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What the *$?! Is Wrong with People??

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I was listening to a podcast the other day and a prominent long time conservative republican was explaining why he was not seeking re- election. He became nostalgic as the reporter and he walked along the outside of the Capitol Building recounting the time just after 9/11 when both democrats and republicans were earnestly working together to come up with legislation that WOULD pass on both sides of the aisle, legislation that was a legitimate win win for their constituents. And now 18 years later the climate has changed to where one side is trying to ‘stick it to’ the other side.   This practice, he said, isn’t limited to either side of the aisle.   He went on to say that if he were to run again, he would have to run in a way that wasn’t true to himself, intimating that he would have to go negative and point out the flaws of his opponent. He simply didn’t want to do that.   Yesterday there was a shooting in a church just outside of San Antonio.   It’s close to home fo
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Is Rodan + Fields Creating a Blue Ocean?

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I read this book a while ago called Blue Ocean Strategy ,  it was written by these really smart people from Harvard. They drew an analogy to the free market as an ocean.  When all the sharks are feeding, there is a lot of blood in the water, the ocean is red.  The sharks are businesses out there trying to gobble up as much market share as they possibly can.  Think of the cola wars in the 80's, Pepsi and Coke were going at it head to head. "Take the Pepsi Challenge," remember? and then Coke responded with the New Coke, which was an absolute debacle.  In production we closely guard our processes as trade secrets so we have a perceived edge against the competition. But in reality, Production companies all promise the same thing, flawless execution, peace of mind, bringing your vision to life. The writers of Blue Ocean Strategy noticed that there are companies who don't jump into the crowded red ocean but rather create their own market.  Look at Cirque du Soleil, befo
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4 Practices that Lead to "Greatness"

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I am a mediocre guitarist, I enjoy it though. I enjoy the way the guitar feels against my body. I like the familiarity of the strings and the chords. I'm sure if I practiced more I'd get a little better, but I'm probably never going to be a great guitarist. And I'm ok with that.  Does that mean that I'll never achieve greatness? Probably not as a guitarist... But what about other areas of life? How can we achieve greatness in the areas that are most important to us? Integrity We all agree that we should do the right thing, so why don't we? Humanity's ablity to rationalize pulls us off the beam more often than not.  Research shows that while most students agree that cheating is wrong about 95% of them admit to having cheated in the past. We rationalize that it's not a big deal, everyone does it, it's not hurting anyone... so how can we maintain our sense of integrity when most everyone is letting it slide.  If we decide to be that 5% who
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 4 Benefits of Giving My friends Lisa and Natalie dress up like elves, complete in silly hats, and scurry around northern suburbs of Atlanta dropping gifts on the front steps of unsuspecting recipients.  They call it #12daysofelvingchristmas.  They find someone in the community who is having a rough go of the holiday season and "elf " them - kinda like Ashton Kutcher in  "Punk'd" but much nicer.  Natalie suggested that I grab a partner and start "elfing" people in my area. So Frances and I set out with journals, and candles and CD's in pretty paper into different parts of the city.  And do you know what happened?  We had a blast.  I mean, something magical happened. Maybe it was the Christmas Spirit or the Holy Spirit or simply good mojo.  Whatever you wanna call it, we were high on it. What is that? Why do we feel so good when we are giving? I went to the Google cave to find out.  Turns out that I'm not the only person to ask this q
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Why do Sales People have Such a Bad Rep?

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I was in sales back in 2001. I was calling into meeting planners at Fortune 500 companies within a 300 mile radius of Atlanta. I would cold call for hours. It was hard. Really hard. I started in November - one month after 9/11. ALL of the companies I called had a freeze on meetings and events. The whole industry sat in suspended animation for a time.  And I was a green production sales person. I had a sales manager who told me every Monday morning that I was going to lose my job if I didn't sell something soon.  It was high pressure.  This is the climate for most sales organizations within corporate America.  No one wants to hear from a high pressured sales person who's trying like mad to make a sale. I get it though, the company NEEDED me to make a sale. We needed the cash to keep the doors open.  The profits from any business that I brought in would go to feeding the company, keeping the lights on, phones ringing, pay the rent etc. Social commerce is different .  
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5 Reasons Why I'm a Rodan + Fields Consultant  My Boy I started my career as a producer back in 1998 and I love it. I love the creative process, being part of a crew, that feels like family for that week on show site. Everything about it scratches my theatre itch. What I don't love is that I have to get on a plane to produce a show.  When I became a mom leaving to go to show site got harder and harder as he gets older. Yes, I always come back but the tears and the "When are you going to get another job, Mom?" questions just break my heart.   Time Freedom  At the end of the summer this year (2016) the production company I was working for needed to make a change in how they paid me. I had spent the last 2 years working from home as a salaried employee. Now I needed change to contractor status or find another full - time salaried position.  The thought of going back to an office was extremely distasteful to me.  Some people love it, but I absolutely LOVE w
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The Gift of Desperation

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Recently I was listening to an R+F consultant tell her story. She was married to a pastor, homeschooled her six, counte 'em, SIX children, played piano in the church, taught piano lessons, and ran a drop ship bakery service.  Her husband also had a painting and dry wall business, and it had flat dried up.  No money coming in for 4 weeks. Their savings as caput, and they needed to do something to keep food on the table.  So they decided to open a bakery.  But the thought of opening the bakery filled our friend with serious anxiety and dread. How was she going to continue running this huge household while also working full time in a bakery! She went to God and asked him for clear direction-- within 24 hours.  Now we all know that we aren't supposed to test God but she was pressed, and she needed an answer. So she went back to Him and said, "Really! I need you to tell me what you want me to do!" The next day her mother called and invited her to her sister's R+F lau
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