Customization in a Mass-Produced World
January 2009
In modern times, many of our consumer goods are produced in China or southeast Asia where low labour costs increase profit margins for large companies. So lulled are we by our bland, commodified world that when we encounter an entrepreneur who feels passion for their craft, they sparkle and shine like a Swarovski crystal. Last week, I had such an experience with Rita Garthson of Dolce Amore Jewellery.
I struggled with the decision of what to wear to Look Matters’ Red Carpet Party. A make-up artist and a hair stylist could clean me up and make me presentable. I had the right festive dress. But how would I accent myself at a glitzy event full of people I wanted to impress? I needed Rita for help.
Before I even showed up at Dolce Amore, Rita had something in mind. She styles her jewellery creations to the unique personalities of the individuals who wear them. We had met before; for me she chose Swarovski gold pearls on a 14K gold chain with matching earrings. So fitting was her creation that I not only saw myself, but who I want to be.
In my work at Animato Communications, I could learn from Rita. There is no shortage of bland writing out there that nobody wants to read. If I take the time to get to know my clients, and understand the character of their business, I can capture the beauty and relate the passion that makes them thrive. It will make the marketplace more interesting for doing business.
Acquiring a New Partner
August 2008
I am pleased to announce that I will be working with a new partner.
Jillian Mireille Staines was born on July 5, and has thrown a completely different dynamic into the way Animato Communications does business. A baby teaches you a great deal about working with people.
Here’s what I have learned:
- Working with a partner, you can achieve greater things than you can alone, but it takes compromise. Don’t lose yourself in the partnership, but learn to accommodate.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff.
- By giving undivided attention with sincerity, people are easily pacified.
- Calls must be returned, but the phone does not need to be answered right this very minute.
I believe this is my briefest blog entry. Coincidence? Absolutely not. I gotta run…
The Power of Collaboration
June 2008
To say that business is good would be an understatement. There has been so much opportunity finding me that I began to worry, given my June 15 due date to have a baby. Where I should have been winding down, I found myself ramping up and taking on new projects. This baby is going to arrive come hell, high, or broken water. It was time to change my approach to business.
The decision to take on a subcontractor is a difficult one for the control freak, but it is one that I embraced nonetheless. I could not be more lucky to have found Doré Pilon. She is bright, creative, and I can trust her to maintain the high level of service that I have set for Animato Communications.
What I especially love about working with Doré, who is based in England, is that it is just like the children's story - The Elves and the Shoemaker. I send Doré an audio file of a client interview; the next morning when I awake, her completed work is waiting for me! (I will have to make sure not to send any clothes overseas in case they make her so happy that she traipses off, never to return!)
Working with Doré also provides the opportunity for collaboration. Already it is paying dividends. She makes me reevaluate the quality communications services that Animato Communications provides. I look forward to working with Doré on many projects, and I'm sure you will too.
Doré, I do not know what the future holds with the arrival of this baby. I hope to share with you a great deal of interesting work, and I hope the control freak will learn not to micromanage. With you, I look forward to taking on the world!
The Importance of Etiquette
May 2008
I coordinated a professional development series for the University of Regina Alumni Association. Our keynote speaker was an intriguing woman by the name of Lewena Bayer, a partner in the Winnipeg-based The Civility Group. Lew’s presentation gave me plenty of food for thought on the topic and etiquette and civility.
In many ways a civility is a dying art. We do not take the time to dine with friends and family, let alone train ourselves in proper etiquette. But civility is a tradition worth preservation that enriches the human experience if we can take the time and effort to be polite.
Lew’s fundamental rule about etiquette is that it is in terribly poor taste to judge people based on their own mistakes in etiquette. I agree wholeheartedly, but the problem is that what is and what should be are not always the same thing.
I judge people, although I know I shouldn't. I am sure that I have been judged unfavorably, regardless of whether it is fair.
Yet I have hope. Civility, to me, is treating all people with respect. Maybe by being cognizant of the judgments we should not be imposing and by opening our minds to the potential of what our peers have to offer, then we can restore the world to a more decent place to live.
Mixing Business with Facebook
April 2008
In the age of social networking sites, many entrepreneurs and businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on the popularity of the phenomenon that is Facebook. One such person is an entrepreneur-friend of mine, who invited me to join a group devoted to her business.
When I received the invitation, I had mixed feelings. I wanted to show my support of her venture (or maybe I was more concerned about insulting her by declining!). On the other hand, I am not within my friend’s target market and I would never buy her product. Her work is fantastic; it’s just not… me.
And so I joined her business’s Facebook group.
Even throughout my membership in this group, the mixed feelings continued. It was really exciting to read about my friend’s venture as it gained national and international renown. At the same time, I was often disappointed to see my Facebook Inbox lit up with that magical “(1),” only to discover that it was a product update - not a note from a friend.
In the end, that very disappointment got to me. I left my friend’s business’s Facebook group.
I’m not saying that it is wrong to use Facebook as a marketing tool, but those who do should not take the decisions of their friends personally.
For my own part, there will never be an Animato Communications group on Facebook. I find that the people in my life pursue their own level of interest in my business, whatever it may be. My father-in-law has no concept of what I do, while other friends are eager to help me out should my workload ever become too heavy. Both extremes are fine; most people find themselves somewhere in the middle.
In conclusion, I’m content to keep Animato Communications separate from Brittany Staines. I will avoid mixing business with pleasure.
To Be or Not to Be
February 2008
The question of how often to use the world's most popular verb should not make writers feel suicidal, as Hamlet in his famous soliloquay.
Every opportunity we get to use a verb other than "to be" makes our language so much more vivid and precise. However, sometimes "to be" is just so efficient that to avoid it would be cumbersome.
Variety is the spice of writing and style. A blend of powerful verbs mixed with concise, efficient sentences that sometimes use "to be" alternate between taking readers on an adventure and returning them to a stable place from which to admire other actions.
To answer the question:
To be is often where it doesn't have to be, but should always be proud to be to be.
Catch my drift?
Tappers 39, Listeners 1
November 2007
In 1990, Stanford doctoral candidate Elizabeth Newton demonstrated the Curse of Knowledge with tappers and listeners.
Experiment subjects were divided randomly into Tappers and Listeners and paired with a partner from the opposite group. The Tappers were given a list of common tunes to tap to the Listeners. The Listeners had to identify the song from the rhythm.
The Listeners were successful once every forty tunes, or 2.5% of the time. The Tappers, hearing the song so clearly in their heads, expected a success rate of 50%. Hence the Curse of Knowledge - once you know something, it is difficult to relate to those still in the dark.
The moral of this study for communicators is that we must write with the assumption that our audience knows nothing.
(As an aside, I tried tapping to my husband, Mike. After striking out on Happy Birthday and the First Noel, he found success on the theme song from "I Dream of Jeannie." Instead of trying out 37 more tunes, I stopped and preferred to believe we're just that awesome.)
