Success in a Recession

Can you gauge the economy by the success of a popcorn stand?

I live in Las Vegas. Hit hard by the recession – and that turnaround the press talks about – well it’s really slow to appear.

So yesterday, as I was driving by a strip mall – which I have driven by hundreds of times – I decided to stop at the little intriguing shop I had seen on the sign. You know the kind of sign – listing the dozen or so shops that are…hopefully still open.

Well, there’s this shop, Popcorn Girl, listed. I thought – how can anyone make a living selling popcorn? Then a banner went up on the building over the shop – Now Open Sundays. What?

I checked it out. Amazing! It was super busy and filled with fresh popcorn in flavors I’ve never imagined. Like Loaded Baked Potato, Dill Pickle and Puppy Chow. Okay... Plus old fashioned candy – like Big Hunk, Bit ‘o Honey, and candy necklaces – the things I loved as a kid. 

Awesome friendly service, product tasting, all kinds of special sports-related and seasonal packaging. Just your basic wonderland of carbs. And did I say the aroma alone could sell the product? Oh, yeah, they also make killer fudge. Fresh, melt-in-your-mouth stuff.

Call me old fashioned – I bought caramel corn – that was still warm. You have no idea…

Where am I going with this?

Take a product that everyone can relate to, plan, put in the work, provide great customer service, and manage well.

And they opened a second location. You can succeed in a recession.

Check it out, order some popcorn.

Here’s an article about Popcorn Girl.

I'll be back to work tomorrow!​

Getting Your House in Order

There’s been a lot in the news, blogs, talking heads – you name it – about the recent decision by Yahoo! to bring all their workers back to the office. No more working from home.

I’ve read doomsday reports on everything from destroying families to losing top talent.

But the bigger issue is that Yahoo! has been in trouble for a long time. They’ve gone through plenty of CEOs in the last few years, and yet they’re just not turning around.

The survival of a large company is at stake here. There are over 14,000 employees who rely on the fact that they stay in business. Could they fail? Sure can. And I’ll bet there wouldn’t be a government bailout available to them.

When a company is in trouble, whether it be Yahoo! or your local ad agency, you have to step back and take a look at everything. From the way the owners/partners manage, to how every individual performs – and exactly what they do or don’t do for your bottom line.

Just because you have been ‘doing it this way for years’ doesn’t mean it’s a successful strategy in this decade (or even this year). Entrenched procedures, seniority based on longevity, or territorial behavior keep you stuck in 1995.

The ability to make changes, and for employees to adapt to those changes quickly, is imperative in today’s economy. Working from home is not a right – it is a bonus that is gained through an efficient process. That process must be well-defined and followed. Only then effective collaboration takes place.

I predict that some Yahoo! employees will leave, some will be fired, and many will come to the office every day. Change and the transition process can be difficult - but are not insurmountable.

I find it odd that a tech company, whose employees should be embracing on-going change, find that this new edict is so outrageous. Yep, going into the office seems to be so antiquated (and inconvenient), but if employees engage in this first step, they could actually be a part of the solution. Do it, contribute, and find a better way to work remotely. Imagine that.

Yes, I’ve read the stats on increased productivity when working remotely. Yes, retaining top talent is important, but the company just needs to do an old-fashioned inventory.

Yahoo! doesn’t know where they are right now, but this step – as backward (but oh-so-basic) as it seems – will give them the hard data they need to move forward. Once inventory is done, they will know the value of the stock on hand and how to sell it. They need to clear out space so they can do the improvements that ‘everybody’ says they need. Like update their site and make it more relevant.

Ad agencies and in-house marketing departments must do the same. Take inventory of technology you use, processes to manage work, and your staff. Any one of those areas can be a drag on the other two. Get those in order, set the ground-rules, then offer work-from-home options should that fit your culture.

Remember: Profits hide a multitude of sins. Do an annual inventory. Don’t wait until you’re in trouble.

The Remote Workplace & Yahoo!

I work from home. I have done so as an employee, as a freelancer and consultant.

So I know first-hand, the benefits of working from home – and working in an office.

Marissa Mayer, a new mom/CEO/and-everything-else-awesome, sent out the word that Yahoo! employees must now work in the office.

Now all this talk about open-concept offices and so-called ‘collaboration’ has me railing from time-to-time. You just can’t force collaboration, and I believe that employees need quiet space/time to concentrate.

However, collaboration isn’t as easy if your colleagues are working in different geographical areas. And all that crap about GoToMeeting being THE collaboration tool. I used it for years. It’s okay, but nothing beats being in the same room with your co-worker and being able to call him out on texting his friends about this lame meeting.

For Yahoo!, and Ms. Mayer, the ‘backlash’ has started. They’re talking about how it ruins families reduces productive time by 5 – 7 hours a week!, Ms. Mayer is trying to be more ‘male’, blah, blah blah.

Get this: I love working from home. I wear sweats, and no makeup. My days start early and end late.

Working from home gives me the option to work 12 – 16, or more hours per day without a problem. And did I mention that I hate to drive? I think the daily commute is the biggest waste of time we have in our daily workday. More on that later…

But, having worked remotely for an employer, I can say that when you have daily contact with your colleagues, you have a much better sense of how to work with them. Management has a better sense of you as a person. Those things keep you employed. You'll have a much better sense of expectations because frankly, you can’t hide.  An added bonus – you will develop enhanced radar and be able to detect when ‘changes are a comin’. Such as a corporate edict on working in the office. 

Yahoo! evidently has a big problem with flabby employees. Or so the articles elude. People call in, turn in work-product, whatever – and get a paycheck. Easy. Others pour themselves into their 16-hour day. Both are equal in the eyes of management. This change will shake-out the slackers, and I’ll bet, flexibility will still be on the table.

The article from Time states:

“Eliminating the ability to telecommute eats away at the core of what Yahoo, an Internet pioneer, and Mayer, a new mother, would seem to be all about.”

Sure, working from home is what Yahoo! is all about.

…and closes with:

“Technology has revolutionized the workplace, allowing people to do their jobs while still caring for a child home from school with the flu or on weekends and vacations when urgent matters surface. Yahoo has a respected place in history as one of the enablers. Turning back the clock can’t be the answer.”

Sorry, but there are two different points here. The ability to take care of a sick child and working exclusively from home are completely different. Just about every workplace recognizes the former as a part of having employees – with lives and families. Working remotely is not, in any way, the only way to achieve that basic flexibility.

I have watched this stupid debate for years. We work, we have families, and we continue to work. I have first-hand experience in this area and don’t see this change in Yahoo! as insurmountable.

I was a single-mom with two very young kids and worked as a freelance designer/illustrator. I tended to their needs and tried my best to do my work. From home.  It was either spend time with them during the day and work at night – or start and stop continually while trying to get just a half-hour of undisturbed work in.

I had to come to terms with reality. I had to work to make money so my family could survive. That meant I had to focus on work. I put my kids in – GASP! – daycare. I could no more afford an au pair than I could afford to jet off to Paris. So my two little ones got up early every morning and were delivered to a wonderful Grandma-type lady – who raised nine kids of her own. She was wonderful. I was lucky.

So in that environment, they lived, and so did I. They learned to socialize with other kids, had organized activities, were loved by their caregiver, and brought home the flu and pink-eye.

The downside during those years was the drive. I put – literally – at least 1000 miles a week on my car. I spent a lot of time in my car. Therefore I hate to drive now.

So as an experienced work-at-home person and work-at-work person all I have to say is: Go to work. Quit whining. Your kids will survive – your family will not die. Hone your radar.​ And if you don't like it, prepare your resume.

Laid Off

A good friend of mine was laid off a few weeks ago.

He received notice via email. After-hours. On a Friday.

The email said, “Please see the attached about your employment status.” The attachment was a letter said that “we are restructuring…”

Talk about spineless.

My friend is a brilliant strategist, awesome creative, and the type of guy who consistently performs beyond expectations.

He left a secure position at an agency that was well established and growing. He was recruited away by a smaller agency with the opportunity – and promise – to build a department to his vision.

It seemed to be the right thing to do – at the time.

Early on, he found that management – that had admired his vision and courted him for over a year – didn’t seem to embrace changes. He brought something they really wanted, but for some reason, were unwilling to make the changes necessary to move forward.

Where he thought he’d be reporting directly to the partners, he found – after two weeks on their payroll – that he reported to someone lower on the chain of command.

That person, his ‘boss’ required that he run everything past her. And that’s where all ideas, innovation and progress stopped. He brought the issue to the partners, who told him they still supported him. And then his boss began to take issue with his day-to-day performance. So much for support.

At that point, all he could do was his job. And look for another.

Another job didn’t come before he got his email.

So this goes back to management. Do you want to make changes? Who in your organization is preventing you from moving forward? Your “most trusted” managers? Or perhaps...you?

In this economy, in agencies – or any business – your ability to grow, much less survive, is not only shaped by your vision, but by the agendas of individuals in your organization to whom you have given control.

You gave them that control and they can sink you.

My friend? He’s taking care of his family, looking for work and ‘living’ on unemployment. He is also over 50. Ageism is alive and well in advertising. But no one will admit it.

I wish him best of luck.

You’re Going the Wrong Way

A long time ago, before there were cell phones, I was driving home and as I came to the stop sign on the exit ramp, a little old lady was turning onto the exit ramp, maneuvering to get around me.

I honked and flashed my lights, and she stopped. I rolled down my window and said, “You’re going the wrong way!”

She smiled and nodded, “Yes, I know, I know!” Then she proceeded to enter the freeway.

Fortunately, there was a 7-Eleven right near the exit with a working pay phone. 911 calls were free, which was good because I didn't have any change.

I called the police, gave them a description of the car and driver, and they said they’d look for her.

I didn’t see anything on the 11pm news that night, so I guess the little old lady must have made it to where ever she was headed – safely.

A couple things come to mind in this story:
 - Someone was going the wrong way, who was in danger to herself and others, and I tried to intervene. Unsuccessful at that, I took the next step to get someone else – who had more authority and greater resources – to take over.
 - The technology of the times (this was 1982) was not immediate. I had to get to a working phone, make the call and wait until news at 11 to find out if she made the headlines. Fortunately, she did not.

This is relative to the way we do things today.

In advertising / marketing, everything is immediate. We operate trauma-esque centers that create and transmit messages to consumers at alarming rates, and at a volume where it all gets lost in the blur. Technology has allowed us to do a lot more – faster than ever.

How can you increase volume and speed safely – without errors?

In an agency or in-house marketing department, we put processes in place because of the speed at which we’re traveling in 2013.

We must to take those steps – in order – to ensure a good outcome. It’s like putting up a Wrong Way sign at the freeway off-ramp. They are reminders, and should be no-brainers. Yet, some people choose to ignore them.

Then we have to call the cops to apprehend those who don’t follow the most basic of rules.

Technology has allowed us to travel at warp speed, and gives us the tools to perform and respond more effectively. Process provides the rules so you don’t crash.

And when you disobey the rules of process, your Project Manager pulls you over.

Life is so much easier if you just follow the basic rules.​

Open Space, Culture and Creating Collisions

I’ve said it before – I just don’t agree with this trend for an open office. It’s unproductive.

This article in Inc. Magazine, talks about Tony Hsieh and his comments on collisions, serendipity, or whatever. It’s a way to force people to interact with one-another by forcing them to enter, leave, or go to the bathroom by taking a different route past someone’s desk. Usually the desk of an individual with which they don’t have anything relevant to discuss – thus creating a collision that is, in my world, a disruption.

Or worse, a real annoyance. There’s got to be some balance here.

I don’t believe in collisions – you either have something to say to someone – or you don’t. Creating collisions it is like going to a Match.com mixer to find a date. That isn’t serendipity. It’s pre-meditated.

Although one comment in his article horrified me about Zappos – they lock all but one entrance, so they create collisions. I’m thinking that Mr. Hsieh made a misstatement. At least I hope so.

Anyway, serendipity is, in my book, a moment that cannot be contrived. Most people simply aren’t going to talk to one-another unless there is some compelling reason, like, “Wow Zach, that fedora really goes with those crocs.” 

At some point we just walk past a coworker, exchange ‘hi’s’ and head to the kitchen or kegerator.

I think the bottom line of what Mr. Hsieh is saying is – if you put people in close proximity to one-another, they will interact. Yep, I get that. And rebuilding our city core can create an awesome environment for serendipity. He wows me with what he has taken on.

I give him props for working to build another Austin or Portland, because I love them both - great creative cities. Heck, I grew up in Portland and I get it.

But please, unlock the doors and let me concentrate – because serendipity has occupied all the ‘quiet’ rooms.

Why You Need Training on New Systems

Whether you’re implementing a new process, workflow, or a new software system, you MUST train your staff. And…they must attend without distraction.

Attentive engagement conveys clear expectations and provides a valuable forum for addressing concerns, complaints and for making improvements.

Without training, and active participation, your lovely, funny and highly talented team turns into whiners, tormentors, or escape artists.

Addressing issues and making adjustments shows you have a system that is built for the agency – meaning your colleagues – rather than one individual’s desire to exert control or torture colleagues.

There will be haters. They exist everywhere and usually feel they are being subjected to something they don’t deserve. Nobody is special. Sometimes it just comes down to: Do the work because I said so.

The reality is that your workplace is just not a democracy. Employees have to do certain boring (and seemingly irrelevant) administrative stuff so management can tell how much money they’re making. That’s so they can shower everyone with the extra oodles of cash coming in from increased productivity.

Something else about training: I have been a trainer, and I have held positions from production artist to designer to project manager. Training on software is one thing – where to click, what to fill-in.

But training that is tailored to your structure, culture, and specific processes, is essential for the software to make sense to your organization.

Software training within your unique context is simply more effective. It has traces of familiarity – because it was customized to your needs; solves the issues that have been the root of chaos; and is relevant to your agency.

Changes can turn an agency or in-house department upside-down. But it doesn’t have to.

Make the solution your own – and ensure training to get your people on board.

Trust me, it won’t feel like torture. And they may even love you for making life just a little easier.