Digital Sagebrush

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 12:33:00 -0500

Kirby's Shakshuka

Here's the secret to my Shakshuka.

This video shows all the steps:

https://youtu.be/vAVlF_Fkm9k

Ingredients:

5 large sweet onions

2 TB minced garlic

3 stalks Leek - only the white part

Peppers - at least one of every pepper in the market

3 large green peppers

3 Habenero peppers

4 large cans peeled whole tomatoes

2 8oz cans of tomato paste

1 TB smoked paprika

1TB Cumin

1TB Black Pepper ground

1TB Sea Salt

Olive Oil

2-3TB Secret ingredient

8oz Manchego Cheese grated

Fresh Basil Leaves

Preheat oven 400F

Bring large frying pan to Medium

Add 2 TB olive oil

Add Onions, Garlic, Leeks, cook covered 45 min, stirring occasionally

Set aside

Add 2TB olive oil to frying pan

Add peppers - except hottest

Cook covered 45 min

Set aside mixed with onions

Add 1TB olive oil to frying pan

Add finely chopped hot peppers

Cook until scorched

Deglaze pan with wine

Scrape contents into onion/pepper mix

Add tomatoes and tomato paste

Add spices

Add secret ingredient if desired

Cook stirring frequently on low simmer for 2-3 hours

Refrigerate and reheat the day of serving

Fill large frying pan with mixture. Bring to low bubble boil.

Make depressions in the mixture, carefully crack egg into the depression

Repeat around the pan and one in the center - usually 9 eggs

Fill in around the raw eggs with cheese and basil

Place uncovered into the 400F oven for 20-30 min - watch consistency of eggs and cheese. You want the whites cooked, the yolks just runny, and the cheese browned.

Serve with crusty breads, bagels, Syrian bread and humus.

10 Arms and 2 Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 11:46:00 -0400

10 Arms and 2 Smiles

Dad's Rehearsal Dinner Speech

October 8, 2022

Tonight, is about love – recognizing love, basking in it, celebrating it.

And, boy howdy, we need look no further the smiles on these two faces for undeniable, irrefutable proof that a very special love is here in our midst.

But love is so damn complicated, isn’t it? We yearn for it, regret it, fight for it, and run from it, sometimes all in the same heartbeat.

Who here believes in love at first sight? (hands)

Well, by the time we're done here tonight, I guarantee you'll all to believe in the power of love at first sight.

Many of you know Pam and My origin story, so just a quick recap:

- True story. 36 years ago, pretty much to this very day, I spy Pam across a crowded computer room, and turn to my coworkers.

- I blurt out, “I’m going to marry that girl.”

- They laugh

- Here we are…

***

We parents love all our kids no matter what, but isn’t it amazing how every kid is so different. It's like the Creator put each of them in our life to teach us a separate lesson.

In David’s case, maybe a whole host of lessons…

But looking back, I now see that God really only had one job for David in our lives. And so far, he is doing a pretty good job of it.

After 29 years, I’ve finally figured it out. David’s job is to teach us to let down our guard, open ourselves up, come face to face with our humanity, and let ourselves laugh. Really laugh.

And, he started doing that job the moment he was born.

Many of you do not know David’s origin story, so another quick recap:

Mostly true story. 28 and 1/4 years ago almost to the very day, David, as usual, was chillin’ – just kickin’, nice and warm, no hassles, no particular rush. Until Pam’s obstetrician decided the time had come to put an end to his gravy train ride.

Normally, you’d expect mother nature to sort these things out. Water breaks, everyone freaks out, Dad drives to the hospital like a madman, some other unmentionable stuff happens, and poof, the nurse hands you a nice clean baby, all swaddled up and ready to go.

Right?

Well, like I said, David was chillin’, so he ignored all that, and enjoyed a ride into the hospital at the speed limit. He swam around while they induced Pam into labor. In fact, he messed around so long that Pam’s epidural started to wear off. So now she’s screaming at me like this is somehow my fault.

Eventually, old 8 Arms and a Smile here decides to cooperate.

Only there’s a small -- well actually, a pretty big -- problem. Despite all the swimming around, Pam’s water still had not broken.

So here we are, Davey swimming, Pam screaming and swearing, Me looking helpless as usual.

Doc, looking slightly irritated in the way that doctors sometimes do, steps out of the room, comes back with a crochet hook.

And Kablam, water’s shooting everywhere -all over the doctor, nurse, dad…

***

And Kablam, Here’s Davey!

Others say this isn’t true, but I swear to you, he never cried.

There he was, covered in heaven knows what filth, with that Kurt Douglas cleft in his tiny chin…

Grinning at me…

In fact, I’m sure he winked at me...

And then...

He pee’d all over the poor doctor.

Quite the entrance.

***

Since then, Davy Wavy has cracked us up more times than I can recall, but one story stands out and we’ll leave it there.

This one happened when he was about 12-13 years old.

We’re all sitting in the living room, I don’t remember why, probably a birthday party, when down the stairs hops little David. Stark naked except for a pair of tighty-whiteys. He marches into the room, never says a word, turns around and he’s got the underwear rolled up like a thong so his butt’s wiggling in our faces, he slaps himself on the cheek, grins that grin, and runs back upstairs.

We practically wet ourselves laughing.

Funny thing about that. I remember thinking at the time, that if David ever did get married, it would have to be to an elementary school teacher. I mean, who else could wrangle any sense into a kid like that?

Years flew by – family vacations, drum lessons, sports, summer camp, trips to the ER, high school, cars, friends, concerts, college, more trips to the ER, purely platonic relationships with a girlfriend or two, more trips to the ER, job interviews, work…

Then poof, he was gone. Off to live with friends in the big city.

Quiet. The house was soooo quiet. Which was nice...for a minute, and a little sad.

Then COVID. All hell breaks loose, kids are coming/going/crying/moving, stealing all our phone chargers, toilet paper, masks, hand sanitizer.

And, in the midst of all this chaos, we get a call.

“Hi, Mom and Dad. Remember that girl I met?”

“Umm…yes..?”

“We are driving to Florida. Today. To hide from COVID. We’re going to live with her Dad.”

“What?”

We shrug.

It’s David.

“Ok. Tell us about her…”

“She’s a school teacher.”

“Oh, really. Where?”

“Boston”

“Mmm. What grade?”

“Elementary.”

“Mmm HMMM. And what subject does she teach?”

“Sex Education”

Kablam!

***

I blurt out, “He’s going to marry that girl!”

Pam laughs at me.

And here we are…

***

Please raise your glasses.

John and Andrea – we owe you such a debt of gratitude.

Just like David - Pam and I fell in love with Erica at first sight. The very first time she stepped into our home, she just fit. The more we get to know her, the more we love her. Erica is amazing – smart, funny, driven, down to earth. And, best of all, she loves David, our grinning, winking, butt-slapping 8 Arms and a Smile.

Her love has transformed David, focused him, settled him, and brought out the very best in him.

His love for her gives his life new purpose, balance, and direction.

Their love for each other is an inspiration for all of us here.

We love our son.

We really, really, love your daughter.

But we absolutely ADORE David and Erica.

Here’s to a wonderful wedding tomorrow and a happy, healthy life together.

L'Chaim!

The One - A Speech for Stephen and Margaret's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:13:00 -0400

Stephen and Margaret Wadsworth

What seems like a few short years ago, computers stood six feet tall, and required special raised-floor computer rooms. We were so proud of our technology back then, that we put thick glass windows on all sides of these computer rooms so everyone could stare in wide wonder at the blinking lights inside, humbled by our massive compute power.

After being away from the office for several weeks, on this particular day, I was back at work, and catching up with my crew. We were hanging out in the hallway behind the computer room— remember, the one with the glass windows on all sides—when all the sudden something caught the corner of my eye, and it wasn’t the blinking lights.

Unconsciously, my head spun, my twenty-something eyeballs bored a hole right through that first pane of thick glass, through the computer room, and through the second pane of thick glass, and landed on…

Her.

Whoa.

Without a thought, I blurted, “That’s THE ONE.”

Out loud.

With a bunch of guys standing around looking at me like I was nuts.

No…I mean literally, right there, staring across an ice cold computer room, past the blinking lights, through two panes of thick safety glass, I fell head over heels in love…with her.

“What?” they asked.

“That one, she’s THE ONE. I am going to marry that one,” I burbled.

“Which one?” someone asked.

“The tall blonde one with the amazing…”

“That one? Keep dreamin’. . . That girl wouldn’t give you the time of day. Waaay out of your league!” another replied.

“And she’s got a rock on her finger the size of Everest. She’s taken,” they warned.

“Doesn’t matter, she’s THE ONE. She’s mine, and I am marrying her. Just watch.”

Absolutely true story.

In one magic moment, everything that ever happened in the past, to either of us, came together to put us on either side of two panes of glass in Newton, Massachusetts—all the trouble, heartache, failures, success. . . the schoolyard scrapes, the graduation gowns. . .

Seriously—think about it—if not for that one insane moment dribblety-X years ago, none of us would be here in this room tonight.

But, both of our individual stories did come together at exactly that moment, and nothing has ever been the same since.

And people say life is just a random set of events?

No way.

When you know, you just know.

Which brings me to these two. (finally)

Are they just ridiculously, ludicrously, absurdly in love with each other or what?

When we first met Maggie, we just knew she was THE ONE. We all fell in love with her at first sight.

But more than us loving her, we knew instantly, she and Stephen loved each other.

They really do a lousy job of hiding that don’t they?

So damn cute…

But also reassuring.

Because they remind us of the best in ourselves.

Ah, to be twenty-something—handsome and beautiful, productive and successful.

To be in love, and to have the whole world ahead of us . . . the mortgages, the diapers, teething, Disneyworld . . . with kids . . . during school vacation, schoolyard scrapes, graduation gowns . . .

Kid’s weddings.

The reason we smile when we look at them, all googly eyed and kissy faced over there, is because their love is so pure, so inescapable, and so irrepressible that it reminds us there is good in the world…

In our Judeo-Christian tradition, we believe this form of agape love originates from God, from his love for mankind. And, we know, it is a rare gift.

So, when we experience such deep abiding love, whether in ourselves or in others, it reminds us that, indeed, there is God in the world.

Thank you both for sharing your love with us so generously. Experiencing it through you, and with you, is truly good for our souls.

Please raise your glasses with me.

Thanks to Jeff and Trish and everyone on Margaret’s side of the aisle for raising such an amazing woman. We love ‘every little inch of her’ almost as much as you do.

And thank you—Mags—for loving Stephen as much as, or maybe more, if that’s even possible, than we love him.

We are very happy for you both, and very excited each of you have found, THE ONE.

Cheers!

The New Wadsworth Family

A million mile smile...

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 09:31:00 -0400

A dear friend of my daughter made a few youthful decisions – some stupid and some not – that eventually resulted in the births of two beautiful baby girls before she graduated high school.

Lily’s friend and her baby’s father faced a variety of demons – some of their own making and some not – but eventually found a path to faith, marriage, and an honest effort to take their lives in a better direction.

My daughter stood by her friends as these fateful winds blasted about them. She worked part-time jobs through college to buy the baby girls clothes and gifts at birthdays and Christmas. She stayed overnight with them to give her friends time alone. She taught the girls, played with them, scolded them, but mostly loved them deeply.

When her friends decided a change of latitude was required to escape the demons, Lily helped them pack up their clothes and toys, and crushed them with hugs and kisses before waving them on their way to a new life in Florida.

At first, the peace was enticing. Without the distractions, Lily focused on herself – getting into the best shape of her life, and earning top grades – but under the surface, the emptiness was almost more than she could bear. She stayed in touch, of course, but instant messages and video chats don't fill holes in your heart.

Let me tell you, watching your kid in that kind of pain, and being helpless to do anything about it...

As we knew it would, the dam burst a couple of weeks ago when the older of the two baby girls mentioned DisneyWorld on a Facetime call,

“The princesses are so beautiful, Big Lily. We want to meet them so bad! But, Daddy doesn’t have enough money to take us right now. It’s hard, but we have to wait until he saves up to take us.”

Well, let me tell you, I don’t have 3 million frequent flier miles, and 1 million Marriott points, sitting in the bank for my health. And, I’m not taking them to the damn grave with me.

Lily was on a plane headed south in days. My son Jeffrey – the wizard of hotel upgrades – worked his magic to conjure a suite for them at the Dolphin. And I suspect his mom may have slipped a few sheckles in her purse.

And here they are, on their way to see the princesses, fairy godmothers, and singing bears.

Think you will agree, those smiles are worth 10 million miles.

And lest you think I am a complete softy, Lily split the admission with her friends who did, in fact, save up. God bless them both, and keep them headed on the right path.

It’s anyone’s guess who paid for the overpriced t-shirts and mouse-ears.

My kids are freaking awesome...

Pull Up Your Socks

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Wed, 9 Nov 2016 10:50:00 -0500

The founding fathers are once again lying face up in their graves, with knowing smiles on their skulls.

This is exactly how it was supposed to work. When one side or another gets too far out of line, the system swings back.

Here are ten things I would tell my kids today if they still listened to me:

Trump loves his family, just like we love you.
He wants the best for all American's, including our family.
He will make it easier for businesses to create jobs for people like us, so more people will be able to earn money, take pride in their work, and stay out of trouble.
He will make it harder for bad people, especially bad people who sell drugs, shoot innocent kids and police, and who are making our inner cities very scary places for the people who live there.
He will chase away many of those really, really bad people, so they can’t hurt us.
He will not chase away people just because they are different, only people who are bad and want to hurt us.
Just like we tell you to work hard and always do your best, he will reward people who work hard, and make sure people who are lazy won’t be rewarded.
He will make sure we are safe by strengthening the people who protect us.
Just like we lock the doors to our house, he will lock the doors to our country so only good people can get in.
He will sit with the unpopular people at lunch, so they don’t have to sit alone.

Now, pull up your socks, blow your nose, and get on the bus.

Everything will be fine.

Chicken Soup for the Ceiling - Remembering Joyce Zdenek

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Wed, 6 Jan 2016 14:44:00 -0500

When Joyce first found us, we were a couple of snarling stray cats hopelessly wandering in and out of furniture stores across New England in search of a new couch.

We weren't looking for an Interior Designer, that's for sure.

As fate would have it, we straggled into Bassett Furniture, and an "Interior Designer" we would have – whether we thought we needed one or not.

Like a pair of half-drown kittens, Joyce took us under her wing, dried us up, sorted us out, gave us a warm bowl of milk, and fixed us a cozy, warm place to settle.

And sold us a couch...a really, really big couch.

"Trust me, it's perfect."

"But… it's a huge sectional, we just sort of thought, maybe a couch…?"

"And we'll have to replace that counter top – forest green Formica is so 1990s! This house NEEDS granite. I know just the guy, Filippo. He'll take good care of you… I'll have him here for measurements tomorrow."

"But, we kind of like…"

"And these curtains! No, no, no…they have to go…"

"Er…they were Pam's mother's…

"Well, they look like it! Margie will stop by Thursday for measurements. She's FABULOUS!"

"Um… OK, if you say so… Who's Margie?"

"This place needs some seafoam. On the ceiling, I think. I always paint the ceilings, it's my little secret."

"A green ceiling? White isn't good?"

"Trust me!"

And we did trust Joyce.

We trusted her with paint, furniture, paper, carpets, stone, bedding, fixtures… One day at a time, one room at a time, and ten thousand dollars at a time… Joyce transformed our house into a home.

Joyce's gift of perception, her innate and extraordinary ability to see through the eyes of others, allowed her to know what you would like – or more importantly, what was right for you – before you did. Never defensive or imposing, she lovingly made you feel like her decisions were your decisions – even though behind the hugs and kisses, you both knew different.

She defended Kirby's precious collection of antiques and knickknacks from Pam's disdain, organizing and presenting them professionally…in the basement...out of Pam's sight.

Joyce helped Kirby over his own disdain for seafoam green, and autumnal orange, and oceanside blue. She protected both of us from matchy-matchy-ness, and surrounded us in 'updated' colors before we had time to object.

Along the way, her subtle and not so subtle ministrations reached beyond the transformation of our house. Joyce helped us resolve disagreements, overcome stubbornness, break bad habits, understand different points of view. She gave us the courage to stand up for our own desires, while showing compassion for the desires of each other. She taught us that compromise brought better outcomes than conflict.

Joyce redesigned more than our home, she helped us redesign our lives. Joyce redid our house, but she transformed us.

Over the years, our relationship with Joyce evolved. From salesperson, to designer, to coach, to cheerleader, to friend, and finally to family. In her, we found not only our own personal interior designer, but also our own personal 'jewish mother-in-law" from another mother. Not that we were looking for another mother-in-law, mind you, but in Joyce, we would have another mother, whether we thought we needed one or not.

Chicken soup, brisket, matzo, a little wine, some desert… along with advice on child-rearing, parent-management, nutrition, the latest haircut, matching outfits, popular music, hard work, and the occasional placement of a few pictures… No stone was left unturned by Joyce's talent for organization, eye for style, and power of persuasion.

And like a mom, we worried after her, too. Giving her advice and encouragement on men, health, career, fulfillment, or just getting through the day. She made us laugh, and fret, and occasionally act foolish. We smiled at Joyce's obvious pride and joy in her children. And as a family, we now share their grief, and offer our continuing love and support to Danielle and Jessica.

For us, remembering Joyce will be easy and inevitable. As we look at our home, every corner is touched by Joyce's signature style. Every chair, lamp, rug, wall, and ceiling received Joyce's personal stamp of approval. As we look at our lives, every corner is touched by her warmth, compassion, and the love she showed us and shared with us. Her loving spirit will be with us always, in our home and in our hearts.

We trust God knew what he was doing in taking her so soon. And, we hope he likes seafoam green. Because one thing is for sure, the kingdom of heaven is about to get a complete makeover, whether He thinks it needs it or not.

Besides, solid gold is so 1990's...

Rest in Peace, dear friend

Launch Day

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:13:00 -0400

For me, the preparation and build-up to a major product launch is one of the highlights of technology marketing. The sheer volume of effort that goes into a successful launch makes the launch project stand alone in our marketing craft.

The process starts with early visioneering sessions – a chaotic white-board soup of R&D schedules, customer requests, market directions, competitive analysis, sales input, calendars, strategy, and healthy dollops of both hope and optimism. What’s in? Out? Important or filler? When can we release?

With a date locked in, the real work begins -fashioning the story. Who are we targeting with the launch? What do we want people to believe? What do they think about us now? What will change their minds? What will catch their attention? How will the headline read? What claims can we make (with a straight face)? What benefit will the customer see? What proof points can we offer? What quotes can we get, from whom, to back it up?

With messaging blocked out, execution begins. We need a customer facing technical white paper to lay out the story in detail. Then web content, blog posts, videos, advertising copy, social media posts, the list of collateral is limited only the by the time left to prepare.

Internally, we start socializing almost immediately after the date is chosen – reaching out to every employee – sales training, operations training, you name it - everyone who answers the phone, sends an email, they all need to know the launch story.

Writing the press release itself is an art form that I may have to espouse upon in a separate blog – suffice it to say that V.10 or more isn’t unusual, and the final document will have more red lines than black by the time we are done with it.

And don’t forget translation – all that material, all those cute videos, all those web pages – must be translated into 6 or more languages before we can hit send on the release.

Finally – just when we are getting sick of telling the story – we start telling the story – first to industry analysts (which often drives V.8 through V.10 edits to the press release), and then to business and tech press. By the time we are done with the 20^th briefing, we are giving this pitch in our sleep.

Then we wait…and watch the clock…hoping no one breaks embargo, hoping the website is ready, hoping the headlines are favorable…hoping the market approves…

We give a tired little cheer when the press release crosses the wire. Wishing for a well-earned nap, instead we hit the phones and the keyboards to make sure our baby gets all the attention it deserves.

Maybe we will sleep in a bit this Saturday, because Monday we start visioneering for the next one.

Hats off to Harry's

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:46:00 -0400

When we wrote our best-selling, five-star rated book, Recommend This!, JT and I thought a lot about what it would take to establish trusted human relationships with people you've never met (and never will) using only online and digital communication.

We're both big believers in Zig Ziglar's approach - sell yourself first, help first, build trust first. In fact, we wanted to title the book, 'Help First", but the book marketing folks thought otherwise.

At the time, we were enamored with Dollar Shave Club's online use of video, friendly quirky approach to build a tribe, and have some fun. We wrote a lot about DSC in chapter two.

Well now, DSC has some tough competition in the let us ship razor blades to your house business. Harry's is hitting it hard with promotion, tie in, and tribe-building.
We can't tell for sure, but both JT and I are betting the folks at Harry's read Recommend This! because they are doing a bang-up job following the advice we gave in the book.

In our research, we discovered 9 characteristics that create or destroy human relationships - in person or online. One of these critical tenants is authenticity, which we wrote about in Chapter 12. Bottom line - you can't fake this stuff up - we can smell phonies a mile away.

A great example of digital authenticity arrived in my email this am. I recently won a Harry's razor for donating $25 to Movember. Katie at Harry's emailed me as a follow up.

Hi there, (OK, would have been better personalized, but we'll give her a pass)

My name is Katie and I’m a member of the Harry’s team. I just wanted to reach out and say thanks so much for supporting Harry's.You are important to us and I am here to personally help you however I can. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any thoughts or questions about our products (or shaving or life in general.)
Also, if you ever want more blades or other shaving supplies, I'd be more than happy to take care of that for you. You can just email me back or call me at (888) 212-6855 and I'll place your order for you. And, of course, you can also always order more on harrys.com.
Thanks again for your support and I hope to speak soon!All the best,KatieHARRYS.COMLike: Facebook / Follow: @harrys-------155 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY, 10013To opt out of further emails click here.

Nice right?
I'm going to keep an eye on this one, but my instincts tell me that the folks at Harry's get it, and I'm rooting for them as they learn to build digital relationships one at a time to build their business.
If you want to learn more about how to build, manage, and measure the impact of online relationships, you owe to yourself to read Recommend This! Get yourself a copy here.

Advice for the (About to Be) Newly Married Man

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 09:45:00 -0400

Congrats on your engagement.

Marriage is a good thing.

I've been married for the better portion of my life - longer than I was single. If fact, given how I lived my life as a single man, I'm sure I would be dead now if not for marriage.

So, by all means, go get married.

Getting married, however, is a major league, expensive, pain in the butt, so I suggest you get that part of the process over with as quickly, cheaply, and painlessly as possible.

But, if she's like most women, that is not going happen… So, my further advice to you is to let your bride make all the wedding decisions, even down to the groomsman’s presents. Seriously, don’t bother arguing about any of it. Let her have it her way. Smile and nod. A lot. It's her day. You're stage dressing at this point. Consider it a practice round.

In order to make the marriage stick, you need to accept some truths as self-evident.

Truth #1: The minute you popped the question, you gave up your right to vote. Marriage is not a democracy.

No matter how it looks on the surface, your wife-to-be already knows she is firmly in charge. You – sucker – are in love with her, and you just told her so. At that moment, on your knees begging, you lost all your negotiating leverage.

And, if you're smart, you won't ever try to get it back.

Oh, she will humor you, and ask your opinion about the new paint color for the living room, but don’t actually fool yourself into thinking you can buck her about the Sea Foam Green; she's already got three gallons of Sea Foam paint and a stack of paint rollers in the trunk of the car. Have a nice weekend.

In public, she will pretend you are in charge, letting you act all important and tough in front of the new car dealer, but you both know better. No matter what happens in the showroom, you’re buying her the damn car.

At home, in private, she calls the shots, and you both better know it.

There is much truth to the saying, "Happy Wife, Happy Life"

This is not actually as bad as it may sound on the surface to a young man. You'll get used to it, like a frog gets used to the temperature rising in a boiling pot, or the Lion gets used to his cage at the zoo.

I have seen many marriages fail over the years, for many reasons, but there is one constant in every bad marriage I've ever known (whether they eventually divorced or not) – the guy actually believed he was in charge.

Do not be that guy.

Truth #2: The secret to a truly happy marriage is the word 'OK'

A dear friend taught me this secret when I was already well into my marriage, but I wish someone had shared it earlier.

Tattoo the word 'OK' on the back of your eyelids. 'OK' is your new best friend forever.

'OK' is a happy husband’s ubiquitous, all powerful response to any question.

When she asks you what you think(about anything), you say, 'OK'.

When she suggests a restaurant, you say, "OK"

When she suggests a child’s name, you say, "OK"

Take out the garbage? OK. Get a haircut? OK. Change a light bulb? OK. Change your shirt? OK. Vacation destination? OK. New car? OK. New house? OK. Her mother wants to move in with you? er…

There are two important exceptions to the OK rule. 1) If she ever asks you how she looks, always, no matter what, you say, “Absolutely Beautiful”, and 2) If she ever asks you anything about looking fat, you always say, no matter what, “Are you kidding? You look more beautiful (or hotter, take your pick) than the day I met you.)

You will quickly learn that, no matter how annoying it may seem, there is no way to fight with someone who just keeps saying, “OK” Luckily, she will never use this trick on you.

If you get bored, try it with some inflections – oKAAY, Ooh Kay, OHH Kay.

When you are really feeling it, throw in a few Oki Doki’s for good measure.

Good luck and long life to both of you. See you at the wedding.

For Dads, Daughters Are Different

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 9 Jun 2014 13:58:00 -0400

For dads, daughters are different.

When a son is born, we hold him up for all the world to see.

When a daughter is born, we hold her close to protect her from all the world can do.

We watch a son, but we behold a daughter.

For dads, daughters are different.

We cheer at a son’s first steps, because, even then, when he is so little, we picture him rounding third, and heading for home.

We choke at a daughter’s first steps, because, even then, when she is so little, we picture her walking down the aisle, and leaving home.

Sons may make us laugh, but daughters make us smile.

For dads, daughters are different.

When our son skins a knee, we toss him a Band-Aid, and tell him to walk it off.

When our daughter stubs a toe, we pack her foot in ice, and rush her to the emergency room.

When a son asks us to play catch, we feel like young boys, again.

When a daughter asks us to play dolls, we feel like grown men, perhaps for the first time in our lives.

Seeing a son wearing a tie for the first time makes us chuckle.

Seeing a daughter wearing makeup for the first time makes us whimper.

When peach fuzz breaks out on a son’s chin, we rush out with great

pride to buy them a razor.

The first time anything related to “that stuff” happens to a daughter, we both scream in abject terror for Mommy.

For dads, daughters are different.

If someone mentions how handsome a son is becoming, we give ourselves a sideways glance in the mirror, and suck in our tummies.

When someone reminds us how beautiful a daughter has become, we give her a sideways glance, and clench our fists.

We tell our sons, “Don’t start a fight, but if the other guy starts one, you damn well finish it.”

We tell our daughters, “If he lays a hand on you, I’ll break every damn bone in his body.”

For dads, daughters are different.

A son backing the car down the driveway, alone, for the first time instills yearning in our heart, because we remember what it was like to be a seventeen-year-old kid, alone, behind the wheel, for the first time.

A daughter backing the car down the driveway, alone, for the first time instills churning in our gut, because we cannot forget what it was like to be a seventeen-year-old kid, alone, behind the wheel, for the first time.

For dads, daughters are different.

A son’s graduation is a relief. We have given him our best, and now he is on his own.

A daughter’s graduation is a reflection. She has given us her best, and now we are on our own.

Sons may make us proud, but daughters humble us.

For dads, daughters are different.

We see, in our sons, the promise of glories we once dreamed of

achieving ourselves.

In our daughters, we see glorious proof that the promise of life far exceeds even our wildest dreams.

An honest, pleasant, old-fashioned, relationship-oriented car dealer?

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Wed, 5 Mar 2014 18:47:00 -0500

Following our horrendous experience at Brigham and Gill Motors, we found another similar Jeep Wrangler listed online at O'Hara Motors down in Falmouth. The car was a year newer, and had less miles than Ali's.

A bit far away, but Pam's Dad lives there so I emailed the dealer. He was up front about the doc fee - and other aspects of the car. I sent Pam's dad over to look at, and he reported it was in good shape, hadn't been smoked in, etc. So far, so good.

When I connected with Paul Matsas, he immediately mentioned he had grown up in Wayland. (He knew from the zip code on my lead form that we live there now. The usual, "where did you live, who do you know" thing started (HISTORY - Chapter 8).

Turns out his brother, Steve, is our autobody guy. Four teenagers later, we know Steve as well as we know the nurses at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital ER. And, that also means that Paul's niece cuts all our boy's hair at Sommerby's Salon. And he has a connection to their elementary school teacher, and, and, and...well, hell, we are practically family.

Talk about understanding and building on relationships! Paul used digital technology to find me, learn about my needs, to figure out that he better be up front with me, and to convince himself that I was ready to buy a car if he could win me over with trust, authenticity, and helpfulness. Then he bridged digital to human interaction and won me over in 10 minutes. I felt comfortable enough to push him on the doc fee thing - calling him out that it was nothing more than added dealer profit. He laughed and said, "Hey, call it what you want, we charge it, so add it on to the price you expect to pay me for the car." Then he surprised me, and gave me a price over the phone (including the damn doc fee) that was irrefutable. It was fair. (And only slightly higher than what I agree to pay our old pal, Ali for an older, smoked in car with more miles!)

Shoot, what was I supposed to do?

What I did do is give Paul my credit card over the phone, put down a hefty down payment, and arranged to wire him the balance. All sight unseen. All because I had finally found the one thing I really wanted more than the car. I wanted to do business with - no, I was on a mission to find - an honest car salesman. Paul seemed to get that from the get-go. He won not only my business, but this column and a heap of online recommendations to follow. And, of course, he gets a signed copy of Recommend This!

Well played, O'Hara's.

Dishonest and Rude is No Way to Go Through Life, Son

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Sun, 2 Mar 2014 10:52:00 -0500

My mom used to play bridge with a nice lady named Peggy Brigham. Every couple of weeks, I got the call to drag up the card tables from the basement and help mom set up the living room. I still remember the chocolate covered nuts mom would put on the table. A living room full of bridge playing AAUW members was a loud room, but I remember Peggy was really bubbly and really loud. She was also a bit of a celebrity because her husband owned Brigham and Gill Motors out on Rte 9, where everyone bought their cars. I remember also that she lived up on Livingston Road - in one of the BIG houses in town.

Like my mom, I'm sure Peggy is long gone, but Brigham and Gill still exists. And I went there yesterday to try and buy a car. The taste they left in my mouth...well, it was anything but chocolate covered.

I talked to a seeming decent guy named Ali. He refused to budge off his "non-negotiable" Internet-only price (which wasn't actually unfair), but as a concession, he did offer to give us a set of rubber floor mats, after a 20 minute fake argument in the back room with his sales manager. Wow - we were lucky to have such a tiger on our side in the negotiation!

Don't you just HATE the car buying process? Wait it gets worse.

After agreeing to pay the full listed "Internet" price, I handed Ali my AMEX for a $2500 deposit. As soon as the card processed, he asked me to sign an invoice containing a $200+ doc fee, and a $179 glass etching fee. Wha...?

When I balked, he became visibly angry, and then he began spinning a web of lies. The glass etching fee wasn't actually a glass etching fee - it was part of the 'non-negotiable' documentation fee. (Red flags flying)

When I asked what the doc fee was for, he mumbled some crap that it was for the registration process, and was required by law. When I called BS on that he got really heated, stating that the dealer would be open to a class-action lawsuit if they did not charge everyone the same fee. (Warning lights flashing).

Then he stated that I absolutely would have paid this fee for every car I ever bought in Massachusetts. (So he's calling me a liar now?)

Note that NONE of those statements is even remotely true.

See this consumer warning from the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Protection: http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/press-releases/20120217-carbuyers.html

Turns out the State called 300 dealers and asked them about the "non-negotiable" documentation fee. For a good laugh - read the lies other car salesman told the state investigators here: http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/doc-fees-survey-2011.xls

If that wasn't bad enough - when I called Ali on his BS and asked for my deposit back, he literally balled the contract up, and said, "I'm through with you!" He stomped away, left me standing in the middle of the dealership (with Pam virtually in tears she was so mortified that I would 'buck' the guy). Ali returned five minutes later with my refund in hand and practically threw it at me. (and of course Pam yelled at me all the way home for not just paying the stupid $400, but that's a story for another blog...)

Keep in mind - I had agreed to pay FULL ASKING PRICE for the car.

Just inexcusable behavior - both in committing consumer fraud by lying to me, and doing it in an insulting and pejorative manner. Pretty amazing really.

I reached out to Richard Gill on Linkedin. Have not heard back. I hope Peggy's ghost pays him a call - and very loudly reminds him of the importance of trust, credibility, and consistency in doing business today - where all business is about relationships and all business is online..

Even car dealers will benefit from reading Recommend This!

Happy Umpteenth Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 19:10:00 -0500

We’ve both worked hard, probably too hard, to raise a great family. Our kids are awesome, each different and special, reflecting the love and hard work we both poured into them. You are a wonderful mother.

We’re both feeling proud and sad and happy and scared as each of our babies now steps out on their own, but we can both also share a deep sense of satisfaction knowing we raised them well, and knowing we are there for them unconditionally and always.

These past few years have been hard on you, and watching them be hard on you, has been hard on me. I’m a fixer, a problem solver, a Band-Aid it, kiss it and make it better guy. I would give anything to swoop you up and kiss away the monsters under your bed, or punch your name-calling bullies in the nose for you, but these are not bugaboos and name-calling burdens you’ve been handed.

These are problems I cannot solve. But they will pass, and I will be here with you while they do.

I am very proud of the way you have grown and matured in the face of the losses, hurts, and fears life has thrown at you. You have refused to let others define you. You have refused to stop being yourself. You have refused to stop putting others first despite the personal cost. All this is more than only a very few would be capable of doing. Throughout the worst, you remain strong and kind and good. I am proud to stand at your side as the storm passes.

I know you are anxious about the looming changes in our lives. I’m nervous, too. I believe we are entering a wonderful and exciting new phase of ‘us’ that may prove to be the best times of our lives. We had only a brief (but wonderful and very exciting) time alone together before the whirlwind of parenting hit. Make no mistake. I love our family, but through almost three wonderful and exciting ‘kid’ decades, I have selfishly dreamed about having you to myself again. Now it’s my turn.

I loved you at first sight, have loved you every second since, and I will love you with my last breath, but not yet…until then…

Let’s dance.

Another Awesomely Awful Airline Customer Service Experience

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 18:35:00 -0500

Ah, Noreen. You’re a rising star in the pantheon of nasty, foul-tempered, airline employees that ruin your employer’s brands, and destroy the value of their relationship networks every day.

Bless the hardworking, smiling, go out of their way folks at JetBlue. How do they do it?

Somewhere at Delta Airlines headquarters in Atlanta, a team of marketing experts are beating their MBA’s against the wall, trying to figure out how to improve customer service, increase NPS scores, and build valuable long-term relationships with uber-profitable customers (like me). They know that the success of the airline lies in convincing me, and the rest of my last-minute purchasing, frequent-flying peers to choose Delta.

And Noreen – you do realize we have a choice, right?

The last thing they want is for me to call my super-efficient and all around awesome travel coordinator – Danielle – and tell her I never, ever, no matter what, ever want to fly on Delta Airlines again. That’s the last thing they want, Noreen. The last thing.

Guess what, Noreen? I just made that call.

Because you pulled your best and most officious, most obnoxious, you are a stupid passenger, attitude on me and my family tonight.

And, Noreen, that call probably cost Delta Airlines $50,000 this year alone. Let alone the profit they could have tapped into for rest of my working career.

How much do you earn, Noreen? Do you create so much value for Delta Airlines, that it was worth NOT taking 2 more of your precious minutes to be polite tonight, to help me get seat assignments for my wife and daughter, to not make me take apart our luggage to move 2 pounds of shampoo from my daughter’s bag to my wife’s, to not make me unpack two bags on the floor of the terminal in front of 200 people waiting to get their tickets?

Was it worth 2 minutes of your time not to infuriate and embarrass us?

Ya, I agree, Noreen, probably not. You probably could have handled that a little bit better.

And maybe, if they are paying attention, Noreen, those hardworking marketing teams in Atlanta will agree with me. If they have any fortitude at all, they’ll simply fire you, because you are single handedly undoing everything they invest millions to achieve.

But I get it, Noreen. You don’t give a hoot who I am, or who any of us are in the long line of customers facing your ticket counter. To you, we are all just a bunch of irritating, needy, pains in your carbuncle.

And, honestly, Noreen, why should you care, anyway? You’re in the union. You’ve been at Delta for 20 years. You’re all set. Fire you? Ha! Good luck with that, right Noreen?

Welcome to the club. You have a lot of company in the worst-airline-employee –of-the-month club. Belle, move over and make some room for another of your ilk. I’m sure the two of you have a lot to complain about to each other. Your jobs would be so much more tolerable if it weren’t for those damn customers…

I guess the best us poor customers, and your poor employers, can hope for is that you all hurry up and begin enjoying your well-deserved retirement.

PS - @delta, if you are paying attention, Noreen was working the Alaska Airlines’ First Class ticket counter at Boston Logan Terminal A, on January 24, 2014 at about 5:00pm. At a minimum, she needs ‘retraining’ in dealing with customers. Personally, I’d just take her off the line. You can’t afford having people with her attitude dealing with customers.

Implement a digital marketing plan that works with the modern consumer

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:39:00 -0500

Recommend This! Delivering Digital Experiences that People Want to Share is a comprehensive guide to effectively engaging online audiences by leveraging the fundamental nature of human relations. By reframing the expectations of digital consumers as a drive to make connections, the book enables digital marketers and communicators to harness the power of the Internet by rethinking traditional methods of audience interaction and engagement. Marketing has become less about trumpeting a product, and more about creating a niche within the community.

Invasive, assertive advertising is falling by the wayside as the digital age provides consumers with more choices than ever before. While the medium has changed, the central principle of marketing – building relationships – has not. Recommend This! Delivering Digital Experiences that People Want to Share guides communications professionals through the new digital reality of marketing to the online audience, and provides the information companies need to build a brand that attracts customers instead of chasing them. The book examines the needs of the digital consumer, and provides a roadmap toward fulfilling those needs as a brand. Topics include:

Why storytelling engages more than broadcast messaging
Shaping digital content to receive attention
Nurturing online communities and delivering on promises
Being authentic and maintaining credibility

Operating within the pre-digital paradigm means getting lost amid short attention spans, noisy channels, and rapidly changing consumer expectations. Brands need a new approach to connect with the modern consumer, even as core desires remain the same. Recommend This! Delivering Digital Experiences that People Want to Share bridges the gap between traditional and digital media to help companies create the connections that drive consumer behaviors.

Order Your Copy Today!

My Friend, Paul

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Thu, 9 Jan 2014 01:00:00 -0500

I lost a friend a couple of days before Christmas. Hell of a guy. Solid as a rock.

The kind of guy who was so competent that if you thought about it you’d feel like a dolt in comparison, except he made you feel like the coolest, smartest guy on earth when you were with him.

Hell of a guy.

Calling him a friend seems sort of selfish and cheap. We didn’t exchange Christmas cards or anything. I had a few beers with him once in a while. We argued about football, gave each other a bunch of crap when we could. I didn’t bother to learn his wife’s name until I got the call that they found him dead in his bed the day before Christmas.

In fact, before that call, I hardly knew anything about this hell of a guy, other than the fact that he was a hell of a guy, and I could trust him to handle a bunch of impossibly complicated difficult stuff that our company couldn’t operate without. When he told me, "No sweat, man, I got it covered." believe me, Paul had it covered.

He became one of those very cool people you meet at work, and promptly compartmentalize as a ‘great guy you work with’. Over the years there have been dozens of these people in my life, probably yours, too.

It’s not like we talked every day,either. But the days we did talk, I really looked forward to it. I looked forward to reading his stupidly effusive weekly status reports with their !!!!!!! exclamations. When all hell broke loose – as it does once in a while – I actually enjoyed being in the bunker with him. It was…fun. It was fun. He made the worst possible shitstorm…fun. How does somebody do that?

What was I thinking not to embrace the opportunity to know him better? How many hot shits like Paul do you get to meet in one life?

Now I am seeing – and feeling – the incredible loss of the people who did let him into their lives beyond work, and it's heartbreaking. I have no right to feel anything in comparison to these people. They lost a true friend. I lost a work-buddy.

It's not a contest, I get that. I’m actually ashamed of my own grief. Who am I to be rocked like this?

I’m a leader and I need to act like it. These people need help getting through this, and somehow I have to find a way to lead them past it. Instead, I’m acting fuzzy headed and bitchy. Just when they need me to offer direction, I'm letting my worst self-absorption show.

If he was here now, I’m not sure I could look him in the eye. He’d kick my ass from here to the moon.

We recorded some testimonials today as a soundtrack to a memorial video we’re creating in his honor. Alone in the soundbooth, I did a pretty good job doing the upbeat executive expected – great guy, sorely missed - stuff.

Then Dana, the engineer, asked me one last question. "If you could say one last thing to Paul, what would it be?"

Oh dear God, don’t go there, dude.

I lost it.

"I’m trying" – was all I could think to say..

If he heard me, and I guess he did, Paul would kick my ass twice as hard for saying something stupid like that.

“Trying? Screw trying! DO IT!", he’d be yelling.

What I really need to say is, Paul, I’m sorry. Sorry I didn’t take the time to know you better, to learn more from you, to pay more attention to your crazy ideas, and cheer you on more for pursuing them. Sorry I can’t quite get my act together. Sorry for mistreating people both of us care for and respect as I grapple with a guilty sort of grief I don’t really have a right to let myself feel. Sorry for letting you down.

I get it, man. Quit trying and just do it. I get it. Doesn’t matter that it’s hard. I get it. But man…it is hard.

No sweat, buddy, got it covered...tomorrow, I promise.

I promise.

Peace, Pablo.

Recommend This!

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 02:29:00 -0500

So, by now fellow readers know that I've co-authored a legit business book with Jason Thibeault called, Recommend This!

Personally, I think you'll enjoy reading it, and you'll find it valuable. I hope so. It was a lot of work to write it, and we have no motivation other than to help you.

JT and I won't see a dime from the project, but that was never the point. We wrote it because we had to, we had something to say, which we thought was valuable. Its like an itch in the middle of your back that you can't quite reach. It drives you crazy until you find a tree to rub up against. Well, for us, the book was our tree.

Now that the book is done, that itch is better, but another one has crept up between our shoulder blades - this one is a little harder to reach, and only you can scratch it. We want people to read the damn thing - argue about it - curse us out, or shout our praises. Doesn't matter. The only way to scratch this is not be ignored.

This is our art. We toiled over it, fought about it, sweated deadlines, chased after permissions, the list is endless. All simply to help people, to teach, to inspire, to challenge. What a damn shame if no one discovers it.

The theme and teachings of the book are both simple and deep. We explore the facets of human interaction that form relationships in the real world, and translate them into strategies businesses can implement in the digital world to build raving fans who love them and recommend them to others. Simple.

We also delve deep into the value of the vast networks of digital relationships that businesses can and must develop using digital technology. Do you know what your network is worth? Of course not, no one does. But we have created a method to measure it, and a metric we call the Relawatt. (ok, kitschy but it works).

Using our model, you can measure and manage the value of your network of relationships - not just one, but all of them. You know who is most valuable, who to focus on, who to ignore - and you can feed this info into your marketing automation, personalization, and other engagement management systems. It's cool, and very valuable stuff.

We've also given you nine specific relationship elements that you must optimize to effectively build online relationships. The way we devised this is pretty simple - we observed organizations that had built great face to face relationships and figured out what makes them tick. Then we translated those core relationship tenets into specific actionable steps you must take to build loyal, loving, devoted, caring fans online. On one hand, these are obvious, on the other they are ground-breaking (and for the most part, you will find you are not doing them today.)

Look - I could blather on for 50,000 words about this...in fact, I already did. In the book. So I will cut and run here - please read it. I don't care whether you buy it, get it at the library, or borrow it. I just want you to experience what we experienced in the discovery process. I want to help you build better online relationships, build your networks, build your business, or church, or political party, or even your stupid government healthcare takeover. For me, its all about sharing what we learned, so you too can learn.

Of course, I hope you like it, and benefit. If you don't that's ok, too. Either way, tell us why so we can do better on the next book, and the next after that.

Recommend This! is available for pre-ordering now on Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/dp/1118836693

"Stop Right There!"

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 11:28:00 -0400

She's pointing a finger at me, and when she catches my eye she flips her palm up into a stop sign.

Way to make customers feel welcome, Belle.

She's concerned that a first class passenger needs to get back to his seat, and wants me to hold up in the galley and wait for him to get settled. I got no problem with that. As readers know, I am about the most compliant, and thoughtful, passenger an airline crew could hope to have on board. If you haven't read it, check out my earlier blog post "Sit Down, Shut up, and Fly".

What I do have a problem with is Belle. She's a first class you-know-what-that-rhymes-with-hitch. Every inch of her body language screams, "I'm sick to death of dealing with you idiot passengers."

Maya Angelou once said. “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” You made me feel bad, Belle.

And you made a lot of other people feel bad, too. The poor guy in Row 4. Remember him? You yelled at him from halfway down the plane to stop, and put his bag in the first class overhead you were holding for the bulkhead passengers. The idea was good - you saved room for people who have no "under the seat in front of you" - but your tone of voice turned heads, and the shock on his face looked like he thought he was being arrested.

Then that girl in 5A had the audacity, the AUDACITY, of trying to hang her jacket on the first class coat rack? You dressed her down good, Belle, just like she deserved. And in front of the entire plane, too, so we could all learn from her mistake. Serves her right. How dare she? Right, Belle? As you rightly, and loudly, pointed out - those hangers are for FIRST CLASS PASSENGERS ONLY. Bet she won't make that mistake again, will she Belle?

And boy, you hate those sound-reducing headphones, don't ya, Belle. So annoying. Made that clear by waving a napkin right in that guy in 9C's face to get his attention. How dare he slow down your drink service? Hey pal, you wanna frigging soda or not? Stop wasting everyone's time. What a jerk. Right, Belle?

I could go on - your snapping at people for not turning off their electronics fast enough, your reaching in and pressing seat-back buttons to "bring them to their fully upright position" for all those idiots who didn't respond fast enough. The little flick you used to grab empty cups from people's hands. Every little bit of your interaction with us made your passengers, the guests on your airplane, feel like interlopers - intrusions on your day, interruptions from your magazine reading time, pains in your carbuncles. Belle, you made us feel unwelcome.

Today, relationships matter more than ever before in business. Digital amplifies our ability to express our likes and dislikes to worldwide audiences. A company's Digital Presence is fluid, and out of the control of the organization. The collective WE now owns it. Some companies get this. When I tweeted last week, "JetBlue isn't showing me the love today." I received an immediate response, "Uh oh, Kirby, what's wrong. Talk to us." When I tweeted about Belle, twice, USair refused to even acknowledge me (and I am a Platinum).

What JetBlue realizes, and USair doesn't, is that relationships matter - especially in the digital world - and that every touch point with a customer is multiplied by every other one. Multiplying a hundred great experiences by one single ZERO experience negates the value of the entire relationship.

USair, you better get your social media act together. You should have publicly acknowledged my tweet, and engaged me publicly in addressing the concern. You can't hide. You can't ignore customers. You can't be silent. Silent screams. It screams, "we don't care! you're wrong to tweet about us! our flight attendants are sacrosanct! you will do as we tell you!"

As for you, Belle, you just negated USair's relationship with 138 customers. Thousands more are going to read my tweets, and this post, and many of those will retweet or repost it. If you do really hate USair, USair passengers, your life, and the world in general, you're doing great and keep it up.

Otherwise, maybe YOU need to, "Stop Right There!"

And, you ought to read my other semi-famous blog about the very best flight attendant in the business, SkyAngel, over at American for some tips on how to do it right.

Why We Are Patriots

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:09:00 -0400

Boston is a tough little town – always has been.

We face down Mother Nature’s worst - blizzards, hurricanes, fire, and floods (both water and molasses).

And human nature’s worst - unjust rulers, criminals, bigots, and downright scoundrels.

A decade ago, we faced the devil incarnate.

Every time we walk through American Airlines Gate B32, we get a shiver up our spine knowing the bastard himself was right there at 7am on September 11, 2001. Walking down the same jet way. Breathing the same air.

Yesterday, we faced him again.

Whose body he possessed this time - what color skin, what religion the poor fool followed, what country he lived in before the devil hopped on board – all that is irrelevant.

People don’t do this. Religions don’t do this. Countries don’t do this.

Evil does this.

Only pure, unadulterated, evil.

We Bostonians hate evil. We hate it in errant kings, corrupt politicians, crime bosses, busing bigots, gang bangers, preying priests, marathon cheaters, and baby-shakers.

Now we hate it in IED detonators, too.

Now, every time we walk through Copley Square (because we will, you bastard),

Every time we take our kids to skate on Frog Pond (because we will, you bastard),

Every time ride the elevator to the top of the Pru, take in a game at Fenway, or race in the Head of the Charles (BECAUSE WE WILL, YOU BASTARD),

We will get a shiver up our spine knowing you were here, on April 15, 2013, walking down the same sidewalk, breathing the same air.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a Patriot as a person actively opposing enemy forces occupying their country. We are patriots. Boston survives because we will not allow the enemy to occupy our town.

While we are rallying, ranting, raving, and proclaiming today - let’s please, please remember that this time, just like every other time, the enemy is nothing more, and nothing less, than evil itself.

We send our hearts to the injured, our pride to those who ran forward, our hope to the future.

A storytelling masterwork

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 4 Feb 2013 19:14:00 -0500

I'm really excited about the new focus on storytelling in marketing - Coke is doing amazing stuff - loved the race in the desert idea-and they're online storytelling presence is awesome.

We've been talking a lot lately as an industry about storytelling. I am a big fan of stories as marketing tools. It's so much more interesting and engaging experience a story rather than a pitch. Yesterday we saw a dozen great storytelling adverts on the Super Bowl.

None more powerful emotionally than The Farmer

Everyone - including Gary Sinese loved it. But I say, it's a lousy commercial, and a poor use of storytelling. Why? Quick, what product was it pushing? A pickup truck, good. Which one? Chevy? Ford? No wait...Ram Pickups? hmmm...doesn't Fiat own that brand now?

The commercial was well executed. Paul Harvey, great. But the connection of the brand to the story? Not so much. Chrysler could have woven in all the great stuff they have done for farmers over the years...it must be more than trucks, right? Well, a quick search doesn't show that much actually. Chrysler doesn't appear to have a farm equipment focus. In fact the only tractor related Chrysler connection was an old news story about Chrysler strong-arming a tiny mid-west tractor manufacturer into giving up its Plymouth Tractor brand.

Bottom line, great execution, but no brand hook other than repetition, equals lousy marketing storytelling.

Compare that to the NZ lottery story-ad here. This is an unforgettable story-directly and unequivocally tied to the Lotto brand. It tugs at your heart, makes you laugh, and provides a believable, yet completely unexpected plot twist that slams home the point and stabs the brand forever into your cerebellum - the lottery changes lives, it could change yours, and by god after watching this video, I bet a dollar to your donuts that you are going to go out and buy a ticket.

A true "storytelling as marketing" masterwork.

Looking forward to more, and better, marketing stories. Off to pat the dog...you can never be too loyal!

One lousy touch point destroys the entire customer experience

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:21:00 -0500

One unsmiling flight attendant, one lonely french fry on the floor, one hair left in the hotel bathtub…

one lousy little snag in an otherwise perfectly planned and carefully choreographed system is all it takes to collapse the entire enterprise into mediocrity. Whether you are paying millions of dollars in advertising to attract frequent flyers, or staffing the cash register at your own boutique, the experience you provide customers is a layered house of cards. One little puff of ill wind sends your entire creation crashing down on itself

Case in point.

On the flight home from our annual sales kickoff this week, I flew USAir. I flew them because the schedule was convenient. Check out their policy on customer service here. Nowhere in the policy does it say anything about creating excellent customer experiences, or even trying to be pleasant. And boy does their lack of attention to customer experience show.

Even though I am now gold level, they do not do much of anything to make me feel special like American used to do. They are not funny like Southwest, or fun like Jet Blue, but they do fly nonstop PHX to BOS, so I put up with it. Seats are hard, flights packed full, and legroom is so skimpy I had to get a smaller laptop to squeeze it in behind the seat in front of me so I could work on the plane. They have successfully achieved their apparent goal to deliver lowest common denominator of US airline customer service.

Last Friday, things sank a little lower, and it made me start thinking about the contentedness of customer experience touchpoints, and the great tragedy of one lousy interaction destroying the work of so many.

Coming up to the baggage drop off counter, I followed the instructions on the kiosk, picked up my ticket and waited patiently to be called forward by the attendant. My bag was overfilled with swag from sales kickoff, and weighed in at 53 lbs. The clerk did something unexpected; she took the bag, smiled at me and said, “We’re not really allowed to do this, so please keep it under 50 lbs in the future. Thanks for your business.”

Walking up to the club to wait for my flight, I was feeling good about USAir.

In the lounge, the attendant was extremely helpful, checked our flight status without asking, apologized for a delay, and even researched the cause. Walking over to a comfy leather chair in the lounge, I still felt good about USAir - even though the flight was an hour delayed, and I was going to miss a dinner date with Pam when I got home.

Finally on the plane, we faced additional delays. When the door finally closed, I pressed the power button on my RazorMax, and laid it face down on the seat waiting for it to shut down. The flight attendant came by checking for compliance, stopped at my row, looked at me, and barked, “Whattaya think I’m stupid? Turn it off.” I sheepishly flipped it over, showed her the splash screen shutting down, and looked her in the eye, expecting, I suppose, an apology.

When walked away without a word, I started felling pretty bad about USAir.

Later in the flight, after even further delays, the same flight attendant came by with an armload of beer and soda cans, delivering them to passengers two rows ahead. As she returned, my seatmate raised a hand to get her attention, asking, “Ma’am, may I have another beer as well, when you get a chance?”

At this, she barked again, “Listen Honey, I’ll get you another round when I bring the cart up in a few minutes, we are working as fast as we can.”

My seatmate dropped his hand, and looked at me. “I hate this airline,” was all he said.

At sales kickoff, we spent a lot of time talking about customer experience. We heard Nicholas Webb speak about the efforts great companies like In ‘N Out Burger, and Southwest Airlines put into ensuring every customer touchpoint is aligned, coordinated, and exceptional. He uses the vivid expression – creating delicious experiences.

And here was a vivid example – of how NOT to do it.

Everyone who works at USAir – all the baggage handlers, agents, pilots, mechanics, marketing teams, cleaning crews, everyone – was shafted Friday by one lousy customer touch point – one grouchy flight attendant ruined all their hard work that week. One simple little touch point collapsed USAir’s house of customer experiences for both my seatmate and me.

Why was she rude? – union rules, overworked, tired, poor hiring, poor training, or perhaps because she herself is treated like crap by her employer?

Does not matter. There is no excuse. Her failure brought down the system, and it was an incredible, avoidable waste.

Customer service is everyone's job, at every touchpoint, every time. I'll probably fly USAir again - but I am going to take a long hard look at JetBlue next time. Even though the schedule is not as convenient, they still smile once in a while, and they don't use those damn carts anymore.

99 and 1/2 Days

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:12:00 -0400

Alaskan crab fishing may well be the most dangerous job in the world, but being CMO is the most dangerous in the enterprise. The average tenure of a CMO is 40 months, or 1200 days. You'd be nuts to give a CMO a mortgage.

Today in my 99^th day at Limelight. I only have 1100 days left – to fix the marketing operations plumbing, fill the pipeline with a steady stream of opportunities, increase brand awareness, improve analyst relations, build a user community, build out international marketing, and develop ‘thought-leadership’ whatever the heck that means.

Maybe I should just jump overboard now and get it over with…

Nah. Having too much fun. And, I don’t get seasick. Much.

We did land at least one whale in my first 100 days. Today, we launch our new Digital Presence. And, like hitting one good crab-pot in a string, this one is going to make me get up tomorrow morning and keep fishing.

Check out http://www.limelight.com

Oh yes, it’s a radical departure. Written in a fresh, jaunty style that represents a brand direction for Limelight – confident, approachable, down-to-earth, no BS, but with a sharp sense of humor – it’s good fresh digital bait.

We hope you find our new online digital presence engaging, informative, and perhaps even enjoyable. We’re particularly pleased with the new corporate video – filmed with help from our Tempe employees just last week. You will find it on the Limelight Video Player embedded in carousel frame #6 (Make It Stick.)

The new site tells a story – The Story of the Customer’s Story. It’s about the challenges people face in getting their stories across in today’s digital marketplace, and the value we provide in delivering stories. Every Way. Every Where.

The medium itself stands as a testament to our message. We didn’t just eat our own dog food on this project; we got shipfaced on our own champagne!

Starting with a full-on Digital Presence Assessment in partnership with Limelight Global Services, we stared at our digital navel, and it was not a pretty site.

Getting the story straight was no smooth sail, either. We dumped plenty of fish guts over the whiteboard rails before limelight finally dawned on marketing’s marble head – it ain’t about us, Salty. It’s about the customer, and the customer’s story. We’re just digital bookbinders, Mate.

Once we got that net untangled, the rest of the work was setting the pots. We built the site on Limelight Video Player and Dynamic Site Platform – our SaaS based web content management system. As a long time user of crusty in-house CMS systems, let me tell you this is a thing of beauty to a wave-worn marketing geek like me. I spent days in this CMS, all by my lonesome – editing, writing, posting, fixing – and believe you me, if I can do it…well, so can you.

We integrated social media and hosted the whole thing in our Agile storage cloud. We bridged the site with virtually every one of our internal business systems - the new UCS system, Marketo, SFDC, Live Chat, our NASDAQ microsite, and our support systems.

We did nothing – not one thing – special or difficult to get the site to run on any mobile device anywhere in the world. Try it on yours. Pure magic.

The new site uses, or will soon use, virtually every service and interface Limelight has to offer. It is a holistic example of what we do for our customers.

It is Orchestrate.

We hope you enjoy this first step in Limelight’s digital presence transformation.

For now, it’s back to cutting bait – only 1099 days left in this fishing season.

Wish me luck!

PS - We hid a few surprises around, just to keep things interesting. Hope you get a smile or two when you trip over them.

Why Marketing is So Damn Hard Nowadays....

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:43:00 -0400

Talk about a Limelight bulb going off in your head...

Take a (close) look at this infograph compiled by our friend and colleague Daniel Webster:

Are You Awesome?

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:53:00 -0400

Well...not you yourself...of course, you are awesome...

But is your marketing awesome?

Are you engaging your online audience with sizzling, relevant content?

Are you consistently presenting them with an awesome digital experience on every type of screen and device they want to use?

Are you leveraging video and multimedia to improve engagement, lengthen sessions, and tell more compelling stories?

Today - buyers are making 80% of their decisions before they ever talk to a salesperson. And they keep searching, chatting, testing, and exploring at every stage of the buying cycle. With a tablet or smartphone in hand,
your customers are constantly comparing you to every other option and competitor in the market - right up to signing a purchase order, clicking the buy button, or stepping up to a cashier - and then forever after.

Yikes...

To win in today's markets, you must present an awesome digital presence on every
channel, on every screen, on every site - ALL THE TIME.

And you can't control what others say, write, pod, vblog, or rate you on

Presenting a comprehensive, consistent, effective digital presence is hard...

So are you?

Awesome, that is?

Putting Digital First - A guest post from Jason Thibeault

noreply@blogger.com (AceSage) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:04:00 -0400

Putting Digital First

A Brilliant Guest Post by Jason Thibeault on August 10, 2012 in Business, Hypothesis, Philosophy

In my role at Limelight Networks as the Sr. Director of Marketing Strategy, I have been deeply involved recently in the company’s significant market pivot around digital presence management. As I participated in an internal assessment of our own digital presence (which I have been blogging about on the Limelight website) and had conversations with smart people, I came to realize what makes a successful digital presence.

And it might not be what you think.

As companies foray into the digital ecosystem, reaching new customers around the globe and, in general, helping to unite the world in a digital economy, they adopt tools and services that they think represent a fundamental change to their business. Facebook pages. Twitter feeds. Blogs. Digital marketing. “We are changing the way we do business,” they say. “Through our online store and social media efforts we will transform our company into a digital entity.” All that’s fine and dandy, but it’s really just a new paint job on an old car. In order for companies to be truly successful in the digital economy, to truly have an awesome digital presence, they must fundamentally transform. Digital must come first.

Before I qualify that last sentence, let me explain what it means to be digital.

Being digital means that real-time is a state of mind. The blog and twitter feeds are not just extensions of existing ways of thinking and doing. They are a way of thinking. They are a mode of being. Many companies reserve tweets, for example, to represent “meaningful” announcements such as the link to a new blog post or a product offering. But for those who are digital, Twitter represents an ongoing conversation. It’s not one tweet one day and another tweet another day. The same goes for Facebook, Reddit, blogs, and any other online service that supports bi-directional communication. Being digital is about actively starting and participating in the 24/7/365 conversations that permeate today’s global web.

Now, back to that sentence.

For business, putting digital first means that internal processes and ways of thinking must change to reflect the ongoing conversations that are part of beingdigital. Organizational units within companies must flatten. Cross-functional teams must rise. Because if there is a single “gatekeeper” of the conversation within a company (i.e., typically a marketing department) then the company hasn’t done anything to truly become digital. And what if the marketing department left? How would the company continue to participate in the conversations if no one else is truly digital?

Putting digital first then is less about building and enabling digital marketing campaigns and strategies as it is about changing the way companies see themselves and their role in the growing digital economy. And companies that embrace digital first will have an awesome digital presence as a result because the importance of the components that make up that presence will be on equal footing with traditional processes. The perspective on social media won’t be a “hey, we have to tweet some stuff about this new product.” The digital conversations about the product across web, blog, social media, and even large screen will be no different from newspaper clippings and press releases. But it’s important to understand that putting digital first isn’t about one medium over another. It’s not web vs. print. It’s about how the digital world is changing everything. Where we once talked about “messaging to customers”, being digital means “communicating with customers.”

Every company will have people who are already digital. They have personal blogs and twitter handles and are actively engaged both inside and outside of their industry in the ongoing flow of digital discourse around the world. They are agents of change and the “digital virus” they represent has the potential to change the fundamental nature of business until there is no distinction between online and offline, between real and digital.

Are you digital? Are you an agent of change? Has your company put digital first?

The answers to those questions may just determine the success of your company’s digital presence…and long-term viability.