The 26-Hour Day

Grove Park Inn – site of Counselors Academy 2010

How do you spark the passion and fall in love again? Well, many couples might take a second honeymoon or romantic retreat. And what about in our work lives? Don’t we need some sort of romantic retreat with our careers? I’m referring to a working, creative and transformational break surrounded by industry peers, away from our co-workers, employees and clients. When is the last time you hit the reset button in your business?

I just did. I am energized and excited to hop back into things with a fresh perspective, new ideas and an amazing support group with whom to do it.

For me, my professional getaway is Counselors Academy. This is my second year attending. A chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, the 3-day conference is intended for CEO’s and owners of PR Agencies. The sessions and conversations are centered around the business side of running an agency. For you, your professional vacation is, (fill in the blank with your industry specific event).

I had so many excuses not to do something like this for myself.

Its expensive, I’m too busy to spend that much time away from the office. It’s a risk. How do I know this is going to be worth my time and money?

As I learned from Michael Gerber in his book the e-Myth Mastery,  it was time for me to stop being a technician and put on my entrepreneur hat.

And now, I have seen the light. I have drunk the kool-aid. Here is what I learned on my professional vacation:

• I can do this. I’m not afraid to admit that when I hit a bump in the road, I can feel pretty tempted by that barrista job at the local coffeehouse. I became inspired by peers in my industry and what they are accomplishing. Yes, in another room, at another time, “peers in my industry” would mean competitors, but that’s not the case in this environment.
• Think about throwing a cocktail party: Design and build a culture into your business. Don’t let it happen by default. Surround yourself with clients and employees you enjoy working with and who bring value to the conversation.  Tom Gable of Gable PR suggested that we think of our business much like we would think of throwing a cocktail party. Great concept – I plan the guest list, the menu, the theme, the decor all around a desired level of engagement I’d like to achieve.
• Learn from the ones ahead of me, mentor the ones behind me. wow. Elise Mitchell blew the crowd away when she shared her experience growing her agency. I learned a ton from her, but there is one thing in particular I’d like to share here: I will never again be hesitant to impose on people smarter than I for advice. We all need it from those with more experience than we have. But how can I repay them? By being successful and paying it forward.

Now I have work to do, visions to clarify, plans to develop and actions to implement. How do you renew the passion for what you do?

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I am really looking forward to watching this scenario play out: Pepsi will replace it’s spendy Superbowl ads with a $20 million dollar social media campaign to make the world a better place. Remember how Coke wanted to teach the world to sing in harmony? It sounds like Pepsi is putting its money where its mouth is.

If this is news to you, read more about it here.

Now that is one vote of confidence for social media if I’ve ever seen one. I get a lot of questions here in the region, in our smaller communities about the longevity of social media. “Is it just a fad?”

Social media is not a fad. The technologies are.

According to Larry Woodard’s article, Superbowl ads reach 95.4 million viewers, or 42% of homes. Social media reaches 85 percent of the golden 18-34 demographic.

It’s more targeted and it’s more meaningful.

Of course, execution will be key. The $20 million campaign will center around their Refresh Everything website where, starting January 13th, you and I can submit our projects for funding. Site visitors can start voting February 1^st. The campaign will run for a year, rather than 30 seconds. Of course, after I submit my project, I’ll be plugging it for votes on all the social media outlets.

This signals a major shift in marketing strategy and I love the direction.

• Brands will have to be more interactive and develop more meaningful relationships with their customers in order to compete. Social media technologies make this possible and in fact, mandatory.
• It means no more talking at me, and telling me what to do.
• Maybe brands will see I don’t need a rock star to entice me to buy your product.
• Make me think, make me feel, make me be proud to support your brand.

What do you think? are you as excited as I am or am I just a geek?

Do you like Pepsi’s strategy? Any predictions on its success? Can we apply this lesson to our smaller communities and budgets?

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