BizzBangBuzz by strategic business lawyer, technology attorney, mediator, Anthony Cerminaro

Bocce : Everything You Always Wanted to Know

2009-07-13T11:02:00.003-04:00

My friend and classmate, Matt Flournoy and wife Joanne host the Annual Marietta Kiwanis Club Bocce Party at their home in Marietta, Georgia. Here are their rules and related instructional videos for all you bocce enthusiasts or curiousts out there.

Bocce Rules and Definitions/ Non Uniform Local Rules of Flournoy Bocce , and Bocce Instructional Videos by Joanne Flournoy (Joanne R. Flournoy) and Matt Flournoy (Matthew C. Flournoy) in Marietta Cobb County Georgia

Joanne Flournoy ( Joanne R. Flournoy)and Matt Flournoy ( Matthew C. Flournoy) have a lighted out door Bocce Ball Court in their back yard in Marietta Cobb County Georgia. The Bocce Court is 60 feet long and 12 feet wide. The surface is granite dust.

We recommend that you read the Bocce Rules and Definitions, and then watch the 21 short Bocce Instructional Videos linked below before you play. The 21 short Bocce Instructional videos average only 13 seconds in time. The total time of all 21 videos is only 265 seconds or 4.4 minutes.

21 Short Bocce Instructional Videos created by Joanne Flournoy ( Joanne R. Flournoy) and Matt Flournoy (Matthew C. Flournoy) on September 3, 2006 in Marietta Cobb County Georgia.
(Click on each to view):
1. Introduction to Bocce (18 seconds).
2. Bocce Court (11 seconds).
3. Bocce Balls (22 seconds).
4. Palino, the target ball (7 seconds).
5. Object of Bocce Ball (11 seconds).
6. Foot fault line (10 seconds).
7. Bowling the Palino (12 seconds).
8. Bowling the first Bocce Ball (9 seconds).
9. Bowling the second Bocce Ball (13 seconds).
10. In Team versus Out Team (17 seconds).
11. Bowling the third Bocce Ball (16 seconds).
12. Green Team is In and Red Team is Out (10 seconds).
13. Ok to hit the Palino with Bocce Balls (10 seconds).
14. Ok to hit Bocce Balls with other Bocce Balls (15 seconds).
15. Red Team is In and Green Team is Out (8 seconds).
16. One point frame scoring (20 seconds).
17. Two point frame scoring (13 seconds).
18. Three point frame scoring (9 seconds).
19. Four point frame scoring, the maximum points possible per frame (10 seconds).
20. Scoring after each frame (12 seconds).
21. Scoreboard, first team to score 11 points wins the Bocce game (12 seconds).

What I Wish I Knew When I Was Twenty

2009-07-08T11:31:00.002-04:00

Stanford Technology Ventures Program's Executive Director Tina Seelig shares rich insights in creative thinking and the entrepreneurial mindset. Her talk, based on her 2009 book, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20, cites numerous classroom successes of applied problem-solving and the lessons of failure. The Art of Teaching Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Sample Board Meeting Minutes

2009-07-02T14:45:00.000-04:00

This Brad Feld post provides a good template for a sample set of board meeting minutes following the wise lawyer's advice to keep it light, stating:

"I go to a lot of board meetings. As a result, I’ve reviewed a lot of board meeting minutes. In general, the philosophy among most VC-backed companies – promulgated by the law firms for these companies – is to keep the board minutes “light.” They should cover the substance of the meeting and have any specific votes, option grants, or board level issues documented, but they should not contain extensive details about the presentations giving in the board meeting.

"I regularly get asked for “sample board meeting minutes”, especially among newly funded companies that are just starting to have board meetings and might not have their outside counsel present at the meeting (although most outside counsel’s that are credible and used to working with early stage companies will attend board meetings at no charge – just ask as part of your initial interview process with the firm – it’s very useful to them to be there so they can stay up to speed on what is happening at the company.)"

Trade-marks guide updated | eLegal Canton

2009-06-30T08:57:00.002-04:00

David Canton has updated and split into 2 his trade-marks guide. trade-marks-guide-part-1-registering-a-trade-mark summarizes what one should know before selecting and registering a trade-mark, and the advantages of registering. trade-marks-guide-part-2-after-registration summarizes how to properly use and care for a trade-mark after it is registered.

Source: Trade-marks guide updated.

Findlaw's Small Business Center

2009-06-29T11:40:00.001-04:00

FindLaw's Small Business Center provides information and resources for small business owners, and help for entrepreneurs seeking to get a business idea off the ground. Here you can get information on choosing and forming the right legal structure for your business, legal tips on day-to-day business operations, an overview of employment law issues, and much more.

100 Awesome Blogs for Your Business Education

2009-06-29T10:34:00.001-04:00

I am happy to report that my blog was included in this list of 100 Awesome Blogs for Your Business Education. Thanks to Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends for the link.

Pursue M&A Stages in Parallel

2009-06-27T12:49:00.000-04:00

"Many companies diminish their effectiveness by managing M&A as a linear process. They treat each stage of a deal as if they were handing off the baton in a relay race, switching from the boardroom team, to the negotiating team, to the integration planning program leaders, to line management. This approach lengthens the time line of the acquisition, exposes the newly merged company to the impatience of the markets, and makes it harder to resolve issues early — so they surface later, causing additional delays and difficulties. The alternative is to pursue the stages of M&A in parallel (with substantial overlap and continuous referencing back and forth), managed by a single large team whose members communicate easily and regularly with one another and with the rest of the organization. This type of process places great demands on resources, time, and staff. But the results are worth the added effort." To better understand this approach, read more in this strategy + business article.

Twitter Guide Book

2009-06-26T23:12:00.000-04:00

"Twitter is a social network used by millions of people, and thousands more are signing up every day to send short messages to groups of friends. But where's the user manual for Twitter? Where do new Twitter users go to learn about Tweeting, retweets, hashtags and customizing your Twitter profile? Where do you go if you want to know all about building a community on Twitter, or using Twitter for business? How can you find advanced tools for using Twitter on your phone or your desktop? To answer all these questions and more.." check out the Twitter Guide Book – How To, Tips and Instructions by Mashable

More on Risk Management

2009-06-26T10:02:00.000-04:00

"First, remember that risk — the probability of an outcome significantly different from the expected — can produce both surprisingly good as well as surprisingly bad results. Be as ready to seize the wondrously good as you are to shield yourself and others from the horrendously bad.

"Second, in dealing with exposures to loss, put risk control before risk financing. It is always better to prevent losses, to minimize losses, or to make losses more predictable than it is to pay for potentially large and unforeseen losses. Good risk control makes more efficient use of a company's or a country's resources than does any kind of risk financing.

"Third, in managing risk in either gains or losses, be as self-sufficient as you can. Here, the "you" can be an individual, a household, an organization, public entity, a country, or even a continent. The more you are self-sufficient, the less you have to pay someone else to safeguard you from, or to indemnify you for, unexpected losses. Likewise, when unforeseen opportunities for gain arise, being self-sufficient enables you to keep more of the gains for yourself or for those you serve."

from I Will Write No More Forever. Thanks to Jim for the link.

Risk Management in a Nutshell

2009-06-24T14:27:00.003-04:00

"'Risk Management' is the art and science of thinking about what could go wrong, and what should be done to mitigate those risks in a cost-effective manner.

"In order to identify risks and figure out how best to mitigate them, we first need a framework for classifying risks.

"All risks have two dimensions to them: likelihood of occurrence, and severity of the potential consequences. These two dimensions form four quadrants, which in turn suggest how we might attempt to mitigate those risks:

Read more in this VC Experts article.

Widow of Murdered Fly Sues

2009-06-22T09:09:00.001-04:00

WASHINGTON -- The widow of the housefly murdered by Barack Obama during a recent CNBC television interview announced this morning that she would be filing a wrongful death suit against the President in federal district court. The plaintiff brief -- citing pain, suffering and loss of income -- seeks a formal apology and compensatory damages, including an unspecified quantity of shit.

"Bob was a wonderful husband and provider," said the widow, Mrs. Vivian Vvzzvzwwzzz, wiping tears from her compound eyes. "Even though he was always busy at the Rose Garden turd pile, he always flew home in time to tuck in our maggots."

Read more in this iowahawk post, found via this post from overlawyered.

Zombies are People Too

2009-06-17T09:05:00.005-04:00

I borrowed from the local library and have been watching this Course on Understanding the Brain taught by Jeanette Norden. Doctor Norden is a wonderful lecturer and makes a fascinating and complex subject easier to understand.

Stephanie West Allen suggests perhaps a more fun and very novel way to learn about your brain:

What a sense of humor! Dr. Steven Schlozman, an expert on zombies, recently wrote a paper on the topic. The fake medical journal article, described in A Harvard Psychiatrist Explains Zombie Neurobiology (io9), is about:

the zombie plague, which he calls Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome, or ANSD (the article has five authors: one living, three "deceased" and one "humanoid infected").

I posted a link to Dr. Schlozman's lecture on zombie brains because he teaches about our brains, too, and it's a fun way to learn. (The good doctor is funny.) Click for a summary of the zombie lecture. A shorter summary comes from sodahead in Zombies Real, Says Harvard Psychiatrist Dr. Steven Schlozman: How would you survive a zombie invasion?

Excerpt:

Dr. Schlozman says zombies can only be fueled by rage. The amygdala then, is what powers zombies, just as in crocodiles. To this, Schlozman says "You can't really be mad at zombies, because that's like being mad at a crocodile."

...Watch the lecture. You will laugh and learn...

New Yorkers now at liberty to shoot wild fowl in their own state

2009-06-16T09:18:00.002-04:00

New Yorkers now at liberty
The Library of Congress

This delightful headline is courtesy of the October 10, 1909 edition of the New York Tribune recently posted to Flickr by the Library of Congress. The image is part of the Chronicling America project. This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1880-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program and is well worth a visit.

Don't Call Me Crazy on the 4th of July

2009-06-05T08:19:00.001-04:00

"In the early 1970s Bob Lansberry began protesting on the streets of Pittsburgh, wearing signs accusing specific government officials of withholding or censoring his mail and subliminally controlling his mind. His signs and fliers proclaiming messages such as WHY CAN'T LANSBERRY GET MAIL? and ARE YOU MIND CONTROLLED? became icons of downtown Pittsburgh life.

"Several times during the 1980s, Lansberry ran for public office. In 1984 his campaign carried Kennedy Township in the race for U.S. House, And garnered over 30,000 votes in his bid for clerk of courts, though ultimately losing both races.

"During the approximately 30 years that he spent protesting on the street, seeking proof that the government was controlling his mind through a radio receiver in his dental filling, Lansberry wrote frequent letters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation requesting the contents of any files that were kept on him. Several years prior to his death he received over 400 pages of documents from the FBI detailing their interest in his life beginning in 1975, shortly after he took to the streets."

This interesting short film, "Don't Call Me Crazy on the 4th of July," points out that when Lansberry put on those signs and went before the public, he was asking us a question, "Who is crazier, the guy who believes people are controlling him and fights back, or the people who believe they are free, and still do what they're told to do."

Iconic Depression Era Photographs Released

2009-05-22T18:04:00.003-04:00

"Migrant Mother"
The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has created a remarkable set, FSA/OWI Favorites, which includes the “Migrant Mother,” by Dorothea Lange, the original film negative of which is housed at the Library of Congress. The Library preserves Lange’s original, and makes the digitized photo freely available. “Migrant Mother” is part of a landmark photo documentary project based in the U.S. Resettlement Administration, the Farm Security Administration (FSA), and later the Office of War Information (OWI). The most active years were 1935-1943, and the collection was transferred to the Library of Congress in 1944.

The Library of Congress’ newest set features 10 of the most frequently requested photos plus staff picks to introduce you to the vast archive of about 170,000 negatives and 107,000 prints of life in America during the Great Depression and World War II. Do not miss a visit to the FSA/OWI Collection in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) at LOC to explore more of these amazing photos by gifted photographers who worked with 35mm and large format sheet film. Please go to the Library of Congress’ blog post for much more information and insight.

If you have never seen these, don’t pass up a moment to experience them.

Reprinting this Flickr Blog post

Soften Your Heart at the Tenement Museum

2009-03-26T09:51:00.002-04:00

No need to close your eyes and imagine what it might have been like for immigrants in turn-of-the-20th-century America to struggle mightily for a piece of the promise of the American dream. Visit the Tenement Museum and see it and feel it for yourself, as I did on Tuesday.

It's not that you leave your imagination at the door. Rather, your wonderings take wing in context as you meet the ghosts of past inhabitants of 97 Orchard Street on New York City's lower east side.

On our tour, you stand crowded in dark, tiny tenement rooms once called home by a German-Jewish family who survived the Panic of 1873 and an Italian Catholic brood who outlasted the Great Depression. You are crowded shoulder to shoulder with other curious historians, many of them, descendants of the very immigrants whose lives we touch, standing there. With words and answers and pictures and questions and breathing in the dense history, you are transported to a teeming time, a dreaming time, the same American dream that drew my ancestors and that continues to draw 'em in even as we speak. Great stuff. Check it out if you have a chance.

For more see Tenement Museum Flickr Photostream and Tenement Museum Blog.

Change Management Toolbook

2009-03-05T07:55:00.001-05:00

"Are you personally ready for change? Is your team in serious need of new ways to work together? How can your organization deal with a change project which lacks focus or direction? Do you want to know why change is inevitable but hard to achieve? Do you want to surf on the waves of change? You will find some of the answers to your questions in the new Change Management Toolbook website.

"The Change Management Toolbook is a collection of more than 120 tools, methods and strategies which you can apply during different stages of personal, team and organizational development, in training, facilitation and consulting. It is divided into three principle sections: Self, Team and Larger System.

"Self
Change Management starts and ends with individuals. As the system theory says, you cannot really predict how a person reacts to a certain stimulus. So, if you want to introduce change into a system, you will most likely need to think about what skills, behaviours and belief systems the members of the system will need to be part of the change effort.

"Team
At the heart of modern organizations are teams that share the responsibility and the resources for getting things done. Most projects are too complex to be implemented by one person, most services need different specialists and support staff to be delivered, and most products are the result of the work of a larger resources team or supply chain. We know that teams can either perform at their peak, or can be terribly inefficient.

"Larger Systems
Change processes are mostly initiated by either individuals or small teams, but the focus of change is one which goes beyond that small unit. It is directed towards the entire organization, or towards other organizations. A change project might be related to a community, a region or an entire society (and, yes: to the world as a whole)."

50 Common Interview Questions

2009-02-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy shares a great list of typical questions you are likely to be asked in your next job interview together with suggestions on how to answer them. This is an excellent list also for those conducting such interviews. Notably absent from the list is the cliche question "What is your greatest weakness?" although it is noted in the comments that interviewers who ask this question do not know what they are doing.

Leadership in a Nutshell

2009-02-25T09:16:00.001-05:00

Gill Corkindale shares this summary of what it takes to be a good leader:

1. Be aware. Understand yourself and your context. Know your own strengths, limitations, and development needs. If you don't have time to build your skills, bring people into your team who will complement you. Be aware of the organization and the people you are leading. If you have moved from a start-up to an established organization, for example, the people and the rules of engagement will be very different.

2. Have a plan. Know where you are going. One great definition of leadership is to have followers. If you cannot create a sense of the future, no one can follow you.

3. Build relationships. Give more of yourself. A leader has to get things done through others, so people skills are critical. Take time to get to know your peers, bosses, and subordinates. Talk less, listen more, and remember the details of what people say. Investing time to understand the roles, ideas, and personalities of those around you will yield a strong network, corporate allies, motivated staff, and personal goodwill.

4. Deliver. Get things done. Whatever your line of business, you need to show the results of your leadership. So whether it's a better product, an improved service, a higher profit or share price, make sure you deliver.

5. Have integrity. Get your values right. Your values define who you are and why others should work for you. The important point here is that values should be lived, not written down or occasionally talked about. Show by your own example that honesty, truth, transparency, respect, and sustainability matter.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-02-13T10:01:00.006-05:00

1. I’ve been a pauper, a poet, a paper boy, car wash attendant, commercial bakery worker, cemetery grass cutter, book warehouseman, hod carrier, construction laborer, television delivery man, jet refueler, lavatory cleaner, ditch digger, law clerk, attorney, actor and professor

2. After a deep spiritual experience, I spent a frosty warm night in a yak-hair tent called the Hotel California at the Mount Everest base camp in Tibet.

3. I was recruited to play football at Princeton University. Otherwise, I may not have considered applying to and attending Old Nassau. What a lucky break.

4. During law school, I was in a garage band we called Permanently Band, playing for friends and ourselves original songs that I wrote in a burst of creativity that I have not experienced since.

5. Lately, I am more concerned with spiritual growth, awareness, seeking and searching than with anything else.

6. In her youth, I appeared onstage with my darling daughter, Deirdre, in three community theater productions – To Kill a Mockingbird, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Impossible Years.

7. I was tricked into auditioning for a role without knowing it in To Kill a Mockingbird when the director asked me to fill in during a rehearsal for a missing player. He then informed me that the missing player had left the production and asked if I would take over the role of Mr. Cunningham.

8. This led to a wonderful moment in the play when Scout (Deirdre) recognizes Mr. Cunningham (me) in the lynch mob and defuses a tense situation. The way we staged it, I took a couple of threatening steps toward Deirdre before dropping to my knees in front of her to speak my lines. What a wondrous memory.

9. Come to think of it, I have a lot of enduring pictures of Deirdre in my mind. One is of her playing mob or beehive soccer when she was a tyke. She was apart from the swarm twirling her pigtails and I was screaming from the sidelines, “Go after the ball!”

10. I am a third cousin of Tampa Bay Rays manager, Joe Maddon.

11. When I was growing up I knew my grandparents as “Grandma and Grandpa from Hazleton” and “Grandma and Grandpa Next Door”

12. When I was little, I read every Nancy Drew mystery I could lay my hands on.

13. My favorite author, though, was Edgar Allen Poe. What a combination.

14. I once drove the 120 miles from Princeton NJ to Scranton PA all the way without ever coming to a complete stop. The clutch in my yellow VW bug was shot and made a horrendous grinding noise if the car had to be started from a complete stop.

15. I know all the two letter state postal abbreviations by heart from years working in the book warehouse and shipping operation that my father ran as general manager.

16. We put our Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving and just took it down and put it away this week (2nd week of February). I love decorating the tree. When I open the boxes containing the ornaments, I think and say, “Hello, old friends.”

17. I have a bunch of buddies from playing pickup basketball who, for many years, I only knew by their nicknames – Sluggo, Gumby, Goober, Buzzy, Dog.

18. Despite spending most of my life now in Western Pennsylvania, I have never visited the Andy Warhol Museum, the National Aviary, or the Regional History Museum.

19. Growing up, I was a New York Yankees and New York Giants fan. Now I root for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

20. I am a fan of classic country music, even though I grew up strictly listening to rock and roll. Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline and the rest touch my soul.

21. On the Friday before Christmas, I pulled out my axe and sang Christmas carols for the “pirohi ladies” at St. Mary’s Church in Ambridge PA while I waited for my three dozen.

22. I represented the creator of one of the first internet search engines in connection with the Initial Public Offering of the company commercializing his invention.

23. I am partially blind in one eye.

24. I am part of a loving family.

25. I am on a journey of discovery.

Weasels & Other Super Bowl Ad Critters

2009-02-11T13:09:00.016-05:00

In this essay, Jeffrey Schrank gives a list of the techniques advertisers employ to make claims for their products. I have reprinted selections from the article and used Super Bowl ads that I believe illustrate the concepts Professor Schrank stresses:

"The 'claim' is the verbal or print part of an ad that makes some claim of superiority for the product being advertised... some are honest statements about a truly superior product, but most fit into the category of neither bold lies nor helpful consumer information. They balance on the narrow line between truth and falsehood by a careful choice of words.

"The reason so many ad claims fall into this category of pseudo-information is that they are applied to parity products, products in which all or most of the brands available are nearly identical. Since no one superior product exists, advertising is used to create the illusion of superiority. The largest advertising budgets are devoted to parity products such as gasoline, cigarettes, beer and soft drinks, soaps, and various headache and cold remedies...

"The first rule of parity involves the Alice in Wonderlandish use of the words "better" and "best." In parity claims, "better" means "best" and "best" means "equal to."

When the "king" in this Castrol commercial states that nothing beats Castrol Edge brand motor oil in wear protection, he is not claiming Castrol is the best motor oil or that it is better than any other, even though it seems so. Note that this commercial also demonstrates a scientific claim as explained in number 8 below. And how much more vague can you get (see number 6 below) than the tag line "It's more than just oil; it's liquid engineering."

Regarding the scientific claim that Castrol Edge provides 8x better wear protection than Mobil 1 5w 30, a rocket scientist might have trouble figuring out what this actually means.

If you are able to navigate skillfully, the Castrol website contains an explanation of the test results on which the claim is based. As I understand it, the industry standard test is designed to determine whether an oil meets some minimum level of "oilness". The touted differences are measured in microns.

Many questions are not answered, such as "Are apples and apples being compared? Do other tests show different results? How does this test relate to conditions an ordinary consumer encounters in using the oil? How do the prices of the two oils compare?"

One can go on and on. The point is that the "scientific" claim creates the impression of superiority without actually stating so clearly and unequivocally.

"To create the necessary illusion of superiority, advertisers usually resort to one or more of the following ten basic techniques. Each is common and easy to identify.

"1. THE WEASEL CLAIM
A weasel word is a modifier that practically negates the claim that follows...Words or claims that appear substantial upon first look but disintegrate into hollow meaninglessness on analysis are weasels. Commonly used weasel words include 'helps' (the champion weasel); 'like' (used in a comparative sense);...'virtually';...'can be';...'up to';...'fights';...'fortified';...'enriched';...'strengthened'...

[e.g]...'Helps control dandruff symptoms with regular use.' The weasels include 'helps control,' and possibly even 'symptoms' and 'regular use.' The claim is not 'stops dandruff....

'Leaves dishes virtually spotless.' We have seen so many ad claims that we have learned to tune out weasels. You are supposed to think spotless,' rather than 'virtually' spotless...

"Help" is on the way:

"2. THE UNFINISHED CLAIM
The unfinished claim is one in which the ad claims the product is better, or has more of something, but does not finish the comparison...[e.g]'Magnavox gives you more.' More what?...'You can be sure if it's Westinghouse.' Sure of what?

What's G?:

"3. THE 'WE'RE DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE' CLAIM
This kind of claim states that there is nothing else quite like the product being advertised...The uniqueness claim is supposed to be interpreted by readers as a claim to superiority...[e.g]'There's no other mascara like it.'...

Other beers drink like a guy smashing into a tree:

4. THE 'WATER IS WET' CLAIM
'Water is wet' claims say something about the product that is true for any brand in that product category, (for example, 'Schrank's water is really wet.') The claim is usually a statement of fact, but not a real advantage over the competition... [e.g.]'Great Lash greatly increases the diameter of every lash.'..."SKIN smells differently on everyone.' As do many perfumes.

Dogs make better pets than big wild animals:

"5. THE 'SO WHAT' CLAIM
This is the kind of claim to which the careful reader will react by saying "So What?" A claim is made which is true but which gives no real advantage to the product. This is similar to the "water is wet" claim except that it claims an advantage which is not shared by most of the other brands in the product category...

[e.g.]...'Campbell's gives you tasty pieces of chicken and not one but two chicken stocks.' Does the presence of two stocks improve the taste? 'Strong enough for a man but made for a woman.' This deodorant claim says only that the product is aimed at the female market.

The first diet cola for men:

"6. THE VAGUE CLAIM
The vague claim is simply not clear. This category often overlaps with others. The key to the vague claim is the use of words that are colorful but meaningless, as well as the use of subjective and emotional opinions that defy verification. Most contain weasels...

"[e.g.]'Lips have never looked so luscious.' Can you imagine trying to either prove or disprove such a claim?...'Its deep rich lather makes hair feel good again.'...

Lots of candidates here - Virtually all of the Bud light commercials "only beer with just the right taste" "difference is drinkability" "Bud light is easy to drink" "Bud light has an easy drinking taste" and this one - More intelligent electricity?:

"7. THE ENDORSEMENT OR TESTIMONIAL
A celebrity or authority appears in an ad to lend his or her stellar qualities to the product. Sometimes the people will actually claim to use the product, but very often they don't...

"8. THE SCIENTIFIC OR STATISTICAL CLAIM
This kind of ad uses some sort of scientific proof or experiment, very specific numbers, or an impressive sounding mystery ingredient...[e.g]'Special Morning--33% more nutrition.' Also an unfinished claim...

"9. THE 'COMPLIMENT THE CONSUMER' CLAIM
This kind of claim butters up the consumer by some form of flattery...[e.g]'We think a cigar smoker is someone special.'...'If what you do is right for you, no matter what others do, then RC Cola is right for you.'...'You've come a long way, baby.'

"For drivers who want to get the most:

"10. THE RHETORICAL QUESTION
This technique demands a response from the audience. A question is asked and the viewer or listener is supposed to answer in such a way as to affirm the product's goodness...[e.g]'Shouldn't your family be drinking Hawaiian Punch?'..."

Isn't it time?:

Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong

2009-02-10T10:56:00.003-05:00

"Every Communist must grasp the truth, 'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.'

“Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy.”

“In waking a tiger, use a long stick.”

"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."

"Whoever wants to know a thing has no way of doing so except by coming into contact with it, that is, by living (practicing) in its environment. ... If you want knowledge, you must take part in the practice of changing reality. If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself.... If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience."

"The proletariat seeks to transform the world according to its own world outlook, and so does the bourgeoisie. In this respect, the question of which will win out, socialism or capitalism, is still not really settled… It will take a fairly long period of time to decide the issue in the ideological struggle between socialism and capitalism in our country."

"We should support whatever the enemy opposes and oppose whatever the enemy supports."

"Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."

"Our army has always had two policies. First, we must be ruthless to our enemies, we must overpower and annihilate them. Second, we must be kind to our own, to the people, to our comrades and to our superiors and subordinates, and unite with them."

"We are advocates of the abolition of war, we do not want war; but war can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun."

"Our principles of operation are:

'(1) Attack dispersed, isolated enemy forces first; attack concentrated, strong enemy forces later…

'(4) In every battle, concentrate an absolutely superior force (two, three, four and sometimes even five or six times the enemy's strength), encircle the enemy forces completely, strive to wipe them out thoroughly and do not let any escape from the net. In special circumstances, use the method of dealing the enemy crushing blows, that is, concentrate all our strength to make a frontal attack and an attack on one or both of his flanks, with the aim of wiping out one part and routing another so that our army can swiftly move its troops to smash other enemy forces….

'(5) Fight no battle unprepared, fight no battle you are not sure of winning; make every effort to be well prepared for each battle, make every effort to ensure victory in the given set of conditions as between the enemy and ourselves.

'(6) Give full play to our style of fighting - courage in battle, no fear of sacrifice, no fear of fatigue, and continuous fighting (that is, fighting successive battles in a short time without rest).

'(7) Strive to wipe out the enemy when he is on the move…

'(9) Replenish our strength with all the arms and most of the personnel captured from the enemy. Our army's main sources of manpower and materiel are at the front.

'(10) Make good use of the intervals between campaigns to rest, train and consolidate our troops. Periods of rest, training and consolidation should not in general be very long, and the enemy should so far as possible be permitted no breathing space…"

Jump in my Oscars Pool

2009-02-09T22:03:00.002-05:00

You are invited to my free fun Frog Soda The Oscars - 81st Annual Academy Awards Pool: Anthony's Oscar Pool.

- go to the league page, http://www.frogsoda.com/awards_ceremony.php?Action=viewleague&lid=1014&aid=21

- if clicking on the link doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser

- if you are a Frog Soda member, click "log in", if not click "Sign Up"

- Once you have created an account and are signed in, click "Join League"

- This is a private league, you will need the password to join: oscar

Your Mission: Improved Mission Statements

2009-02-08T13:22:00.002-05:00

"Most corporate mission statements are worthless. They consist largely of pious platitudes...A mission statement should not commit a firm to what it must do to survive but to what it chooses to do in order to thrive. Nor should it be filled with operationally meaningless superlatives such as biggest, best, optimum, and maximum...

"To test for the appropriateness of an assertion in a mission statement, determine whether it can be disagreed with reasonably. If not, it should be excluded. Can you imagine any company disagreeing with the objective "to provide the best value for the money." If you can't, it's not worth saying.

"What characteristics should a mission statement have? First it should contain a formulation of the firm's objectives that enables progress toward them to be measured....Second, a company's mission statement should differentiate it from other companies...Third, a mission statement should define the business that the company wants to be in, not necessarily is in. However diverse its current business, it should try to find a unifying concept that enlarges its view of itself and brings it into focus...

Fourth, a mission statement should be relevant to all the firm's stakeholders. These include its customers, suppliers, the public, shareholders, and employees. The mission should state how the company intends to serve each of them...Finally, and of greatest importance, a mission statement should be exciting and inspiring. It should motivate all those whose participation in its pursuit is sought...

"If your firm has a mission statement, test it against these five criteria. If it fails to meet any of them, it should be redone.

Read more in this paper by Russel Ackoff

Why Rumors Spread

2009-02-03T14:43:00.004-05:00

"Rumors have a way of slipping under our mental defenses before we think to question them. The best ones sidestep common sense entirely...Most of us don't like to think of ourselves as gullible. But we're especially likely to accept as true—and do our best to spread—tales that have several specific characteristics that take aim at our best defenses...

"1: Successful rumors needle our anxieties and emotions...Fear breeds rumor. The more collective anxiety a group has, the more inclined it will be to start up the rumor mill...we pass rumors around primarily as a means of deciphering scary, uncertain situations. Exchanging information, even if it's ludicrously false, relieves our unease by giving us a sense that we at least know what's happening...

"2: Rumors stick if they're somewhat surprising but still fit with our existing biases....If you already think liberals are waging a war on religion, you'll be more likely to buy 2008's (untrue) rumor that the new dollar coins omit the customary "In God We Trust." (It's printed along the side.)...Even when presented with evidence refuting a rumor, we often stick to our biases...

"3: Easily swayed people are more important than influential people in passing on a rumor...."It's your willingness to pass things along that matters"... Kids will believe almost anything (another long-lived schoolyard rumor claimed the "Mikey likes it" Life cereal kid died after a mixture of soda and Pop Rocks made his stomach explode), and thus rumors run rampant in schools. But the same is true of gullible adults: They're the ones who really fuel rumors...

"4: The more you hear a rumor, the more you'll buy it—even if you're hearing that it's false....

"5: Rumors reflect the zeitgeist...Rumors have the greatest chance of multiplying when the topic is something people are already pondering...

"6: Sticky rumors are simple and concrete....Examine your stockpile of offbeat conventional wisdom...We only use 10 percent of our brains. The Great Wall of China can be seen from space. People swallow eight spiders a year in their sleep. These tidbits are all simple and specific, with a vivid detail that sticks in the mind. They're also false. But they illustrate the point that tangible, easily graspable tales have an excellent chance of catching on...

"7: Rumors that last are difficult to disprove....Why do people still believe there's a giant prehistoric reptile prowling Loch Ness, even though innumerable hours of investigation have produced zero proof of such a creature? Well, it's a pretty big lake: How can we be sure she's not in there? It's tough to disprove the idea definitively...

"8: We are eager to believe bad things about people we envy.... Once someone hits a certain level of celebrity and adulation, it seems, the mill starts to churn automatically—and the more beautiful and successful the star, the more depraved the rumors. Jamie Lee Curtis is a hermaphrodite. Cher (or Janet Jackson) had a rib removed so she'd look skinnier. Catherine the Great died trying to make love to a horse..."

Some of these read like a manual for marketers.

Read more in this Psychology Today article.