Altitude: 30,000 Feet

Creativity is at a premium these days. We’re surrounded by chain stores, music that all sounds the same, movie remakes and sequels, and ten versions of the same crime shows on TV. While it’s true these products generate great ratings and healthy profits, they’re rarely memorable or industry changing. Fortunately, there are exceptions to every rule, and these exceptions can teach us some valuable lessons.

Sticking with the TV theme, consider shows such as Dexter, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, shows about a Miami Metro forensic analyst, high school chemistry teacher turned drug lord, and a 1960s advertising agency, respectively. While these shows are on smaller networks, cater to smaller audiences, and make less money, each has a fiercely devoted fan base, receive critical acclaim, win highest industry honors, and are profitable. Simply put, they’re game changers. The difference between these shows and CSI [insert city here] is simple, they are different. Programs like these tackle topics and develop characters in ways that haven’t been done before and they’ve been successful. Furthermore, the producers didn’t stop being creative after filming the first season. Each show in its own way continues to break conventional TV rules and is not afraid to shock their audience. Dexter fans will never forget the end of Season 4.

So what does this TV show nonsense have to do with your business? I believe there are at least three things you can take away from these shows and apply to your business. Spoiler Alert: Clichés ahead.

1.      Think outside the box – How many times have you heard that statement? Hundreds probably. But how many times have you actually done it? To truly think outside the box you must get outside of your own. Be disruptive. Shake up how things are usually done and try something new. You’ll be surprised how far your imagination will take you.

2.      Paint with your own brush – Most companies spend far too much time worrying about what their competitors are doing. That’s one of the reasons major television networks are constantly ripping off one another’s ideas. Unsurprisingly, their ratings continue to drop.

As Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson wrote in their outstanding book Rework, “Focus on competitors too much and you wind up diluting your own vision. Your chances of coming up with something fresh go way down when you keep feeding your brain other people’s ideas. You become reactionary instead of visionary. You wind up offering your competitor’s products with a different coat of paint.”

3.      Continue breaking new ground – Once you’ve created something unique for your business and developed a following, don’t get lazy. Chances are those who like what you’re doing also like being surprised. There is a powerful group of consumers out there who crave variety so keep pushing.

It worked out pretty well for Apple after all.

At the start of each year, I try and make several New Years resolutions.  This year, I decided on one big goal—taking a little more time for myself, friends and family.  So New Year’s Day,  I decided to reflect on the past 365 days as a way of helping me set my direction for 2012.  Of course I needed to develop a strategic framework to do this, so here are the things I thought about:    

• What was the thing I found most joyful last year?
• What was the biggest challenge?
• What would/should I have said to someone that I did not share?
• What was my proudest moment?
• If I turned the clock back to 2011, what is the one thing I would make sure and accomplish? 

I found my answers surprising and they reinforced why I set this year’s resolution.  Interesting.  I  hope you all had a safe, joyful and restful holiday.  May 2012 bring you success with your 2012 resolutions.

Great New Year 2012! Purposely avoiding the usual list of resolutions, in its stead there is a strong mental and physical commitment to forge forward throughout this new year. Allow me to share the three countdown words that constitute the resolute action to take our personal performance to higher heights:

Proactive: Wisdom purports that “timing is everything” and indeed that may be true. Sometimes we must act as the timekeeper ourselves, initiating the action – sending out that first smile, calling a friend instead of returning the call and offer the kind unexpected word and action daily.

Clarity: the idea of transparency is trendy, but beyond the trendiness daily progress requires continual focus and pellucid living. This is yes or no, do or do not, black or white, no gray area and nothing stored to clutter your clear vision.

Conficernment: Now there’s a new word for 2012 (my gift.) Start the new year with a dynamic combination of confidence and discernment and you get conficernment. Surely great strides will accompany certitude, assurance and an acuteness of understanding to only do what is the right thing to do.

These three words create action, focus and insight, all of which will ignite your launch sequence for 2012! Headed toward the stratosphere of success. Climb aboard, let’s go!

As the end of the year approaches, and we prepare to bravely enter into a new year, we make promises to ourselves that we call resolutions. Some resolutions are big, others are small. As I sit here with a whole new year ahead of me I have to ask myself what my promises will be. I have an odd personal tradition of beginning my New Year’s resolution before Christmas, since all resolutions I’ve made and waited to kickoff until New Year’s Day have never stuck.

After much deliberation, I have decided on two things.
1)    Read more
I’ve decided reading for pleasure has taken too much of a back seat in my life. I’ve started reading Sherlock Holmes stories again. I also recently reread a Charlotte Perkins Gilman story titled The Yellow Wallpaper, a fabulous short story that provides commentary about mental health treatments of its time. If you read it with the expectation that it’s going to be funny, you’ll have a blast. I’ve started reading another Charlotte Perkins Gilman work titled Herland. I don’t know what to expect this time, but I’m excited to see what will happen.
2)    Recommit to exercise
My exercise schedule has suffered over the last few months. Since graduation I’ve started a new job, got married and went on my honeymoon. I went from going to the gym every day for two hours to once and twice a week, if that. So from now on, I’m going to make it to the gym five days a week even if it’s only for 30 minutes. I think the mistake people make about exercising is that they let little failures get in their way. Before you know it, you haven’t exercised in weeks because you didn’t feel you had time to devote an hour a day to your health. My mother always says, “How do you conquer a mountain? A little at a time.”

I think behind Thanksgiving, New Year’s is my favorite holiday. Not because of the fun parties and awesome things I get to do New Year’s Eve (I usually don’t do much), but because we are encouraged to objectively look at our lives and see where we can stand to improve. I love the thought of new beginnings and clean slates. It makes me smile. How do you want to start anew this year?

I never knew that storytelling could be so fun!

During my most recent visit to the headquarters of Ford Motor Company in Michigan, I took part in a fascinating workshop lead by members of The Moth is a non-profit group, founded in 1997 and based in New York City, dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Poet and novelist George Dawes Green wanted to recreate the feeling of his evenings in Georgia, when moths were attracted to the light on the porch where he and his friends would gather to share their life stories.
The goal of the workshop was to provide the tools to be able to tell a story in five minutes or less, following these five principles:

1.    Set up the stakes. Talk about a lesson learned in a particular event or situation.
2.    Develop the “arc” or the way the information is revealed in a story. Start by memorizing the first sentence or statement, recognize the changing points and, memorize your closing sentence or statement. Employ many details instead of using a “show and tell” approach.
3.    Define your theme: In one word, what are you trying to communicate?
4.    Make critical choices: Don’t be afraid to edit and abbreviate. Don’t forget that 80 percent of story telling is revisions.
5.    Be yourself: Remember that it is your story you are sharing. People will know if you are being genuine or not.

Robert McKee once said that stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.

Today is a great time to start sharing your wealth.

As many folks know, I love to read.  Although I have been reading books on my iPad lately, I  much prefer to buy a book.  In fact, I could spend hours in a bookstore finding just the right one to buy.  One of my favorite items to give as a Christmas gift is a beautiful hardback book that I think the person will really enjoy.  I believe it is that special gift that continues to give throughout the years.  You can read it,  keep it on the shelf to read again, or pass it on to others to enjoy.

I thought I would share with you my favorite books to give as gifts. I have wrapped many copies of these books over the past few years. My top books to give include:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
John Adams by David McCullough
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr.  Seuss

I am always open to new book suggestions.  So if you have a chance, tell me your favorite book to give this year.

According to 2010 Census data, Latinos in the U.S. are 50.3 million strong, accounting for 16.3% of the population. That means roughly one out of every six individual in the U.S. is Latino. If you segment just the children, the number jumps to one in every 4. In the State of Florida alone, the Latino population shoots up to 22.3% — almost one in every five.

Latinos accounted for more than half of the nations growth in the past decade. Their buying power hangs at around $1 trillion, and for the first time in history, more are being born in the US than migrating from foreign countries.

If U.S. Latinos were considered their own country, they would be the second largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world.

This numeric breakdown was the intro to an insightful conversation on the fastest growing minority market in the U.S. at the Florida Public Relations Association’s Capital Chapter’s very first Hispanic Marketing Panel last month. The panel brought in several impacting Latino marketing professionals —- including world-renowned ethnographer and marketer Dr. Felipe Korzennny, the Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing’s Antonieta Reyes Echezuria, and Moore Consulting Group Latino’s very own Fernando Rodriguez. At the core of the conversation were numbers that helped drive the relevance of the Latino market in the U.S.

These numbers are meant to be eye-opening fundamentals in understanding the sheer power. The majority of these numbers aren’t new. In fact, these numbers have aided me in making several pitches; I have several cheatsheets. Here are some highly visual aids about Latinos in the U.S.: the first is a video titled “The New American Reality” by Univision and the second is an amazing info-graphic by Latino Branding Power.

We’ve all heard that phrase so often, it’s almost a cliché. But especially this time of year, I believe it should be the cliché that guides our actions. Yet we get caught up in our “Christmas wish list” of all the things WE want, or on finding the perfect gift for the loved one who “has everything.”

Instead of giving more to someone who has plenty and then some, why not direct our giving to those who need it most? The latest Census figures are proof that there are plenty in need, including some 16 million children living in poverty in the United States. 16 million. 60 Minutes this weekend did a story on this sad statistic, and found children living in cars with their parents in Central Florida. Children living in cars?!? This is unacceptable in a country that, on the flipside, has so much wealth and excess.

Driving home late Thanksgiving night from dinner with friends, the roads were already busy with shoppers lining up for midnight “DoorBuster Sales.” The parking lots of big-box discount stores were packed.  Maybe some of these shoppers were buying presents for families in need or foster children. But more likely, they were mostly buying more stuff for friends and loved ones who already have plenty of stuff.

This season, I challenge each of you reading this to do something different. Do more. Yes, buy presents for your loved ones and close friends. But set aside part of your holiday shopping budget to do something for a stranger who really needs it. I promise, your heart and spirit will be brighter as a result.

The best feeling I had on Thanksgiving was not stuffing myself with turkey and pie that night. It came early in the morning, when I dropped off a huge green bean casserole for my church’s Meals on Wheels delivery to 1,300 area elderly residents and picked up a Christmas Angel card with a young girl’s Christmas wish list.

I don’t know her, but she wants a Tickle Me Elmo and a matching set of hat and mittens, and I will make sure she gets it. I have a feeling it will be the best gift I buy this year.

Because it really is better to give than to receive, especially to someone who truly needs it.

Matthew 25:45 NLT: ““And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’”

I thought I would share with you Karen’s rules for a more sane holiday airline travel experience. 

1. Never check luggage.  Hoping that it arrives or waiting  for it at a crowed carrousel will age you five years. 

2. Always do the electronic check in before going to the airport. If you wait  until you get there, you will probably stand in line behind a family with three kids and a stroller that does not know how to work the kiosk. 

3.  Make sure you have your liquids in the appropriate small clear baggy.  It is ok not to bring all you favorite shower supplies.  Unless you are going to the jungles of Cambodia, they will have stores to buy something that you can use at your destination.

4.  Buy noise canceling ear phones.  Do I need to explain? 

5.  Get to the airport early.  Running through the airport to get to your gate should not be part of your exercise routine.

6.  Bring your iPad, iPhone and any other entertainment devise fully charged. Getting to an outlet to charge your equipment at an airport is like a scavenger hunt.  In most cases, you will not be the winner.

7.  Please be nice to the airline staff and flight attendants.  They deserve respect and will make your experience easier. Yelling at them will not make the plane arrive any earlier.  Believe me, they want folks out of the gate as soon as possible also. 

8.  Bring your snacks and meal bars with you.  Eating airport food will only get you stuck in the airport bathroom line.

9.  If you have to change planes, check and reaffirm the gate number several times.  The airline are notorious about changing gates and you can’t hear it in with all the background noise.  See rule four.

10.  Finally, this is the holiday season, so treat yourself. Buy a one day pass to the business lounge.  You really don’t want to be sitting at a gate for extended periods of time.  There is not enough hand sanitizer  in the world to keep you from all those germs!

Walking through the gates of Disney World for the first time, winning the district 5 little league title, having the chance to meet with the chief marketing officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; what do these events all share in common? All are moments I will never forget, for as long as I live.

After a certain age there are few moments in our lives that truly bring out the kid in us. My inner child was brought out recently on a trip to meet with the newest “free agent” pick up of my all-time favorite sports team. Traveling down to Tampa with some of the most influential people here at MCG, I had those “pre-game” jitters we often hear about from athletes. As the proverbial rookie here at MCG, I was honored to be in the presence of such brilliant marketing minds.

Pulling up to the Bucs executive offices began to conjure up memories of going to games at Raymond James Stadium with my family, celebrating our one and only super bowl win and playing Monday morning quarterback after tough losses. Stepping into the lobby I was immediately lessened to a kid in a candy store, running from display to display calling for my colleagues to come see the history of my childhood team. Too many times we get caught up in the day to day grind of our professions and we forget to have some fun.

Is acting like a kid again so bad though? The mind of child is pure and unfiltered. It is unconcerned about the monotony of the day and more concerned about living each day to the fullest extent. Sometimes to move forward we must take a step back.

Sitting in the board room with the marketing team of this NFL franchise, my mind was as clear and sharp as it has ever been. I cannot lie when I tell you it took me quite awhile to get over the initial shock of being in the company of not only the team I grew up watching but some of the brightest minds in marketing today. I was honored to have learned so much while at the same time providing a unique perspective to this meeting. Once my inner child quieted down, I was able to bring the view of the fan to this open discussion. Taking this view point of a fan and integrating it with the marketing expertise and knowledge I have gained while at MCG, I added relevant ideas to this meeting.

The excitement and exuberance I was showing began to rub off on my fellow colleagues, as they saw this raw passion to help my team. This inspired them to match my enthusiasm with brilliant ideas and thoughtful insights. For a brief moment I think my inner child had a few friends to keep him company in this metaphorical playground of a meeting.

At the conclusion of this day I was able to reflect on everything that had transpired. Not only was I able to live out a dream of mine, but I was able to share it with a group of people I look up to and respect highly. What did I learn? It is ok to act like a kid every once in awhile. It can be good to be a part of something larger than life to help put everything into perspective. So take some time to listen to your inner child, it may be just the inspiration you need.