#1254 pink or blue

I'll admit that I'm not up on all the latest trends involving pregnancies and parenthood, but it was a new one to me that someone was invited to a Gender Reveal Party.  I said "huh?" but apparently they are quite popular.  

If any others are in the dark, it is when families and friends gather to learn the gender of the baby-to-be.  This is done through a color-coded cake or cupcakes or I'm sure through a variety of surprises that are "revealed" at the gathering.  

As we got talking about this topic, I learned also about Push Presents -- usually jewels that the dad gives to the new mom as a reward?/thank you?/better you than me? acknowledgement for the effort involved in labor.  As if a baby wasn't enough?  

But just so dad isn't left out of the bounty, some couples are taking Babymoons -- a honeymoon-type vacation before the baby ties them down.  It is a last celebration with just the husband and wife before baby makes three. I don't understand any of this, but do accept that it is all a reality for some parents-to-be.  

Are you customers or clients engaged in rituals that you need to learn about?  Have traditions evolved into something entirely new all together?  Is something now a really big deal that you used to take for granted?

It doesn't matter if you like it, or even 'get it', but if something is important to your clients, it should become important to you.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1253 makeover

When I was in Sam's Club over the weekend, I was browsing through their book section.  It is a fairly limited display for them, and usually only carries the recent best sellers.  One particular book caught my attention, so I wrote down the title and author to reserve it at the library.

I was shocked to learn that the book I wanted was actually released in 1999.  Instead of being on a wait list for it (as is usually the case with anything current), the copy I checked out is tattered and torn.  The spine is so damaged that I had to check that all the pages were still there before I got 300 pages into a suspense novel only to be left hanging!

Apparently the publisher decided to do a new release with a new cover -- and it worked.  Same book inside, but a much more modern and appealing jacket to generate a new audience and attention.

What does your organization have that could use a new cover and fresh release?  Is there a treasure on your shelf that could see another life if it were given a graphic makeover?  

So much content from years ago is still highly relevant today -- whether it be to educate or to entertain.  Don't let the original release date keep you from sharing something good.  Dust off that dust cover and re-release it with a new look.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1252 turn around

A friend sent me the following picture with the caption:  If you only focus on the problem, you might miss the easy solution.  

I thought of this when another friend was having trouble putting the link collar on my dog.  One link had flipped around and so it wouldn't properly connect with the next piece of the chain.  I turned the collar the other way and presto -- the solution became obvious to all.  It was easy to only look at the links in the way they had originally landed, but that was like the squirrel just staring at the gate.

The next time you have a dilemma, don't just look at it one way.  Shift your perspective and see if the new lens gives you new insight on the path to follow.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1251 spy swap

I recently saw Bridge of Spies, a Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks movie 'inspired by true events' involving James Donovan.  Donovan (Hanks) was an ordinary insurance lawyer in Brooklyn who ended up negotiating with the Soviet Union for the exchange of a captured US pilot for a KGB spy.

It is a great story with all the drama and intrigue you would expect from a Cold War spy swap.  But the real message was about how one ordinary person could do extraordinary things if he has the courage to follow his values.

Donovan was a master negotiator who used diplomacy and level-headedness to not only orchestrate the exchange of the two prisoners, but he insisted on the release of a captured US student as well.  Mission accomplished.  

Later he was deployed by the Kennedy administration to negotiate for the release of a few prisoners from Cuba after the Bay of Pigs invasion.  He was responsible for the freedom of 1,113 prisoners instead.

Think about the tasks you take on in your life.  Are you only accepting the easy or popular jobs?  Are you doing just what was asked or producing far greater results?  Do you stand for your principles, even if it takes you across the ocean on a dangerous mission?

The Bridge of Spies offers lessons to all of us on how to be brave.  Remember, heroes don't need to wear capes.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1250 climbing

I came home from work last night to find it much darker than usual due to the change away from Daylight Savings Time.  "It's too dark to walk the dogs," I thought to myself.  "My route involves a fair bit of walking in the street and there aren't street lights throughout the whole path.  It would be dangerous."

And then I remembered the Dear Amy column that I just read.  It was a response to a previous reader who had lamented that they didn't have time to train properly.  The reader wrote:

I had a friend, a single, working mom who couldn't leave the house after her kid's bedtime, so she trained to climb Mt. Rainier by wearing a loaded backpack climbing up and down the stairs in her home for hours every night.  How badly does Unhappy want that ultra-marathon?  Signed -- Owner of My Life

Well, what could I do after that?

Of course, I changed my route, put on blinking tags for the dogs, and off we went.  

The next time you're tempted to be a slacker or create reasons why you can't do something, think of that mom with her backpack.  I'll bet the task ahead of you is far less daunting than climbing a real, honest to goodness mountain.  Will you be the owner of your life or the master of excuses?  

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Dear Amy in the Telegraph Herald, October 31, 2015

#1249 more

I am paid bi-weekly, so my salary is divided by 26 pay periods.  Last Friday was the third pay period in October.  It shouldn't matter at all -- I know my pay is calculated taking that into account, but somehow it felt like a bonus paycheck.  I had already paid the month's mortgage, car payment and utility bills, and so Friday felt like extra money.

The same phenomenon happened yesterday with the end of Daylight Savings Time.  While I hate to see the daylight lessen, it was glorious having that extra hour of time.  Like with my paycheck, I know that it is all calculated in the grand scheme of things and isn't really a true bonus, but it felt like it.  

I think most people are like me and revel in having an "extra" beyond the normal allocations or expectations.  Whether it is time, money or goodies on Clinique Bonus Day, people like receiving more than to which they are accustomed.

How can you delight your customers with something more than they were anticipating?  Even a little extra can make a big difference in how people feel about you.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1248 the force

Even though the new movie doesn't come out until December, the marketing force behind the new Star Wars movie seems to have done its magic.  Last night, there were Darth Vaders worn by kids who were not even born when the original movie series came out.

It's no wonder, as the Star Wars hype has been hard and heavy for months.  Target had a full aisle during the back-to-school push and the merchandising has already brought in millions.  

I wonder if it is true interest in the franchise or whether it is more nostalgia driving the madness.  As someone who, gasp, has never seen any of the movies (and somehow still has managed to lead a happy life), I don't understand the mania.  But I do acknowledge that is there.

Think about what can become iconic for your organization.  It won't rival the magnitude of Star Wars of course, but is there something out there that you can bring back for the next generation to enjoy?  Everything that is popular doesn't have to be new.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com