A Shark Won’t Let You Park ⁰

The average American watches 30 plus hours of television in a week. That’s a little over four hours a day parked on the couch, letting your mind idle making no progress to be better. Ever wonder if your life feels stale? Maybe it’s time to turn off the TV and get into some shark infested waters.

Not only do sharks never sleep, they keep everything around them more active and alert. The Japanese population enjoys fish as a steady diet, and to feed this population fishing boats had to venture further and with larger holding tanks to catch enough fish. Freezing the caught fish wasn’t an option as frozen fish doesn’t suit the Japanese palate. So the problem facing the fishing industry was how to transport large holds of fish without the fish arriving stale tasting. The fish in these large holding tanks on the boats for days became listless and sluggish without a predator in the tank and actually tasted poorly and people stopped buying fish.

So how did the fishing industry solve this problem? They put a shark in the holding tank on the ships. Although the sharks would eat their small share of the caught fish in the tank, the rest of the fish would arrive alert, and quite lively, and yes, very tasty.

We are creatures of habit. If our habits are sitting on the couch watching TV, then we are embracing listlessness and our minds dull in the process. Put a challenge in your life and you will be livelier, alert, and be able to rise to overcome more obstacles.

What shark do you want in your tank?

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Why Try Hard to Fit in When You Are Born to Stand Out ⁰

I had a message on my desk the plant manager wanted to see me. As a newly promoted fresh-faced department head I hadn’t been jaded to the fact I was wanted in the plant manager’s office. To my eagerness this was an opportunity for face time. To shine. To please my boss.

He asks me to close the door and have a seat. The tone was stern and unemotional. His first question to me was, “Russell do you want to be a success in this business?” Of course! There was never a doubt. How could he question this? I answered immediately, “I’ll do what ever it takes to be the best manager I can be.” He smiled, sat forward in his seat and said, “I knew you’d see it my way.”

He continued, “The first thing you need to do is get rid of the boots. (There were plain black not the red ones) I don’t care how polished you keep them and how nice they are, they’ll always be sh*tkickers in my book and no one in management in this company wears those things to work. Second, you have a personalized license tag on your car and More

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7 Ways to Create The Insider: Because Every Customer Wants “In” ⁰

Back in the dark ages I owned record albums with “hidden” soundtracks and “backmasking.” Monty Python’s Matching Tie and Handkerchief album had a second, or “hidden,” groove on one side of the album that only played if the stylus hit it accidentally. We called this the “third side” of the album.

The Beatles White album has a message recorded backwards under the song Revolution Number 9. I had access to a radio studio turntable, so I could play the album backwards and hear what the words really said. These were the surprise prizes that were shared from person to person; the “inside” information made us feel in the know, clever for having figured it out, and part of a special crowd.

DVDs now do the same thing with Easter Eggs. They are exciting to discover, and the customer feels special and rewarded. And the best part for the customer — sharing the “secret” with someone else! For example, the Cars DVD has hidden treasures aficionados enjoy. If you’ve seen “Boundin’ with Mater,” you are an Insider!

Even TV shows. The little icons prior to commercials on Fringe spell words in code.

What are you doing to create the buzz of word of mouth marketing for your surprise prizes?

Do you know about the “secret menu” at In and Out Burger? Have it “Animal Style!” Are you a Maker’s Mark Ambassador with your own barrel of private stock bourbon? Now you want to be an Insider don’t you?

Define the “Insider” More

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County-By-County Report Sizes Up Americans’ Health ⁰

Press Release: How Healthy Is Your County? New County Health Rankings Give First County-by-County Snapshot of Health in Each State

Washington D.C. – The County Health Rankings—the first set of reports to rank the overall health of every county in all 50 states—were released today by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at a briefing in Washington, D.C and on www.countyhealthrankings.org.

Check out the county where you live to see how you stand.

http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/

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Don’t Just be Optimistic, Be Opportunistic! ⁰

Lately I’ve been listening to people who are always upbeat and excited about life and their optimism is great but it’s missing something. “Sure the economy will turn around.” “I have my health.” “There are a lot of people a lot worse off than me, so I have nothing to complain about.” Some of the optimism seems Pollyanna to me and wishing and hoping optimistically isn’t enough! You need to be opportunistic!

When I bought this house I live in on the lake I was looking for not just a nice house but a good deal and great investment opportunity. That fact that we found a house underpriced because of an acrimonious divorce just wanting to get rid of the last connection they had was my good fortune! Had we not signed the papers the day we did the opportunity would’ve been lost because literally there was a couple flying across the country from Seattle to come put a contract on it. They were in the air when we inked the deal! Oh yea! That’s opportunistic!

Those reading this can scoff but winners take control and grab opportunity when it presents itself. I got to watch the Panthers beat the Packers at Lambeau Field because I grabbed opportunity. I got to see a Styx concert in Vegas for free because I grabbed opportunity. I met my breakeven figure for the year before the year started because I grabbed opportunity.

Opportunistic seems to have a negative connotation to it, I figure that’s because there are more people who miss out on opportunities than those who grab it. Be the one to grab opportunity and elevate your optimism to opportunism.

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Kick Ass Friday ⁰

I’m Ripley. Russell is giving me this opportunity to get your attention and I hope you listen better than those acid-blood creatures I despise.

All I know how to do is kick ass and chew gum, and I’m all out of gum. Whether it’s aliens or corporate dweebs I have low tolerance for bad behavior. So should you. Business executives and leaders in this country have gone soft and when times got real tough over the last two years these wimps went around screaming, “Game over man, game over!” Get a grip you bunch of Hicks.

It’s time for leaders to be real leaders again and it’s time to stop coasting into the weekend and start kicking some ass at the end of the week. So listen up and take some action because here are my 10 tips for making today a Kick Ass Friday.

NO WIMPS ALLOWED

1. Embrace the day and stop whining, “I’m glad tomorrow is the weekend — finally it’s here.”

2. Take one project you’re working on and make a focused effort to take a giant step to move that project forward.

3. Eliminate all meetings from any Friday so everyone know you expect them to drive business on the last day of the work week. No sitting in comfy chairs wasting a potentially productive morning.

4. Plan to come in Monday renewed, reinvigorated, and thrilled to tackle a new week. You come ready to play or don’t come at all.

5. Call a customer or client today to thank them for their business this year. They will be shocked and you’ll be remembered.

6. Make lunch count. Who do you need to take to lunch today? Client? Boss? Employee who never gets to go out for lunch?

7. Create a list of 5 things you must get done by next Friday. Go for the hard stuff.

8. Be intolerant. Make today a no whining, no bitching, no complaint day. Ask everyone to focus on the positive.

9. Refuse to listen to the news or read a paper. Take a day off from the “News Terrorists.”

10. Give your best effort until the very last minute of your work day……no coasting. THEN you can celebrate a great work week.

Get it done because you know you should. This is Ripley signing off.

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3 Ways to Cripple a Competitor ¹

When I speak at conventions and conferences in breakout sessions, one of my main goals is to shut down one other concurrent session. I want to have such a large audience eager to hear my information that I have standing room only and one other speaker has an audience of 3 or less. It works regularly and I’m proud of it.

Does this sound cruel to you? Does this sound like I have my priorities all askew? I am in a competitive world just as you are and everyone should be looking for ways to make your business such a draw it cripples your competitor.

I learned this years ago when I was working a cable television trade show and part of my compensation was to have a booth. It just so happens my booth was in between HGTV and the Playboy channel. Because of my antics in the booth, the games I was running and the prizes I was giving away created an excitement that drew a critical mass of people. Once there was the critical mass, people started to noticed and wondered what they were missing and the crowd grew even more. In fact for that show I out drew both of my neighbors purely because I created the right excitement and enthusiasm and had a plan to draw a crowd. Isn’t that the purpose of a trade show? It’s the same purpose for your business.

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Build Business Relationships Through Shock and Awe ⁰

I had the opportunity to meet with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company to pitch a project I wanted to do for them. In his spacious office John Wayne was everywhere: posters, autographed pictures, and even a life-sized cardboard cutout of the Duke himself standing in one corner of the office.

I commented on the memorabilia and he mentioned to me everyone who comes to his office wants to add to his collection, and the way he said it, I got the feeling his interest became more the passion of others with their gifts.

As I was leaving after my presentation I noticed one thing framed that had nothing to do with John Wayne. It was a certificate from Star Fleet Command. He was a closet Trekkie! When I asked about that particular framed certificate his eyes lit up and he told me all about his week at Star Trek camp! You never know do you?

In the thank you note to him for giving me his time I included two inexpensive items I found on ebay. One was a Star Trek communicator the actors would hit on their chest to communicate with others on board. The second was a red enamel Klingon war pin.

In the note I told him he could use these as indicators when he walked into meetings. If the communicator pin was on it was open communication. If he was wearing the Klingon war pin – the warrior was loose.

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How’s Your Bounce? ⁰

I remember growing up playing with a Super Ball. I could bounce this ball from shoulder height on the driveway and have it bounce higher than the rooftop on my two-story house! People and companies need to have that type of bounce ability when facing tough times.

We are well versed in people and companies who struggle in bad times. It’s almost become sport in this county to see who falls on their face next. The falls make the headlines but what about the rest of the story after the fall? Those stories rarely make the headlines and that is actually where the greatest lessons exist in how well people and companies recover from their falls. Whether it’s personal or corporate there is going to be adversity in our journeys and how we respond and how quickly we respond demonstrated out bounce. You have options in your bounce ability.

What about the people who fall, fail or flounder only to bounce back stronger than ever? Robert Downey Jr. has good bounce. Vanessa Williams has good bounce. Starbucks has good bounce. How about you?
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What’s the Difference? The Generations ²

In talking with a group of managers about the Next Generation I was trying to explain the differences between the generations and this guy from my audience says, “I don’t know what’s up with my younger employees but someone was handing out stupid and they were grabbing all they could get!.” Sure everyone laughed, but he failed to see the joke – because he didn’t have a mirror in front of him.

This new generation of workers is more intelligent, more technologically savvy, and better able to accomplish a multitude of tasks than generations prior. They are not stupid.

They also will not tolerate boorish managers, incomplete information and lack of proper training. There is where the stupid lies – in how managers are treating this generation that have the potential to make your organization soar! More

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My Media Links

A Shark Won’t Let You Park ⁰

Why Try Hard to Fit in When You Are Born to Stand Out ⁰

7 Ways to Create The Insider: Because Every Customer Wants “In” ⁰

County-By-County Report Sizes Up Americans’ Health ⁰

Don’t Just be Optimistic, Be Opportunistic! ⁰

Kick Ass Friday ⁰

NO WIMPS ALLOWED

3 Ways to Cripple a Competitor ¹

Build Business Relationships Through Shock and Awe ⁰

How’s Your Bounce? ⁰

What’s the Difference? The Generations ²

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