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Asking the Wrong Questions, Why Sustainability Is the Answer

Publishing my essay for ADMAP's 2013 Prize that answers the question:

"Can brands maximize profits and be a force for social good?"

Before the invention of traditional advertising, companies lived and died by their reputation. A good reputation depended on having both quality products and customer service. There was an emotional connection between ones neighbor, the shopkeeper, the products and even the manufacturing process itself. But with Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line, we have lost that connection with the manufacturing process, the earth and even each other. Fortunately technology has brought that connection back. Companies have discovered that considering the environment and labor force in the supply chain has delivered measurable cost savings. Research has shown that consumers seek brands that give back to society. And business case studies have been made that show how businesses can enter new markets from sustainability efforts. The question we should be asking brands as marketing and business professionals is not, can brands maximize profits and be a force for social good, but why are they ignoring this proven path towards sustainability and continued profitability.

The foundation for life, water has also been recognized as a critical component to manufacturing and the supply chain. A recent report by The Carbon Disclosure Project, a group that monitors corporations’ greenhouse gas emissions, stated that “analysis indicates that current “business as usual” water management practices and levels of water productivity will put at risk approximately US$63 trillion, or 45 percent of the projected 2050 global GDP (at 2000 prices), equivalent to 1.5 times the size of today’s entire global economy.” The effects of climate change are clearly evident in challenges companies have had to face from water risk. More than half of Global 500 respondents, from a 2012 CDP study, experienced detrimental water-related business impacts from flood and associated financial costs as high as US$200 million, up 38% from last year. While the science around climate change is still being debated, the predicted effects of frequent extreme weather such as floods and droughts can affect many aspects of the manufacturing process from cotton crops to equipment damage from flooding. It is not a huge leap to assume that this number may increase after the final costs of Hurricane Sandy are all accounted for.

Fortunately, for every alarming statistic, there are companies that are leading the practice in water conservation. Both General Motors and H&M have significantly reduced the amount of water used in their manufacturing process. Companies are even reporting that water-based initiatives have offered new opportunities from increased brand value (40%) to entirely new business opportunities. Levi Strauss has been a pioneer in water reduction during their manufacturing process, introducing Water<Less jeans in 2011. While sales figures on the jeans have not been released, they have increased their manufacturing of the product from 1.5 million in 2011 to 29 million in 2012. Levi’s has recognized that the initiative is in line with both their business goals and consumer values. They continue to evolve their sustainable product offerings. Like Levi’s, Unilever has pioneered water-related sustainability efforts to appeal to their current consumers and enter entirely new markets. A few years ago, they developed a fabric conditioner that only requires one bucket of water for rinsing instead of three, gaining a 60% increase in usage from 2010.

Half the cost of business is in the supply chain. The supply chain is also responsible for 70 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions from manufacturing companies. While most members of the United Nations Global Compact of Sustainability surveyed by Accenture agreed that sustainability should be integrated into all aspects of operations, just over half, actually achieved sustainability. The path to reducing emissions has already been paved; 40 percent of CDP members have reported financial savings from their emissions reduction activities. Companies have even benefited from developing smarter transportation routes or partnering with other companies to reduce fuel costs from deliveries.

No sellable good can be harvested, created or transported without the touch of a human hand or at least one to guide the machinery. And yet, many companies treat their workers like machines, with no feelings, human needs or compassion. But for a moment, let us put our humanity aside and pretend that labor is just a line item in the manufacturing process. Most machines would have a short lifespan if they were kept running without proper maintenance. The cost of replacing them would far out weigh the cost of fixing them. But workers are not machines. While they require more “maintenance” and time off than the average machine, they also have the capacity to do so much more. BSR, a corporate responsibilities consultancy, published the results of several case studies where they helped improve the working conditions in factory and agricultural settings in Central American and the Dominican Republic. By helping to improve the lives of the workers, they also helped improve the business. Productivity increased while operating costs and turnover decreased.

Look no further than your local Whole Foods, Starbucks or trendy café to understand how consumers feel about fair labor practices. The sale of Fair Trade products has grown globally about 30% every year, even during a recession. Apple came famously under fire after The New York Times created a shocking expose of Foxconn’s working conditions. Faced with consumer pressure, investigations by NGOs and continued NYT articles about the factory, Apple eventually worked with Foxconn to improve labor conditions. If Foxconn does not serve as enough of a lesson, economics will. Over the next decade, it will be absolutely imperative for companies to learn how to develop more sustainable labor practices, especially in the China. The IMF predicts in a 2013 paper that between 2020 and 2025, China will experience a labor shortage economy. This shift could even signal the end of cheap goods.

What is supply without demand? A critical component to profitability is revenue. The Guardian conducted a study in 2010 on consumer attitudes and perceptions on sustainability. “…79% indicated that a company offering products and services with low environmental impacts would be more likely to win their loyalty” and felt the same factors would help them develop loyalty. Over 70% thought that energy, manufacturing and transport companies are not environmentally friendly or have little concern for the environment. No follow up papers have been published but one can guess that sentiments would be similar given the man-made and climate change-related disasters that have occurred since it was published in June 2010.

“People’s willingness to buy, recommend, work for and invest in a company is driven 60% by their perceptions of the company, and only 40% by their perceptions of their products.” Kasper Ulf Nielsen, an executive partner at the Reputation Institute

Businesses have lost valuable consumer trust over the last decade. Trust in business fell from 53% in 2011 to 47% in 2012 and customers cited that businesses did not meet their expectations due to their practices. Trust for business is slowly rising to 58% according to the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer. In fact, business is trusted more than government in more than half the 26 markets surveyed. The Edelman Trust Barometer also found that societal factors like treating employees well, has “ethical business practices” and “addresses society’s needs” are attributes associated with future trust. The most telling finding as it relates to the general public’s interest in social good is that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) remain the most trusted institution.

The increase of concern for the environment and societal ills is due to the historically high levels of information that the average person has access to. In 2011, Google published a pivotal free eBook called ZMOT, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth. The book describes a shift in how consumers make purchasing decisions. Once influenced by branding, advertising and public relations, consumers can now have access to detailed product information, company policies and even customer reviews before purchasing an item. While the book is mainly focused on a behavioral shift in purchasing, it also signals a cultural shift. We can no longer cite ignorance as an excuse for our behavior. We have an increasing proliferation of tools like the GoodGuide to tell us at the point of purchase how sustainable a company’s policies are. If we cannot find it on Google, our social network can act as a resource for influencing our purchasing decisions.

Consumers have a growing appetite for finding more meaning in their purchases. Inn the United States, we find a growing interest in hand crafted goods, fueled by Etsy, eBay and other peer to peer ecommerce sites. Customers are also experiencing a greater connection to their farmer with the proliferation of local farmer’s markets across the country.

Global viral campaigns like KONY reveal that there is a cultural pressure to align oneself with social initiatives. Non-profits like Charity Water allows us to see the benefits of our philanthropy, showing us that we do not have to be wealthy to make a positive societal impact. The one-to-one model of Tom’s and Warby Parker has made it cool to identify with a label, as long as that label gives back to society. And indulging in Ben & Jerry’s makes eating ice cream a little less gluttonous when one considers all their CSR initiatives. Finally, countless personal care brands have worked to match their manufacturing process to their newly created “natural” image.

While the debate over being a force for good and making a profit is still being debated, a few companies have taken off in developing their sustainability practices, paving the way for others. Patagonia has become a thought leader in creating sustainability practices, especially for clothing brands, publishing The Responsible Company in 2012 as a guide for businesses. They have strived to greatly increase the quality of their products and promote thoughtful consumption over disposable goods. In 2011, on the most famous American shopping day of the year, Patagonia urged their customers not to buy their products. Their program, Common Threads, urges consumers to reduce, repair, reuse and recycle their clothing. Their initiatives are working, both for creating sustainability and a profitable business model. Despite the extreme economic woes over the last five years, their revenue is set to nearly double.

Another pioneer of sustainability is Unilever. During the keynote speech given at The Marketing Society Conference in November 2011, CMO Keith Weed cites population growth as a strong driver for Unilever’s sustainability efforts. In addition to their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint by modifying their supply process, they have also spearheaded non-profit initiatives. For example, their disinfectant soap, Lifebuoy founded the first ever Global Handwashing Day in 2008 with the United Nations and other partners. In addition to improving hygiene and preventing disease, the initiative promoted usage of the product, gaining sales and growing market share.

Starbucks is another global example of companies promoting sustainability. While their impact on the environment is debatable given the proliferation of used Starbucks coffee cups, their commitment to labor is not. They have worked to make their supply chain sustainable, including a commitment to farmer labor practices. Starbucks rallied their customers through Create Jobs for U.S.A., offering customers a braided wristband in exchange for their $5 donation towards the Community Development Financial Institutions. Howard Schultz is a businessman and while it is clear that he may care more about sustainability than other CEOs, he is still interested in long-term profitability. A study done by UCLA in 2012 found that "adopting green practices isn't just good for the environment, it's good for your employees and it's good for your bottom line. Employees in such green firms are more motivated, receive more training, and benefit from better interpersonal relationships. The employees at green companies are therefore more productive than employees in more conventional firms."

When one looks at the overwhelming evidence, it is clear that maximizing profits and being a source for social good are synergistic goals for companies. Creating a more sustainable supply chain reduces costs. The knowledge that the company is being a source for good both motivates employees and consumers, increasing productivity and revenue. Companies have adjusted their business models to succeed in dramatic market shifts from introducing ecommerce to developing a social media presence and offering their customers utilities through mobile. Why should adjusting to sustainable business practices be any different? The health of society and business depend on it.

How Childhood Play Leads To Creativity

Just read this article, Give childhood back to children: if we want our offspring to have happy, productive and moral lives, we must allow more time for play, not less - written by Dr. Peter Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College. His thesis is that it's human, even animal nature for children to play - an act that helps them develop a myriad of skills from conflict resolution to creativity. But this ability to play is being threatened by education systems around the world, replacing free times with schooling or unorganized play with formalized athletics. Anyone who's watched a cat video featuring more than one kitten knows that constant play is critical to understanding a person's physical and emotional boundaries, among other skills learned.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDbGqJ2KYk]

Gray makes the point that

"... Even more than in the past, creativity is a key to economic success. We no longer need people to follow directions in robot-like ways (we have robots for that), or to perform routine calculations (we have computers for that), or to answer already-answered questions (we have search engines for that). But we do need people who can ask and seek answers to new questions, solve new problems and anticipate obstacles before they arise. These all require the ability to think creatively. The creative mind is a playful mind."

As I came out of working on a Saturday yesterday, an act that is by no means rare in the working world, especially the fast-paced world of advertising, I found myself craving a bit of play, of creative inspiration. Just as children's playtime is being threatened, adults find themselves increasingly working all hours. In New York, it's not uncommon for the phrase "I had to work over the weekend" to be some form of bragging, or even considered a right of passage to success. But how does this effect our ability to be creative or make original connections? At Miami Ad School's Planning Boot Camp, I remember our first Weekend Workshop teacher taught a class on the overall strategic process - informing us that the trick to coming to an insight is to walk away from the work at hand after absorbing every bit of information you could. Take a walk. Go for a run. Go to a museum and as your focusing on something else, connections will be made in your brain.

So if you find yourself actually having a few minutes to yourself during the workweek, go outside. Take a walk. Actually make use of that game room your company installed years ago. Flip through the magazines at your local magazine stand. Go to a museum. Or dip onto a store-filled street. Because in the world of creativity, success doesn't just come with sheer willpower and hard work but rather, freeing up your mind to play.

Tech Disrupt 3.0

The longer I work in mobile, the more I see evidence that technology has disrupted every aspect of our lives. There is nothing we do that hasn't touched technology from the moment we wake up to the alarm on our iPhones to the moment we go to bed, scrolling through our Instagram feed one last time before we close our eyes. In fact, Mary Meeker's famous yearly tech trends presentation predicts that 2014 will be the year of wearable computing. So we've gone beyond social media and even mobile. But as someone working at the convergence of technology and advertising in New York City, it's easy for me to taught that this is the year of mobile, wearable computing, Google Glass, or any number of exciting technologies. The real question is, what happens when businesses finally embrace these behavioral changes instead of ignoring them? And what happens to those that don't?

A few weeks ago, I decided to check out the Warby Parker store in Nolita after finally getting a new eye glass prescription (yay health insurance!). I had heard of the startup but had become friends with the owner, Paul of my previous frames supplier at Caserta (go there!) and genuinely liked our customer / owner relationships. But as I casually tried on a few pairs, my eyes lit up with excitement. How could I resist $95 frames including the lenses, a good $200 dollar difference in price from any regular frames store? In fact, the ease of the purchase and price changed my entire outlook on eyeglasses. Perhaps they no longer had to be a critical decision to labor over for days, knowing they'd be a year-long fashion statement. I could now match my frames to my mood, or my outfit! Shortly after purchasing a pair, I dipped into a chain frame store just to compare. Rows of frames by well-known designers lined the shelves with designer prices. The store clerks seemed engaged in their own conversation instead of helping me so I quickly left. I vowed to replace the lenses on my old frames from Caserta because I enjoy shooting the shit with the owner and because they're great frames.

Following my trip to Warby, I decided that once and for all, I was going to purchase a Nike Fuel band. Earlier that week, I had posed the question through my Instagram feed - Nike Fuel Band or FitBit Flex. I had done extensive research online and was told that it was mostly a toss up, but that the Flex was more accurate. But what would motivate me? Accuracy or friendly competition? The answer, according to my Instagram community, was the friendly competition of the Nike Fuel Band. I've been wearing it ever since but truth be told, haven't given up my old FitBit.

So it's clear that regardless of your business, it's going to be disrupted by technology. So how can companies adapt? Here are two quick tips from my journey but more are sure to follow.

1. If your business is "analogue," make it the best analogue experience you can possibly create. Ensure that your customer service is top notch and genuine as well as your product. A quick glance at Caserta's Yelp review shows that nothing can disrupt the efficacy of a quality product and customer service. And their customers are spreading the word, coincidentally, through technology.

2. Your brand is not a product category but an experience. Extend it through digital products that enrich people's lives.

Where the hell am I?

Apologies my dear readers for being completely M.I.A. and not providing you with any of my "new year-type" wisdom. Alas I have no exotic holiday vacation photos to share with you. But I know you don't come to my blog for that because freelancing ain't no vacation.No, the lesson I'm going to share with you now is a very good one. That what goes around comes around. Over the last two years I have made countless connections, attending networking events, talks and lunches even when all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and watch Downton Abbey. At every freelance job, I absorbed like a sponge, the wisdom of my superiors while offering a unique perspective gained from my varied assignments. And while there were times when I thought I was better at getting others jobs than myself, in the end karma has come back to me in a positive way. So I haven't been blogging because in between celebrating the holidays with my family and attending a low key Christmas party, I've been working. Multiple freelance assignments that came to me at once (such is the freelance lifestyle). So far, 2013 has been fantastic and I have a good feeling that despite predictions of a slowed economy and continued political shenanigans, 2013 is going to be a good year.

So speaking of karma, a few very talented Miami Ad School kids have put this blog together as a resource for creatives looking to get into advertising. I'm sure there will be many helpful nuggets even for those looking to get into strategy.

NYC City Guide: Best Cheap Haircut

If you're looking for a cheap haircut; i.e. under $50 for women, I highly recommend Tease on 2nd Avenue. I found Tease after finding a review in NY Magazine and have been going for the last few years. I usually get Jason but have had a few people and they're all good. But what makes the experience extra, extra special is their head massages while they wash your hair. Seriously. To die for. I'd take a head massage over complimentary tea any day. Last week I decided to take the plunge and chopped off all my hair. With a few celebrity photos I had compiled on Pinterest for reference, Jason was able to transform my hair from a safe but shapeless mid-length to a bold, curl embracing cut. Change your hair, change your life right? Perhaps with my age appropriate cut, I'll finally stop getting carded. The below photo was taken while my hair was still wet so not in its full curly glory but you get the idea.

NYC Guide: Cheap & Chic Dresses

Nearly a decade of living in or near New York City has taught me a thing or two about where to find the best coffee, where to get cheap dresses that aren't from Forever 21, decent work spots, etc. So here goes the start of another series. None of these posts are paid for and are all from my own experiences. If any of that changes, I'll let you know.

First up, what all my male readers have been waiting for. Dresses!

I discovered Cora dresses about two years ago at Artists & Fleas right outside of the Williamsburg flea market. The dresses are a very simple but femininely cut, made in one size. They're less than $50 and they constantly come out with new and interesting patterns, making a collection inevitable. (I have three!) I especially love how the cut is sweet and feminine but the patterns; ranging from graphic elements to foxes, are cleverly unexpected. Wear them over jeans, leggings, stockings or go bare. Dress them up or make them look more casual. And see their website for locations. I'm a fan of their stand at Chelsea Market but I recommend eating the obligatory crepe, lobster roll or gelato after you try on their dresses.

And if you plan on wearing a Cora dress while attending an event that I'm attending, for heaven's sake - contact me first so we can coordinate!

Stepping Away From The Internet

One of my favorite things to do is wander around the city, photograph people or draw them. Yes, I know, all slightly stalker-ish activities. But I've always found endless fascination with people-watching. Yesterday, I did just that and thought I'd give you a visual recap of my day.

I spent a significant amount of time at Ground Support in Soho. My initial intention was to read and catch up on news but with my iPad, new Bamboo stylus, and Paper 53 app, I couldn't resist one of my all time favorite past times - sketching people. I later overheard the French girl I drew talk about how high rents, mentioning she took a Skillshare class about how to live rent free. Which I mentally noted was the same class I took. Small world.

My sketching was briefly interrupted by a celebrity sighting. I think that years or should I say, 10,000 hours of memorizing figures and faces in order to draw them, has given me excellent facial recognition. Can you spot him in the above, right picture?

One of the benefits of everyone being glued to their devices is that they sit relatively still for a few minutes, giving me enough time to draw them. Thank you internet. While I was admittedly tempted to sit across from MG and practice my sketching using him as a subject, I smartly chose to sit outside instead.

I've always felt like the relationship between subject and photographer / artist is an odd one. As the artist, I feel like I'm taking a little piece of that person without asking. I'm invading their privacy. I'm looking closely at the contours of their face, their expression, their mood. I can see how their clothing fits. What does it convey? Are they trying to fit in or stand out? Are they comfortable with themselves or uncomfortable being alone? As the subject, they may or may not know what I am doing. Do they let on? Are they flattered, self-conscious or annoyed? What do they think of me? Interestingly, none of these people seemed to care, if they even noticed at all.

My Wednesday journey didn't end there. I passed some very timely graffiti. And a woman with a beautiful dress.

I witnessed a lost pigeon flying into a café that had trouble getting out. So like MacGyver, I instructed the panicked staff to create a trail of crumbs out the door. Success!

And finally, to the delight of my social networks, I nearly ran into Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) while embarrassingly singing along to "Call Me Maybe" a little too loudly on my iPod. I'm pretty he rolled his eyes at me.

While my visual journey ends there, the city continued to shower me with surprises. I ran into an old colleague while having dinner with my friend, both who happened to be one of my photography subjects at some point. And just as I was walking with my friend telling her some insights into my dating history, I ran into a guy I went on a few dates with. The day was a good reminder that there's a world beyond the internet. Although the irony is not lost on me that I shared my journey in "real time" through my phone on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. But non-the-less, you never know what adventures are in store for you but they won't happen if you spend all your time in front of your computer.

Planning: We Bring The Divergent Thinking In From The Outside by Heidi Hackemer

Just stumbled upon this presentation given by former BBH Strategy Director, now freelancer and dare I say, life-liver, Heidi Hackemer. Like many planners who've reached a senior level, she had a crisis of faith in the traditional planning model realizing that the linear career path, reliance on focus groups and online reports and value placed on "busyness" were not conducive to inspiring the best work. The presentation offers invaluable advice for planners.

planning, creativity & planning for creative campaigns [slideshare id=12558713?rel=0&w=425&h=355&fb=0&mw=0&mh=0&sc=no]

View more presentations from Heidi Hackemer

New York Tech Meetup "March" Re-Cap

The New York Tech Meetup "March" event tops my list of best NYTM's. The technology and new products were both groundbreaking and more importantly, incredibly useful.First on the stage was Watch It. It was the first in a long list of "why didn't I think of that?" Watch It aggregates available movies across multiple platforms so you can easily find a movie you want to watch either online, DVD, in the theaters, etc. You can make a queue, share it with your friends, and get alerts when a movie becomes available. Simple yet brilliant.

Yapp took the stage next. I think Yapp marks an important milestone in our digital behaviors and needs. Yapp allows users to easily make a mobile app. Currently in beta, they demonstrated how to make an app for an event - which I'm sure all us nerdy tech folks will want to use to impress our other nerdy tech friends. So does that mean we will go from everyone having their own website to everyone having their own app? Special shout out to the preggers demoer who cracked us up with her Vegas wedding app suggestion. It's always nice to see female presenters onstage especially when they're developing startups outside of fashion.

For those of you trying to juggle your various social media presences (isn't that all of us?!), there's Engagio, a platform that allows you to see all your social media comments and interactions in one place.

Float schedule looks like a useful tool for agencies, studios, digital project managers - or anyone else who has to manage the schedules of various client projects. The act of producing projects is often under appreciated. I consider myself a dreamer or incrementalist according to Scott Belsky's Making Ideas Happen so any tools to help me be more of a "doer" is very much appreciated.

And another special shout-out - this time to my former hometown classmate Andy Tider who presented his Hack of the Month with Ben Fisher called Pool Party. I'm not 100% sure what it does because I was distracted by him throwing beach balls at the audience. Oh - and the hysterically awesome "please be patient" commentary while the program pulls data. Pool Party connects with LinkedIn's APi to help you make better use of a particular group's members - so when you sign in, it connects to LinkedIn, then one of the groups you belong to. From there, you can easily pull out UX Designers, Interaction, Product, Rails, etc. to better connect with. And as if I can't give enough props - another special shout out for getting the URL: JumpInThePool.com.

It would seem as if a shower of beach balls would be a tough act to follow but UnRoll.me did it with ease. UnRoll.me could be the most useful thing since ... email. UnRoll.me is a very simple email add-on that allows you to easily unsubscribe to unwanted emails, receive the subscriptions you like in one convenient email and here's where this service can become the next Groupon: get recommendations on newsletters you may actually want to read. It's in beta so sign up and be sure to tell your friends, or work on making your newsletter more interesting and engaging so it doesn't end up "unrolled."

When Kapitall took the stage, it became apparent that the hits would keep coming. French accents, online gaming and stocks! OH MY! Kapitall aims to make investing in stocks understandable and engaging to the masses by creating a game around researching and trading stocks. I'd tell you more but I just signed up and want to go play! Sign up now because trades are only $5 up until March 31st. The potential for educating people about stock trading is groundbreaking. I'll let you ponder that while I introduce the final presenter.

Last but certainly not least, the seasoned Anthony Caselena from Squarespace took the stage with an introduction to their revised portfolio and website publishing platform. There were collective oohs and ahs as we watched Anthony create a photographer's portfolio under a minute. And cringes as we silently cursed ourselves for renewing our Wordpress hosting sites. And curses from web designers who realized they have some serious competition.

So the common theme with all of these, and why I think they're going to be successful, is that they were all incredibly useful. More importantly their use can easily be explained.

Be sure to sign up for the next NYTM on March 27th. If you haven't attended yet, you're missing out. A trick to getting the ticket before they sell out is to make sure your payment is correctly linked before they go on sale. Also, they sell like hotcakes so set your alarm and be on your computer when they sell. If you can't get a ticket, people often resell theirs closer to the date when they realize they have a conflict and can't make it so don't "unroll" your NYTM message board.

Interview With Farrah Bostic: Advertising Women 2.0

Farrah Bostic is a Group Planning Director at Digitas whose insightful blog Pretty Little Head covers everything from brands to innovation and creativity. In addition to digital innovation, she's passionate about elevating women's status in the advertising and technology industries.The tech world is full of exciting new and innovative mobile and web products. How relevant is the tech world to planning?

The tech world is hugely influential to the best & brightest in planning in New York. For one thing, start-ups took over our bars (Sweet & Vicious and Tom & Jerry's)!  For another, the industry is transforming in favor of digital, social and mobile experiences, and the thought leaders in our field (planners) need nerds to play with who really deeply understand these technologies and concepts.  Those who actively experiment with them and build businesses out of them are our best partners for this kind of thinking.  The tech world is shaping how people behave and interact, and offers a myriad of ways for us to develop better knowledge about these behaviors and interactions, so we can then develop better understanding of how it affects our clients' brands and businesses.

So many of the major companies that dominate our world like Apple, Foursquare, Twitter, etc. were created by a team of men. What are some examples of great products or websites created by a team of women?

There are so many unsung female heroes in digital!  The one most often thought of is, of course, Catarina Fake, who co-founded both Flickr and Hunch.  Emily Hickey, co-founder of Hashable, helped drive the pivot from a finance site to a networking app that was one of the many favorites at SXSW this year. Dina Kaplan cofounded Blip.tv, which is an awesome, newly-relaunched online channel for original video content created for the web.  I'm watching about three new series there these days, now that all the network shows are in the off season.  Birchbox is a terrific business started by women with a female technical co-founder.  A lot of people talk about fashion sites like Fashism and advice sites like HonestlyNow, or food sites like Foodspotting; but I think there are some great female-founded businesses like Slideshare and Layar that are lauded as businesses that transcend the more 'obvious' female businesses.

And there's hope for people in the ad biz!  Cindy Gallop (ex-BBH) has created two businesses online: Ifwerantheworld.com, a site that helps transform intention into action through small steps, and creates a social profile based on what you do rather than what you say; and Makelovenotporn.com, a site that is helping change the conversation between men and women about sex, and is promoting female friendly pornography.  Ale Lariu's work with SheSays.com is a fantastic example of a now ex-ad-woman building a business online that leverages her expertise in advertising and her advocacy for women in the business.

Above all of this, there are the advocates and change agents: two of my favorite ladies, Rachel Sklar and Emily Gannett at ChangeTheRatio - promoting women in startups; and the amazing Shaherose Charania and Angie Chang at Women 2.0 & Founder Labs who are actively incubating women founders.

I'm already inspired! You've recently started listing women in the advertising and tech world who have broken through the glass ceiling and are an inspiration to us all. Aside from their success, what other characteristics do these women have in common?

They're all doing ground-breaking work, driving business results, inventing new technology... and not getting nearly enough credit or attention for it.  The main reason for starting the list was to recognize these women in a way that obviated the constant conversations about how hard it is to find women to speak at conferences or judge awards programs.  As I've compiled this list, I've been amazed at the generosity of the people who've contributed great women to it, and shocked at how reluctant those same, equally accomplished women are, to nominate themselves.  These women work hard and smart and creatively, and then they forget to or avoid taking some of the credit. I think it's that nice, smart, creative people who make things, tend to be generous with their effort and their praise.  For women, this generosity of spirit can seem to conflict with credit-taking.  So I've been happy to be the one giving that credit.

There are so many different women's networking organizations in New York. Which ones have you found to be particularly helpful?

Change The Ratio has been a life-changer for me - I went to one event and everything changed. I made amazing friends, I was inspired to start the list on my own blog, and it's continued to fuel my desire to express my own entrepreneurial spirit.  Women 2.0 was the next group I encountered, because of some things I wrote after getting involved in Change The Ratio - and they are amazing: vibrant, growing, making change for women, fostering real businesses. But I think the tech scene is much more democratic than the VC dollars and TCDisrupt speaker lists would indicate: a lot of the best, most productive networking I've done here has been through Digital DUMBO (female co-founder!) and through StartUp Weekend.  I encourage more women to attend - you meet those nice, smart, creative people who make things, and it's incredibly inspiring.

I often find myself full of ideas, wanting to create something but need a partner to keep me on track. Can you recommend an organization that can help me find a future business partner.

Women 2.0 and Founder Labs! 5 weeks from nothing to a business - it's an amazing process, with fantastic mentors and a great track record.  Despite the name, they seek balance in the founder teams they assemble - 50/50 female/male, 50/50 business/tech.  It's awesome how they pull that diversity together.  Tech Stars is also an excellent program with committed mentors and founders.  But I also wouldn't discount StartUp Weekend - you meet a variety of people on the Friday, some who are committed and driven, some who are curious and dabbling.  But by Sunday, everyone is serious about making something and transforming that something into a business.

Keeping up with email, blogging and contacts can be an all-consuming process. What tools do you use that have helped you juggle all these tasks?

I'm a bit of a mess when it comes to all of this, but I have a few tools I love.  At home I use Sparrow as my mail client, but I'm only just getting used to it; the labeling options allow me to keep track of things relatively easily - but on the go, gmail is my savior. It's very good at knowing what actually is urgent to me, and the ability to star items helped keep this email, for example, on my radar.  But the truth is I do most of my communicating on a one-to-one basis in Twitter - through @-replies and direct messaging I can carry on a lot of conversations... Of course,this isn't appropriate for everyone, or everything, but it does keep the ideas pithy. :)

Blogging is tough - I probably didn't blog for about six months, until my boyfriend wrote a piece of middleware for me that allows me to favorite items in Twitter, and it goes through those favorites, scrapes the links, and deposits those linked sites/articles into ReadItLater, which I then go back to on my iPad.  I also use Evernote at conferences and as a place to save quotations or scraps of the articles I've read.  I always have something to write about, now.

Contacts... my iPhone holds everything, and increasingly I'm using Hashable and Twitter to capture contact information. When it comes to the list, however, we're building a CMS for that - I hope we'll finish it by the middle of July.

Was there a particular moment in your career or piece of advice that inspired you to get to where you are today?

I've had a few, I think.  My dad was a network consultant in the early '90s and installed the network at Wieden + Kennedy; he told me that this was the kind of environment I should work in.  When I was in college at University of Oregon, I took a copywriting class; the instructor, Ann Maxwell, did a mid-term check-in and told me that while I said I wanted to go into account management, I was a talented writer and should pursue a creative career instead.  She had Clios and gold pencils in her office, so I decided to believe her.  The next was when I was struggling to find work in an agency after the startup I worked in began to falter and sacked me; the head of the Apple account at Chiat/Day, Sean Hardwick, said that I belonged in an agency like that, and that while he didn't have the *right* job for me, he had a job, and that he was going to offer it because he didn't want to get in the way of my dream.  Who says things like that??

It was at Chiat that I saw what planning was really all about, day to day, and made the transition to that role.  A planner I worked with there, Elena Hale, told me that planning was about making advertising effective, and I really warmed to the power of that idea.  And then Robin Hafitz, my mentor and friend, hired me to be a brand strategist; I could see myself in her, and I suppose she might have seen a bit of herself in me.  She's been an amazing advocate.

Rachel Sklar inspired me to make the list - with her energy and generosity and advocacy for women.  Cindy Gallop told me that an idea I had was too big to be 'just an app' and that it could really improve people's lives, which really energized me but also raised the bar for my own goals.  And the London-based agency, Made by Many, who I met through my great friend and champion, and entrepreneur, Noah Brier, has inspired me to think about innovation and strategy and digital/mobile/social experiences through the lens of the Lean Startup.

I think our lives are a series of these kinds of moments.  For every one of them, I've also been told something negative - that I'm commitment-phobic, that I 'can write, but not think', that I can give up if I want to, that I should just get a job in sales, that I should've taken the bar (I went to law school), that I'm cynical, that I push too hard or work too independently or give up too fast.  The trick, I think, is to keep people around you who you trust to be honest, who love you because of and despite your faults, to love them and trust them back, and to seek what you really want.  And if you don't know what you really want, knowing what you really DON'T want is useful, too.

Too Many White Men?

During my internet travels, I recently came across this great blog, Pretty Little Head by the planning director of Digitas New York, Farrah Bostic. Her recent post containing a list of inspiring women in technology and advertising. I've already worked with at least two people on the list and hope to work with more. Have you had the opportunity to learn from any of these women? Click here for original post.

Creatives

• Mary Beth Adduci, Creative Director, DDB Chicago
• Susana Albuquerque, Creative Director, Lowe Lisbon
• Sofia Ambrosini, Partner Creative Director, WLF Milan
• Suzanna Applebaum, ECD, Strawberryfrog
• Federica Ariagno, ECD, AUGE Milan
• Rosie Arnold, Deputy ECD, BBH London
• Vicki Azarian, Group Creative Director, OgilvyOne
• Sarah Barclay, ECD, JWT
• Kim Bartkowski, Group Creative Director & Creative Lead – Mobile Practice, Digitas
• Mariandreina Behrens, Creative Director, Vapro
• Serena di Bruno, Creative Director, 1861 United
• Katrien Bottez, Creative Director, Duval Guillaume Brussels
• Rebecca Carrasco, ECD, Colman Rasic Carrasco
• Tobi Carvana-Moore, Associate Creative Director, Matlock Advertising & PR
• Chiara Castiglioni, Creative Director, McCann Italy
• Janet Champ, Creative Director/Writer, Switzerland
• Fiona Chen, Creative Director, Ogilvy Shanghai
• Valerie Cheng, Executive Creative Director, JWT Singapore & XM-Asia
• Marian Cohen, Creative Director, Inbar Merhav Shaked Tel Aviv
• Vida Cornelious, VP Group Creative Director, GlobalHUE
• Susan Credle, CCO, Leo Burnett
• Augusta Duffey, Freelance Creative Director
• Katerina Esslin, Creative Director, Olympic DDB Athens
• Isabela Ferreira, Associate Creative Director, Energy BBDO
• Paola Figueroa, Creative Director, Ogilvy Mexico City
• Marie-Claude Garneau, Global Creative Director, DDB WW Paris
• Helene Godin, Creative Director, Sid Lee Montreal
• Alison Gragnano, Global Creative Director, Saatchi NY
• Carolyn Hadlock, Principal/Executive Creative Director, Young & Laramore
• Nancy Hartley, Joint Executive Creative Director, Sapient Nitro Brisbane/Sydney
• Frances Hatzipetrou, Creative Director, Fortune Athens
• Barbara Hernandez, Creative Director, BBDO Mexico
• Susan Hoffman, ECD, Wieden + Kennedy
• Jennifer Hu, ECD, Ogilvy Taipei
• Heather James, Director of Learning Services, Acquio Ireland
• Maria Carolina Jaso, Creative Director, ARS DDB
• Judy John, Managing Partner & Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Toronto
• Laura Jordon-Bambach, ECD, LBi London
• Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO/Chief Creative Office, Kaplan Thaler Group
• Pamela Kaplan, Creative Director, BADJAR Ogilvy Melbourne
• Kerry Keenan, Global Director Creative Content, Y&R
• Kris Kiger, SVP, Managing Director Visual Design, R/GA
• Elke Klinkhammer, Creative Director, Neue Digitale
• Tiffany Kosel, VP Creative Director, Crispin Porter + Bogusky
• Becky Kozlen, Creative Director, DDB Chicago
• Natalie Lam, ECD, OgilvyOne Shanghai
• Jodi Leo, UX & Design, The Barbarian Group
• Elspeth Lynn, ECD, Profero
• Gerry Killeen, Managing Director-Creative Services, Kaplan Thaler Group
• Amy Markley, Creative Director, Tom Dick & Harry
• Kammie McArthur, Group Creative Director, Publicis West
• Suzanne Molinaro, Deputy Head of Interactive Production, BBH
• Charlotte Moore, Creative Director/Art Director, Switzerland
• Monica Moro, ECD, McCann Madrid
• Judite Mota, ECD, Y&R Lisbon
• Mehera O’Brien, Creative Director, AKQA New York
• Eleftheria Petropoulou, Group Creative Head, McCann Athens
• Christine Pillsbury, Creative Director, Beam Interactive & Relationship Marketing
• Suzanne Pope, Creative Director, John St Toronto
• Claudia Portela, Creative Director, Y&R Lisbon
• Katja Rickert, Creative Director, Scholz & Volkmer
• Fernanda Romano, Global Creative Director – Digital & Experiential, Euro RSCG
• Consuelo Ruybal, Creative Director, Kaplan Thaler
• Mariana Sa, Global Creative Director, DM9DDB Sao Paulo
• Catherine Savard, Creative Director, Cossette Montreal
• Bibiana Segura, Creative Director, Global Link Communications
• Jennifer Shreve, Creative Director, Razorfish
• Stefania Siani, ECD, D’Adda Lorenzini Vigorelli BBDO Milan
• Liz Sivel, Creative Director, R/GA London
• Eloise Smith, Creative Director, Euro RSCG London
• Nina Thelberg, Creative Director, B-Reel Stockholm
• Marianella Torres, Creative Director, TBWA/Venezuela
• Elizabete Vaz Mena, Creative Director, Grey Lisbon
• Isbelt Venegas, Executive Creative Director, Publicis
• Gabrielle Weinman, Group Creative Director, Ignited LA

Strategists & Media Mavens

• Ingrid Bernstein, Digital Strategy Director: Experience Department Head, JWT
• Farrah Bostic, VP Group Planning Director, Digitas
• June Cohen, Executive Producer, TED Media
• Mimi Cook, Director of Creative and Brand Strategy, Mekanism
• Emma Cookson, Chairman, BBH New York
• Mel Exon, Managing Director, BBH Labs
• Amber Finlay, SVP Global Engagement Planning, Arnold Worldwide
• Robin Hafitz, Founder, Open Mind Strategy
• Brenna Hanly, Mobile Strategist/Catalyst, Mullen
• Katie Harrison, Head of Planning, BBH New York
• Sarah Hofstetter, Senior Vice President: Emerging Media & Brand Strategy, 360i
• Natasha Jakubowski, Managing Partner/Head of Innovation, Anomaly
• Kristen Maverick, Digital Strategist, BBDO
• Kate Miltner, Masters Candidate (Media & Internet Memes), London School of Economics
• Alli Mooney, Head of Trends & Insights/Marketing, Google
• Jaime Morelli, VP Account Director Media Planning, Zenith Optimedia
• Kelly Stoetzel, Content Director, TED
• Amelia Torode, Head of Digital Strategy, VCCP London
• Lindsey Weber, Social Media Lead, The Barbarian Group
• Alisa Leonard, Director of Experience Planning, iCrossing
• Judith Lewis, Head of Search, Beyond
• Constance DeCherney, Director of Strategy, iCrossing
• Shoshana Winter, SVP Marketing Strategy, iCrossing
• Shelby MacLeod, Group Director of Earned Media, The Barbarian Group
• Sarah Watson, Chief Strategy Officer, BBH New York
• Sarah Wulfeck, Director Content & Community, Beyond Consultancy
• Shelley Zalis, CEO, Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange
• Jennifer Zeszut, Social Strategist, Lithium (ex-CEO of ScoutLabs)

Creative Technologists

• Mary Flanagan, Founder, techARTS & Professor of Digital Humanities, Dartmouth University
• Tracy Fullerton, Head of Interactive Media Lab, USC
• JC Herz, Author, Joystick Nation
• Katherine Isbister, Professor/Head of Game Design Program, NYU-Poly
• Colleen Macklin, Fellow, USC
• Joanne McNeil, Sr. Editor, Rhizome
• Katie Salen, Professor, Parsons MFA
• Amanda Steinberg, Founder, Daily Worth
• Amy Stettler, VP Global Media & Engagement, Activision Blizzard
• Zeynep Tufecki, Asst. Prof of Sociology, University of Maryland

Marketing & Client Service Leaders

• Amanda Bird, Director of Marketing, Innovation Interactive (360i – IgnitionOne- Netmining)
• Susan Canavari, EVP Marketing, Digitas
• Eva Heyman, Managing Director, Digitas Health
• Lynn Lewis, EVP Global Managing Partner, Universal McCann
• Robin Koval, President, Kaplan Thaler Group
• Linda Piggot, EVP Marketing, Digitas
• Tracy Reilly, VP Group Director, Digitas
• Laila Schmutzler, Brand Director, Stag & Hare
• Stephanie Smeriglio, Executive Director Account Services, The Barbarian Group
• Andrea Sullivan, Executive Director of Client Services, Interbrand
• Joanne Zaiac, President NY Region, Digitas

Entrepreneurs

• Morra Aarons-Mele, Founder, Women Online
• Jenna Arnold, Founder, Press Play Production
• Anita Black, Co-Founder, The Magnetic Collective
• Leslie Bradshaw, Co-Founder, JESS3
• Carri Bugbee, Founder, Big Deal PR
• Diane Cook-Tench, Founding Director, VCU Brandcenter
• Kat Egan, Founder/CSO, Exopolis
• Sarah Fay, Free Agent, (ex-CEO Isobar & Aegis, ex-President Carat)
• Cindy Gallop, Founder, If We Ran the World & Make Love Not Porn
• Teresa Edleston, Co-Founder, The Magnetic Collective
• Emily Gannett, Founder, IRL Productions
• Liz Gumbinner, Founder, CoolMomPicks.com and Mom101, SVP Group Creative Director, Deutsch
• Emily Hickey, Co-Founder, Hashable
• Sara Holoubek, CEO & Founder, Luminary Labs
• Sonja Jacob, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, The Cultivated Word
• Nina Lalic, Founder, Brief Agency
• Alessandra Lariu, Co-Founder, SheSays
• Andrea Learned, Founder, Learned On LLC
• Holly Lynch, Founder, The Good Girls
• K.D. Paine, Founder, KD Paine & Assoc.
• Vivian Rosenthal, Founder/CEO, GoldRun and Tronic
• Elizabeth Talerman, CEO and Managing Partner, Nucleus Branding
• Jureeporn Thaidumrong, Owner & Creative Chairwoman, JEH United Bangkok

Advocates & Change-Makers

• Tiffany R. Warren, Chief Diversity Officer, Omnicom & Founder, ADCOLOR

Brand Marketers

• Beth Comstock, SVP/CMO, General Electric
• Rebecca Messina, VP Global Marketing Capability & Integration, Coca-Cola
• Jill Simmons, Marketing Director, The New York Times
• Julie Washington, VP & General Manager – Consumer Products, Jamba Juice
• Connie Weaver, CMO, TIAA-CREF
• Andrea Harrison, Director of Digital Engagement, Pepsi

Wisdom of a CEO

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2458" title="6a00e54ed3f13788330133f1f0ef7a970b-800wi" src="http://www.curiosity-matters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04 Thought this article in the Times about personality traits of a CEO was interesting, especially since naturally, the qualities are similar to that of an account planner. Article is re-posted in its entirety for your viewing pleasure.

Distilling the Wisdom of C.E.O.’s

By ADAM BRYANT

Published: April 16, 2011

This article was adapted from “The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons From CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed,” by Adam Bryant, author of the weekly “Corner Office” column in The New York Times. The book, published Tuesday by Times Books, analyzes the broader lessons that emerge from his interviews with more than 70 leaders.

IMAGINE 100 people working at a large company. They’re all middle managers, around 35 years old. They’re all smart. All collegial. All hard-working. They all have positive attitudes. They’re all good communicators.

So what will determine who gets the next promotion, and the one after that? Which of them, when the time comes, will get that corner office?

In other words, what does it take to lead an organization — whether it’s a sports team, a nonprofit, a start-up or a multinational corporation? What are the X factors?

Interviews I conducted with more than 70 chief executives and other leaders for Corner Office in The New York Times point to five essentials for success — qualities that most of those C.E.O.’s share and look for in people they hire.

The good news: these traits are not genetic. It’s not as if you have to be tall or left-handed. These qualities are developed through attitude, habit and discipline — factors that are within your control. They will make you stand out. They will make you a better employee, manager and leader. They will lift the trajectory of your career and speed your progress.

These aren’t theories. They come from decades of collective experience of top executives who have learned firsthand what it takes to succeed. From the corner office, they can watch others attempt a similar climb and notice the qualities that set people apart. These C.E.O.’s offered myriad lessons and insights on the art of managing and leading, but they all shared five qualities: Passionate curiosity. Battle-hardened confidence. Team smarts. A simple mind-set. Fearlessness.

What follows are excerpts from chapters on each of them.

Passionate Curiosity

Many successful chief executives are passionately curious people. It is a side of them rarely seen in the media and in investor meetings, and there is a reason for that. In business, C.E.O.’s are supposed to project confidence and breezy authority as they take an audience through their projections of steady growth. Certainty is the game face they wear. They’ve cracked the code.

But get them away from these familiar scripts, and a different side emerges. They share stories about failures and doubts and mistakes. They ask big-picture questions. They wonder why things work the way they do and whether those things can be improved upon. They want to know people’s stories, and what they do.

It’s this relentless questioning that leads entrepreneurs to spot new opportunities and helps managers understand the people who work for them, and how to get them to work together effectively. It is no coincidence that more than one executive uttered the same phrase when describing what, ultimately, is the C.E.O.’s job: “I am a student of human nature.”

The C.E.O.’s are not necessarily the smartest people in the room, but they are the best students — the letters could just as easily stand for “chief education officer.”

“You learn from everybody,” said Alan R. Mulally, the chief executive of the Ford Motor Company. “I’ve always just wanted to learn everything, to understand anybody that I was around — why they thought what they did, why they did what they did, what worked for them, what didn’t work.”

Why “passionate curiosity”? The phrase is more than the sum of its parts, which individually fall short in capturing the quality that sets these C.E.O.’s apart. There are plenty of people who are passionate, but many of their passions are focused on just one area. There are a lot of curious people in the world, but they can also be wallflowers.

But “passionate curiosity” — a phrase used by Nell Minow, the co-founder of the Corporate Library — better captures the infectious sense of fascination that some people have with everything around them.

Passionate curiosity, Ms. Minow said, “is indispensable, no matter what the job is. You want somebody who is just alert and very awake and engaged with the world and wanting to know more.”

Though chief executives are paid to have answers, their greatest contributions to their organizations may be asking the right questions. They recognize that they can’t have the answer to everything, but they can push their company in new directions and marshal the collective energy of their employees by asking the right questions.

“In business, the big prizes are found when you can ask a question that challenges the corporate orthodoxy,” said Andrew Cosslett, the C.E.O. of the InterContinental Hotels Group. “In every business I’ve worked in, there’s been a lot of cost and value locked up in things that are deemed to be ‘the way we do things around here.’ So you have to talk to people and ask them, ‘Why do you do that?’ ”

It’s an important lesson. For all the furrowed-brow seriousness that you often encounter in the business world, some of the most important advances come from asking, much like a persistent 5-year-old, the simplest questions. Why do you do that? How come it’s done this way? Is there a better way?

Battle-Hardened Confidence

Some qualities are easier to spot than others. Passionate curiosity? It’s there for all to see. There’s an energy from people who have it. Other qualities are tougher to discern, especially the ability to handle adversity. Some people embrace adversity, even relish it, and they have a track record of overcoming it. They have battle-hardened confidence.

If there were some test to find out whether a person had this quality, it would be a huge moneymaker. But people, and companies, reveal how they deal with adversity only when they are faced with potential or real failure, and the status quo is not an option.

The best predictor of behavior is past performance, and that’s why so many chief executives interview job candidates about how they dealt with failure in the past. They want to know if somebody is the kind of person who takes ownership of challenges or starts looking for excuses.

“I think hiring great people remains extremely, extremely hard,” said Jen-Hsun Huang of Nvidia. “You can never really tell how somebody deals with adversity. When you have a difficult situation, some people just take it and run with it. Some people see adversity and they cower, as talented as they are. You could ask them about the adversity they had in the past, but you never really know the intensity of that adversity.”

Many C.E.O.’s seem driven by a strong work ethic forged in adversity. As they moved up in organizations, the attitude remained the same — this is my job, and I’m going to own it. Because of that attitude, they are rewarded with more challenges and promotions.

“I like hiring people who have overcome adversity, because I believe I’ve seen in my own career that perseverance is really important,” said Nancy McKinstry, the chief executive of Wolters Kluwer, the Dutch publishing and information company. “I will ask them directly: ‘Give me an example of some adverse situation you faced, and what did you do about it, and what did you learn from it?’ The people I’ve hired who have had that ability to describe the situation have always worked out, because they’re able to sort of fall down, dust themselves off, and keep fighting the next day.”

The chief executives’ stories help bring to life a concept known as “locus of control.” In general, it refers to people’s outlooks and beliefs about what leads to success and failure in their lives. Do they tend to blame failures on factors they cannot control, or do they believe they have the ability to shape events and circumstances by making the most of what they can control? It’s a positive attitude mixed with a sense of purpose and determination. People who have it will take on, and own, any assignment thrown their way. They say those words that are music to a manager’s ears: “Got it. I’m on it.”

Team Smarts

At some point, the notion of being a team player became devalued in corporate life. It has been reduced to a truism — I work on a team, therefore I am a team player. It’s a point captured in a cartoon, by Mike Baldwin, in which an interviewer says to a job candidate: “We need a dedicated team player. How are you at toiling in obscurity?”

The most effective executives are more than team players. They understand how teams work and how to get the most out of the group. Just as some people have street smarts, others have team smarts.

Mark Pincus, the C.E.O. of the Zynga Game Network, the online gaming company, said he learned lessons about teamwork playing soccer in school. Even today, when he plays in Sunday-morning games, he said, he can spot people who would be good hires because of how they play.

“One is reliability,” he said. “There are certain people you just know are not going to make a mistake, even if the other guy’s faster than they are, or whatever.  And are you a playmaker? There are people who have this kind of intelligence, and they can make these great plays. It’s not that they’re star players, but they will get you the ball and then be where you’d expect to put it back to them. It’s like their heads are really in the game.”

Team smarts is also about having good “peripheral vision” for sensing how people react to one another, not just how they act.

George S. Barrett, the chief executive of Cardinal Health, described an example of how he assessed managers when he moved into a new role.

“We were sitting with a group of about 40 to 50 managers, and people were standing up to raise certain issues,” he recalled. “And I watched this one executive. People were riveted to him, really listening and engaged. And then this other executive addressed the group, and I watched everyone’s eyes. And their eyes went back down to their tables. It was a clear signal that said, ‘You’ve lost us.’ So sometimes you don’t know what the messages are that you’re going to get, but you have to look for them. They come from your peripheral vision.”

Companies increasingly operate through ad hoc teams. Team smarts refers to the ability to recognize the players the team needs and how to bring them together around a common goal.

“Early on, I was wowed by talent, and I was willing to set aside the idea that this person might not be a team player,” said Susan Lyne, chairman of the Gilt Groupe. “Now, somebody needs to be able to work with people — that’s No. 1 on the list. I need people who are going to be able to build a team, manage a team, recruit well and work well with their peers. The people who truly succeed in business are the ones who actually have figured out how to mobilize people who are not their direct reports.”

A Simple Mind-Set

There is a stubborn disconnect in many companies. Most senior executives want the same thing from people who present to them: be concise, get to the point, make it simple. Yet few people can deliver the simplicity that many bosses want. Instead, they mistakenly assume that the bosses will be impressed by a long PowerPoint presentation that shows how diligently they researched a topic, or that they will win over their superiors by talking more, not less.

Few things seem to get C.E.O.’s riled up more than lengthy PowerPoint presentations. It’s not the software they dislike; that’s just a tool. What irks them is the unfocused thinking that leads to an overlong slide presentation. There is wide agreement it’s a problem: “death by PowerPoint” has become a cliché.

If so many executives in positions of authority are clear about what they want, why can’t they get the people who report to them to lose the “Power” part of their presentations and simply get to the “Point”?

There are a few likely explanations. A lot of people have trouble being concise. Next time you’re in a meeting, ask somebody to give you the 10-word summary of his or her idea. Some people can do a quick bit of mental jujitsu, and they’ll summarize an idea with a “Here’s what’s important ...” or “The bottom line is ... .” Others will have trouble identifying the core point.

Another possible explanation is that a lag exists in the business world. There was a time when simply having certain information was a competitive advantage. Now, in the Internet era, most people have easy access to the same information. That puts a greater premium on the ability to synthesize, to connect dots in new ways and to ask simple, smart questions that lead to untapped opportunities.

“I’d love to teach a course called ‘The Idea,’ ” said Dany Levy, the founder of DailyCandy.com. “Which is, basically, so you want to start a company, how’s it going to work? Let’s figure it out: just a very practical plan, but not a business plan, because I feel like business plans now feel weighty and outdated. It seems, back in the day, that the longer your business plan was, the more promising it was going to be. And now, the shorter your business plan is, the more succinct and to the point it is, the better. You want people to get why your business is going to work pretty quickly.”

Steven A. Ballmer, the C.E.O. of Microsoft, said he understood the impulse in presentations to share all the underlying research that led to a conclusion. But he changed the way he runs meetings to get to the conclusion first.

“The mode of Microsoft meetings used to be: You come with something we haven’t seen in a slide deck or presentation,” he said. “You deliver the presentation. You probably take what I will call ‘the long and winding road.’ You take the listener through your path of discovery and exploration, and you arrive at a conclusion.

“I decided that’s not what I want to do anymore. I don’t think it’s efficient. So most meetings nowadays, you send me the materials and I read them in advance. And I can come in and say: ‘I’ve got the following four questions. Please don’t present the deck.’ That lets us go, whether they’ve organized it that way or not, to their recommendation. And if I have questions about the long and winding road and the data and the supporting evidence, I can ask them. But it gives us greater focus.”

Fearlessness

Are you comfortable being uncomfortable? Do you like situations where there’s no road map or compass? Do you start twitching when things are operating smoothly, and want to shake things up? Are you willing to make surprising career moves to learn new skills? Is discomfort your comfort zone?

In other words, are you fearless?

Risk-taking is often a quality associated with entrepreneurs, the kind of people who make bet-the-farm wagers on a new idea. But risk-taking doesn’t quite capture the quality that many C.E.O.’s embody and look for and encourage in others.

With the business world in seemingly endless turmoil, maintaining the status quo — even when things appear to be working well — is only going to put you behind the competition. So when chief executives talk about executives on their staffs who are fearless, there is a reverence in their voices. They wish they could bottle it and pass it out to all their employees. They’re looking for calculated and informed risk-taking, but mostly they want people to do things — and not just what they’re told to do.

“One of the things that I characterize as fearlessness is seeing an opportunity, even though things are not broken,” said Ursula M. Burns, the C.E.O. of Xerox. “Someone will say: ‘Things are good, but I’m going to destabilize them because they can be much better and should be much better. We should change this.’ The easiest thing to do is to just keep it going the way it’s going, especially if it’s not perfect but it’s not broken. But you have to be a little bit ahead of it, and you have to try to fix it well before you have to. Companies get into trouble when they get really complacent, when they settle in and say, ‘O.K., we’re doing O.K. now.’ ”

Many executives said fearlessness was one of the top qualities they’re looking for when they were interviewing job candidates.

“Specifically, in this culture I have to have people who not only can manage change but have an appetite for it,” said Mindy F. Grossman, the C.E.O. of HSN, the parent company of Home Shopping Network. “They tend to be more intellectually curious, so they don’t just have vertical climbs. I ask for those stories. I love hearing them and it gives me a real sense of the person.”

Like the other four keys to success, fearlessness is an attitude, and because attitude is one of the few things over which everyone has complete control, it is a character trait that can be developed. It can be fostered with a simple approach to taking more risks.

Chief executives advise that you will be rewarded for fearlessness, because so few people live that way and bring this attitude to work. It is risky. You may unsettle people by shaking up the status quo. But if you have the best interests of the organization in mind, you can unlock new opportunities for the company and for yourself.

These five qualities help determine who will be chosen for bigger roles and more responsibility. Those promotions will inevitably bring challenges that require learning through trial and error.

C.E.O.’s can act as mentors to speed people along that learning curve. They may not develop silver-bullet theories, but they are experts in leadership because they practice it daily. And many of them have spent years honing their leadership styles, studying what works and what doesn’t, and then teaching others.

Chief executives face criticism from many corners, and it is often deserved. But there is no arguing that they have achieved a great deal.

Through their stories, lessons and insights, they have much to offer beyond the hard numbers.

Can Psychology Help Us Understand Our Changing Relationships with Brands?

I always find it fascinating and exciting that the craft of planning requires so many different levels and ways of thinking. One must approach a brief from a psychological, creative and business perspective, to name a few. But one thing that remains constant is the focus on relationships; between the client and agency, planners and creatives, and most importantly between consumers and the brand. Max Spiegelberg points out how as advertisers, we should think about the relationship between our brand and the consumer in the same way we'd look at interpersonal relationships and note the implications.This article is re-blogged from Popsop Brand Magazine Online written by Max Spiegelberg.

You are welcome to share your thoughts on this article written by Max Spiegelberg, Brand Director at Bloom The saturation of markets, congestion of media and maturity of consumer understanding of brands has steered marketing practice in recent years beyond ‘image branding’ towards ‘relationship branding’. Loyalty is no longer simply won through passive respect. Consumers demand more.

The brand’s role today has evolved from being an object of desire to being a champion of its own philosophy. This is no easy feat for marketers. It takes time, confidence, continuity and a lot of money.

So it’s important to get it right from the start. It’s important to understand how we as consumers relate to brands and why we enjoy the relationships we have with them.

In 1997 Jennifer Aaker published the paper ‘Dimensions of Brand Personality’ in the Journal of Marketing Research. At the root of this paper, Aaker outlines a brand personality scale, mapping out 5 dimensions, or human characteristics that could be associated with brands. These are Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication and Ruggedness. This scale is often used to determine the current perceptions of a brand and to describe the desired future status of it.

This is all well and good but how do these traits strengthen a brand’s relationship with its audience? Should we profile consumer personality traits and map these against brand traits? Which characteristics are right for the brand?

These questions have led some academic marketers back to the Psychology text books to try to understand the affinity we as humans develop in our own relationships and whether this thinking can be applied to the consumer-brand relationship.

Social Psychology, put simply, is the study of how we perceive ourselves and how we interact with each other. Potentially there are some rich pickings amongst the research and models that this discipline has created.

As an example let’s look at a study of the development of interpersonal relationships. One of the most influential models in this field is proposed by psychologist, George Levinger (1983). According to his ABCDE model, the natural development of a relationship follows five stages:

1. Acquaintance: Becoming acquainted depends on a number of factors including, proximity, first impressions, attractiveness, similarities in personality, attitude, and interests and association to positive situations. Acquaintance may lead to the next stage or can continue indefinitely.

2. Build up: Beginning to trust and care about each other. Here there is a need for compatibility and filtering agents such as common background, cultural background and related interests. Compatibility will influence whether or not interaction continues.

3. Continuation: Following a mutual commitment to long-term relationships this is generally a long and relatively stable period. Continued growth and development will occur during this time.

4. Deterioration: Relationships deteriorate as a result of boredom, resentment and dissatisfaction. Individuals may communicate less and avoid self-disclosure. Loss and betrayals may take place continuing the downward spiral.

5. Ending: This marks the end of the relationship by complete termination or separation. There are some obvious parallels here with our own developing relationships with brands. Jooyoung et al (2008) point out that true brand loyalty is derived from brand credibility, attitude, strength and brand commitment, which form the basis of Levinger’s first three stages here.

There are plenty of other studies that could be investigated. For the purpose of this article I have explored one model as an example but it serves to demonstrate the potential of Social Psychology to generate interesting parallels and further develop brand models.

All of this is predicated on the assumption that brands carry human traits and that consumers interact with brands in the same way that we interact with each other. Could it be that our richer understanding of brands and more complex relationships with them justifies a closer look at the field of Social Psychology?

12 Tips for Future Miami Ad School Account Planning Boot Camp Students

I felt I was fairly well prepared for Miami Ad School's Account Planning Boot Camp but there were definitely some things I wish I had learned, done or read beforehand and during the program. Hindsight is 20/20 right? The program is fairly fast paced, so I recommend doing whatever needs to be done beforehand to prepare.1. At the very least, read [amazon_link id="0471189626" target="_blank" ]Truth, Lies and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning, by Jon Steel[/amazon_link], essentially the closest thing to an account planning textbook.

2. If you finish Truth, Lies and Advertising, read [amazon_link id="0471789763" target="_blank" ]Jon Steel's The Perfect Pitch[/amazon_link]. Developing compelling presentations and knowing how to sell the work is half the battle because in this program, winning is (almost) everything.

3. Immerse yourself in the world of advertising. What are agencies doing? Which ones are hot? Who's winning awards? What's going on in pop culture? The world of advertising moves at lightening speed and you won't have time to catch up while your knee deep in school, so it's best to get an understanding of who the players are before the program starts.

4. Have a vague idea of who you want to work for and where when you graduate, then find a Miami Ad School grad via LinkedIn. You're at a well recognized school within the planning community and now it's time to start a conversation with the places you want to work for. Timing is everything, so start getting to know them now. Hopefully when there's an opening, you'll be the first person they call.

5. Don't just learn PowerPoint - master it. Finding human truths and suggesting an intelligent, unique strategy is par the course, but presenting your case in a pretty little package - that's icing on the cake.

6. Always get every single file related to your weekly assignment; PSD, InDesign, Jpg, or PPT. It's much easier to get this now when you're in the same room as your creatives than at the end of the quarter when everyone is pulling all nighters. And it's very likely that you'll revise the work at some point in the portfolio process.

7. Genuinely respect your creatives and include them in the strategy process. By involving them from the beginning, everyone will be on board with the strategy and less likely to change it the day of the presentation. Your creatives have been at Miami Ad School for a year, even taking strategy classes. It's likely they'll take your strategy to the next level and you'll learn from them.

8. Look at examples of previous portfolios midway through your program and find graduate portfolios online. Get a sense of what works and what doesn't and start formulating what your portfolio will look like. Because suddenly it will be the end of the program and you will only have 5 days to compile the first draft of one of your most important program outputs.

9. When finally creating your portfolio, ask your creatives for advice. Even their simple and quick suggestions regarding what font or colors work together can take the design of your portfolio in the right direction. Most are like human Google searches, able to name a font on sight.

10. Go to every single lecture, weekend workshop and class because, hey, you might learn something. Actually, don't just attend - be on your A Game. Avoid the temptation to cope with the pressure through excessive partying and remember that learning and excelling is why you put your life on hold, moved to another city and shelled out a decent amount of dough for, to do.

11. Don't be shy about contacting your weekend workshop teachers or even arranging coffee while they're teaching your class. You have their undivided attention now but all that may change when they go back to their day jobs - jobs that usually involve running an entire account planning department.

12. And finally... don't forget to find a balance between work and play. This is a very unique experience to meet intelligent, interesting people from all around the world. Everyone comes from a different background and has different strengths so listen to your classmates and learn from them. If you're an anti-social jerk who doesn't get to know your fellow classmates, works 24-7 and doesn't know how to have fun, you're not going to make the connections that could eventually lead to jobs. In fact, you're missing out on a huge part of what the school is about; the Miami Ad School network and the unique experience itself. So pop open a beer or pick up a ping pong paddle, enjoy the moment and make a connection!

The World's Most Innovative Companies 2011

So now that you have the skills and strategies to getting a job, your "karmatic" balance is in check, have refined your intuitive problem solving abilities, and have a strong sense of where the world is headed, it's time you simplify your message and sell yourself with passion to get a job at one of these companies:Fast Company has just released their report on The World's Most Innovative Companies 2011. See the top ten here and click here for the rest of the article.

 

The World'sMost Innovative Companies 2011

Rank	Name	Last Year
01 /	APPLEFor dominating the business landscape, in 101 ways	3
02 /	TWITTERFor five years of explosive growth that have redefined communication	50
03 /	FACEBOOKFor 600 million users, despite Hollywood	1
04 /	NISSANFor creating the Leaf, the first mass- market all- electric car	–
05 /	GROUPONFor reinvigorating retail -- and turning down $6 billion.	–
06 /	GOOGLEFor instantly upgrading the search experience	4
07 /	DAWNING INFORMATION INDUSTRYFor building the world's fastest supercomputer	–
08 /	NETFLIXFor streaming itself into a $9 billion powerhouse (and crushing Blockbuster)	12
09 /	ZYNGAFor being the $500 million alpha dog of social gaming
10 /	EPOCRATESFor giving doctors and nurses instant drug reference

Inpsired by Design

On any given day, I'm overwhelmingly inspired by Design Sponge. Why not take something slightly worn and make it beautiful? See full article here.

Or take something generic and make it your own.

Book Recommendations

I recently set up a feature on the right side of my blog that lists book recommendations for people interested in account planning. Honestly, I would love to finally monetize this blog and had very little luck with Google Adsense on my last blog Wandering & Pondering. I mean let's be honest - unless it's for something super duper cool that you're looking for at this very moment, you're not going to click on an ad. And since I write about advertising and strategy, I can't imagine what physical products Adsense could recommend that my readers would want.So, I'm going to try Amazon Affiliates. The truth is, you're going to buy a product via Amazon anyway so why not click on my recommendations. Now the extra exciting part is that because I don't want to lose your trust as a reader, I'm not going to recommend a book or a product that is crap. Okay, books are open to interpretation but you get the idea. I may not have worked as an account planner yet, but over the course of 10 weeks in San Francisco, I took copious notes and got book recommendations from "industry heros," i.e. senior level account strategists from around the country at agencies such as Grey New York, Goodby, Silverstein, BBDO, Venables Bell & Partners and a slew of others.

As someone on a limited budget, I'm slightly obsessive when it comes to researching big electronic purchases and for every $150+ product purchase, there's probably an excel chart somewhere on my computer weighing the pros and cons of one product vs. another. And I have a knack for meeting new people from all different backgrounds and occupations, allowing me to expand my perspective and absorb a wide range of information like a sponge.

That being said, I'm going to start with my first recommendation that has nothing to do with advertising and everything to do with simple curiosity - a book I'm reading now, [amazon_link id="184809101X" target="_blank" ]The Monuments of Men[/amazon_link]. The book chronicles a special task force within the American Army during the end of World War II whose mission is to save monuments and priceless art from both the Nazis and destructive powers of war. Enjoy!

A Quick Lesson in Karma

Often times I get into debates with people about the validity of karma. My response is that logically, even if you don't believe in karma, you're better off following its principals because if it does exist, than you're shit out of luck. I do try to be the giver rather than the taker in situations that allow me to do so, i.e. with tipping, helping friends out, etc. And in many cases, I have very generous friends and especially parents who have helped me out when needed. So I may not directly be able to give back to the friend that has helped me in the same way, but I have helped another friend thus continuing some sort of imaginary karma thread or paying it forward.

Yesterday, I was sitting in a cafe I've enjoyed working in many times when I overheard a man, who I thought was the owner, discussing how he wanted to get more involved in social media. After sitting there listening to their conversation for 5 minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore and offered to help him set up his Twitter, explain FourSquare (especially since I was the mayor of his cafe), and utilize the services. I spent the next 2 hours setting up his accounts, creating clever Check In specials (check into Caffe Roma) and generally enjoying his company and those around him. I didn't expect anything in return and enjoyed using my knowledge on social media to help a great coffee shop do more business.

That evening, a friend made me a delicious dinner complete with Mexican pudding! Today, I made a few great connections via Twitter and overall.. seems like things are looking on the up & up as far as jobs go. And so I ask you, do you believe in karma?

TED Talk: Simon Sinek - How Great Leaders Inspire Action

After reading a hilarious and somewhat accurate critique of TED Talks via Stuff White People Like (thanks P!), I had trouble listening to this talk, emailed to me by someone at Miami Ad School, without wanting to roll my eyes. And then a minute in, I realized I had already heard the talk via podcast on my iPhone. The memories of me walking through the beautiful, tree lined streets of the Manhattan's East 60's in late Spring, while on the way to the Apple store came flooding back. Yes, the irony is not lost on me.Essentially, he's describing the type of emotional connection that brands and leaders want to create with their consumers. As account planners, it's our job to find the insight that leads to that connection. About 30 years ago, Bill Bernbach had a similar insight:

“At the heart of an effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature, what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action, even though his language so often camouflages what really motivates him. For if you know these things about (a) man you can touch him at the core of his being."

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

What brands do you connect with? Why?