Month: January 2020

leadership dot #2766: material

January 11, 2020January 10, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

During a recent trip to the fabric store, I was amazed at the amount of branded material that is available. Back in the day, you could only buy florals, gingham and generic patterns, but today fabric is liberally licensed. There are authorized versions of material featuring Girl Scout emblems, 4-H, Dr. Seuss, Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and princesses, Harry Potter and more.

Somewhere along the way, companies realized that they were better served by giving up some control of their characters and gaining revenue from direct licensing instead of the lose-lose scenario that resulted from the thriving knock-off market instead. Yes, Disney may cringe if executives saw some of the uses for its material, but in the end, the trade-off seemed to benefit them.

Social media has shifted some of the power away from the C-suite, and in a similar vein, so has branded fabrics. Companies today are wise to explore avenues to give their customers or clients more latitude in how they interact with the organization and embrace ways that your clients can make your brand their own.

leadership dot #2765: marathon

January 10, 2020January 9, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Think about the difference between running for miles and miles vs. training for a marathon. The distance covered may be the same, but only one activity has an end goal in mind.

This analogy applies to many professionals whom I coach; they seem to spend their days harried from running between small tasks instead of gaining satisfaction from accomplishing something big from the accumulated distance they have covered.

Running a marathon is an intentional act; you know it will cause discomfort, but you choose to do it anyway for both the intrinsic and external benefits it provides. The trick is to frame your professional work as running a marathon, finding a common thread and an overarching purpose to guide the smaller steps that consume your day.

Crafting your own finish line can allow you to feel that it’s worth pressing through the pain to reach the end.

leadership dot #2764: leveraged

January 9, 2020January 8, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If I asked you what Girl Scouts sell, your almost-instantaneous reply would be “cookies.” And you would be right – in part. The Scouts have capitalized on the popularity of their product and the proliferation of brand extensions everywhere to move beyond cookies into a multitude of products featuring their famous Thin Mint and Samoa (coconut & caramel) flavors.

You can now purchase Thin-Mint-flavored chickpea snacks, Coffeemate flavored creamer, gum, yogurt cereal, tea and ice cream sandwiches. Samoa fans can find the flavor in ice cream, cupcakes, Coffeemate, and gum. Their peanut butter chocolate cookies also come as yogurt. Instead of selling cookies, they have morphed into licensing flavors.

The Girl Scouts have also expanded beyond partnerships to sell additional items directly. Troops can offer chocolate raisins, fruit slices, caramels and toffee in addition to their delectable cookie assortment. Their brand extension offers lessons to women about how to take an established core product and leverage the brand beyond the item itself.

Think about what strength in your organization can benefit from partnerships or direct growth. Capitalize on the reputation of the old to make it into something new, yet familiar.

Thanks, Wendy!

leadership dot #2763: 27 seconds

January 8, 2020January 7, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The University of Maryland Men’s Basketball team led in a game for only 27 seconds of the 40 minutes of play. Fortunately for them, two of those seconds were the last two of the game. The team went ahead 3-2 in the opening minutes, then trailed, sometimes by as much as 15, until a long 3-point shot tied the game with :19 remaining and a free throw with two seconds left sealed the win.

You can use the game to motivate yourself or your (organizational) team about the value of never giving up. It would have been easy to consider the game a lost cause or to hold back on the effort thinking it useless, but the Terps stayed with it until the end and came out victorious.

t’s also a lesson on the flip side. I’m sure that the Illini thought they had their first conference win locked up, and I would not be surprised if the players lessened their intensity while cruising ahead by more than a dozen points for an extended stretch. Yet, as the lead slipped away, the momentum and energy were hard to regain.

Like basketball, most things in life accrue in small increments. Point by point, bit by bit, and moment by moment actions occur that change the ultimate outcome. Keep the end goal in mind and persist, no matter what side of the lead you are on.

leadership dot #2762: precise

January 7, 2020January 3, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I understand the volatility of weather patterns and the difficulty in predicting specific outcomes. What I don’t understand are the inconsistencies within the same app forecasting for the same time period. For example, in the “daily forecast” the app showed a high of 50 degrees, but in the “hourly” predictions, 48 was the warmest it would get. I realize there is little difference in two degrees, but the lack of internal integrity calls the whole forecast into question for me.

Think about your organization and whether your employees act in the same manner as the weather app. Do your customers receive different answers depending upon who they ask? Do you provide updated information to your front line so that facts can remain current and accurate? Is there a process to monitor and evaluate the replies that are given?

Maybe the variances are minor but there should be certain responses that are consistent throughout. Strengthen your communication with internal alignment and practiced precision about the numbers that matter.

leadership dot #2761: alchemy

January 6, 2020January 3, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Have you noticed that Polaroid – the company once thought of as dead when instant photos were supplanted by digital – has made a resurgence? Polaroid retained its iconic rainbow packaging and reappeared in several places during my holiday shopping.

The company has returned with a new lineup of products that all revolve around imagery – now more broadly defined. Instant photos are back and so is Polaroid; plus, they have expanded into digital frames, and even more cutting-edge is their entrée into the 3D printing market with filament and 3D printers.

I think about the contrast with Kodak who has all but disappeared from the retail space and amateur market, but Polaroid seems to have found new ways to utilize its technology to sell directly to consumers. I especially am intrigued by their combination of relaunching the original Polaroid instant photos (capitalizing on the vintage/everything old is new again trend) and their futuristic outlook with home-based 3D. It is a prime example of “preserving the core and stimulating progress” recommended in Built to Last*.

As we start the new year, take some time to both look back and look ahead with your product or service offering. Can you take a lesson from Polaroid and find the alchemy between the two?

*Built to Last by Jerry I. Porras and Jim Collins

leadership dot #2760: 3D

January 5, 2020January 3, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Not that long ago, it was a luxury to have the ability to print something in color. Now, most printers offer that option and copiers that print in color are plentiful in office settings. It won’t be too far into the future when having ready access to a 3D printer is commonplace as well.

Once seen as a specialty or commercial product, 3D printers are getting closer and closer to the mainstream. JoAnn’s sells a home version for $600 and as demand increases, the price is certain to fall.

Right now, you may not imagine a use for such a machine but I’ll bet that if you had one easily available you would put it to good use. Need to make a replacement part for that piece you just broke – presto! Want to make a branded gift tag for your holiday presents – no problem. Need some new jewelry to go with your new outfit – moments away. Want to amuse the kids with new toys – let them create their own.

There is no doubt that accessible 3D is coming – both to your home and to your office. Jump ahead of the curve and think of how you can add a new dimension to your marketing efforts.

leadership dot #2759: fine print

January 4, 2020January 3, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Think about the amount of ink that is wasted on printing that is never read or used. The fine print of contracts. The lines on the back side of notebook pages. Legal notices in newspaper classifieds. The reverse side of page-a-day calendars. Instruction sheets and owner’s manuals. Ingredient lists. Prescription information with potential side effects. The list could go on and on.

Printing requires time to prepare, ink to implement it and it adds to the weight and cost of products. If you’re serious about organizational cost-cutting and environmental stewardship, one place to start is to print only that which is necessary.

Many cities are required to print their legal notices in the paper; instead, be like towns in Connecticut that changed their ordinance to allow notices to be published online. Minimize your email signature so it doesn’t require several lines every time someone prints your messages. Revisit your forms to consolidate them and eliminate the need for clients to repeat their name and address multiple times.

Pay attention for a few days of all the unread printing that surrounds you – and then commit to producing just a bit less of it yourself.

leadership dot #2758: feeder

January 3, 2020January 2, 2020by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I have a bird feeder that allows two birds to eat at the same time directly from the feeder. What happens in reality is that many more birds also eat simultaneously by feasting off the seeds that fall from the feeder while the others are there.

The process is akin to the job of the leaders – those at the feeder do work that makes it possible for others to benefit. It’s not just themselves that they are feeding, rather they create an environment where many others can flourish.

Think about your work: can you do it in such a way that contributes value to more than yourself?

leadership dot #2757: reimagine

January 2, 2020December 31, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Lee Mendelson passed away this week, and while you may not know his name, most likely you have been the beneficiary of some of his work. Mendelson was the producer of A Charlie Brown Christmas and the lyricist for the theme Christmas Time is Here. I’ll bet you can hear the song in your head now: “Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, fun for all that children call, their favorite time of year…”

In addition to Charlie Brown, Mendelson also produced a dozen Garfield specials for television and turned other comics into television shows. I admire the ability to see something that everyone else sees and envision a new form for it.

We often think that creativity involves conceiving something entirely new but that is not the case. Jean Luc-Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.” Start the new year with a fresh perspective about what already exists and consider what you can expand, repurpose or reimagine this year.