Veeva provides Enterprise Cloud Software for Life Sciences Industry.
Bobbi Gibb Art | Making Art, Making History, Paying it Forward
Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to run and win the Boston Marathon in 1966 and repeated her wins in 1967, and 1968. In addition to her Marathon fame, Bobbi is also an accomplished artist. However, like many artists, she was not able to keep up with the dramatic changes in “arts marketing” needed to keep her work in the public eye and available commercially. Bobbi was often given media opportunities as a running champion and for her role in changing women’s athletic history, but never made her living as an athlete. She occasionally sold artwork, but did not have a regular way to engage in this As 2016 approached, I approached Bobbi to see if she would like to work on three important initiatives – (1) To properly celebrate her 50th Anniversary as a Marathon pioneer and (2) Fully leverage the opportunity to put her artwork in the forefront; and (3) To identify and initiate a project to mark the important place in history represented by her run. This would become the Bobbi Gibb Marathon Sculpture Project – the opportunity to have Bobbi sculpt the first life-size statue of a female runner on the Boston Marathon course.
Breathing new “life” into deadlines
One of my personal tenets has always been “I am not good enough to procrastinate.” This goes back to the days of people cramming for tests or a preparing for big athletic event or performance. I always had to pace myself and have things done ahead of schedule. Living in the world of the self-employed, this is critical as one never knows what is coming down the pike.
But lately, it seems to me that society has lost respect for deadlines. The immediacy of the electronic world means that changes can be made right to the bitter end and nothing ever feels completed. Depending on your camp -a great opportunity for continuous improvement, perfectionism, OR a never ending abyss of “versions.”
The last thing standing is printed material. There’s something about the physical world that still commands respect. My experience in the non-profit world is that it’s only upon knowing that the program is going to print that I can close my sponsorship deals. Same holds true for print media, but our print world has its own challenges!
Ticket sales at venues are suffering and nearly canceling events due to slow sales until the bitter end when large majority of seats being booked at the last minute. I had a board member suggest to me to drop ticket prices for people that booked at the last minute. Really? Rewarding procrastinators instead of early birds?
New York City shop December 2014
So are deadlines “dead?” Have procrastinators won? Or is there still a chance to hold people accountable for deadlines even in the virtual world? The paradigm has shifted and those of us who believe in the benefits of planning need to find some answers to these challenges. Certainly we all enjoy the chance to grab a last minute ticket to a ball game, a deep holiday shopping discount, or the chance to whip up a blog post. But there must be a happy medium to take advantage of the new “last minute” opportunities while respecting the discipline and benefits of planning in advance. It’s good to keep our eyes on the pendulum. One way to think about it is “goals are dreams with deadlines.”
A good personal challenge is to think about using planning as a differentiator both personally and professionally. Think about the benefits – financially and strategically that can accrue to those who respect or even beat deadlines. I’d welcome your ideas, anecdotes and case studies on how this nets out financially for industries, organizations, and projects that have to guarantee numbers and meet budgets to thrive and compete.
Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) helps organizations around the world reduce the costs and risks associated with information protection and storage. The Company offers comprehensive records management, data protection, and information destruction solutions along with the expertise and experience to address complex information challenges such as rising storage costs, litigation, regulatory compliance and disaster recovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain is a trusted partner to more than 120,000 corporate clients throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. Iron Mountain Digital was formed in 2005 with the acquisition of Connected PC Back-up and continues to grow through acquisition and organic growth.
Postscript: In 2005, Iron Mountain was one of the earliest enterprises to widely deploy the “cloud” before the term became popularized.
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Circles
Circles has revolutionized how corporations build life-long relationships with their customers and employees. By forging intimate relationships, our loyalty programs drive behaviors that drive increased profitability for our Fortune 1000 customers.
Founded in 1997, Circles delivers a disarmingly simple and unique key ingredient — the ability to get close to people. Circles believes that in the future the only loyalty programs companies will consider are those which have a measurable effect on their bottom line. Circles’ intimacy-based programs are the only ones that deliver on this promise today.
Emode
Emode.com later Tickle.com and then sold to Monster was the leading interpersonal media company, providing self-discovery, matchmaking, and social networking services to more than 18 million active members in its community worldwide. Emode was founded on the belief that personal insight and connections to others could be both scientific and fun.
Emode was founded in 1999 as Emode.com by CEO James Currier, who developed an early passion for Internet technology, new media and social sciences. Currier envisioned how the Internet could be used to help people learn more about themselves and better connect with others in a mutually beneficial environment based on trust and respect. Today, the company is part of Monster.com.
PowerSkills Relationship Capital Management
PowerSkills Solutions is a framework for Relationship Capital Management based on the leading business book, PowerSkills by Jim Masciarelli. PowerSkills was ahead of the curve in providing Relationship Capital Management for B2B enterprises, providing innovative solutions for Building Profitable Relationships with decision makers, influencers, and stakeholders. PowerSkills “Agenda” became one of the first software “apps” in first phase of Salesforce.com’s app store in 2006.
Rockport Mortgage Corporation
Rockport Mortgage Corporation is a privately owned commercial mortgage banking firm founded in 1992, and located on the North Shore of Boston, that specializes in providing HUD/FHA insured project loans and conventional financing programs nationwide.
RMC has grown to become one of the top national firms providing HUD financing.
Marketing Assists: Snapshots
Some of the best companies are family owned or small businesses that have not been exposed to the latest marketing tools. 15 years ago, that included developing the first website. The Internet gave marketing a new set of tools and new challenges for businesses trying to tell their story. Marketing Assists come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes just a conversation will help a business owner get “un-stuck” from a marketing roadblock.
Arts Marketing: For artists, the time is now.
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to merge my two worlds -marketing and the arts. As a member of a distinguished group of juried artisans, each of us has to contribute to the success of the annual open studio tour. Naturally, I was asked to focus on marketing. But as a believer of “teach people how to fish” rather than do the fishing, I designed a 1/2 day workshop. I also asked a professional photographer to be on site in an adjacent room to help the photo-challenged to ensure we had professional documentation of their beautiful works. The biggest outcome from the session was a year long “From the Studio” blog. We also succeeded in sharing media relationships and having a follow on phone coaching session on how to build media relations. In the end, my theory is that “content marketing” is made to order for the arts community. By focusing on the content, one is then forced to learn about the channels and ways to distribute the content, but that’s the easy part. You have to start with the “stuff” and the artists have it. You can read my post workshop blog here.