I have always thought of myself as living evidence that America is a land of opportunity.  I was born into poverty. I was not only the first member of my family to graduate from college, but from high school. And when I left grad school, my financial statement showed no real assets except for a student loan that was coming due.  

But now an op ed in the Washington Post by two researchers at the Brookings Institution suggests that my experience may be more of an exception than a general rule.  In "Five Myths About Our Land Of Opportunity," Isabel Sawhill and Ron Hawkins demonstrate that the reality of social and economic mobility in the U.S. is much more complex than the myths might suggest. 

For example, recent research demonstrates that people born into poverty in the Nordic countries and in the United Kingdom have a greater chance of forming a higher income family by the time they're adults than people born poor in the U.S. Furthermore, it is no longer certain that each generation does better than the last.  In the U.S. today, men in their 30s earn 12 percent less than their fathers did at the same age. 

Those are just two of examples of the myths Sawhill and Hawkins debunk.  But they are not just myth-busters.  They also suggest ways to bring the reality of American economic life into line with our ideals of equal opportunity. And perhaps surprisingly for two research fellows at a left-leaning think tank, it is less about income redistribution than about restoring the vitality of American families.  It's a "family values" proposition that every American can embrace. Thanks to my friend Morry Tanenbaum for drawing it to my attention.

Sony played the video below at their annual meeting.

I recognize some of these facts because I've used them in various speeches to demonstrate how fast the world is changing.  

After all, when I started my career at AT&T, there were no cell phones, no personal computers, and no email. Fax machines were smelly devices off in a room with the photocopiers, which were about as big as Volkswagens but not nearly as reliable. 

As this video demonstrates, things are changing even faster today and more dramatically today.

via www.youtube.com

As anticipated, pundits on all sides of the political spectrum are interpreting Chicago's Olympic snub as evidence of continuing anti-Americanism.  

Even President Obama's popularity in the left-leaning quarters of the world, they sniff, couldn't rub off on his adopted home town.  John R. Miller, a former Republican pol and State Department ambassador-at-large opined in the New York Times that "public opinion, it seems, is driven less by current events or decisions than by a deep resentment of America's powerful status."  

The lesson he drew from all this? "Pay less attention to foreign opinion surveys and more to our own ideals and interests."  Unfortunately, I think Miller is wrong on both his analysis of Chicago's failure and the lessons he draws from it.  

As the Times' sports section makes clear, Chicago's loss has less to do with the quality of its proposal than with an intramural fracas within the International Olympic Committee itself.  The U.S. Olympic Committee has had a rocky relationship with other IOC members ever since the Salt Lake City Games were tainted by a bidding scandal.  And many were irritated by its recent efforts to undercut the IOC's biggest funding source by establishing its own Olympic TV network. Finally, the eventual winner, Rio de Janeiro, offered the opportunity to hold the Olympics in South America for the first time. Anti-Americanism may not have played much, if any, of a role.  Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  

But even assuming the problem was that "nobody likes us," as Miller's column headline suggested, the solution is not to adopt a "who cares" attitude.  That might have worked in the 19th century -- or even in the first two-thirds of the 20th -- but it won't fly in the 21st.  

Think of the biggest issues America faces -- nuclear proliferation, terrorism, pandemics, the economy, etc.  None of them can be addressed unilaterally. Even a country as powerful as the U.S. needs the cooperation of other countries in dealing with them.  And the latitude foreign leaders have to work with a U.S. president is a function the trust their own people have in us. One example: would Sarkozy and Brown have stood with George W. Bush to challenge Iran's hidden nuclear site? 

Today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) marvels at Wal-Mart’s recent transformation “from Demon to Darling.”  It credits the company’s transformation to communications czar Leslie Dach, a former Democratic operative and executive at Edelman PR.  Dach deserves a lot of credit, but the roots of the company’s makeover is more than skin deep and it’s not the product of wordsmithing or sharp elbowed “truth squads.” 

Wal-Mart tried that early in Dach’s tenure when it began punching back at critics out of a political campaign-like “war room” and built its own front groups.  Nothing seemed to work.  In fact, some of the stealth campaigns backfired when the media tumbled to them. 

Ironically, it took a hurricane to help the company realize that actions spoke louder than words. When Wal-Mart was quicker than the government and many charitable organizations to get relief supplies to Hurricane Katrina’s victims along the Gulf Coast, CEO Lee Scott realized that it had the power to positively influence communities. 

He decided to rebuild the company’s reputation by taking credible action on two burning issues – sustainability and health care.  The retailer offered lower cost health insurance to its own employees, started selling generic drugs for $4, and opened in-store health clinics, which offer low-priced services from vaccinations to cholesterol screening.  It set aggressive targets for energy conservation and reduced waste, became the world’s largest buyer of organic cotton, sold more organic milk and produce than any other retailer, sold more green-friendly products like energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, and made selling local produce a priority. 

Jim Prevor, a long-time Wal-Mart observer, who publishes a newsletter called The Perishable Pundit, found the secret behind the company’s greening.  "Helping the environment is an area where Wal-Mart felt culturally comfortable,” he said. “It could maintain its core values of eliminating waste and driving costs down while reducing packaging and creating energy-efficient stores."  Plus, he might have added, it was good for the bottom line. 

Wal-Mart’s actions were not a cynical attempt to distract its critics.  They were the product of a new understanding of a company’s place in society.  The company isn’t perfect, but it deserves credit for its efforts.

In Rebuilding Brand America, I cited research showing that media tended to follow the political and social views of their target audience.  Conservatives don't watch Fox News because it's conservative; Roger Aisles made it conservative to attract conservative viewers.  Al Jazeera reports the news from an Arab perspective because that's the environment in which it was founded and operates.

Back in the 1970s, Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote an article that helped explain why the Vietnam War protests represented a sea-change in American society.  The key, he said, was demography -- the Baby Boom generation, which was then of draft age and personally affected by conflict, had sufficient critical mass to dominate public discourse and change the course of history.  

However the Iranian election turns out, the country's supreme Ayatollah would be wise to dig up a copy of Moynihan's article. About 65 percent of Iran's population is under 30, well-educated, and eager to end the country's isolation from the West.  While the ayatollahs control the country's mainstream media, they have little sway over the media that its young people actually use -- blogs, instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook and the like.

That's how they organized the mass protests that evaporated President Ahmadinejad's lead in less than a month.  Taking a cue from the last U.S. presidential election, the poster in the photo above reads "Change for Iran."

Whether Ahmadinejad loses or wins, Iranian politics -- and society -- may be changing in ways no one expected.

Jim Stewart writes the Wall Street Journal's "Common Sense" investing column.  It's not the first place you'd look for marketing tips, but the folks at Gap should read today's column, assuming they have a subscription. Stewart discusses the stock of a retailer headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska, of all places.  Called "Buckle," it serves the notoriously fickle teenage market through 390 stores in 40 states. 

Since competitors like Abercrombie, American Eagle and The Gap are sucking wind, Stewart was initially skeptical that Buckle would be a good investment.  So he drafted his college-age niece and her sorority sisters to check out its stores.  

Their verdict: "The salespeople] are always really attentive and friendly and they always end up bringing you so many other cute jeans and shirts to try on ... and then you end up buying more than you planned on." "I shop there to buy Silver jeans. They are the only brand that fits me, and last many years. I also like the type of clothing they have, which is different from other places like AE [American Eagle Outfitters], Hollister, A&F [Abercrombie & Fitch]. ... I feel the clothes they sell are definitely worth the price."

From feedback like that, Stewart deduced Buckle's marketing strategy: fit, selection, and service make "medium to better-priced merchandise" a good value.  That may be why, in a market roiled by quirky fashion trends and reeling from the Great Recession, Buckle has racked up 21 consecutive months of double-digit sales gains.  It's stock is up and it's planning to expand into the Northeast.  Gap, are you listening?

Today's New York Times has an interesting article about all the food brands that are using a "value" message to attract consumers during the Great Recession.  It offers the May 18 issue of People magazine as Exhibit A.  In that issue, Oscar Meyer wieners claim to be “deli fresh, but without the deli counter price.” Lean Cuisine claims to be "good for you and good for your wallet." Chips Ahoy cookies team with Capri Sun juice drinks to assure consumers they needn't "snackrifice."  Elsewhere, Frito-Lay is adding 20 percent more chips to selected bags of Chitoos, Fritos and Tostitos, without raising the price.  Del Monte shows how canned fruits and vegetables can "stretch" food budgets.  And French's is offering larger jars of mustard at lower prices. Stretching dollars is a timeless message, but I wonder if it doesn't put brands on the wrong battlefield.  "Value" messages have a way of devolving into "price" claims. 

Frog Design's Tim Leberecht suggests marketers should create a deeper meaning for their brands.  His argument in a nutshell: "As brands face an unprecedented level of competition, transparency, and consumer empowerment on the social web, 'meaning' is becoming the new powerful currency that connects brands with their brandholders in the 'share economy.' "Lots of buzzwords there, but I think what he means is that marketing leaders need to reconnect their brands with their original purpose, i.e. how they help improve people's lives.  He expands on the idea in a provocative slideshow, which is available at  SlideShare.  His blog, iPlot, expands on the topic.

What stuff do you really need?  That's the question the Pew Research Center asked a bunch of Americans and here's how they answered this year compared to 2006. As you might expect in the middle of the Great Recession, many people think they can do without the dishwasher or the microwave if push comes to shove. But two findings are a little surprising.

First, I'm amazed that people seem to value their landline telephone more than their cell phone (though Pew only asked about landline phones this year).  Watch for those numbers to reverse over time, as AT&T and Verizon have already realized. 

Second, note that cable and satellite TV are considered less necessary, i.e., more of a luxury, than high-speed Internet service.  Watch that gap grow over time. Young people, in particular, are getting used to watching their favorite TV shows online. But marketers shouldn't cope by throwing TV-like ads online.  People aren't as forgiving about interruptions online as they are on broadcast media.  Online is all about communities. Marketers need to earn the permission to join online communities by offering something of value.

Seth Godin has one of the sharpest minds in marketing.  His blog is an endless source of insight and practical advice.  I often wonder how he can churn out such a steady stream of pointed observations, while simultaneously writing a best-seller nearly every year. Not to mention regularly speaking to enthusiastic audiences.  

But my own research with marketing leaders suggests they think more broadly than maximizing transactions.  They focus on building relationships, and that requires a different kind of thinking.   P&G's Jim Stengel, for example, encourages marketers to find their "higher purpose" -- that is, how they can improve people's lives.  Sounds high-falutin', but he says it was the secret behind P&G's success in everything from Pampers diapers to Pringle's potato chips. And it will be the topic of a book he's writing, titled Packaged Good, based on world-wide research he's conducting.  Based on the preview he gave me in the research for own book, Secrets of the Marketing Masters, I can't wait to read it.  Stengel says he wants to start a movement. Count me in.

One way Estee Lauder has decided to deal with the recession is by posting prices at the cosmetic counter, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Potential customers looking for "affordable luxuries" are apparently too intimidated to ask how much they would have to shell out for that tube of lipstick.  

Meanwhile, Forrester Research reports that advertisers are moving money by the cartload from "traditional" channels into interactive media.  Analyst Shar VanBoskirk says the switch "is due to marketers seeking lower cost, more accountable channels which are also widely used by their customers."  But before marketers pour money into interactive media, they would be wise to take a cue from Estee Lauder.  Even a busy cosmetic counter isn't really interactive until you take the time to figure out what's going on in a customer's mind when she's standing in front of it.