Quotes to Live By
April 7, 2009
“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”
-Vince Lombardi
“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
-Mario Andretti
“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”
- Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980)
Technology and Productivity
April 7, 2009
So I very much enjoyed reading this article: E-mail, instant messaging and Internet use are rampant, but do they make us more productive? It mentions that in 2007 Intel conducted an inside experiment where they asked certain team members to turn off their email during certain times of the day. These workers reported being more productive and recommending it as a company policy. The article also has some great statistics about time spent on tasks before, during, and after distractions such as email, IM, phone calls, texts, and coworkers. Very interesting!
Two Great Blogs
April 5, 2009
I have followed two blogs for a long time: Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist and Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development for Smart People Blog. I love Penelope’s blog because it gives very un-traditional, no-nonsense career advice. For example, her latest blog post is about How to Lead in the New Millenium and gives great advice about authenticity and how to become a leader. Sometimes she’s a little too candid though, especially about intimacy issues and her divorce. You’ve got to feel a little sorry for her ex-husband and kids although it makes for great reading.
I started following Steve in 2005 when I ran across him in a Google search. I was searching for ways to become an early riser, since I read that all successful people are most productive in the early morning. Now that I’m a Mom, I don’t have as much of a problem! Steve is a great writer though and he gives very real, tangible methods and advice to becoming a better person every day. I haven’t kept up with him in the last few weeks though and was shocked to read his latest post that he and his wife decided to have an open marriage. The term “open marriage” seems like a big contradiction. Why not just get a divorce? I mean, my husband was mad at me for looking up my ex on FaceBook! As high school sweethearts, we are celebrating our five year wedding anniversary this June and have known each other for 12 years.
So although I don’t relate as much to Steve and Penelope with relationships, their professional development advice is well worth the read and time investment.
Elevator Statement
April 5, 2009
Random person I meet out and about: “So, what do you do?”
Me: “I work in the event planning industry. It’s great!”
Random person: “Oh, that sounds like fun.”
Me: “It is.”
Yes, I am very guilty of having an awful elevator pitch in the past and not initiating an interesting dialog about my job. In the book I’m reading now, “Book Yourself Solid” by Michael Port, it talks about crafting an elevator statement by answering two questions: “Who I help” and “Why I do it.” Here’s what I have so far:
Who I help:
I help people who manage strategic events
I help corporate marketing and communications managers
I help people who plan face to face business events
Why I do it:
I love bringing people together
I love educational events
I love helping people with their business needs
I love communications
I believe in face-to-face business
I believe in making face-to-face business experiences the best they can be
I know that face-to-face opportunities offer people personal and professional development
I’m still not sure how to bring these together or even if this makes sense. It took the author six months to perfect his pitch, so I guess it will be a work in progress.
AJC Subscription
April 5, 2009
I have been trying to get a 7-day, 52-week home delivery subscription of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a few weeks now. My father-in-law paid $130 for his subscription and every time I call up the lowest price available is $240. I try to negotiate, offer to pay the fee up front, ask how I can get a discount, and I get nowhere. The reps always let me off the phone with no fight at all and a very cheerful “Have a nice day.” One would think that they would do what they have to to increase subscriptions. If anyone knows how to get a discount, please let me know!
Iron Chef and PRSA
April 3, 2009
Today I attended two very different, interesting events. One was Marriott’s Iron Chef competition at the Renaissance Waverly. Because I have never watched the show before and having arranged a lot of teambuilding events over the past few years, I was pretty skeptical. It’s hard to impress meeting planners and put on events since that is what we do for a living. I was very pleasantly surprised at how fun it was and the quality of people the event attracted.
After that I attended the PRSA luncheon to hear economists talk about the region and the economy. The panel included economists and speakers such as Sam Massell with the Buckhead Coalition and A.J. Robinson with Central Atlanta Progress. Sam and A.J. are both great speakers and I’ve heard them several times throughout the last few years.
Sales and Entrepreneurship
April 3, 2009
My brother-in-law is a systems admin who has talked about starting his own business several times. However, he has the E-Myth Revisited challenge: he wants to do the technical side and not have to do the sales thing. I know so many entrepreneurs in this position that just want to do the day-to-day business aspects and would like someone else to do the business development because they either don’t like sales or don’t have the training. According to Persuasion IQ, 96% of small businesses fail within the first five years due to lack of sales.
As a salesperson, I empathize. Sales is difficult! With a successful sales background however, a person can be very marketable in this down economy. That’s how I got this job, even now when layoffs are so much more prevalent than hiring. I never thought I’d be so appreciative of my training and background, especially since I never planned on ending up in this profession.
A few months ago, before I got my current job as Marketing Services Manager at dynami group, I was looking for a part-time sales position after my son was born. I made a list of businesses that I liked and called up Sips n’ Strokes in Atlanta regarding a sales opportunity that I thought could be very mutually beneficial. I would market and sell Sips n’ Strokes parties and teambuilding to groups, conventions, corporations and associations. I even would’ve done this on a commission-only basis.
I’m sure a lot of really great business ideas never made it to fruition, and this makes me sad. What’s the best way to bring salespeople and entrepreneurs together?
