless publicity’ for the new brand.
I had noticed that ‘Entourage’ does promote a number of brands at various times during the show. Johnnie Walker Blue, Belvedere Vodka, Skyy Vodka, (lots of alcohol), Bluetooth, Victoria’s Secret to name just a few all have been featured.
What makes it work so well is that the placements are seamlessly integrated into the story and they feel appropriate and right such that I really don’t notice that this is an obvious marketing tactic during the context of the show itself.
This is a trend that is growing and will continue to grow. Nobody likes a cheesy come-on but Tequila Avion is one of the first brands I can recall to be introduced within the context of a television program. I have no problem with it when it is done right as it is in the case of Tequila Avion
What do you think – is this a good trend? Bad trend? Does it offend you?
I started and have piloted CGSM Inc. for more than 14 years. The changes we’ve undergone over those years are both necessary and remarkable. The changes are continuing (exciting and fun!) and I know that won’t ever stop.
My management style is not a yelling one. Maybe a couple of times over the fourteen years I have raised my voice – not to team members. I remember one particular occasion as if it was yesterday but it actually was more than 11 years ago. A merchant with whom we were about to purchase a substantial amount of paper was asking about credit. We had run the business very successfully for several years and took discounts on all of our paper bills (you could look it up as the saying goes).
A then-young representative was giving me a bad time about issuing credit for several hundred thousand dollars worth of paper. At the time we had 5 employees 5 desks and 5 computers on those desks in a small office. After a back and forth discussion he offered ‘Hey, no offense but really you’re just a guy with a desk and a phone’.
I leapt at him through the phone line. I went ballistic. There was, shall we say some colorful language used and I’m not terribly proud to admit that. Over the ensuing years I’ve thought about why it bothered me so much. I took it as a huge insult. I still feel that way to a degree but wonder if what really was bothering me was that he was right! After all, what was I really but a guy with some ideas, some employees, and an approach to doing business that was successful (at least I thought it was).
I’m older now and with a little luck a bit wiser. And I would not react the same way today if I were to be in the same situation (we’ve been meeting with lenders lately so that’s what brought these thoughts to mind).
Today, our team is bigger, consequently the responsibilities to those people is even greater, as is the risk. Correspondingly our responsibilities to our clients are also bigger and wider. But at the root of it all nothing has changed. I am still a guy with a desk and a phone -and a computer, and a PDA and a laptop and a bunch of other things to aid in being more productive. We’re all about new and better ideas and procedures and that is our greatest asset – and I am truly proud of that more than anything else.
Epilogue – a couple of years later the same young representative called me to tell me that he was starting a paper brokerage with an associate. I tried to hold back but just could not do it. ‘Hey Charlie – I guess that means you’re just a guy with a desk and a phone’. Good moment for me.
Sometimes what goes around comes around.
Are you just a guy (or gal) with a desk and a phone?