When stuck looking for a new solution to a persistent problem, look for a novel approach. Here’s an example of collegiate ingenuity.
BEER INDUCED CREATIVITY
The fraternity poker game participants were locked in mortal combat as Tom staggered into the dining room (a.k.a. the poker emporium). Tom was fresh from his self-described part-time job (6 hours of sitting at a nearby tavern letting patrons buy him drinks while he scooped loose change off the bar). He made a few boisterous comments and then disappeared as quickly as he came in. The poker game renewed its heated intensity. Everyone assumed Boston Tom was in dreamland hitting home runs over the Green Monster at his beloved Fenway Park. Read the rest of this entry »
Music & Arts:Take A Listen at the Mayville Bluegrass Festival
By Nick Corsi
Sierra Hull at the Mayville Bluegrass Festival click to enlarge
ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR
Nothing much in the world is more soothing then sitting in a field and listening to acoustic guitars, fiddles, mandolins, stand up basses, sweet vocals and all the other sounds come along with Bluegrass.
We are all feeling the pinch of the recession. Times like these makes everyone look at their spending and see where the can cut back and conserve. One noticeable changes individuals can do to save money is to cut back on their weekly grocery bill. Clipping coupons, choosing wisely on their meal plan or just being aware of what you buy could save people hundreds of dollars in a year. However, being aware doesn’t mean cutting corners.
We kicked off the summer season at Raven with the Edinboro Art and Music Festival. This small but packed venue really gives us a chance to get back into the swing of things. I remember someone saying if you like what you do, then you never work a day in your life, when you are working at this festival…”work” is the last thing on your mind.
Click to find if a Vino Volo is in your local airport
Food & Design: Vino Volo
A few weeks ago, I was traveling back to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia, when I was stopped in my tracks. Heading out of the newly renovated security terminal in the Philadelphia International Airport, I was greeted by Vino Volo. Derived from Italian for “wine flight”, Vino Volo is a retail store mixes its fresh boutique style with the elegance of a wine bar. Featuring wines from around the globe, locally grown cheese and a imported meats to suit their clients taste buds, this bar currently does more than give Vino Volo is not so much as creating the concept of the wine bar in airports, they are just RECREATING it.
You’re finally going to do it. You are a born again believer in the benefits of business and strategic planning. To prepare you for the plunge here’s some rules of the road to guide you through the process.
The planning process can be exhilarating, frustrating, enlightening, demanding and a host of other descriptive adjectives. Hopefully you’ll find a nugget or two in these do’s and don’ts that will keep the emphasis on the positives of your unique organizational growth experience. Carpe Diem!
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.“-Dwight D. Eisenhower
Wonder Bread is the American favorite, even if you have never tried a slice of the company’s bread. As “America’s first sliced bread” it inspired the phrase the next “best thing since sliced bread”. In a way, Wonderbread changed not only the bread and baking world forever, they created a revolution for the field itself.
Music & Arts:Raven Sound Utilizes Twitter
By Nick Corsi
Click to RavenSound’s Twitter Profile
FOLLOW @RAVENSOUND
I recently began utilizing Twitter to promote Erie, PA based sound reinforcement company Raven Sound. I knew that I wanted to include at least one social networking site into Raven’s marketing mix, and the fast and easy updating potential of Twitter while on the road and on stage doing gigs was the deciding factor in incorporating the ever growing Twitter.
Ever drive past a billboard and get frustrated because you can’t figure out what it says? I do. Billboards can be an extremely effective method of advertising when done right. When not done right, they can be an enormous waste of time and money.
You have a very short amount of time to get your message across on a billboard. You have anywhere from 3-6 seconds, if you’re lucky and traffic is reasonably slow. That’s not a lot of time. I constantly see businesses trying to cram in all their information on billboards. Address, phone number, a picture of the owner with his dog, the product, a customer testimonial, the product logo … it goes on and on. The message gets lost and nothing is remembered as the driver tries to drive and read through the jumble.
We all need good information to monitor and manage our organizations. We need timely, efficient and effective management information to drive the decision-making process. To meet these needs, managers should be aware of the available criteria for a proper evaluation.
“You can not feed the hungry on statistics.“-Wilfred Laurier
The following 14 evaluative criteria are offered as a frame of reference for the planning, developing and monitoring of organizational information needs.
It is important to note that proper use of the criteria will involve the assessment of qualitative as well as quantifiable attributes and will require dealing in the unfamiliar and uncomfortable qualitative arena. Also, since the criteria will not generally carry equal weight, management will need an adequate grasp of the critical criteria of its own organization. Use of the evaluative criteria should, however, provide a framework for “relative ranking” of competing data requests and thus allow for a rational allocation of available organizational resources. The evaluation job will still be difficult, but a systematic approach should increase the likelihood that all the “bases” will be covered.
I spent a week in Chicago many years ago. I attended a school put on by the Giant Killers, a marketing instruction company. The first question they asked us was… What’s your USP? Well, we all looked at each other, shrugged and developed blank stares. Our instructor continued to explain that a USP is a “Unique Selling Position”. Basically, what makes our product the best buy.
YOU NEED TO DETERMINE YOU USP FOR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
Years ago I represented a Chevrolet car dealer. He was reasonably successful, but wanted to take the dealership to next level and he hired me to accomplish this. One of the things he wanted to do was sell Chevets, a good solid second family car. It’s low price made it a great car for the blue collar family.
I produced a nice TV spot featuring the car and proceeded to map out the running schedule for the ads. When I presented the budget to the dealer he immediately threw out all the 11:00pm news spots. I protested, but he wouldn’t budge on the ads.
THE SCHEDULE WAS PRODUCING RESULTS, BUT NOT TO THE DEGREE I WAS LOOKING FOR.
Technology and alternate ways of doing things are always in a state of flux. Whether it’s outsourcing some of your operations or looking at techniques that aid your decision process, it’s important to keep emerging tools and practices on your radar screen.
One example is the evolving nature of financial planning and analysis software that transcends beyond traditional spreadsheet tools. Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball to aid your business decision process? Would you use such a tool if it was available? With operations becoming more and more complex, having the ability to anticipate, analyze and assess alternate strategies BEFORE committing valuable time and resources is becoming vital.
“Anyone who says businessmen deal in facts, not fiction, has never read old five-year projections.“-Malcolm Forbes
Does your current financial forecasting model provide answers to these SEVEN TYPICAL INQUIRIES? Read the rest of this entry »
They will tell you this: A lot of times, it’s the notes that you DON’T play that truly make a composition what it is. An experienced musician knows when to hold back and let silence or resonance to fill the air. Sometimes we forget what “rest” can do for a piece of music, for a project, or for our work.
One of my favorite new food trends that have been hitting the commercial grocers is Israel couscous. However, it may be a bit late for me to say that this is a new truly trend in American culture because chefs have been experimenting with this type of pasta since the early 1950s. Over the past few years there has been a sudden boom to explore this culinary favorite which is why I put it at the top of my culinary trends for the summer.
I hear the same comment over and over…”I can take the product shot. I’ve got a digital camera”.
A few years ago, I was walking through “Ace Bargain Center”. Ace was a combination of connecting buildings that went for an entire city block. This store had every kind of used merchandise you could possible imagine. It was like an indoor junk yard (but clean and safe). As I was walking by one of the rooms I noticed that it contained all the materials for a complete operating suite; gurney, cabinets, lights, autoclave and even some surgical utensils. I realized that for the paltry sum of a couple of thousand dollars, I could set up my own operating room. I would have the equipment. The problem was, equipment doesn’t make you a surgeon, talent does. The same thing goes for photography.
A GOOD PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER IS MORE ARTIST THAN PHOTOGRAPHER.
A pro realizes the effect of lighting, positioning, backgrounds and even the image your product conveys. Lots of people can take “good” photos with a digital camera and they can be the hit of the picnic, but the professional photographer takes it the extra mile to make your product shine.
You’ve put a lot of time into developing your product and you’re proud of it. Put your best foot forward and show it in the best possible way. I think you’ll find that most photographers can work wonders and are a lot less expensive than you’d think.
Another tip: Don’t dictate to the photographer, let him ask questions and give you his best possible recommendations. If you let an artist use his vision, chances are you’ll get something much better than you had hoped for. In my 35+ years of experience, it’s worked every time.
Next week: The Car Dealer and TV.
Always let the artist make the suggestions!
Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.
Do you remember the challenge, the fear, and the thrill of learning to ride your bike as a child? Do you remember how proud you felt when you finally got the upper hand on gravity? Didn’t you feel like standing on your handle bars and screaming “I’m King of the World!” You had acquired the “art of balance” to keep your peddling in a mostly forward, albeit erratic, direction. Life was grand.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you need to keep moving.“-Albert Einstein
Well, balance remains a big part of our lives. It just takes on different forms when we grow up. I emphasize the art of balance since feeling might be more relevant than logic in determining the current state of balance in our lives. Although it’s a personal process and a private journey, here are a few questions to kick-start your assessment:
First, what does your gut tell you? Are the various components of your life in balance? Do you work to live or live to work? Are you becoming multi-dimensional or one-dimensional?
Music & Arts: “Act Locally” Benefit Concert
By Nick Corsi
“Act Locally” Poster click to enlarge
FINALLY – SOME OUTDOOR MUSIC!
This past Thursday at the University of Pittsburgh, our Habitat for Humanity Chapter put on a Benefit Concert. As a University chapter, we have a long term goal of eventually sponsoring the entire cost of a Habitat home. This goal will see its fruition in years to come, but the fund raising is ongoing and provides a slow but steady stream of income to the account. Each year our Benefit Concert provides for this goal and also acts as a capstone event for the year.
Entries
Loading ...
Food & Design: Beyond the Survey, 1 of 2
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything
Always let the artist make the suggestions!
