I wonder how many people will wake up today to find some PEEPS products in their Easter baskets. It must be an awful lot, because according to their website, on average “5.5 million PEEPS are born each day!”
The famous yellow chicks have been around for 60 years and are now joined by countless other colors, shapes and holidays. What is most remarkable is that they have taken on a life beyond being eaten as candy. There is an annual eating contest (Peep Off), numerous contests, world record competitions and even official art exhibits that feature Peep displays. The website features recipes (PEEPS kabobs anyone?), a “PEEPSonality” quiz, and more products and social media feeds than you can shake a chick at.
Reputable organizations such as the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune host PEEPS contests: where old, hard, stale marshmallows are crafted into a dioramas that draw thousands of on-lookers.
There are also unauthorized recipes on how to infuse them with vodka, ways to make them at home and scientific experiments to test their alleged indestructibility. How did this unremarkable treat from Pennsylvania become such a phenomenon?
It seems to me that they have done a good job of combining an element of tradition with finding ways to create an experience with the concoctions. The contests, Flickr sites, displays and judging all engage people with the product in a tangible way. The PEEPS are no longer a generic, interchangeable candy, but a “must-have”: both to make the Easter basket complete and to provide materials for future social events.
What lessons can you take from the Just Born candy company? How can you take your product/service and capitalize on social media to involve others with new uses of what you offer? Can you look the other way and embrace the quirky, irreverent ways that people play with what you produce? Can you do things to actually encourage it?
This Easter, think about the size of the market that can support the making of 5.5 million marshmallow globs each day. They are doing something right — think of what you can do, and then “hop to it”.
Happy Easter!
–— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Month: March 2013
#302 playlists of life
I am like my iPod — comprised of a wide variety of playlists:
> Mostly I like soundtracks — where, like my work, the music serves a purpose and has a sense of intentionality
> I have a fair bit of country — where the music tells stories about life — as I do everyday in my job
> I have some instrumentals — to allow for those moments of reflection that are so important to me
> The rest is soft rock — not flashy, but achieves its purpose in a pleasurable way
> With only one or two hard rock songs — for when those one or two crazy moments hit me.
What do your playlists say about you? Are there new tunes you should add to your repertoire of skills? Can you take your existing library and group the individual elements in new ways? Are you comfortable with “shuffling” or do you follow the same order every time?
Experimenting with your playlists can be one small way to help you become comfortable with bigger changes (see #292). Literally or even metaphorically, download a new piece of music into your routine today and see who it helps you become.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#301 unusual suspects
We often constitute committee membership through a historical process: positions are on a committee because they always have been. Oftentimes these are directors and senior leaders, without any representation from new or mid-level staff. Instead, I advocate for using committee participation as both a training tool and a form of staff development.
To accomplish this, you should fill your committee spots with intentionality, not by rote. I try to achieve a mix of those who mostly “give” and some of those who primarily “get”. By this I mean that I blend a composition of members with experience who can add to the topic, and those with a fresh perspective who mostly learn from their involvement.
I also try to intentionally add competing voices — as Lincoln did with the “team of rivals” that Doris Kearns Goodwin chronicled in her book of the same name. For the group who determines how our university allocates financial aid, I have the director and new staff member in the financial aid office (who advocate for funds to go towards need); a senior level and a new admissions staff member (who want all the awards to go toward merit); the athletics director and a coach (you can guess where they want any largess) and the controller (who would prefer that we didn’t offer aid at all). The inevitable disagreement often prolongs our decision process, but I also believe it ultimately results in a better outcome.
Regardless of how we allocate funds, no one will ever think it is enough, but at least those on the committee can understand how the distribution came to pass. Then peers can assure peers that there was a method to the madness and that their voice was at least heard. It helps newer staff members truly understand the complexity of issues and gives them great experience to have a seat at the policy table.
The next time you gather a group together, think about who you are inviting. If it is only the “usual suspects”, I encourage you to broaden your membership to allow your work to accomplish dual purposes.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#300 nice
Do you know of a person or department that works feverishly — they are always busy doing something — yet they do not have productive results to show for it. Perhaps what is missing is an element of strategy. They are doing things right, but are they doing the right things?
I am reminded of a saying from one of my dearest colleagues. Michael used to preach to us: “Nice is nice, if what you need is nice.” If what you need is change, action, accountability, results or something else, then “nice” may not be the best option for you.
Without strategic direction, committees meet, without real purpose or accomplishment. Academic departments work hard at doing things that do not directly influence recruitment. Admissions counselors spend time on those not likely to enroll. Meetings happen, because people don’t want to decline requests, even though their time may be much better spent elsewhere.
Think about what you need before you allocate your next hour. If nice is your goal, then there are many ways to achieve it. If you have a more specific outcome in mind, you may need to opt for a more pointed strategy to get you there.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Missing you Michael Miller!
#299 details
I am one of those people who is hard-wired to pay attention to details. Most of my training, and certainly the leanings of my temperament, has me thinking of the logistics, planning and specifics of projects or events.
But I also like to think that I know when enough is enough. It is hard for me to encounter people who spend a seemingly inordinate amount of time on trivial details that are inconsequential to the outcome. They banter about and fret about options that do not impact the goal, and then become stressed about all the decisions that have to be made.
When you find yourself contemplating yet another layer of decisions, ask yourself if it is truly warranted. Does what you are dealing with matter to the essence of what you are trying to achieve?
Focusing on the obscure, minute or non-essential details of a project is like cooking a gourmet dinner and worrying if the spice rack is alphabetized. Don’t lose sight of the main course.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#298 whip it
Have you ever seen a line of figure skaters perform what is known as the “whip line”? The women’s arms are linked together as they form a straight line and then try to rotate the line around the skater at one end who acts as a pivot, with the line “whipping” around her. It is synchronized skating, where everyone on the team depends on everyone else for safety and performance.
The skater acting as the pivot rotates almost in the same location as the other skaters whip around her in an ever growing radius. The skater on the end is the one who is whipped the most, as she must skate the fastest and furthest to create the effect. One slip for her is the most dangerous, as she easily could get run over (and sliced) by the blades of other skaters continuing in the rotation.
Creating change in an organization is a lot like creating a whip line. Those in the center of the change, the ones who start it, oftentimes have the least impact. They rotate, but are not affected by the tumultuous conditions on the outside. The further you go down the line, the more impact the skaters feel — as is often the case with those in organizations. That great policy that the top leaders suggested — it is the one at the end of the line that feels the greatest implications when implementing it. Those in the center don’t always feel the speed and magnitude of the change like those on the ends do.
When initiating a change in your organization, you may do well to keep the image of the whip line in mind. Think of the impact of the last one in the row, rather than just feeling the small impact in your own position.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Thanks to Dan Larson for the idea.
#297 that tree
Photographer Mark Hirsch had previously taken a few photos of a large, intricate tree and posted them on Facebook. A friend wrote, “Dude. What is it with you and that tree?” and challenged Hirsch to take a photo a day of it for the next year. Thus the “That Tree” project was born. Saturday was Day #365.
Over the weekend, I was one of about 300 people who slogged through the mud and snow to stand in the cold for a hour in middle of a cornfield in rural Wisconsin. The occasion was the final photograph and the public was invited to join in. It looked like the last scene in the Field of Dreams movie with cars lined along the road as far as you could see.
One of the things that struck me most about this project is that Hirsch took all the photos, including the one on Saturday, with nothing but his iPhone 4S. Many of the people at the final shot had the same phone, but they didn’t have Mark’s eye — or his stick-to-it-iveness.
For many, a similar project could engender many excuses. “I don’t have the right equipment.” “I can’t do something every single day.” “It’s raining.” “It’s snowing.” “The fields are full of mud.” (trust me, they are!) There are as many excuses as there are days.
But he stuck with it, and soon will have a book that chronicles his project. He has also been featured on NBC News, The Sierra Club and the (UK) Daily Mail. Not bad for a Facebook dare!
It is another example of how little things add up to something significant. When he took the first photo, he had nothing more in mind. Now, he not only has a book, but a sense of accomplishment for having completed what he set out to do — without excuses.
How can you start something big today — just by doing something little?
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Article with quote in Telegraph Herald 3-14-13 by Megan Gloss
See photos at http://www.thattree.net
#296 known
Our newspaper carries a column every day that includes birthday listings of famous people. One day last week, it noted the birthdays of Carl Reiner (who I can’t believe is 91!), Bobby Orr, William Hurt, Spike Lee, Holly Hunter and Kathy Ireland — all age 50 or older. I know of them all.
Then we got to Michael Rapaport, Chester Bennington, Nick Wheeler and Christy Carlson Romano. Who are these people?
I am sure that if someone in their age group read the paper, they would have the same reaction to the older set.
Famous and known are relative terms.
As you try to communicate to intergenerational audiences, can you test your assumptions before your proceed — such as asking high school students if they have ever heard of a person or phrase before including it in admissions publications? Can you increase clarity with a descriptive phrase (Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr) or by anchoring someone to a more known entity (Disney Channel’s Christy Carlson Romano)?
Half of that “people” column was irrelevant to me, and I’m sure half of it was irrelevant to others. Try to take steps so that your message isn’t the irrelevant half!
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#295 expedition
Having lived in two cities now that are along the banks of the Mississippi River, I have come to appreciate the story of Lewis and Clark. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off in 1804 to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and see if the Missouri River connected with the Columbia River and created a passage to the Pacific Ocean.
One of the premier books on the topic is Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. It is aptly named, for a heroic amount of courageousness is what was required to make this journey. “As the keelboat turned her bow into the stream, Lewis and his party cut themselves off from civilization. There would be no more incoming letters, no orders, no commissions, no fresh supplies, no reinforcements, nothing reaching them, until they returned.”* Would you have turned?
But what was most surprising to me is that the best intelligence Lewis and Clark had led them to believe that their entire trip would be via water. Thus they packed accordingly, with boats able to ferry much more than one could carry on land. Not only did much of their trip end up being via horseback, but they encountered the Rocky Mountains as a surprise! Can you imagine having to traverse over mountains that you did not know existed when you were expecting to travel exclusively via boat?
We can learn from Lewis and Clark about ingenuity, perseverance, flexibility and faith. They started a journey, and stayed with it, even though they had every reason to give up and turn back. Had they known the obstacles and hardships ahead, they may not have even set out, but think of the glorious feeling to reach the banks of the Pacific and see that majestic spread in front of you.
The going may be rough. There may be unexpected mountains on your path. It may take two years to complete your quest. You may feel cut off from everyone else. But in the end, if the cause is great enough, so is the will to achieve it.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
* p. 139
#294 undertones
It is interesting to me how some companies and organizations put so much stock into color — making it an integral part of their brand — and others change their palette almost on a whim.
Probably one of the most iconic colors is the Tiffany blue — a specific robin’s egg tint that adorns little boxes of bling. You could put a billboard up in that color and most women in America would know which company it was promoting.
UPS is noted for their dark trucks, and played up the notion in their “What Can Brown Do For You?” advertising campaign. Breast cancer has a lock on pink. Coca Cola confused hundreds when the changed their cans to white to promote their “Save the Polar Bear” campaign. I guess that the mind thinks that Coke cans should be red.
Sports teams capitalize on the enhancement that color brings to their fan base and identity. Someone once wrote that for the Cardinals opener there was a baseball game “45,000 combinations of red clothing.” Syracuse and Tennessee are known for their orange; Michigan for the “maize and gold”, and so on. Our university’s apparel policy even prohibits clothing in the colors of our main nemesis.
Walmart has such awareness of the power of color that it has mandated that the DVD rental machine known as the “Red Box”, be painted Walmart blue inside their stores. No promoting the red of their main competitor, Target, even in that innocuous way.
The presence or absence of a color can make a powerful statement about your identity and consistency of use can go a long way in anchoring your brand. There is no right or wrong way to treat color, but how you handle yours should be intentional. Take a look around your space and see if an outsider could surmise a considered palette choice, and, if not, what you can do to bring some integrity to your messaging through color.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com