#531 thinking in dots

Yesterday I received an email from a friend with the subject line: "Starting to view the world through a "how might she blog about this" lens.  She went on to say that she was listening to the sound of endless leaf blowers for the umpteenth day in a row and it got her wondering if people even use rakes anymore -- or in my area if they use shovels instead of snow blowers -- and how technology has changed yet another aspect of our lives.

I previously received an email from another former staff member who commented that he saw lots of FedEx trucks and thought about the arrow in their logo (as I described to him as part of a workshop I did a decade ago). He wondered how THAT could be a dot about how you could use branding to solidify your message or how once people see things it makes it hard NOT to see them (e.g.: he can never NOT see the arrow embedded in the white space of the FedEx logo).

In the keynote I just gave I said that if you want to be more attentive to the world around you, you should start writing a daily blog.  Apparently, just reading a daily blog sharpens your observational and analytical skills!

Readers know that my sister was going to write my blog if she lost a wager we had.  She won, but I really wonder what she would have written about.  I have no doubt that she would have come up with something great; I think all the readers would have something to write about.  Once you start paying attention, there are ideas everywhere.

Try it for today.  Pretend that you have to go home from work tonight and write a blog entry about something.  What would your observation be?  What lesson could you derive from it?  What organizational advice would you give?  

Whether you ever write a blog or not, make it a habit to keep learning from what is around you -- every day.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

[Want to share your blog idea? Post them as a comment or mail them to me at leadership dots@gmail]

Thanks Wendy and Brian!!

#530 not so happy trails

I received a large envelope in the mail today containing information about enrolling my mom in a new retiree healthcare plan.  All of the State of Illinois retirees must choose a new plan to continue their coverage past the new year, so for weeks I have been receiving postcards telling me that it is coming.  Today was the lucky day.

Enclosed was a 16-page booklet that attempted to explain my options, a letter, an 8-page form that I must fill out and return (in my own envelope) and 8 pages of locations where I can attend a seminar to try and make sense out of this decision.  I think I am relatively intelligent, and to me it looked like alphabet soup.  If my mom were to see this, she would say that you "couldn't make head nor tails" out of what it says.  

I am sure that a lot of effort went into designing the packet.  It even comes with a special logo and (yet another) acronym:  Total Retiree Advantage IL or TRAIL -- my TRAIL to better health.  I am warned to watch only for mailings with the friendly TRAIL logo to avoid being confused by companies who are "not affiliated with the official MA-PD plan available to me through the CIP".  If they write their brochure without jargon, I think they have a chance to corner the market anyway!

No doubt that the people who wrote this did so with the best of intentions and in a way that they thought would be clear to those receiving it.  But I suspect that the authors were IN the business and understood what all the acronyms meant.  The next time you need to communicate complicated information, ask someone who is NOT familiar with your industry to read your piece.  See if they can give you pointers on what could use clarification from the point of view of those receiving it vs. producing it.

EOB* anyone?   (Explanation of Benefits -- one of the new things that will come with each of my statements.  I can't wait!)

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#529 raise your hand

Long ago I learned from a mentor that there are five primary reasons that people volunteer for student activities in college.  She utilized the acronym of GRAPE to indicate Growth, Recognition, Achievement, Participation and Enjoyment.  Over the years, some of us have morphed her acronym into GRAPES and added Service.

Think about the reasons that you donate your time to something.  I'll bet that the reasons behind your altruism fall into one of these categories, even if you are far beyond the college age.  You believe in a cause so you volunteer, but as Sara's theory indicates, you also receive some good things in return.  Maybe you learn a skill, meet some new people, get kudos or a pat on the back or just have some fun.

Almost every organization needs someone to give of their time for something.  Point out the benefits of volunteering to those who may assist you and make the time to contribute to an organization yourself.  What you learn as a volunteer may provide valuable lessons to feed back into your organization -- about how to treat both your volunteers and your staff.  After all, don't they want the benefits of GRAPES too?

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Source:  Sara Boatman

#528 yin-yang

Yesterday's blog referred to a conversation about Christmas wish lists -- which led to Legos -- which lead to a whole other conversation about Legos themselves.  I have previously* lamented how Legos have become "kits" instead of free form creativity.  Little did I know that there is a whole enterprise revolving just around the mini-figures that are used with the Lego blocks.

Over 4 billion mini-figures have made for Legos -- if they were people, they would be the world's largest population group.  If you visit www.eurobricks.com you will see the millions of ways that Legos and mini-figures have been used to create amazing scenes and art.  It is estimated that every person on earth owns 86 Lego bricks -- but my nieces and nephews are striving to bring that average waaay up!  

Legos are produced at a rate of 5.2 million per hour -- so 45.7 billion bricks were made last year alone.  Yet despite the volume, mini-figures, kits and uses for the bricks far beyond what the creators ever imagined, all the 2x4 Lego bricks manufactured since they began in 1958 use the same measurements and connect together.  

Legos and Oreos are great examples of what Collins and Poras referred to in Built to Last as "preserving the core while stimulating progress".  These are the Yin and Yang of a delicate balance that allows for innovation without abandoning the original values and philosophy.  

What lessons can you take from products like Legos and Oreos -- who have been changing and adapting to meet new market conditions, yet preserve the essence of who they are?  Think about what elements are at your core and what you need to maintain as sacred trusts before you strategize about how to change things.

--- beth triplett

leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Source:  http://education.lego.com/about-us-lego-education-worldwide/lego-facts

*See Blog #160, November 8, 2012

#527 Santa economics

I asked a friend who has young children what the hot gift was for the kids this Christmas.  He replied that his young daughter wants a special Lego kit -- that costs $130!  When she told him about it, she said: "I would never ask you and Mom to buy it because it costs so much, so I am asking Santa for it!"

Do you have things in your organization where it seems like people are asking Santa instead of Mom and Dad?  Things that come out of a capital fund seem more like they are from Santa instead of operational expenses out of your budget.  Leases or long-term contracts seem easier to swallow than paying a six-figure sum up front, but it still costs that much in the end.  When building a home, it somehow is more palatable to add in a thousand dollar enhancement, but if we paid $1000 out of our checking account it would be painful.

Economists have shown that the more direct link there is to the cash, the smarter people are with their expenditures.  What steps can you take in your organization to help your employees understand that Mom and Dad are paying the bills and not Santa?

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Thanks Grace!

#526 world's favorite

It seems ironic to me that after doing a PowerPoint about 30+ kinds of Oreos that none of them were lemon.  Yet as early as 1924, the bakers were extending their brand to include cremes and lemon meringue.

Now the cookies are produced around the world in flavors to fit with the local culture.  In China, you can purchase Oreos with green tea ice cream flavor creme or double fruit with orange and mango.  In Indonesia, enjoy Blueberry Ice Cream or Strawberry.  Argentinians can eat Oreo Due with banana and dulce de leche or Oreo Alfajor -- three layers of cookie and creme!  

Oreos are available in more than 100 countries and is the best selling cookie in the world.  The Oreo Facebook page has more than 23 million fans (!!) and ranks in the top five Facebook pages in the world!  

As if the $1.5 billion in revenues wasn't enough for Kraft, there is an entire after market with supplemental Oreo products and uses.  There are entire sites dedicated to using Oreos in teaching, the History Channel has done a segment on how Americans eat more than 20 million Oreos a day and there are more recipes than you can imagine.

What are some lessons your organization can take from Oreos?  Even though they have been around for 100+ years, they have embraced social media and actively promote the brand on Facebook and Twitter.  They keep their advertising sharp and relevant (e.g.: ads about the Super Bowl black out and arrival of Prince George).  They introduce new flavors, contests, taste testing and promotions.  In short, they don't rest on their biscuits!

Open up a pack of Oreos, pour a glass of milk and check out some of the many websites about this product to see what you can learn for your organization.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Source:  Kraftfoodscompany.com  Oreo 100th Birthday Global Fact Sheet
Oreo cookie moon phases image from ScienceBob.com

#525 crumbs of insight

Earlier this week, I gave the keynote address to a conference of financial aid administrators.  I was asked to speak on the topic of customer service from a student's perspective and so I was able to refer to many of the examples that I have written about in this blog.

In addition to that, I also shared a visual display of 30 different variations of Oreo cookies.  If you had asked me before I started my "research" in this area (which turned into an obsessive quest to find even more varieties!!), I would not have guessed that so many kinds existed.  But they do.  I wrote about some of them before* when I received Watermelon Oreos for my birthday, but it was nothing like what I shared in my keynote.

I likened Oreos to the different kind of scholarships that schools have available and said that from a student's point of view they were all the same brand of cookies.  Thus, it was daunting to them and hard for the financial aid officer to explain the variations -- especially when one tried to explain in print or via the web.  I think it made the point.

Maybe you could do a visual display of Oreos when you need to make a point to your staff.  Do you have too many forms or products or policies that are hard for the outsider to differentiate?  Do you need a lesson on the proliferation of brand extensions?  Maybe you could you do an exercise at a meeting and ask participants to describe how their Oreo is different than the person's next to them -- trickier than it sounds when comparing a Golden Oreo to a Golden Birthday Cake Oreo.  Or serve Oreos and milk to discuss how to make your product (original Oreos) different from all your competitors (who are now Heads and Tails Oreos or Mega Stuff Oreos or Candy Corn Oreos, or Raspberry Fudge Cream Oreos, etc.)

There are lessons all around us -- even those that are good enough to eat!

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

*Blog #389, June 25, 2013