High Visibility Cap-Neon Orange

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By Stephanie Young, Vice President BNI Success Connection

What are you passionate enough to fight for?  Do you have what it takes to stay the course?  My first inclination when asked to write this BlogSpot was to turn tail and run in the other direction.  Why, you ask? Here’s why, because I have never been asked to write a darn thing before and how could my director possibly know that I had it in me to do this? She does however, have an uncanny way or sense of seeing past the hard shell of insecurity to the soft, sweet, gooey center that represents triumph in the end.  Today, during our monthly leadership team meeting, our team was reflecting on the chapter’s current condition and how we might move into a new season of growth. Matter of fact, during our exchange, I threw out the old cliché coined by Mark Twain (which has become the title of this piece) “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” After hearing this, it prompted my director to ask me (yikes!) to write a blog around the saying.

This brings me back again to the question, “What are you passionate enough to fight for?” What the heck is so important in life that you will risk embarrassing yourself for, being transparent for, risking fear, shame, or humiliation for?

Depending on your sphere of influence or circle of friends, the prior comments may not even be an issue for you.  You may be so secure with yourself that you have no fear of rejection, have never felt fear or humiliation, but even for you; the question that still needs an answer is “What are you passionate enough to fight for?” Or better yet, stick your neck out for? Are you the tough big dog that’s all bark or are you the scruffy little fella who wants to take on the world!  I say, be the scruffy little fella.  While onlookers are saying “awwww, look at the scruffy little fella, how cute!” you’ve got your teeth in the big dog’s tushie and you’ve overtaken him (metaphorically speaking, of course).  Do you, big dog, have the tenacity of the little dog? Are you willing to give of your time, energy and resources to help other little dogs (and big dogs) move forward and become successful in their endeavors no matter what? There are some that will take up the little dog mantle. They will help them conquer their fear of speaking in front of others, they will become selfless, and they will want to share in the greater good. They will become “passionate” about helping others in any way they can. They will participate in activities without fear of looking silly.

What does all this have to do with BNI?
BNI is an organization for the person that’s willing to fight through the visibility stage, fight their way through the credibility stage, all while managing to learn about other members and their businesses. They bite off and give big referrals and expect nothing in return. They participate in chapter growth. They are ambitious, welcome challenges and offer solutions. In turn, they are victorious (and prosperous)!

Thea Westra (Forward Steps) says: “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. When you are seeking to bring big plans to fruition, it is important with whom you regularly associate. Hang out with friends who are like-minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly, be that kind of a friend for your friends”. (Birds of a feather? … another topic for another time?)
So…How did I do?

Stephanie Young of Ecoquest International is a proud member of BNI Success Connection. She can be reached at 213 221-0811 pr via email at: singzhzprzs@live.com

“Nurture vs. Nature. Does it really matter anymore?”

‘What’s a femme?’

It seems this is a question I get asked far too much when trying to describe myself to people. You see, my description goes along the lines of: ‘Hi, I’m a kinky genderqueer femme dyke and feminist who sometimes doubts herself and who, majority of the time, is invisible. How are you?’

As soon as I hit the word “genderqueer” I see heads turn, but they never ask what that word means, instead it’s always: ‘What’s a femme?’

The irony is that they’re a femme, a straight femme of course, but still a femme. Then when I do explain what it is I’m met with a pause and then the famous…

‘But you’re gay.’

CUT!

That’s a wrap.

I can’t take anymore.

Being a femme in a small homophobic community where the closest LGBT association I have is a two-hour drive away is something that requires a lot of talking. I’m almost at the stage where I’m going to write a report on it and hand it around the next time someone asks me, ‘What does _____ mean?’

But aside from my hometown I’ve found that in the LGBT community that I have been apart of, there is really no such thing as butch or femme here. This might be because majority of them are still finding their gender or are still trying to work out if they really are gay, but even then, in a community that I’ve chosen, I feel out of step.

My invisibility comes not from not being seen as “gay” or a “dyke” but because this community I associate with is young andfrom the fact that there is no real gender classification here. A lot of them have no idea what it means if I were to throw out the word “cisgender” and even the word “genderqueer” creates many raised eyebrows.

So I can’t adequately write about femme invisibility from the point of view as “femme” being particularly or not particularly acknowledged as a gender choice (for me, anyway). But I can say how a lack of knowledge can perhaps make you feel even more invisible. One day, maybe when those tomboys find their inner butch or when those sullen looking androgynous girls fit their feet back into those heels that I can just see are sitting in their closest; maybe then I can complain about my invisibility, but not now.

So, a little ragged and a little off-topic, but I think it has some zazz to it.

- Cal.

P.S. Don’t ask me what “zazz” means because I sure as hell don’t know.

P.P.S. This is my warped reply to the following posts:

http://alphafemme.net/2009/11/17/femme-invisibility/

http://www.sugarbutch.net/2009/11/on-femme-invisibility/

http://www.canihelpyousir.com/?p=605

Standing tall;

Stalked.

Did you hear that?

The deaf call…

Blinded.

Found a cool site with lots of images from HB in Ireland.

WIBBLY WOBBLY WONDER

For nearly one year, we keep hearing the term recession. The fundamental question is whether it’s over or not. Not many of us are looking how to manage our supply chains during this period, trying to do the best under these circumstances.

Last week I was in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and had the opportunity to discuss this subject with several Asian CIO’s. Most of them had gone through a rough year where budgets have been cut due to reduced business. Top of their agenda were three objectives, reduce costs, increase revenues (which in a downturn means taking market share away from the competition) and mitigate risk.

As Martin Christopher from Cranfield pointed out a number of years ago, “Companies are no longer competing with companies, but supply chains with supply chains”. Looking at the end-to-end supply chain is critical to address those three objectives. I argued companies need four key elements to truly operate an effective supply chain: visibility, responsiveness, collaboration, and risk management. I’d like to address these points in a series of blogs I hope to post over the next couple weeks, but before that I’d like to emphasis the importance of operating as an integrated supply chain.

Let me take a practical example. The Japanese invented the concept of “lean”, and worked a lot at making their factories and operations lean. But in their traditional, collaborative manner, they worked at the same time to help their suppliers and partners to also become lean. While having the end-to-end supply chain in mind, they also look at developing a collaborative relationship with their partners. The whole supply chain quickly became lean, despite the fact each company was focused on its own operations. I believe this to be one of the key reasons of the success of companies such as Toyota and others.

European and American companies have taken a different approach. Yes they have been working hard at making their factories and operations lean. They learned all about it from the book “The Machine that changed the World”,  but they often became lean through pushing the “waste” up and down the supply chain. Unfortunately, we, as the end consumer have to pay for the waste, regardless of where that waste is along the supply chain. The lack of close relationships with their suppliers, and of visibility of what happens across the supply chain, did not allow them to spot the problem. They keep asking themselves why they cannot make a given product at the same price point as their Japanese counterparts. To solve the problem, they outsource manufacturing to Asia, to take advantage of the lower labour costs, but do not realize they have not solved the real problem. As manufacturing costs increase in Asia, they will be confronted with the same issue, except if they take notice, and change their approach.

I used this argument in the discussion and was actually surprised how much agreement I got from the audience. To me this sounds obvious, but it seems many companies have not thought about it, nor have they looked at how they could address the issue and improve their competitiveness.

In the next post I will discuss the importance of a win-win collaboration for the success of the relationship.

In one of my previous posts, I referred to the WWF report “The potential global CO2 reductions from ICT use”. Last week I had the opportunity to talk to one of my colleagues who collaborated with the WWF in this report, and we started a very interesting discussion on the use of IT to reduce companies’ effect on the environment.

IT consumes 2% of the world energy, and although it is important to reduce that one, there are the other 98% and according to the report, 37% comes directly or indirectly from the industry. Our topic of discussion turned around how we could use IT to help reduce this amount. There are three clear areas that we came up with, first, the manufacturing process itself, second transportation and third the use and recycling of the product.

I remembered a conversation a couple years ago where somebody told me a CPU chip would go two or three times around the world prior to being delivered as part of a computer at your doorstep. Frankly, is that really needed? Could we use simulation software to optimize the manufacturing process, ensuring that, while maintaining the lowest possible cost, we can reduce the CO2 emissions. To do this however, we would need information from the players in our Supply Chain to understand why things are done the way they are. We will probably realize that many of the situations are historically grown and that there is no real rational for them. We will encounter the “we’ve always done it that way” syndrome. Analysing things, understand what makes sense and what not, not only reduces the environmental impact but often also cost. So two reasons for taking the time to gather the data, analyse it and improve.

 Many of our factories are automated today, and they use MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) to understand and optimize their operations. But those systems do not take environmental concerns into account as they exist today. This is another area we should work on.

As part of research for a greener IT, HPLabs has focused on effective cooling methods for computers and racks. In doing so, they managed to reduce the energy usage by up to 40%.  Now, many manufacturing processes require to be cooled. Could some of the approaches developed by HPLabs being used for those processes? Although there is no clear answer today, it’s worth asking the question and looking at potential opportunities for piloting. Now, you may argue this has little to do with IT directly, and you are right. However, if it helps, that’s the most important isn’t it.

At HP we are using a design for the environment (DFE) approach in product development, identifying the actual implications of the product under development to the environment. Simulations during the process allow us to anticipate future consumption and other key data items. Here again, IT can help understand what is required to develop a loc carbon product.

I realize I have only scratched the surface here, but am looking at your inputs and ideas. This subject will be core and center in conversations between manufacturers in the near future, so let’s prepare ourselves.

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, for months, really, and then when G posted about it recently it was just the shove I needed to actually sit down and write it.

There are so many layers of femme (in)visibility to me. There’s how we’re seen (or not) by straight people, by society at large. There’s how we’re seen (or not) by fellow queers. There’s how we’re seen by fellow dykes. And how we’re seen by each other. And of course, there’s how we see ourselves. And in all of this, there’s the personal, and there’s the political.

But I don’t really know how to write about it except in terms of my own experience. And of course, my experience isn’t representative of anything except itself. But I think there are probably parallels and similarities to and “mmhmm”s and head nods from other femme-identified folks out there.

It starts with not being able to see myself. That must be at the very root of it. As a little girl, I loved to play house, and I always wanted to be the mom. I loved to play school and wanted to be the teacher. I loved tea parties and dollhouses and dresses and patent leather shoes, I loved American Girl dolls and dress-up and imagining my future wedding. I was obsessed with Queen Elizabeth II as a little girl (I had a book about her written by her nanny) and with figure skaters and ballerinas. I fit snugly into my gender box. No questions asked.

Come junior high, I decided to start having crushes on the boys in my classes. Each year on the first day of school, I would scan homeroom for that year’s candidates. I carefully weighed my options, and within 20 minutes or so had selected the object of my external focus for the year. Seventh grade: Dillon. Eighth grade: Ryan. Ninth grade: Jason. In tenth grade I started dating, but never really cared much for the guys. In fact I think I was somewhat scared of them. Touching them, kissing them, doing stuff with them made me feel weird and nervous.

I’m not going to go over my whole coming out story here, but suffice it to say it took me quite a long time to come out to myself. I started questioning that year, tenth grade. I had a friend who I was in love with, but I couldn’t quite believe it. There was no way I was gay. It just didn’t make sense. I was a girl. I was supposed to like boys. That was that.

Understanding of sexuality is so, so so tied up with gender. That’s really what makes femmes so invisible. To ourselves as well as to others. There often aren’t any outward signs that we digress from the norm. They’re all inward. And society tells us (all of us, not just femmes) all the time that the inward things? Are figments of our imagination. Depression, addiction, anxiety, sexual orientation — it’s fabricated, it’s (no pun intended) just in our minds. You can’t get an MRI that says “whoops, there’s some depression in there, we’ll have to medicate you” or a pap smear that tells you “yep, yer gay alright, no two ways about it.” So unless you look different, unless there’s some physical proof of it (whatever it is), there’s plenty of room for people to doubt you. And judge you. And feel justified in doubting and judging. Because all that stuff? It’s in your mind. So I can tell you you’re wrong.

That’s what I, as a femme, was up against. Convincing myself that, actually, no, I’m right. That gut feeling that made me ask my mom, as an 11-year-old, whether it was normal to like other girls? That was right. Even though I liked ruffles and paper dolls and the Sound of Music. It took me so. long. to learn how to trust that feeling. I guess I’m still learning, really. In my first years after coming out for good, I went through all kinds of identity shifts, trying to settle on the self-expression that felt right for me. I just didn’t think it could be that I was both totally feminine and gay. I thought I was just fooling myself that I was gay. To be honest, I sometimes still do have those moments of doubt. “How is it possible that I’m gay?“

And, dude, I’m gay. I fuckin’ love pussy. The best compliment from mi’lady is when she looks at me in wonder, after a good fuck, and says, “you’re so gay.”

In fact, I think that’s probably the best compliment from anyone. Even people who mean it as an insult. To be recognized as gay makes me puff out my chest and stand up straighter. Really. I just want to belong here. I want people to know that I’m a member of the club. Sometimes, I do get some sort of signal, a wink maybe, and I just about die, every time. Especially when it’s the older, butch lesbians, in their late 30s and 40s. A wink from them is so gratifying. Not transgressive, not presumptuous, not inappropriate. Affirming.

I’ve spent up enough time and energy proving myself to myself, you know? I don’t have much leftover to try to prove anything to anyone else. So I don’t try, not much anyway. And for the most part, I don’t let the invisibility get to me. But those moments of visibility are all the more precious because of it.

Despite multiple studies that show that there is no difference between how fat people eat and how thin people eat, society still continues to vastly overestimate what fat people eat, and underestimate what thin people eat. Fat people are assumed to all be over-eaters, and thin people are assumed to be “healthy eaters.” (Unless they’re considered too thin, in which they’re assumed to be anorexic). And of course, this scrutiny is far more pronounced for women, but men experience it too.

When I was meeting a boyfriend’s parents for the first time, they took us out for Chinese food and we chose several dishes that we all shared family style. Later this boyfriend told me that his mother had asked him about my weight, saying that she was surprised to see that I hadn’t eaten “too much” at dinner, and wondered if I had another health problem causing me to be fat. It felt like quite a violation to me, because the relationship was still relatively new, and it was the first time I had met his parents. Why were my habits being scrutinized? Why was my body being discussed without me present? What business of hers was my medical history, only months after meeting him and hours after meeting her?

I’m used to people noticing what I eat. In some cases, it’s because I have some strange eating habits. I spent three years in a graduate theological program and eating during class or breaks was very common with the three-hour classes. Once I was in a classroom with 3 or 4 other students waiting for class to start, finishing up my lunch. I took out half a cucumber and began eating it, and almost like an SNL skit, everyone stopped talking and looked right at me, transfixed on me chomping into a cucumber like an apple. I admitted to having some quirky eating habits, and we all laughed about it. Another time, the Methodist students were having an advising session with our liturgical coordinator, and I bit into a whole kiwi in the same way, and the professor was so surprised to see me do it that she sputtered a bit and lost her train of thought. And it’s not just the food I eat (and the way I eat it) that people notice—I have a set of these cool wrap-n-mat sandwich wraps that people often notice for how convenient (as soon as you open it it turns into a lunch mat!) and environmentally friendly they are.

It’s these kind of instances of people noticing what I eat that don’t bother me. I realize my penchant for eating kiwi and cucumber this way is strange. And I like it when people say, “hey where did you get those things?” because if they decide to buy a couple wrap-n-mats, that’s less zip-lock bags in the landfill.

But there were other times I didn’t appreciate being noticed for what I was eating. The example of my boyfriend’s mother making judgments about my food intake just because of my body size was by no means an isolated instance, though often it’s not so blatant. I took an evening class one quarter that went from 5:45-8:35, and my normal dinner time is between 6:30-7. So I would usually bring some substantial food—a cold cut or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some yogurt, some carrots or celery, maybe an apple or a baggie of whole wheat goldfish crackers (why do the whole wheat ones taste SO much better??). On the last day of class, I had been rushing to finish my final paper, so on the way to class I stopped and bought a bean and rice wrap and a chocolate muffin at the bookstore. I was eating the food in the hallway outside the classroom when the professor walked by. I had finished the wrap so all I was eating was the muffin, and he gave it—and me—a “look.” He didn’t say anything, but trust me, I’ve lived 28 years, and in 22 of which I realized I was fat, and I know that look.

Another professor, who would list “overweight” as a “symptom” when we were practicing diagnosis of mental illnesses in case studies (it was a counseling course) would always notice when I bought a brownie from the cafe as a mid-morning snack. There were times I bought yogurt and granola, or tea and banana bread, but whenever I bought a brownie, he would give it a “look.” The same one the other professor gave me when I was eating a chocolate muffin.

This irritates the hell out of me. Not only does it irritate the hell out of me to have my food choices scrutinized and judged simply because I’m fat, I also hate being treated as the “stereotypical fat person” rather than as “Katie.” It is dehumanizing and extremely frustrating, because it feels like a wall that has to be torn down for people to get to know the real me. This doesn’t matter so much with strangers, but it does matter with professors responsible for grading my assignments and potential in-laws who may be family someday.

This morning I’ve been wondering: When we judge food choices of others, what are the theological implications of that? Usually when thinking about food and theology, the first thing that comes to my mind is how Jesus referred to himself as the bread of life; he used bread to symbolize his body in the last supper. Food here is used as an example of something that is nourishing, life-sustaining. Jesus compares himself to food, making himself the spiritual equivalent—while we eat actual food to nourish and sustain our bodies, God becomes our spiritually nourishing and life-sustaining “food.”

Additionally, throughout the Bible we see folks eating in community with each other, with the focus on relationship with one another. It’s the same thing when we get together for church potlucks or family dinners or make a lunch date with a friend—the act of eating together is a vehicle for the strengthening of relationships, not to police the details of what and how much our meal companions are eating.

There is something so fundamental, so primal, about the act of eating. When it is violated on a regular basis, sometimes daily or even hourly, by people with whom we are trying to build relationships, it really tears at the fabric of those relationships themselves. How can I have any trust in a person who can’t get over the fact that I’m a fat woman eating a brownie in public (oh the horror!)? How can I have any trust in a person who passive-aggressively whispers about my eating habits to others? This may seem like it’s not a big deal, because eating is such a mundane, everyday occurrence. But I think it’s the opposite; it’s an even bigger deal because eating is such a fundamental part of our life. It serves so many functions, not least of which is survival, and in a close second, nurturing and sustaining relationships with one another.

There’s no easy answer here, especially because it is so hard to respond to passive-aggressive behavior (the “looks” or when people talk about us rather than to us). But while we may not be able to confront the passive-aggressive behavior, we can confront more blatant food-based shaming, and we can also take refuge in the fact that we have the truth on our side. Nothing about being fat itself should limit our food choices, and all of us as sentient persons ultimately do have the right to make choices about something as fundamental and necessary as eating without being judged and violated by those we should be able to trust.

I am already back so soon because I came across this article. Well, I havn’t actually read the article (only parts of it) because the argument is so old. Check it out (oh, and while we’re at it I will probably add quite a number of links to afterellen.com because I spend a lot of time there):

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/stuntdouble/the-battle-wages-on-fake-lesbians-liberated-or-lame

So, the argument is this: are women who pretend they are lesbians and go around kissing (and what-not) cool or absurd? Hm, I am undecided. I remember that I loved the smooch Madonna and Britney shared on the MTV Awards… I actually bought an issue of BILD Zeitung and that’s not something I have ever done before or will ever do again (you have to be German to understand that). And I love the picture of Drew and Ellen (Page, I guess you have to add her last name just so you would not confuse her with that other Ellen).

But I also remember how very embarrassing it was when I went out with two (straight) friends once and they actually started kissing (and only after half a cocktail, and we were sitting at the bar, and they thought they were doing it for my benefit, none the less). Well, after some seconds I decided not to be embarrassed and just enjoy the show. But it was queer (pun intended).

So, is it okay when celebs do it just to get the visibility in? Or is it lame whoever does it? Or is it sort of sexy, so all you straight girls get on with it? Or should we just let people do what they feel like?

Usually, I would go with that last argument. I guess, it is the why that bothers us so much. When you just kiss a girl to turn on guys it seems to defeat the purpose. If you do it because you are drunk and always wanted to do it (just to do it) there really is no harm (unless the girl you are doing it with would like to do it when you are sober as well, and that could lead to another drama altogether). When you do it because you want to kiss this girl because she is so cute go for it (just don’t be too disappointed if she is “not that way”).

I loved the video and it completely grossed me out when the lesbian kissed the gay guy… but it cracked me up, too.

How many cars drive by every day and do you ever find yourself asking why they haven’t stopped in? What do you have to do — run out into the street and flag them down? Well, maybe now is the time to raise your visibility and drive some traffic.

Of course a large marketing budget is always nice but if that is not the situation you find yourself in, banners can offer huge rewards in raising visibility, targeting a certain audience, and providing momentum for your marketing plan. The great thing is, banners are also inexpensive.

Normally banners are used for short term promotions and tie directly into your marketing plan. They are usually focused on a particular message and are effective in driving immediate traffic to your business and raises overall visibility. Whether it is to promote a clearance sale or temporarily used while you are awaiting your permanent sign to be made, they are a cost effective short term solution.

There are basically two different types of banners. Vinyl banners and digital print banners. Because the cost of digital printing has come down over the past few years, a full color banner is no longer cost prohibitive. In fact, the digital banner is often a better return on your investment.

The banner itself is made of a vinyl material. Depending on your message as to which type is best. For simple banners with straight text, using vinyl is the best direct approach. For more complex banners, full color graphics, and even photographs, digitally printing them provides a cost effective solution.

Other options may include whether to have the banner hemmed. Hemmed banners do last longer for they do no tear as easily and hemming is absolutely necessary for some applications. There are also some people who mount their banner to a frame in order to extend its life. Just remember that banners are not long term solutions for signage, so use them short term to provide impact and to send a specific message.

Right now is the time to pull together your marketing plan and raise your company’s visibility through signage. Check out our super deal of the month!

Found out today that Nanocolors blog was mentionned in a June 2009 document entitled “Identified stakeholders and their interests in the field of HSE impacts of nanomaterials – month 12 update report” released by NanoImpactNet, a European network on the health and environmental impact of nanomaterials. Along with close to 50 other websites, Nanocolors is mentionned in the 5th part, “Continuing contact, communication and networking with stakeholders” for a post presenting NanoImpactNet published in February 2009.

Scott Ginsberg, Guest Author –

1. What are you doing to become even more visible?

Anonymity is the adversary of success.

I wear a name tag 24-7. In fact, today is my 9-year anniversary. I literally have zero anonymity whatsoever. (Except on Halloween, when I change my name tag as part of my costume.) Other than that, anyone who sees me at any given moment can say to herself, “Well, I guess his name is Scott…”

Now, I’m not suggesting you do the same. In fact, I strongly suggest you DO NOT wear a name tag 24-7. What I AM suggesting is that you consider the adverse relationship between anonymity and profitability. And maybe a good start would be to throw away your marketing plan and begin writing a visibility plan. Because it’s NOT who you know. It’s NOT who knows you. It’s whose life is significantly because they know you.

2. How can you turn your unique personality into a marketing weapon?

Branding is the inevitability of identity.

It’s got nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with the natural extension of your core selfhood. The best, highest version of yourself – paired with the way other people experience themselves in relation TO you.

That’s branding. And it was born about five thousand years before those sleazy advertising jerks starting brainwashing you. Read The Gita and The Tao De Ching. If that’s not branding I don’t know what is.

3. Is your business a friend of simplicity?

Eloquence is the byproduct of simple.

Complexity generates contemplation, and contemplation kills sales. On the other hand, simplicity induces relaxation, and relaxed customers buy. It’s your choice. Sure, it takes more time, energy and courage to create and deliver something simple.

But isn’t it all worth it when your idea is SO simple that a kindergartner runs home from school to tell their parents about it? Stop creating riddles that take too long for impatient customers to solve.

4. Are you drowning in a sea of sameness?

Failure is the destiny of boring.

Nobody buys boring. Not any more. There are too many choices and too little time. So, there’s a direction correlation between how successful you are and how boring you are. Your challenge is to become the most interesting person you know. Which isn’t just some vague platitude – you can literally increase your level of interestingness.

Try this: Amuse people or lose people. Choreograph attention. Build curiosity and expectation into everything you do. Position yourself so, moment-to-moment; people want to see what happens next. And finally, be abnormal, yet relevant to humanity. Remember: If you want to maximize noticeability and spreadability, you need to create a widening circle of interest around it.

5. Are you talking your ideas into the ground when you should be building your ideas into the sky?

Hype is the camouflage of quality.

I used to work in the promotions department for a radio station in St. Louis. And I’ll never forget what my boss told me on the first day of work. “When we record a spot for a new movie release, here’s the rule: The more promotional stuff the production company sends us, the crappier the movie probably is.”

He was right. Box office bombs like K-PAX, Corky Romano and Freddy Got Fingered sent our station truckloads of key chains, t-shirts, posters and other worththless hype. They were compensation for quality. On the other hand, cinematic classics like Memento, Donnie Darko and The Royal Tannenbaums didn’t send a thing. Not even a press release. The quality of those movies spoke for itself.

6. What is your plan for reaching the world with your unique message?

Platform is the artifact of attraction.

While a resume is what you’ve already accomplished, a platform is what you’re currently accomplishing. Think that makes it more relevant than some piece of paper? You bet. Interestingly, the geological definition of the term platform is: “The ancient, stable, interior layer of a continental craton composed of igneous or metamorphic rocks.”

OK. Let’s unpack that scientific idea as it pertains to your Thought Leadership world:

(1) Ancient, meaning long-term viability, of your expertise, that is.

(2) Stable, meaning a solid foundation of value, which refers to your body of work.

(3) Interior, meaning deriving from your core, aka, speaking your truth in whatever you publish.

(4) Layers, meaning multiple levels of content, which denotes intellectual diversity and depth.

(5) Igneous, meaning produced under conditions involving intense heat, i.e., your unique philosophy is fueled by passion and fire.

(6) Metamorphic, meaning specific shape or form to your thoughts, which means you’ve taken a side, picked a lane and put a stake in the ground.

That’s a platform. And without it, the media won’t seek you out. Without a platform, Google won’t develop a crush on you. Without a platform, unsolicited referrals won’t make their way to you. Without a platform, your expertise won’t be validated. Without a platform, your credibility won’t be authenticated. And without a platform, your following won’t grow exponentially. Start building today.

7. Are you a fad or a movement?

Sticky is the start of spreadable.

But that doesn’t mean it’s enough. Sticky doesn’t mean viable and shtick doesn’t mean substance. Sticky literally means “adhesive,” whereas spreadable means, “to stretch out and send in various directions.” Your mission is to prove to people that you’re worth hanging in there for. That their long-term investment in you will pay dividends eventually.

As George Carlin reminded us, “You want people to know the accumulated record, not just a spotty shot.” Otherwise you’ll be dismissed as inherently remarkable, yet ultimately inconsequential.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Does your brand pass The Ginsberg Test?

Copyright © 2009 – Scott Ginsberg. Scott is an Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur. He’s “That Guy with the Name Tag. Visit his BLOG.