14 posts categorized "July 2008"

July 31, 2008

Go with your first take

I recently had the opportunity of producing a teaser video for the launch of a new trade magazine.

The organization is MPI, and they are unveiling their new magazine at their annual event in Las Vegas next month. I spoke at their last big conference, fell in love with what they are doing with the meetings industry, and now I’m working with them on fun stuff like this.

I hired a videographer to come over to my house, MPI sent me a script of sorts, and we shot for a half day. I did the bit over and over again, trying to get it just right so it would come off like Bob Newhart (except with hair).

All in all, I shot about eight full versions of it, with a lot of botched attempts. When I was taking notes along the way, I decided the keeper was the seventh full take – about 35 minutes into the tape. Jacqueline saw it differently: She liked the rehearsal that I did before we did the first take. Anthony, who later edited it, agreed. I watched it again, and I understood why.

No pressure. No overthink. Just your first impression of what the take should be like.

That’s my point to you too, go with your first take most of the time. Whatever it is: presentation, pitch, creative idea, problem solving session. Take the take that comes from a full tank. It’s usually the right one, the real one and the one that most comes from your intuition.
Here’s the video: Tim Sanders reviews MPI’s new magazine

Tim Sanders Previews MPI's New Magazine from MPI on Vimeo.

July 30, 2008

Is printer friendly Earth friendly?

One of the points of my new book (Saving The World At Work, Sept 2008) is that we are printing more pages than ever. Document printing has become one of our eco-villains, especially for knowledge workers.

In fact, we print one piece of paper every eight minutes, and the number rises annually. Why? Abundance of information (Internet) combined with widespread availability of fast (and cheap) copiers.

Many websites offer "printer friendly" versions of pages (receipts, articles, reports, etc.). The idea is to take out all the ads that clutter the page and present a sleeker design for the printed page. Some might even think that this helps to save trees because it results in less pages printed by users.

This might not be accurate.

I've conducted experiments with a variety of high traffic sites (Yahoo News and Maps, AA, Ebay, USPS, etc.) and I've noticed many of them result in 1.2 pages being printed (meaning two pages, just like the non-printer friendly version). If you click Print then Preview, you'll see what I mean. In rare cases, the content moves around to squeeze on pages.

Additionally, a piece of content (a map, receipt whatever) that has a high profile "printer friendly" button is much more likely to be printed (because its easy and suggested). The result is more pages printed.

Here's an alternative: Tell the user how to save and archive the file on their computer and encourage them not to print it at all! That's an Earth friendly feature.

On the user side, follow my printing-mantra: Think before you print. In this case, preview the print job and make every page beg for its life. Example: When you book an airline ticket at American Airlines, you have a "printer friendly" schedule/receipt option that, if printed without thinking, is a four page print job with your information, legal notices, ads, etc. You can usually get by with printing only page 2 (the flight times and proof of payment) and skip the rest!

July 29, 2008

Check out EmailAtoZ

I'm happy to announce that my company (Deeper Media Inc.) now offers email training!

Check out our offering here: EmailAtoZ
There's also a companion blog: The EmailAtoZ Blog

We can send a certified trainer to your next event, give you video content for training and even offer a backend certification program.

Think about it: giving employees an email address with your brand in it, then sending them out into the world with a crack berry may be a recipe for disaster. That's why we're here!

July 25, 2008

Learn your customer's business

I was talking to a client today about the importance of being client-focused when the economy is soft.

The alternative is to compete on falling prices, which is like trying to catch a falling knife. If you take the time to be client focused, you become a solution provider during a time of many business problems. Developing a sincere interest in the client's business issues changes everything, making you exempt (or un-cuttable) from the cutbacks that most vendors face when their client needs to save money.

I learned this in 2001-2003, after the dotcom crash. If our sales team learned about the client's business and became a trusted marketing advisor (that also sold media), they were still able to win business at rate card -- and take market share from desperate competitors that were discounting their business into a commodity.

Here's a video I made in 2003, to express this thought to the Yahoo ad sales force. We showed it at the sales conference right before my talk. I'm taking it down in a few weeks, so enjoy! Don't Be A Wansta

July 24, 2008

If not you, then who?

Here's an excerpt from my Q/A after my keynote address at the Meeting Professionals International annual education conference in 2008.

Give up your riches for a hero

The topic? If not you, then who? Who will do the right thing that needs to be done?


Give up your riches for a hero from Tim Sanders on Vimeo.

July 23, 2008

A recession friendly Green strategy

I don’t believe that we’ll be in a recession forever. I believe that followed by these lows, will be higher highs – hopefully built on reality and not greed.

Until then, though, all of us need to innovate our biz-strategies to account for the current gloomy economic climate. Money is tight, oil is still expensive and inflation is everywhere.
If you want to make a difference to the planet, many of your green strategies may seem expensive (eg. Sustainable produce or promotional ingredients). Don’t give up your green-ness. Adapt it to hard times.
When it comes to eco-friendliness, I always think about the four R’s: Replace the unsustainable with sustainable, Reuse whenever possible, Reduce the use of unsustainable items and finally Recycle that which is left (especially your e-waste).

If you focus on reuse and reductions, you are being green an likely saving money. That’s the great news. When Interface (a modular carpet company) went after waste to reduce its carbon footprint, it saved three hundred million bucks in the first few years. You can save money too with your green recession strategy. Here are a few ways I’m doing it:
1. Telecommuting one day a week, which saves gas and eating lunch out.
2. Replacing three face to face meetings this month with carefully organized conference calls.
3. Ceating a PDF brochure to email prospects, to replce the printed and mailed ones I’ve been sending.
4. Producing an iTunes version of my Email training product. This reduces the stuff I need to produce and mail.
5. Moving strictly to ground shipping, except in special circumstances. This is for FEDEX as well as USPS. Ground shipping, as Aveda learned, is much friendlier to the environment than air mail.
6. Reusing all paper that’s only printed on one side (for internal use, which is most of it for me).
Each one of the innovations saves the planet and saves me money. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

What recession friendly green strategies do you have? Post in comments.

July 22, 2008

Refresh your network (repost)

Your network is your net worth.
So why don't you invest time in it?

Think about it. Much of your future rides on one of your network contacts. Your network of personal relationships, filed in databases like Outlook or Yahoo's Address Book, is the number one source of opportunities and solutions for you.

Yet you don't invest much time in it at all. You probably spend five to ten times more personal effort making sure your Inbox is empty -- yet that yields very little value. Time invested in entering personal contacts, spending time with them and keeping the relationship fresh is much more valuable time spent.

Recommended: Do the random refresh exercise every Thursday for the next four weeks. Here's how the exercise works: You randomly pick three names from your rolodex or address book. Call them on the phone and devote fifteen minutes to playing catchup. Agree to do something with at least one of them, even if it is just a call or lunch in the future. The whole month's effort should cost you less than four hours, yet potentially yield something great. Try it and report results later under comments.

July 18, 2008

Order good food (off the menu)

I travel about half the year, and spend more time at airports than my own home!

How can I stay healthy? I eat right at the airport, and avoid plane food whenever possible.

Eat right at the airport? How can this be done since it is all fast or chain food?

Simple: Go Danny Devito and order 'off the menu'. Recently, while sitting through a huge delay at Chicago O'Hare airport, I went into an Italian eatery and put together a meal that Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food) would be proud of.

I was very friendly with the server, told him about my quest to eat right at the airport, and quizzed him about the fresh veggies and simple proteins they had in the kitchen. I ended up ordering a half of grilled chicken breast on a half cup of fresh pasta and a big pile of steamed vegetables. (The reason I order a reduced portion of protein is that frequently, protein pushes veggies off the plate. In fact, according to Pollan, we should treat our animal protein portion like a side dish rather than an entre).

I've pulled this off at various fast food joints, such as Chinese and even Au Bon Pain.

The moral: Eating right is about thinking, negotiating and staying disciplined. Frequently travelers don't really do that much. Often we eat bad food for comfort, and wonder why we either gain weight or catch colds on a monthly basis. Pollan has it nailed when he advises: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

July 16, 2008

Talk the walk!

I was going to save this video clip (a rant on my part, shot off my deck in LA) for the book launch in September -- but I cannot contain the message! Please check out this video and pass it on. I'll likely repost it in September again.
Talk the Walk Video Clip

July 15, 2008

Does the email tsunami help us?

Leave it up to researchers at Harvard to prove the impossible: Email overload is good.

Harvard study suggests email overload gives us a unique perspective

What do you think? Has email given you a unique lens to see the world in ways your parents couldn't? Chirp in some comments or post to the my dedicated email excellent blog!

Visit EmailAtoZ for more ideas on how to iimprove your digi-communications.

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