Month: April 2015

#1053 judging

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It was a perfect spring weekend — the kind to lay in a hammock and read a good book.  I did not have any leisure reading handy, so I went to a real bookstore to see what I could find.  

What I realized is that it is a risky thing to buy a book without knowing anything about it. I regularly shop at garage sales and flea markets where books are ten cents to a dollar, and that lessens the risk. But in a bookstore, new hardcovers are $25+, not to mention the precious leisure hours that need to be invested in reading them.

It is very difficult to tell what makes a good book from its cover.  What makes for a good read is such a matter of personal taste that it was even hard for me to ask the staff what they suggested; some books I have loved others have not and vice versa.

No wonder book clubs, testimonials on the book jacket and even the “on-line seller’s recommendations based on previous purchases” are so popular.  I think they help readers sort the hundreds of choices into manageable categories and provide profiles of authors that may appeal to similar audiences.  I’m afraid that leaves me reading books that all have the same basic plot line instead of adventuring out into Harry Potter, Moby Dick or Divergent, but at least I like most of what I read.

What can you do to lessen the risk to your customers?  Think about how you can help them connect your product or service with something else that they know or assist them in making patterns out of the many choices.  Your beautiful cover won’t matter at all if they are too overwhelmed to buy anything.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com







#1052 overcome

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Where there is a will, there is a way.  At least for LoLo — a 13-year old pug who has lost the use of her back legs.

In a testament to how pets have become children, LoLo now gets around through assistance from a two-wheel attachment that moves her hind quarters forward when she walks.  The apparatus is custom-made by a small company in Massachusetts and seems to work beautifully.  Apparently it took some getting used to, but you’d never know it now.


What is an impediment you face — physical, mental, cultural — and how can you custom-fit a solution that will work for you?  It may be hard to imagine what solution will overcome your challenges, but I’ll bet it is out there.  

Think of LoLo and her new-found mobility.  Surely you can devise something that will solve your problem too.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com






#1051 spare them

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Graduation time is fast approaching, and with that comes a flurry of parties and social events to honor the special guests.  

It also brings a round of the two questions that are dreaded by graduates across the land:
> for high school graduates: “What are you going to major in?”
> for college graduates: “What are you going to do after graduation?”

Many lucky students have (alleged) clarity with which to provide answers, but for a good majority of students they just don’t know.  Thus, either they have a stock response so they can have something to say, or they are faced with admitting to all the well-wishers that their plans are nebulous at best.  Either way, it adds anxiety at an already stressful time.

My suggestion is that you do all the grads a favor and leave those questions for others.  Instead you can try some small talk like:
> Tell me one thing you will miss about school.
> What is one thing you’re looking forward to after May?
> What subject are you glad to be rid of?
> What are you going to do now with all your [insert school colors here] clothing?
> Is there one teacher you’ll remember more than others?

If the graduate has clarity on major, college or career choice, it will come out in conversation.  But if not, spare them from giving a non-answer and let them enjoy their special day.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1050 shoelaces

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I was musing with a colleague about dealing with the ups and downs of life.  We talked about how it isn’t always the big challenges that weigh you down, but more of the petty issues that drain you of energy.

It reminded me of one of my favorite poems, Shoelace by Charles Bukowski:

...“It’s not the large things that send a man to the madhouse.
Death he’s ready for
or murder, incest, robbery,
fire, flood.
No, it’s the continuing series of small tragedies 
that send a man to a madhouse
Not the death of his love, but a shoelace that snaps
with no time left….


I especially love that last line and think of it when the equivalent of breaking a shoelace occurs in my life.  

When we face large travails, we both seek and receive support to help us cope, but we’re left to process the smaller aggravations on our own.  The next time your “shoelace” breaks at an inopportune moment, recall Bukowski’s line. Vow to keep the small things small so your blood pressure remains low, too.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Shoelace by Charles Bukowski in Mockingbird Wish Me Luck, 2002


#1049 oops

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There is a sign at our local Jimmy John’s sandwich shop that reads:


Proper Apologies Have Three Parts
1.  What I did was wrong
2.  I feel badly that I hurt you
3.  How can I make this better

It is a simple mantra, but powerful one.  Often we say “I’m sorry” and expect that to fulfill our obligation or to make things “all better.”  I think that Jimmy John’s has the right idea that the apology should go further to truly have impact.

The next time you do something wrong, keep the three parts in mind.  It won’t undo the fact that you erred, but it has far more potential to right your relationship with the person you offended.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com



#1048 woo hoo

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A new Hallmark store opened in our mall and as part of the grand opening customers could sign up for door prizes.  I don’t usually participate in those gimmicks — I know that they really are bribing me to submit my name, email and phone so I can be targeted with marketing messages — but I like Hallmark (a lot!) so I put my name in the box.

And I won!

A free card per week for an entire year!!

This prize, which is “a $156 value”, cost them a mere fraction of that, but I am thrilled with it.  I can have 52 free cards whenever I want them within a year.  Some people may not find this appealing, but I am almost giddy when I think about the fun I will have redeeming my winnings.

How can you align your promotional efforts with something that is a delight for those who win it, but costs you little to provide it?  Think about how you can leverage your efforts to maximize the benefits to you: promoting the door prizes to draw customers into your business in the first place, utilizing information for marketing, and driving repeat customers. (i.e.: If they had been smarter, they would have required me to come in every week to get my card, increasing the chances that I would be enticed to buy something else.)

I’m sure in your organization there is a treasure waiting to be shared.  Capitalize on your bounty to identify your target customers, and even to thrill a few of them.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com







#1047 curious

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I was out to dinner over the weekend at a place that provided one of the multi-mixing pop dispensers that I have commented on before.*  Much to my dismay, the Diet Coke was empty.

When I informed the clerk that it needed to be changed, I expected him to open the cabinet underneath and reconnect a new cylinder of syrup.  Instead, he popped open the bottom of the dispenser, the screen turned into a computer, and after pushing a few buttons he snapped in something that looked like a toner cartridge and my favorite beverage was back!

I was fascinated by this total evolution of how things are done today, so I acquired the empty cartridge and took it home, after hearing from the manager how the system works (the sweetener and diet sweetener are housed in big tanks in the back room; popular flavors have dual chamber cartridges and flavor enhancers are single; the syrup inside is “micro-dosed” so only a very small portion is needed to mix with the sweetener and water).  At home, I was like a kid doing a science experiment: cutting open the cartridge to find a bag of the syrup inside.

I doubt I will do anything more with my newly-acquired knowledge of how the high tech soda dispensers work, but it is the process that is important.  How have YOU been curious lately?  Have you dug deeper to understand something you haven’t encountered before?  What about asking questions (even to Google) to gain a new perspective on how things work?  Has something inspired you to wonder?  

Challenge yourself today to think like a sixth-grader looking for a science fair project.  How can you see the world with more curious eyes?

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

*See Blog #276, March 4, 2013

inside the cut-open Cherry flavor


#1046 commemorating

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Last night as I turned on my computer to write this blog, a reminder popped up telling me that it was Thomas Jefferson’s birthday today.

Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant man and he dedicated his life to serving his country.  We would not find the same truths to be self-evident without him and we may not have declared that Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are unalienable Rights.

But why do I need to know that it is his birthday?  He has been dead 188 years.  His birthday is not a holiday; Hallmark doesn’t even commemorate the date with cards, and really there is no reason I can think of that warrants this occasion being worthy of pushed out notifications on every Apple system.

I wonder who decided what dates would make the iOS calendar?  Unlike Google, which provides some explanation for the more obscure dates it chooses to recognize, these “U.S. Holidays” just populate with the same importance given to Thomas Jefferson and to Christmas or Independence Day.

Is your organization doing something that makes sense in context, but could come across as random when viewed in segments?  There is such an information overload today that if you don’t have a good reason to share something with your clients, perhaps you would be better not doing so.  Save your message quotient for the really important or actionable items or take care to communicate with context.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com





#1045 occasional

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I work with many new graduates and people who are relocating to a new city.  Oftentimes I hear that one of the hardest parts of the adjustment is “finding new friends.”


I have lived in several different places in my life, oftentimes knowing no one beyond an interviewer when I arrived.  I can attest that relocation has a host of challenges to overcome, but I have managed to develop a strategy that fights off the loneliness and can be an eventual-friend developer.

Instead of seeking “friends”, find several different people with whom you can do “one thing” per month.  This casual interval allows you to develop a relationship if the chemistry is right, but allows you to ease in or out of the acquaintanceship without pressure on either part.

When I lived in St. Louis, I went to dinner with the same couple once a month to a restaurant that was “new to us.”  I’m not sure I did anything else with them, but after many months of dining together a friendship grew.  I had others that I with whom I would attend baseball games, or go to a musical or walk together, etc.  I didn’t expect to develop that close circle of friends from the beginning, rather I had a whole host of people interspersed throughout my monthly social calendar, each month, each with a different activity that “we” did.

I think the same principle works with other things — stringing together freelance gigs or developing your hobby or learning more about the city that is old to you.  Not ONE person/organization/product has to fulfill all your needs.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


#1044 snowing

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Do you remember the wonder of snow globes when you were a kid?  I was always fascinated by shaking one and watching all the snow slowly fall into place.

A friend shared this image as a metaphor for when life brings on a sudden change.  She called it “a snow globe moment.”  Your world feels turned upside down and you just sit there waiting for the pieces to fall in place.

Think about how you can apply the positive feelings inspired by real snow globes to living through the experience of a metaphorical one.  Is there any joy to be had in anticipation of the new pattern that evolves?  Can we take a bit of time for reflection while watching the snow to fall?  Does it offer any solace that the globe can be shaken many times and still survive?

I don’t wish “snow globe moments” on anyone, but the inevitability of them in life is there.  Just as a globe provides a temptation for someone to reach out and shake it, so does a life fully lived contain many tumultuous moments.  The next time there is snow in your world rest assured that it will settle down again — if only for a brief while.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Thanks to Emily’s friend!