As I sit here and type this, I am listening to a live feed of the scanner by the Marion County MECA Fire & Rescue in Indiana. Apparently, the stage collapsed just before the Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair.  They had delayed the show, but were hoping to ride it out. Yet strong winds and storm conditions were enough to make the stage collapse, injuring at least a dozen and right now the Indy Star has confirmed 4 dead. For the past hour on the scanner, I’ve been listening to reports that there is a certain 10 year-old girl nowhere to be found, yet a second ago the paramedics just said that they transported a 10-13 y/o “unconscious female, possibly named Maggie” to the local emergency.

Last night and tonight, Kid Rock is having sold out shows at Comerica Park and holding a huge block party in downtown Detroit. I almost went to both, but passed.
When I followed a link to this story at MSNBC, it delivered me to my local MSNBC page, where I saw a story headlined, “Kid Rock Show Will Go On, Rain or Shine” … I don’t know if it’s even fair to make a comparison, or draw any parallels here, but one thing rings true, regardless:

It doesn’t matter what the show is, “the show must go on” isn’t always true. Safety comes first. Period.

. . . and just as I typed that, someone on Twitter tweeted at me, “So REO Speedwagon is coming on stage to play youtu.be/DPk4EX2GDc0” … wherein the story behind this song/link is:

In 1991, there was a huge event in Orlando called Festival in the Park. Several big name acts were scheduled to play but a hurricane came through the day before. Most acts canceled & instead of 10s of 1000s of people, only a handful of people turned out. REO probably still would’ve gotten paid if they’d canceled, but they came out anyway & played to us, less than 100 people in the pouring rain, full-throttle for 3+ hours non-stop. they closed the show with this song and it was truly incredible.

While that’s nice, and could seem a gallant effort, the timing of that person’s tweet to me was before he was aware of the confirmed causalities, and I was. Which means at that specific moment in time, I found it very tasteless. He didn’t know at the time, so I can’t blame him for just wanting to be funny, but still …… the point is, people, SAFETY trumps everything else.

Earlier today I was elated to find out that the National Show Ski Championships (Division I) were being streamed online, and watched it fervently as I was cleaning my apartment today. See, show water skiing WAS MY LIFE growing up. My home team, Silver Lake Ski Club, just placed 4th in Division II a week or so ago, and lately I’ve had nothing on my mind but show skiing and “back in the day.”

Then the storms rolled in today. And I was also reminded of some shows where we did some pretty stupid shit in the name of “the show must go on.”

The one incident that stands out the most in my mind was the year we did a show at the Michigan State Show Ski tournament (a.k.a. “states”) with an impending storm very close on the horizon. The judges decided that the weather was OK enough for us to go on with the show, and so we did … but toward the end of the show (you’re allotted exactly one hour) the clouds were so ominous, and it started raining, and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to finish.

Traditionally in show skiing, the pyramid is the last act. And we were lucky enough that the weather had let us make it to the pyramid act. But though we had taken first in states numerous years in a row previous to that year, our competition that year was
TOUGH.

There were about 5 minutes deliberation among our team of whether or not we should go on with the show. I was in the pyramid act, and really, I was very young, and I didn’t have much of a say one way or the other. If I was to climb to the top of the pyramid, honestly, I didn’t have much of a choice. I trusted their judgment.

Let me just tell you one thing: Deciding to do ANY kind of sporting event in an impending thunder/lightning storm is NOT A SMART IDEA. And it’s REALLY not a smart idea if you’re ON THE WATER.

We decided to go with it anyway.

Luckily, we made it off the dock OK, but I was a part of that pyramid act, and let me tell you, when you’re standing on someone’s shoulders on water skis, being pulled by a boat at aroud 25-30 mph, and you see a lightning bolt come down from the sky NOT-TOO-FAR-IN-THE-DISTANCE, even at 13 years old, you start to wonder one simple thing: Is this REALLY worth almost getting killed?!

Obviously, since I’m writing this, we didn’t get killed, and yes, we did walk away with another state trophy that year, but I can’t help but think, “what if we didn’t? what if somebody were seriously hurt?”

Even though we were extremely lucky on all fronts, the fact is, given the weather conditions, we really should not have been on the water at that point. I was 3-tiers high, being pulled by a boat, on a lake, and I saw LIGHTNING, people! 

Which brings me to the Sugarland concert tonight in Indiana.

I’ve been working in and around music for over a dozen years. It’s not nearly as physically dangerous as show skiing (usually), but there’s a lot that can go wrong. Unfortunately, tonight, it was the concert goers vs. G-d, because there’s nothing anybody could have done. I mean, they were waiting it out … the opener had already performed, Sugarland had decided to wait it out, the fans were waiting, enthusiastically, in the rain and the storm … and then Mother Nature decided to take down the stage, and some dozen or more people with her. You can’t blame the roadies for this.

This isn’t even a question of whether or not that was “fair,” because those arguments are futile. This is more or less a reexamination of our common sense here, people.

Obviously, by my example above, I’ve done some really stupid shit in the name of glory.

And obviously, by my twitter friend’s example above with the REO Speedwagon story, people will do some similarly stupid shit in the name of glory/music/whatever. I could add plenty more of my own examples to that, but I won’t.

The fact is, however — it doesn’t matter how “die-hard” you are in your passion, whether it’s music, or sports, or whatever … if your safety is in danger, your dedication is trivial.

(Note that I am NOT talking about those brave men and women who put it all on the line every day for our country … that’s a totally different story. NOTHING they do for our freedom is trivial, and EVERYTHING they do is appreciated.)

But the things we civilians take pride in — whether it’s a water ski state championship, or saying “I saw Suglarland in the pouring rain” … is, indeed, trivial compared to the big picture here, and we need to just use some common sense. I know that once those folks were there in the crowd, they couldn’t quite easily say “never mind, I’m going home.” But still, I chose not to go see Kid Rock tonight for a reason. I had plenty of opportunities. The degree of which you’re a fan doesn’t matter. The fact is, there will always be another concert, there will always be another tournament, and there will always be another chance to do or see something cool. But there will never be another YOU.

So please, be careful out there.

Photo 1 via IndyStar, photo 2 via the Silver Lake Ski Club. 

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(Part 2 of 2. For part 1, see the last post.)

In my last post, I responded to a request by a reader who asked how a small business could be more like Walt Disney World, which was a comment on this post. As I was outlining, I realized that for length considerations I’d have to break it into two parts. So here’s Part 2 of how your small business can be more like Walt Disney World.

Again, none of what I write here should be considered a “Disney secret.” (For my full disclosure, see Part 1.)

Keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle, kids, because it’s gonna be a fun ride. Here we go …

#4) Tell stories.

This seems to be a popular theme in business writing in recent years, although it’s nothing new. Disney was WAY ahead of the times in this regard, and let’s face it — they built an empire out of it. People enjoy stories because that’s how they learn. Sparksheet recently had an excellent article on storytelling in business, which I highly recommend reading. I found it today, after I had already outlined this post, but they really hit it home within the first few paragraphs with this line:

The ability to directly address problems and provide solutions to complexity is the bedrock of storytelling in the 21st century.

Sparksheet goes on to give some excellent examples of brands that have done this recently, including Charmin, HP, Nike, Dove, and American Express. But don’t let the fact that those are behemoth brands intimidate you into thinking you and your small business couldn’t do it. Remember my second point in Part One, which was “Celebrate and share your heritage”? That’s a good place to start.

Meet The French Laundry. It’s the most talked about restaurant of my hometown, Fenton, MI. Not only is it a hotspot for locals, but people come from miles around to eat here. The Laundry’s owner, Mark Hamel (not Luke Skywalker) says in his newsletter,

“… For me, it’s always been my cracker-barrel podium, or stand-up chat room where I’ve been able to share, one-on-one or in our classes, what I have learned, discovered, and come to appreciate about the amazing foods and beverages of our planet.”

… and that he does, and always has. At any given time, you can find Mark walking around, greeting his patrons, and having conversations with them. Yes, they do have classes at the Laundry, but I’ve always found that the small-town camaraderie of both Mark and his staff the most appealing. Everybody at the Laundry has a story to share. Like at The Laundry, if you do it right, your customers will then start telling their stories about your business for you.

#5) Have a parade every day.

Well, not literally, although Disney does.  Find something to celebrate. I’m not saying you should have a sale every day. What I am saying is to have fun and enjoy what you do. Shake things up a bit and color outside the lines. For example, declare Thursday “Hawaiian Shirt Day” just for kicks.

Need an example of a small business who has a proverbial parade every day? Meet another business from my hometown, Uncle Ray’s Dairyland. Here’s a great clip from a couple years ago:

There’s not a person in town that doesn’t love Uncle Ray’s and doesn’t know the Durants. In fact, they’re doing it so well that their customers, too, are telling their stories for them now. From their customer service to making their ice cream right there in-house, Uncle Ray’s has made a name for itself as being “a landmark of Fenton.”

(Disclosure: I am friends with Dave Durant and have consulted him a little in the past, drawing from a lot of my Disney experience and training manuals.)

#6) Internal communication is key.

This is a biggie. As an organizational communication major and while interning at WDW, I was continually impressed at how well cast members were kept informed of everything they needed to know. This company of 60,000 employees (give or take, depending on the season) had internal communication flow so smoothly that there was no excuse for not knowing what was going on.

How did they do this? Multiple touchpoints within the organization.

Every area of every department had their own hotline, which was updated every single morning by the managers, who passed on the information that cast members needed to know. Whether it was upcoming promotions, changing of park hours, changing of times for fireworks or parades, which managers were on duty that day, etc. they had it covered. Everybody was expected to call that number on days they weren’t working.

Disney also utilizes an extensive intranet that they call “The Portal,” for which every cast member has a login and is expected to explore to find just about anything going on within the parks whatsoever, whether continuing education classes, clubs of their interest (Toastmasters, anyone? Crew club? You got it.), Disney history, if the (internal Disney) library had a certain movie they wanted to check out, look up a certain cast member in a certain department — literally anything they can think of.

Every park also has its own print newsletter that is published every week that includes information they need to know, heartwarming stories of cast members’ interactions with guests, etc.

There’s also a pocket-sized “cheat sheet” published every week that cast members are encouraged to use, which has basic things like hours for the parks, parades, and fireworks, special phone numbers they might need, special events, etc. Trust me when I say these cheat sheets have come in handy way more than I can count. Not every question is as easy to answer as “What time is the 3 o’clock parade?” (The fabled most commonly asked question in Magic Kingdom. Personally, I got “Do you work here?” more often.)

And of course, never underestimate the value of team meetings. Before every shift, there is a team meeting where managers would give everybody the lowdown and address any issues that need addressing.

Now, contrast all of the above to an independent coffee shop I worked in after my stint at WDW.  There were a total of nine employees, including the couple who owned the place. The entire year or so I worked there, we had a total of TWO all-staff meetings. Instead, the only way for any kind of “official” internal communication was a notebook we supervisors were expected to write in about anything pertinent, whether it was that we were low on espresso, that we signed for a shipment delivery, that we closed early one night because of a snowstorm, etc.

Sure, this sounds like it would be simple enough, right? Oh, no. Because of the very nature of having a passive-aggressive notebook be the sole medium from which employees communicated to the management, it created more internal politics, misunderstandings, and contempt than one could imagine. Sure, we had everybody’s phone number and once in a while would make a phone call about an issue, but for the most part, the passive-aggressive notebook, which was intended for internal communication, became a symbol of our disdain.

I remember a couple times that supervisors got reprimanded by the owners for not doing something that they were apparently supposed to do, but because it wasn’t written in the notebook, they didn’t even know they were supposed to. Never underestimate the power of face-to-face communication, and multiple internal touchpoints for employee communication. Don’t have a passive-aggressive notebook. If Walt Disney World, with 60,000 people working on-property, can keep all those people in the loop, there’s no reason whatsoever that a nine-person small business can’t keep everybody on the same page (no pun intended).

So there you have it, @roakian and others who have been following along at home. Between this post and the last I’ve laid out six ways your small business can be more like Walt Disney World.  I actually thought of more ways as I was writing this last part, but I’ll leave it at that for now. If you didn’t learn anything else, you ought to know by now that if you ask me a question, you should prepare yourself for a pretty lengthy answer.

If you’ve noticed any other ways small business can borrow from Disney’s best practices, please feel free to share!

Photo 1 is free stock I found somewhere, photos 2 and 3 are my own, and the notebook photo is courtesy of sarah.mckenzie11, whose license allows modification.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Three ways your small business can be more like Walt Disney World
2. Product launches: Why put on a circus when you could be like Disney World?

(This is Part 1 of a two-part series. For Part 2, see this post.)

Not too long ago I received a comment from a local reader on this post, asking,

… could you do a followup post or provide some resources as to HOW to be more like Disney World than a Circus? I agree that the marketing strategy of Apple/Disney World is more sound than a circus, but for a small business, it’s hard to sit back and let people come to you….especially when no one is coming. Would be great to hear some advice on how to get to that point or what it takes.

Well, Miss Adventure, I’m glad you asked.  You’re absolutely right — no, you can’t “sit back and let people come to you,” you have to be proactive. As I was outlining and writing this, I realized that I’d have to break this up into parts for length considerations, so consider this Part 1 of 2.

Before I get into it, let’s get this out of the way:

Full Disclosure: I used to work at Walt Disney World as a trainer of new hires in retail guest service. I educated new “cast members” (what they call employees) on WDW’s history, service guidelines, protocols, sales procedures, crisis management techniques, and more. There are many “Disney secrets” for which I am sworn to secrecy by the deal I made when I sold my soul to The Mouse, however nothing I write here should be considered a “Disney secret” in any way, shape, or form.

Here’s a secret I can tell you: Many of Disney’s “secrets” aren’t secrets at all. A lot of companies are just now waking up to the techniques Disney’s been employing all along, but by no means should they be considered “secrets.”

Okay then. Let’s get this ball rolling, shall we?

#1) Put customers first. Always.

Every Disney World cast member has a shared purpose, and that is “to make sure that every Guest who comes to the Walt Disney World Resort has the most fabulous time of his or her life.”  That means going above and beyond what’s expected of you. It means putting little unexpected touches on things. It means if you have to bend over backwards to make a customer happy, even if you have to stay late, even if you have to call all over the world to find whatever they’re looking for — do it. It means making sure that every touchpoint of your business is centered around the customer.

Honestly, I thought this was normal, but the thought of building a business around the customer seems to be a newer revelation in the business world. My friend Beth Harte recently wrote about this concept of “customer centricity,” which as I mentioned in her comments, I always knew as “The Disney Way.” One of the 10 lessons of sparking a powerful movement, according to the smart folks at Brains on Fire, is “movements make your advocates feel like rocks stars.” It’s the same idea. If it weren’t for your customers, you wouldn’t have business at all, so make them feel special.

#2) Celebrate and share your heritage.

“I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse.” — Walt Disney

This oft-quoted saying of Walt Disney’s is one of the most prevalent in Disney culture.

As legend has it, Mickey Mouse was “born” in 1928 as a doodle on a train ride Walt Disney was taking from New York to Los Angeles. Disney was returning from an unsuccessful attempt to regain financial control and copyright of his cartoon creation Oswald the Rabbit. He did not want to return to his animation studio in Hollywood empty-handed, and he had to tell his animators something. So he spent the remainder of the trip developing a little mouse in red velvet pants, a character he first named Mortimer. At the suggestion of his wife, he renamed him Mickey, and the rest is history.

Don’t tell me your small business didn’t have an interesting start. Surely, doodling on a train ride isn’t that exciting or interesting in itself, but it’s the circumstances that surround the story and what happened since then that make it interesting.

One of my favorite attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a walking tour called Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, which is an homage to the man himself and a museum of the company’s history. Think way ahead into the future — let’s say 100 years — and your company is still going strong. If there were to be a physical tribute to you and the beginnings of your business, what would you like to see included? Start there.

Think about how your small business got its start. What were your circumstances? What made you decide to take the leap? Once upon a time, there was something that made you decide to go out on your own. Honor your history. Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how big or small. And definitely share it with your customers.

#3) Establish and enforce customer service standards for ALL employees.

Every cast member at WDW is held to the exact same standard of guest service. In Merchandise, where I was a trainer, there is a specific procedure in which cast members are expected to interact with guests at the park, and they are candidly evaluated and graded at least once every few months by their managers. For example, a couple specific points on the evaluation include using the guest’s name, acknowledging children in the party, and informing them about upcoming events within the parks. (“Hi Carol, what a gorgeous little girl you have. What’s your name? Who’s your favorite princess, Suzy? Ariel? Did you know she’s going to be in 3 o’clock parade?”)

Standards enforce consistency. Consistency builds trust. Trust builds customer sustainability. There’s a reason you can order your favorite drink at any Starbucks in the world and it will taste the exact same. Starbucks also prides itself on its consistency standards.

So sketch out your “pie in the sky” idea of how you’d like to see every one of your employees interact with your customers. Focus on the most key points, and draft up a standards procedure. (Nothing is too cheesy — I had to tell guests “Thank you and have a magical day!” after every transaction.) But drawing up standards isn’t enough, they’ve got to be enforced for consistency. Go ahead and tell your employees they’ll be graded on it. After a while, going through the standard customer service procedures become second nature. It’s been five years and I still use the two-fingered “Disney point” and probably will until the day I die.

There ya go. Three easy ways your small business can be more like Walt Disney World, and less like a circus. It’s not rocket science, and it literally IS Mickey Mouse. I hope I’ve answered your question, @Roakian, and if not, I’ve got three more points in the hopper to share soon.

Meanwhile, I’m wondering … anybody out there notice any other ways a small business can learn from Disney? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

[Update 3/7/11: Part 2 is up, you can find it here.]

Photo of Cinderella’s castle by anneohirsch.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Product launches: Why put on a circus when you could be like Disney World?

Do you remember when you were little, and the circus came to town?

It was spectacular.

The circus, for all its excitement — the animals, the trapeze artists, the clowns, the daredevil acts — came into town, did a few shows with some cool stunts, and then they left.

That was it. You might be left with a plastic inflatable monkey or some other cheap overpriced souvenir.

A couple weeks later, the circus was barely a memory in your mind — it went out of town just as fast as it came in.

Now think about Walt Disney World.

Those who have been fortunate enough to go to Disney World when they were younger (or older, as my case would be) know that no matter how long you stay at the park(s) — it could be a few days, a couple weeks — you are left with many, many memories for years to come.

Walt Disney World is no circus. You don’t go in and out and then forget about it. It is an experience, one whose vision is to ensure that “each and every guest has the best time of their life,” a place where “dreams come true” and memories are made. It sticks with you, and on your way home, you already can’t wait to go back.

Which would you prefer, the circus or Walt Disney World?

Disney World, of course.

Why is it, then, that when companies launch new products, almost all of them prefer the circus approach?

Here’s what I see all too often:

Company X has a new Thingamabob coming out. It could a new phone, a car, a gadget, a boat, it doesn’t matter. They’ve talked about it for a long time, gotten some press about the long-anticipated, brand new Thingamabob. So, when it comes for Thingamabob launch day, what does Company X do?

All the usual tactics. They go to certain cities, solicit high profile journalists and/or social media pseudo-celebs, spend an insane amount of money on treating them like kings for a day, tons of media buys, the whole shebang. Company X parades around like bulls in the china shop of their choosing, hoping, just HOPING, that they’ve done enough to generate some good press for the Thingamabob in traditional media, get the social media pseud-celebs to blog and tweet about it a lot, and hey, maybe even sell a few Thingamabobs!

And then Company X rides their china-shopped bull into the sunset and calls it a “product launch,” and talks about it ad nauseam, patting themselves on the backs until it’s time for the next Thingamabob circus to come to town. Lather, rinse, repeat.

This is old. This is tired. This is not memorable.

WHY in the world do companies insist on doing this?

Apple, on the other hand, takes a more Disney-esque approach.

Rumors of the new iWhatever start circulating all the top tech blogs for a long time. Because of the loyalty Apple has from its fans, they start chatting feverishly about even the possibility of a new product long before there’s any official word. (There may or may not be an accidental or purposeful iWhatever “leak,” but that’s a different story for a different time.)

Finally, the day comes for the iWhatever launch.

Apple holds a special keynote presentation, hosted by their CEO, Steve Jobs. Journalists and other important people are invited to attend. The same presentation is also put on the web so that anybody who wants to watch the presentation can. Apple builds up enough anticipation and excitement about the iWhatever that people come to them. Much like Disney World. Jobs does his thing, reveals the iWhatever and all the cool stuff it can do, does a few live demos of it, then tells you how much it costs and when it will be officially available for purchase.

When that day comes, people flock to their nearest Apple store, some camping out overnight outside just because they HAVE TO HAVE THE iWHATEVER. After the initial fervent fans have their iWhatevers, more people flock to the stores if not to buy one, but to at least play with one so they can tell their friends, “Yeah, I was at the Apple store the other day and got to try out an iWhatever, it’s amazing.”

The entire process of an Apple product launch is an experience. It resonates. It sticks with people. Apple doesn’t have to bring a dog and pony show to town, people come to Apple, and people tell all their friends about it.

Much like people come to Disney World.

Now, ask yourself, which would you prefer your product to be more like, a circus or Walt Disney World?

Which do you think sells more product, makes more money, generates the most loyal fans, creates the most memories?

Circus photo via David Shankbone at Wikimedia Commons.

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When you live and work at Walt Disney World for nearly a year, you get used to seeing these every night, and then nothing else ever compares. I know video isn’t the same as being there, but it’s the closest thing I’ll come for a while. Use your imagination — that’s what Disney’s all about.

Wishes – Magic Kingdom

These are what I saw every night while I worked at the Magic Kingdom:

. . . when I wasn’t at the Magic Kingdom, I was at Epcot, watching my favorites:

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth

For good measure, I’ll include Fantasmic, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Many people like these the best, but my heart will always be at Epcot.

(Yes, I know I’m acting like a total spoiled Disney princess. Kiss my tiara.)

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Real quick shameless self-plug:

There is a new weekly podcast entitled “Conversate” from Portage Digital Media (disclosure: I consult with them), which is essentially your opportunity to be a fly on the wall of the PDM office whilst a conversation takes place. Said conversation can (and usually does) go anywhere, and is chock full of intelligent discussion sprinkled with a healthy dosage of shenanigans for good measure.

This past Friday I was at the office and participated in the conversation, which evolved into a podcast-in-gestation when the “record” button was pushed. Our conversation included everything from authenticity in marketing, to what a seminar on social media won’t get you, to what makes good (and bad) business copywriting, to cats awesome enough to have Facebook pages.

I can only stand to listen to myself talk so much (believe it or not) but if you, for whatever reason, want to hear my recorded voice along with two handsome gentlemen, head on over to the PDM blog and take a listen. If you like what you hear, subscribe to the podcast, why don’tcha?

I probably won’t be a regular weekly voice on Conversate, as my schedule will be picking up in upcoming weeks, but I’ll definitely be back as an occasional contributor. Don’t let that stop you from subscribing, however — these guys are hilarious and definitely worth a listen.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to PDM and take a listen — who knows? You might learn something! At the very worst, we’ll tickle your funny bone and make your neurons dance a little jig.

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1. Musical Monday Podcast Edition: What I listen to on the road.

[OK, yes, I know I just put up a post saying I was going into an official "blogging hiatus," but this just came out last night and you SAID you wanted to read "whatever was on my mind." So here ya go. /tdr]

As a rule, I generally don’t watch TV, and when I do, it’s usually not a reality show. The only season of American Idol I’ve ever watched was Season 6 and that was only because LaKisha Jones is my homegirl – we both hail from the same town of Flint, Michigan, originally. On and off for the past few years I’ve watched Dancing with the Stars, but this is the only year I’ve actually made it a point to follow the series with weekly devotion.

If you’re not familiar with them, the formula for these shows is rather simple:  the contestants do their thing, then three judges (only recently four on AI) give their critique, but ultimately it’s the viewers’ votes that determine who stays and who goes.

I was watching Dancing with the Stars last night and got thinking about the dynamic of the judges on these shows. There are three typical personalities, and from what I’ve noticed, these three personae aren’t just a formula they use for televised talent shows — they are prevalent in all of our lives.

Let’s take a look at them, in a nutshell:

• The Nice One – This is the Paula, Ellen, the Carrie Ann. Though on the shows this is usually a woman, it need not be in real life. They’re the ones who, even when they think the contestant was crappy, can’t quite just bluntly say it was crappy. They tend to sugarcoat everything, and know how to soften the blow of even the harshest criticism. Words commonly coming from their mouths include, “I know you can do better and I think you know it, too” and “That just didn’t do it for me, but I’m just one person, and you look really great in that outfit!”
• The Unpredictable One – This would be the Randys and the Brunos. You never know what they’re going to say. When you think you’ve pleased them, you haven’t, and when you think they hate whatever it is that you just did, they love it. These people generally have some kind of a catch phrase (“dawg”), or something about them that makes them very memorable, like being extremely animated, if not the human equivalent of a Muppet.
• The Harsh One – This would be Simon and Len. This is the judge whose comments are feared the most, because they’re usually brutal — brutally honest. “Blunt” is a common word used to describe them, and oftentimes their comments are met with boos from the audience. They sugarcoat nothing, they tell it like they see it, and often they are perceived as “negative.”

(Note: I know there’s that chick who is now the fourth judge on Idol but because I haven’t watched it since she’s been on there, I can’t say much about her.)

At varying times in varying situations, I’ve heard people say they were going to “cut out the negative people” in their life, or I’ve heard people say “only surround yourself with positive people and you’ll be much happier.” But I have to ask, really?

I hear that this is Simon’s last year on Idol. Who will replace him? Will they replace him? Regardless — American Idol without Simon just won’t be the same. Imagine if Dancing with the Stars suddenly decided they were going to take Len out of the picture — oh sure, the show would still go on, but would the dancers still get the honest feedback that he gives them? Would it still be the same?

Last night Evan Lysacek, the Olympic gold medalist in figure skating and crowd favorite, did what many thought was a great samba with his partner, Anna. I enjoyed watching it, and Carrie Ann and Bruno both loved it. Len, on the other hand, pointed out that technically Evan’s hips weren’t right for that particular dance, he expected better than that from him, and therefore he had to mark Evan down.

The crowd booed and hissed at Len’s remarks, but you know what? He was right. This happens with Simon all the time.

The world needs people like Len and Simon. And likewise, we need people like Len and Simon in our lives, too. Simon and Len don’t care about the boos and the hisses, because even when people don’t like what they hear, let’s face it — they’re usually right.

Without the eye and ear for detail that these two have, and even the bluntness of their delivery, it’s hard to imagine if the contestants on these two shows would work as hard to improve every week. Would Evan know that his hips weren’t right for the samba, and would he learn what not to do? Carrie Ann and Bruno didn’t mention anything about it. Would the singers on Idol know what to concentrate on for their vocals and stage presence, other than to not be “too pitchy, dawg”? Probably not.

Simon and Len aren’t actually “negative,” they’re honest. And people, as a rule, are neither entirely “negative” or “positive” — people are more complex than that. Like a Duracell battery, we have a positive end, a negative end, and a whole lot of mixed energy in between the two. It’s hard to win the approval of Simon and Len, but when they do praise a contestant for a job well done, it’s always sincere, the contestant knows they did well, and it means that much more.

When people claim they’re going to “eliminate the negative people” from their life, I can’t help but wonder if people aren’t purposely omitting the ones that actually challenge them to do better, and to think about things a little harder. And if so, where’s the happiness in that?

Ignorance is not bliss, and as nice looking as Evan Lysacek is, gold medal skater or not, his hips weren’t right for the samba. If Len hadn’t pointed that out, and if Evan didn’t know that now, he wouldn’t know to work on them for next week’s dance, and the problem would manifest again and again until he REALLY blows a dance where hips are crucial.

The shows need Simon and Len, and we need people like them. We also need the nicer ones with that soften the blow, and the unpredictable ones with catchphrases and Muppet-like energy to keep us on our toes. But eliminate any one of those types of people and you’re left without a complete talent show, and without a well-rounded worldview.

I know personally I keep certain people around not because they constantly pat me on the back and give me attaboys, but because they’re not afraid to tell me that I did something dumb if I really did do something dumb, they’re not afraid to tell me they expected more from me, and they’re not afraid to question and challenge me. They play Devil’s Advocate, either intentionally or not, and they’ll even tell me if my butt looks big in that. Without these people, I don’t think I’d grow, and my butt would look a lot bigger than it actually is.

What do you think? Am I way off the mark here? Am I missing something? Who are the Simons and Lens in your life, and if you omitted them, would you really be the same? Would you be challenged to do better?

Photos were swiped from ABC.com, though I’m not sure if that was legal.

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While doing some recent housekeeping in the back end of this site I uncovered some posts in my archives that many (read: most) of you missed, and I thought they were worthy of having the dust bunnies brushed off them.

I realize that the majority of you are newer readers and/or haven’t known me as long, so here are a few of that damn redhead you’ve likely never read:

What my small town dentist can teach us about social media

The internet is one big expo – what is your booth like?

The high school notebook – social media casualty?

How I accidentally started #ThankYouThursday

Social media lessons from water skiing (and vice versa)

Social media is like plastic baggies

Facebook, LinkedIN, and Twitter are NOT the Holy Trinity

You can’t see it yet but I’ll be doing some restructuring of the direction of this blog in the near future. Everybody’s blog evolves over time, and this one is no exception. For details, visit my new “About” page.

Enjoy and thanks for reading. Stay tuned.

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Something happened earlier that made me almost feel bad for somebody. Almost.

By now we know that “unfriend” was the official word of 2009. (I’m going to just set my Grammar Goddess cringing aside and go with it for this post.)

I’m in the process of (re)developing a brand for a client of mine, and while I know a lot of people in various disciplines of web design, graphic design, or any other kind of design in between, I had a certain former colleague in mind whom I knew would be able to conceptualize the perfect new logo for said client. I had worked with her in the past, had been impressed with her work, and she had expressed interest in working with me after the start of the new year.

I kept that in mind, and decided to take her up on it. I went to Facebook and tried to search for her in my friends, but to no avail. I remembered that she recently got married and her last name was different, so I searched again. No dice. So I searched one of our real-life mutual friends’ friends, and sure enough, she was in there.

Former colleague had unfriended me. To my knowledge I did nothing to offend her, and I’m left a little confuzzled.

No matter, I’ve got myriad contacts that would gladly take this referral, as it has the potential to be pretty lucrative and would be a great addition to any portfolio. But I can’t help but wonder why the heck this former colleague “unfriended” me. No, we don’t see each other every day, and no, we were never BFFs by any measure, but she was the perfect person for this assignment, and now … well, as my dad likes to say, “You snooze, you lose.”

The lesson to be learned from this?

Be careful whom you unfriend — it could cost you!

Image by robotclaw.

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(Real men of genius!)

Tonight, I salute YOU, Mr. “I-Sync-My-Twitter-and-Facebook-Accounts”!

(Mr. I-Sync-My-Twitter-and-Facebook-Status!)

Yes, you sir, are oblivious that your Facebook friends really don’t care about your every move & your Twitter followers are a) mostly the same people, and b) annoyed as hell.

(Absolutely, completely oblivious!)

It’s imperative that you tell EVERYONE POSSIBLE about that ham sandwich you had for lunch, or that you are happy it’s football season, because you are just. that. important.

(I’m big on the internet! I’m big in Japan! Germany loves me!)

So go on and open a Ping.fm account, Mr. Twitter-Facebook-Syncer, because YOU are a REAL MAN OF GENIUS.

(Inspired by the Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” radio commercials, you can hear all of them here.)

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