Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em
I've spent a lot of time contemplating how major companies decide when to keep slogans and images and when to ditch 'em. Think about it: "You're in good hands," "15 minutes can save you 15%," and the large, smiling Mr. Clean have all persevered. Meanwhile, "you deserve a break today," "good to the last drop," and "get the Maxx for the minimum" are history. Long gone.

State Farm stays a "good neighbor" and Lowes continues to "improve home improvement", but while GE keeps "bringing good things to light" and, to many any time is still Miller time, these two giants and many others have decided to head in different directions with new approaches and tactics. 

Sometimes, you have to be yourself and stay the course. Other times, you have to know when to fold 'em and change your strategy. And it's not always as simple as choosing the path less traveled. 

Great Advice From The Culligan Man
If you remember the Culligan man, you may remember him because of his ad partner, the Culligan lady. She came on the scene in the 1950s ending commercials for the water treatment company with the easily recognizable yell "Hey, Culligan Man!"

Well, she's back.

Soon you may see new TV spots and her signature tag line. 

Says Curt Hillard, Senior VP of Marketing, "the slogan is deeply embedded in our culture but the image of the Culligan Man was not representing our dealers services. Hey culligan man is our brand. We're never going to have enough money to rebrand ourselves again."

A really astute observation, if you ask me. Not an easy decision to make, especially if you're trying to change your image and appeal to a new demographic. But after a diagnosis of the situation, Hillard settled on the best bang for his buck.

Helping You Decide If You Should Stay The Course
Hillard's decision is precisely the sort of thing I see my clients struggling with when they call me. 

Whether your interviewing skills (on either side of the interview) are stale or your strategy to transition needs to be revisited... if you want to cultivate stronger relationships with those you serve in order attract more customers  or if you want to revisit your decision to stay at your current job… life coaching can help. 

I can be your sounding board, your facilitator, your awareness raiser. It's not about "what's in YOUR wallet," but about what's in your message. And the process that leads to the decisions you make is endlessly important.

And that leads me to the Piano Man, well, the other Piano Man.

A Simple Addition Makes A Big Difference
It may have been Paderewski, the talented Polish pianist, who arrived in a small western town one day and decided to take a walk. While strolling, he heard a piano and, following the sound, he came to a house on which was a sign reading: "Miss Beatty, Piano Lessons 25 cents an hour."

Pausing to listen he heard the woman unsuccessfully trying her hand at playing one of Chopin's nocturnes. Paderewski knocked on her door and Miss Beatty, recognizing him at once, invited him in. He sat at the piano, played the nocturne as only he could, and then spent an hour with her correcting her mistakes. She thanked him as he departed. 

The next day as he again took a walk past her house he saw a new sign: "Miss Beatty, Piano Lessons $1.00 an hour (Pupil of Paderewski)."

In my line of work, I get to see both sides of the hiring coin: those intimidating hiring folks who wordsmith these incredibly verbose, extensive, and overreaching job descriptions, as well as the intimidated, apprehensive, and nervous job seekers who have rehearsed every possible interview question while changing their wardrobe at least three times. 

This has allowed me the acute perspective of both finding the right people for the right job and convincing the decision maker that she/he has found the right match. 

For those doing the hiring there are two specific strategies I advise you to implement. (For job-seekers, this is important for you as well as you can learn what should be going on behind that desk you are sitting in front of.) 

Go beyond a job description with measurable goals and ideal qualities
Most job descriptions aptly explain what tasks the employee must complete. But there is a world of of measurable metrics beyond the "to do" list. 

GOALS and EXPECTATIONS. What should this employee be accomplishing in 30, 60, 90 days? Explain the vocational trajectory to potential employees: where the job will begin and how this can lead to a rewarding career.    

In most vocational careers, personality is an integral part of the job. Employees need to work with internal teams, outside vendors, and customers. 

Be completely aware of the ideal qualities you desire in your candidates. I saw one CEO, George John of the startup Rocket Fuel, say that, "The most important characteristics to me are intellectual honesty and courage--meaning, in a start-up there are things that are going to go well and things that aren't.  But, there's another flavor of the ideal employee--someone who is very intellectually curious."   

Seek a prospective staff member with inner character. Discover what motivates her to succeed, what excites her. How to discover this, you ask? The interview, which brings me to the second bullet.   

Ask the right questions
You know all of those old standard interview questions like, "what are your strengths and weaknesses," "where do you see yourself 5 years from now," and "describe your management style."  Well, according to Kevin Kelly, a CEO of an executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, you can forgetaboutem. 

There are only three true job interview questions: a) Can you do the job? b) Will you love the job? and c) Can we tolerate working with you? Pretty simple, isn't ist?  Ask them these questions, and you'll learn everything you need to know. 

If that's a little out there for you, then just think about the point behind the questions. Ryan Mack, a partner at TruYuu, an online service that helps people present themselves as more than just a resume, suggests that "a good interviewer gets the applicant talking about what he did, how he did it and why he did it that way." 

This is accomplished by asking open ended questions ("describe what your primary responsibilities were in your last position," "give me an example of how you exceeded those responsibilities," for instance) that require the applicant to paint her experiences in detail. 

You should be looking for personal experiences and perspective. Does he fit the organization as well as the position? Will he be a superstar? If not, then keep looking. 

The best interviewee I know, my friend Eddie Stark, was once asked in an interview: "Can you talk to me about how you deal with rejection? We both know you can't make every sale, that you're going to lose some, that you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink it. So how DO you handle rejection?" 

Said Stark," Sir, I mean no disrespect to you, but my job is not to make that horse drink, it's to make him thirsty!" He told the employer everything he needed to know.

Please share with me how you identify the best talent for your organization.  

A New Business Opportunity....My Way
Years ago, in the 1980s, I was considering opening a laundromat. The company I researched was a franchise so many of the logistical decisions were inherently made by the franchisor, the parent company. Still, I had much flexibility when it came to the actual business decisions.
 
Many of those I lean on for advice, my "kitchen cabinet," advised me NOT to make the decision I eventually made. You see, I have a rigid personal inclination - some may call it a compulsion - to conduct business only through relationship cultivation and management.

It was simply contrary to my uncompromising mantra and instincts, and against every fiber of my being (at my age I really hate using that particular f-word) to open up a laundromat that didn't have a personality, a way to connect with customers, a feeling that this one laundromat, above all others, was homey, was someplace special.
 
Differentiating From The Competition
Conventional wisdom says that people are very goal oriented when it comes to washing and drying clothes...that they do not need to pay extra for bells and whistles (I did charge 10 cents a load more)...that they have a one track mind: to get in and get out, their chore completed.
 
Unconventional wisdom says that every customer that walks through the door, even the doors of a laundromat, is a relationship-waiting-to-happen. I invested more in my laundromat for specific, seemingly small things, like nice carpeting, a pool table, arcade games, "things" that I knew other competing laundromats strategically did not have. I invested in comfy sofas in a large living-room type atmosphere with a big screen TV. I envisioned people literally doing their laundry and hanging out. I called this mundane experience of washing clothes " having good clean fun."

Punctuating Your Signature 
The cherry on top of it all was my excellent staff, who were trained to help our customers carry their baskets of laundry to and from their cars, to help fold their laundry, and to wipe down each machine when one customer was done and the next one was ready to wash and dry. My staff smiled, made conversation and grew to know - by name and face - their regulars.
 
Business boomed.
 
I look back with so much fondness and warmth on my days in the laundromat business. I had a vision and goals. And I stayed tied to my message no matter what. Because business is about opportunities.
 
What Obstacles Are In Front Of You?
And it led directly to my decision to become a Life Coach. I now help people like you clarify their visions and goals, whether those goals are business or personal. I can help you decide when to stay on or off message and help you remove obstacles in your way.
 
That's what coaching is all about. That's what I do. That's how I help. My focus is on your vocational or personal well being, how to help you do your job better, how to attack specific challenges or struggles in front of you. My focus is on your agenda, an agenda that you set.
 
And just as any agenda or strategy can be refined and re-envisioned, so can yours. Which brings us to the blind man.

A Matter Of Perspective
He was sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: I AM BLIND, PLEASE HELP.

A woman walked by and stopped to observe. She saw that the blind man only had a few coins in his hat. She dropped in a couple of coins and, without asking his permission, took the sign and rewrote it. She returned the sign to the blind man and left.

That afternoon after work the woman returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was overflowing with coins and bills. The blind man recognized her footsteps and asked if she was the one who had rewritten his sign, and if so, would she tell him what it now said.

The woman responded, "Nothing that is not true; I just wrote the message a little differently." She smiled and went on her way.

The new sign read: TODAY IS SPRING AND I CANNOT SEE IT 

Sometimes we need to change our strategy, because if we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always got.

Every day, I am guided by pithy sayings. No, not the trite clichés we're overly exposed to. But short, sweet axioms that succinctly convey the sentiments that make up my signature. They are bite-size reminders that help me make decisions each and every day.

Bookmark this post, write your favorite on a sticky note, copy and paste it as an image for your desktop background. Think of it as a compendium of best practices for your direct mail letters, newsletters, cases, and annual reports, as well as your all-important digital realm.

1. People give more to people than they do to organizations.
2. Fundraisers should consider raising friends, not money.
3. Donors don't want to be seen as "piggy banks"...they want to be seen as partners in a cause
4. I agree with Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, who said that people only want two things more than sex and money: recognition and praise.
5. We are not entitled to our customer's loyalty...we must earn it and continue to earn it.
6. We, not our clients, must take full responsibility for our relationships.
7. Given the choice of selling yourself or selling your product, sell yourself.
8. Ask your clients and customers for introductions.....not referrals.
9. Howard Luck Gossage once said, “The fact of the matter is that nobody reads ads. People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.”
10. Getting noticed can be positive. Sometimes impressive degrees, resumes, interviewing skills and experience won't land you that coveted job, but by writing an aggressive cover letter or unusual thank you letter, you may get the positive attention that can lead to a hire.
    

Finally, another 100% true story:

Getting noticed can be negative. Sometimes "aggressive" and "unusual" leave an unreadable signature...a really bad taste. 

Take Robbie, a guy I know well. He ran out of tried and true (and tired) ideas to "bring 'em in." He owned a carpet store and needed cash because he didn't need his accounts payable. 

He began with the usual: a Lost our Lease Sale, a Fire Sale (word is that a trash can actually lit up), a Flood Sale (honest, the toilet overflowed), a Going Out Of Business Sale (he did, for a long holiday week-end), a Stock Liquidation Sale...you get the idea? 

The truth is that he really wanted out, desperately needed cash and had to liquidate.

But how, one more time, to "bring 'em in"?   Robbie did it.   

His finale, (it's not pretty enough to be called his swan song...more like the ugly   duckling)...was...FOUND MY LEASE SALE!   And he did find it...somewhere.   But he never found his conscience.