Month: May 2016

#1450 can it

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First Diet Coke played around with its iconic packaging, and now Budweiser is taking their strategy one step further. From May 23 through Election Day, Budweiser is actually renaming itself.

Instead of reaching for a “Bud”, you’ll now need to pick up a six-pack of “America”. Yes, the iconic (now Belgian) beer is claiming a new label for the summer.

I am not sure what they hope this will get them besides free media hype. Many of the beer drinkers won’t even notice, especially not after the first few! I find it hard to believe that anyone is actually going to call it “America”, making it in fact a mere packaging change, and I doubt it will spur sales except amongst can collectors.

To me, this looks like a student graphic design project: Redesign the Budweiser can with a patriotic theme to remind customers that the beer is still brewed in St. Louis, even though the company is no longer headquartered there.

Back in 2008, the musical group America had a hit song “Horse with No Name.” Let’s hope InBev takes that advice and doesn’t extend the America theme to the Clydesdales, and that you think twice before deploying promotional gimmicks with your brand.

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

Source: Budweiser will call itself America for a limited time, NPR, May 10, 2016.

#1449 manifesto

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The movie Jerry Maguire pivots around Jerry (Tom Cruise) writing his manifesto and boldly sharing it with the whole company. He titles it “the things we think and do not say,” and spells out in it a path for “the future of our business.”  Eventually he leaves to start his own agency to follow those principles.

Many companies and organizations have mission statements that go unheralded, in part because they sound remarkably alike, but Champlain College in Vermont breaks that mold. They publicly share their essence and a manifesto that describes how a Champlain education is different from the rest. 

It is so inspiring that a parent took a photo while visiting campus, brought it back to his office, shared it with others there, including someone who talked about it with me, and I am now adding you to the list of readers. They had me at “a radically pragmatic education”, but here is an excerpt from the rest: 

A radically pragmatic education…We teach them what they want to know and help them understand what they need to know. We provide unparalleled support and revel in the partnerships we create. We offer tools to think and to act, and the opportunity to immediately put them to use. Because learning how to think without knowing what to do is an education half-done…

It’s clear that this isn’t a place for everyone, but for the ones who resonate with their manifesto, I’ll bet it is an easy decision to show them the money and enroll.

Think about what you think but do not say about your organization, your personal brand or your hopes for the future. Do you have the courage to commit your thoughts to paper and share them with the world? It may not be an easy thing to do, but as Jerry says it could be the “ground floor of something real and fun and inspiring and true.”

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

Thanks Mike for sharing!

#1448 dichotomy

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We don’t often think about it, but there is a perpetual conflict between efficiency and effectiveness. 

What may bring long term effectiveness is not always efficient in the short run.  Examples:

> It takes time and results in a loss of efficiency when we move an employee to a new position, but in the end it may be the best for the person and organization

> It is less efficient initially to learn a new software program, but will likely be more efficient and effective once past the learning curve

> It requires an investment to do professional development for boards or a staff, making meetings less efficient while training is conducted instead of business, but ultimately the payoff will be great

> It may be inefficient to do tasks such as tagging four years worth of blogs instead of writing new ones, but eventually it makes the archiving and search process much more effective so more people can utilize the resources

There are many more cases where the two dynamics are at odds, leaving it up to you to make an intentional choice of which trade off you are willing to make. Efficiency sounds like a noble aim, but not if it comes at the cost of long term effectiveness. Make that short term sacrifice for long term gain.

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

Original concept from consultant Zeddie Bowen, 10/23/14

#1447 valor

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What is one of the most difficult, yet valuable roles you can play for your organization? Being a truth teller. 

I have shared David Ambler’s Guidelines for Working with Students (People) before, but it bears repeating. One of his tenants:
Be honest with yourself and others. It does no good to tell students (people) what you think they want to hear.

In an organization, worse that telling the leader what you think they want to hear is telling them nothing, which is what happens when the previous sharing is repeatedly disregarded or causes negative implications to the one who spoke. The truth teller often has battle scars, but it doesn’t mean they should retreat. 

Leaders should embrace counsel that pushes boundaries. It is almost certain that the leader doesn’t see the full picture and should recognize that he/she needs others to contribute their perspective and pieces of information. Mostly, the leader needs people around who aren’t afraid to disagree or point out that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. 

If the leader starts with the assumption that they are blind to the full reality, it makes it much easier for them to hear what is being said. Listening is a skill that is more difficult than speaking, especially when the message makes the leader uncomfortable or challenges the presumptive path.

It requires bravery to share the truth and courage to listen to those speak it. What are you doing to create an environment of valor?

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

#1446 walk in my shoes

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It always gives me pause when someone says “first annual…” because you never know if the tradition will really continue. But this is one event that I hope not only lives on at the Van Independent School District in Texas, but that is copied at school districts across the country.

Last week, high school seniors got dressed in their graduation regalia and paraded through the halls of the elementary and middle schools in the district. The “Senior Walk” served two purposes: to inspire the younger students toward completing their education and to provide recognition to those who were graduating. What a simple gesture with so much power.

Many of the seniors previously attended classes in those same buildings, so it was also a way to allow some reflection on how far they had come, and I’ll bet it was a subliminal motivation for them to continue to persevere in their growth.

No cost, little time, great rewards. What can you do in a similar vein to provide simultaneous recognition and inspiration when someone in your organization achieves a milestone? 

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

Pictures here

Thanks Tracy for sharing!

#1445 play it again Sam

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I am a frequent player of the Solitaire game on my phone, and I love the feature that allows me to “replay this game.” I often do, wanting to see if a different move here or there would have made the difference in the outcome. 

What I’ve found is that sometimes it does. Making a different decision as to what card to play can often result in a whole series of other moves that influence the final score. I’ve won several more games with a second strategy.

But sometimes replaying the game ends up without a victory, even when I know where many of the cards are hiding. The game takes a different path, but still does not end up with a win. 

I think we forget about this second option in real life.

Often when we think of “do-overs,” we believe that if we had the chance to do something differently it would all turn out better. And sometimes we’re right.

But not always.

Life doesn’t come with a “replay this game” option so we’ll never know for sure. We just need to live it in such a way that we have no regrets about the cards we play and take each hand as it is dealt to us.

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


#1444 magic mirror

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Recognize these two characters? I’ll give you a clue: their names are Snow White and Tinkerbell. Now what company do they work for? If you answered Disney, you’d be wrong!

These ladies are employed by Pretty Princess Parties, a company out of Minnesota whose troupe of princesses dress, look, act and have names like their Disney branded namesakes, but who aren’t affiliated with the Magic Kingdom. Instead, they travel the Midwest on weekends, hosting “princess parties” and “fairy tale balls” for little girls.

And the company is making a pot of gold while doing it. Tickets for each child are $53.74/each, and children MUST be accompanied by an adult for an extra $27.37 each. If your want something special for your little darling, you can buy a VIP ticket and she can spend an extra hour with the “Snow Sisters” (who just happen to be named Elsa and Anna) for $69.57/child and $27.37 for adults.

It’s pricey, but for two hours children are transfixed by the attention lavished on them by the princesses come to life. They sing, dance, have photos, do crafts, eat candy and sing songs. Does it get any better than this? Not if you’re six years old!

My mother always said that “imitation is the highest form of flattery.” I didn’t like it when my kid sister tried to copy what I was doing, and I wonder what Disney’s lawyers think about this operation. There is imitation and then there is copyright infringement, and I wonder where you draw the line. But if the law is flexible enough to allow it, you have to applaud their entrepreneurial spirit. 

Maybe you don’t need to invent something from scratch to create a new experience. Is there a way for you to capitalize on a gap in someone else’s strategy and deliver it? What niche is out there that you can fulfill? There could be a royal payoff if you tap into the right magic.

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

Thanks to Mike for enlightening me!

#1443 necessity is…

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I recently found myself in a laundromat, waiting with a friend while he needed a mega-size washer. Since I haven’t done laundry outside my home since college, I forgot what a boring place it can be. I didn’t come prepared with the proper entertain-myself tools, and quickly was going stir crazy.

We decided to improvise and created a backgammon game of our own. We used the newspaper someone had abandoned, the ever-handy black Sharpie that is always in my car and downloaded a dice app on the phone. For markers, one used “heads” and the other “tails” (embellished with a black Sharpie dot to make distinguishing them easier!)

It was crude, but functional, and the time passed quickly.

I am not sure problem-solving at the laundromat is a resume-worthy accomplishment, but I do believe that resourcefulness is an undervalued talent in the workplace. When hiring or promoting, I look for people who can figure out an answer beyond the obvious and who can make things work within the constraints they face. 

Think about how you can cultivate resourcefulness in yourself. The next time you’re without the ideal set of equipment or supplies, make do anyway. If you find yourself facing a problem, figure out how you can start on a solution. You don’t have to imitate MacGyver everyday, but a little ingenuity can go a long way in staving off boredom and other equally ominous threats.

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


#1442 bottled up

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Some folks in our city’s water department had the luck of Friday the 13th a week early. A joint in a 20-inch diameter water main broke apart, and before it was over much of the city was under a boil water advisory. The rupture spilled 3.3 million gallons of water, more than I can really imagine.


A disruption of this magnitude causes you to realize how much you take water for granted. There was no pure water to drink, make ice, do dishes or cook food. It was like visiting an underdeveloped country where you only used what came pre-packaged instead of out of the tap.

Suddenly bottled water became the hot commodity. Retailers scrambled to get extra pallets in to accommodate the influx of giant orders for the liquid. The school district alone used 129 cases to distribute among buildings, not to mention the water needed for the 5500 residents in the area. Within hours, store marquees heralded “bottled water here” at places lucky enough to have nimble distribution systems.

The disruption lasted about 48 hours, and only impacted part of the town. Think of what it would have been if caused by natural disaster or terror where it would undoubtedly be more widespread and lengthy. 

On the spectrum of what you would need in a disaster, fresh water is high (highest?) on the list. Maybe you should stock up a case or two to have on hand in case your lucky rabbit’s foot (or water main) fails you.

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

Source: Water main breaks: boil order in effect by Alicia Yager, Telegraph Herald, May 4, 2016, p. 1A and
Schools, businesses keeping hydrated by Allie Hinga, Telegraph Herald, May 5, 2016, p. 1A

#1441 uppercase

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It wouldn’t seem like such a big deal to stop using capital letters in your communication and switch to the traditional upper and lower case, but for the National Weather Service, the change has been 20 years in the making!

Beginning yesterday, the National Weather Service now provides weather forecasts in mixed-case reports instead of ONLY IN CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE IT HAS BEEN DOING SINCE IT BEGAN. Weather reports originated in upper case when they were transmitted via teleprinters, and it has taken this long for some of the machinery to finally be phased out.  It seems ironic that the agency who uses sophisticated computer models to generate the forecast would still rely on antiquated equipment to share that information, but such is the case.

Despite the fact that mixed-case is standard fare for the vast majority of communications out there, the removal of ALL CAPITALS will nonetheless cause some adjustment for some people who have been reading the alternate format for decades. Meteorologist Art Thomas is quoted as saying: “It seemed strange to me until I got used to it over the course of testing the new system, but now it seems so normal.”

Isn’t that the case for most changes? You feel awkward driving on the realigned road, until a week goes by and you forget it was rerouted. You gawk in amazement at your friend’s new haircut, for the first time you see it, then it becomes a natural part of her. You struggle with the tension on a new computer keyboard, and after the first page it becomes familiar.

Take two little lessons from the National Weather Service’s big transition: change can often take a very long time to happen, yet change can take a very short time to feel like normal. Use both lessons when forecasting your strategy and others’ response to it.

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

Source: National Weather Service will stop using all caps in its forecasts