Featured on the HOW Blog, here’s my submission to their HOW Conference sticker contest:

As I mentioned last June, I was fortunate enough to attend my first HOW Conference in Austin, TX, and I can’t say enough good things about my trip. I met some great people, attended several informative (and relevant) seminars, and returned back with a wealth of new information and skills!

If you’re a designer (or marketing professional) on the fence about whether or not you should go, spend the money and go- it’s worth it!

“Thank you!” to the folks at the HOW Blog who were nice enough to publish my submission.

The short answer is “no”, but if you need more proof, here’s a great infographic from Mint.com. Personally, I tend to lean toward the “we’re not out of the woods yet” mentality, mostly because of what I saw happen to the aviation industry since mid-2007.

Back then (Summer of 2007), our company (my now ex-company), which sells jet fuel and ground services to private aircraft (and in some cases commercial aircraft), had a terrible summer. Then operating at 12 locations, we had our first round of layoffs, and we started to take a closer look at where our money was going.

After that initial flash of panic, there was a small leveling-off for us… until the effects of the recession trickled into our industry. Now, when I say “us”, I’m referring to our industry- not one competitor of ours didn’t feel the effects of this recession. 2008 came and brought bank bailouts, investment scandals, and real estate fallout with it. Its effect on commercial aviation was clear to anyone flying; flights were consolidated through airline code shares, failing airlines merged, on-board amenities were eliminated (or went up in price), and in some cases, flights were cut altogether. Pennies, all of a sudden, mattered.

However, what wasn’t so clear to the public, was the effect on the private (general) aviation industry. Then again, when the presidents of the big-three auto makers flew in separate private aircraft from Detroit to Washington, D.C. to ask our government for bailout money, the reputation (and business of) general aviation (or GA) took a direct hit. This was the worst press our industry could have gotten. All of a sudden, Americans were pissed off, and big companies saw this as a warning to cut back on expenses, and let their customers know that they’re being “financially responsible” by not utilizing their corporate aircraft.

*On a side-note, many (most) of these companies kept their aircraft, but changed their vanity tail numbers (like license plates for planes) and set up separate management companies to keep their fleets in operation. For example, if my company’s name is Ribaudo Enterprises, I might want my company’s initials reflected in the tail number of my aircraft; something like “123RE”. However, I might now want to switch that tail number to something totally unrelated to Ribaudo Enterprises so that my customers won’t get wind that I’m still operating a corporate aircraft. My public relations nightmare has now been averted.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, it’s just a bunch of rich folks flying around in these planes; who cares about them?” In some respects, I can agree with you, but most of these aircraft are for corporate use- not personal. When Americans saw these stories on the news, they weren’t presented the flip side of this coin. As it turns out, there are a lot of blue-collar jobs supporting GA that have been lost due to the recent negative press and recession:

• Workers at the aircraft manufacturing plants like Gulfstream, Bombardier, Cessna, etc. In some cases, the economies of entire towns (like Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, GA) are very reliant on these large manufacturers.
• Folks who work at the fuel refineries that produce jet fuel like Chevron, Philips 66, BP, etc.
• Mechanics, flight schedulers, and dispatchers that work for corporate flight departments or fractional jet ownership businesses
• Businesses that manufacture and distribute aircraft replacement parts
• Developers of aircraft hangars, construction workers, and skilled trade workers
• Workers manufacturing the ground servicing equipment like fuel trucks, aircraft tow vehicles, ground power units, etc.
• Those involved in the Fixed Based Operation (FBO) businesses that sell jet fuel to these aircraft and provide ground services. Large FBO chains like Signature Flight Support, and Atlantic Aviation felt the biggest effects of this; there were even rumors that a large FBO chain cut all full-time hourly-paid employees back to 32-hours per week in order to not have to pay them benefits, or risk having to pay them overtime. Regional FBO chains like my previous employer, TAC Air, and Odyssey Aviation unfortunately saw hardship, too. Frequent layoffs, operating hour reductions, and the elimination of customer amenities were common in these mid-sized chains. The Mom-and-Pop/independent FBO’s (that far outnumber the chains) saw the least amount of damage from the recession, as they usually have very low overhead and were used to operating on small budgets.
• The list goes on… if you think about it, there probably aren’t many industries that GA hasn’t touched.

General Aviation saw its industry reduced to rubble about six months after the government officially declared a recession. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) even worked to improve the reputation of GA through a “No Plane, No Gain” marketing campaign (with little results). Elsewhere in the world, Central/South American and European GA were in fine shape, but as time went on, these international aircraft owners/operators started to see the effects of an American economy in recession… which brings us up to mid-2009.

Now as an experienced marketing professional in this industry (there weren’t many of us left at this point), it was extremely difficult to sell jet fuel to aircraft that weren’t flying in the first place. Companies and private owners the like had grounded their aircraft and in some cases, fired their pilots and maintenance staff in an effort to reduce operating costs. You can hunker down and ride out the storm all you want, but how do you attract new customers (or old customers back) to your business if they’re not interested in its products or services to begin with?

I likened this to trying to sell dog food to someone without a dog- they have no need for the product, so there’s no chance of them buying it (regardless of how good the dog food is, or how low the price)… but you have to keep your product available just in case the customer changes his/her mind. After all, people like dogs… and people with aircraft like to fly in them.

So, when people aren’t flying and buying, the FBOs that are going to make it through this mess are going open their eyes and focus their efforts toward the customers that are still active.

It’s simple to do, and this will work in most industries: when it comes to marketing, shift the bulk of your resources to improving customer service (or the “customer experience”)- after all, it’s usually free (or cheap) to do so. Set up recurrent training, spend some time each day getting to know more about your customers (their needs and their businesses), and work with people on pricing. Know which customers spend the most money, and make sure that retaining their business is a top priority. This is where data acquisition and a solid customer database really proves its worth. When the economy turns around, you’ll find that the seeds you’ve planted during the recession will have yielded you a dense crop of very loyal customers (and the word will spread).

After more rounds of layoffs than I care to remember, my position in the company was eliminated; I had made it more than two-and-a-half years into a recession in a struggling industry. (I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish luck to friends and former colleagues that are still working in GA.)

So, are we there yet? Not by a long shot.

We’ve learned that the economic demeanor of General Aviation usually trails that of the national economy by about six months (on the way down). In times of economic recovery (and we have a long way to go to get back to 2005-numbers), this process could take another two years. Industry experts aren’t even sure that GA has hit bottom yet, and that a leveling off is still far way.

Think about it- if jobs in other industries come back, then consumers spend money on goods and services, and the companies that produce these goods/services get more revenue and might expand their businesses geographically. This might then warrant a need for a quicker way for key personnel to be transported to these satellite branches, and if it’s financially feasible, an aircraft might be purchased, pilots/maintenance/scheduling personnel are hired, and fuel/ground services are purchased when the aircraft is in operation. The company’s business benefits from the use of the aircraft, the company continues to grow and hire more people, and the process will repeat itself… of course, this is a best-case scenario.

On a national scale, I hope that things are on the way up sooner rather than later… but a 9.8% unemployment rate (me being part of that) doesn’t exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Personally, I’ve had to relocate myself back to the Northeast to look for work in my field (marketing/creative); companies just weren’t hiring where I used to live. I’m confident that the changes I’ve made will afford me the opportunity to find something soon, and hopeful that the optimists’ predictions on a quick recovery come true.

Via Brandflakes For Breakfast, tips from Alex Bogusky for those just out of college on the importance of finding your version of success before you run out after it.

Some brands communicate to their customers via e-mail, or traditionally through direct mail. Some opt for online message boards or social media. Still, some brands like Harpoon (Mass. Bay Brewing Company) take it all a step further.

“Doyle [Rich Doyle, founder] wanted to ship a European tradition here to New England: the communal spirit that he and his friends saw at local breweries on the other side of the Atlantic. The concept of the brewery as a local meeting place, while popular in countries such as Germany, had yet to be embraced here.”

With their tireless charitable involvement in the community (Boston, MA and Windsor, VT- respectively), Harpoon not only brews an excellent assortment of beers and sodas, but they bring people together. Several times a year, Harpoon organizes community-centric charity events throughout New England and hosts festivals at their two breweries to celebrate their seasonal brews. The folks at Harpoon hit on something back in 1990 (when they had downsized to five employees) that continues to bring their customers together and show them that brands can be (are comprised of) people, too.

“Perhaps no one event has played a bigger role in that effort than Harpoon’s Octoberfest. Doyle, the company’s CEO, recalls planning the first Octoberfest party in 1990, calling it a “Hail Mary pass” because of the risk involved…

Fortunately, Doyle’s growing customer base provided the response he needed – and the first event was a success. The festival, which is expected to draw as many as 14,000 people for its 20th anniversary on Oct. 2 and 3, helped generate some extra attention for the company at the time. Eventually, Harpoon added several other festivals to its annual lineup.”

So how can Harpoon’s success translate to your brand? Easy:

1. Make sure your brand is cohesive. Know what your company/brand stands for, and stick by it. Live your mission statement, and abide by your company’s values.
2. Identify your customers. Use tools like surveys, coupons, social media (ie. twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.), and customer database mining to see who is buying your product.
3. Make it personal. Invite your customers for tours of your place of business/factory and show them how your product is assembled/cooked/brewed/produced. Introduce your staff; let your customers see who it is that makes your brand tick.
4. Create a culture. Involve your customers in new product decisions/trials/samples, parties to celebrate your brand’s success, and charity events that bring your staff, your customers, and your community together.
5. Keep your customers engaged in your brand. Create a buzz and keep your customers talking about your brand. If treated properly, they’ll do a better job advertising your brand than any planned campaign.

Via Mass. Market/ EnterpriseNews.com.

Via the New York Times’ Corner Office feature, Ford’s President and CEO, Alan Mullaly shares this story:

“One of my favorite stories is an analogy where this reporter stops by a construction site and he interviews three bricklayers. He asks the first bricklayer, “What are you doing?” And he says, “Well, I’m making a living laying these bricks.” The reporter says: “Oh, that’s great. That’s very noble.”

He asks the next bricklayer, “What are you doing?” And he says, “Well, I am practicing the profession of bricklaying. I’m going to be the best bricklayer ever.”

And the reporter asks the third bricklayer, “What are you doing?” And he says, “I’m developing a cathedral.”

There is technical excellence and professionalism, but we all want to contribute to making a cathedral. And the more we feel that and we know what our part in it is, the more I think you can take the team performance to a whole other level of excellence.”

Mr. Mullaly goes on to offer some career advice:

“Don’t manage your career. Follow your dream and contribute. Think about just exceeding expectations of every job you’re being asked to do. Continually ask for feedback on how it’s going. Ask everybody involved what you can do to do an even better job, and the world will beat down your door trying to ask you to do more and more.

I’ve never laid out a career. I never said I wanted to do this job and this job and this job, and frankly, I’d propose that you really don’t know what a job is until you’re in it. The most important thing is that you are open to really understanding what is expected, and also where you can make the biggest contribution. The more humble you become, and the more honored you are to serve, it allows you to really understand what you can do to make a bigger contribution.”

Since late 2007, I’ve been actively maintaining this blog. Though I don’t write every day, nor have a set schedule, I’d like to think that people are out there reading what I write. If something I’ve posted makes you laugh, sparks your interest, or gives you something to think about, I’ve done my job.

So if I have done my job, maybe you’ll come back again. Maybe you’ll add my RSS feed into your favorite feed reader. Maybe you’ll even be inspired to write something on your own. Maybe you’ll even think about hiring me.

Lance Haun of Your HR Guy.com explains, “The real value of blogging isn’t the content I create… The real value are the connections I make and the things I learn and apply to make myself better.”

Since I’ve started blogging (and tweeting), I feel as though I’ve learned a lot about myself, and about my trade (creative/marketing). Better yet, I’ve formed relationships with a lot of interesting and friendly people (yes, they are out there). Recently, some of these folks have even gone out of their way to re-tweet to their network of friends that I’m (currently) looking to relocate to the Boston area.

So why is this all important? Haun goes on to say,

“The principles that people use to get ahead are the same now as they have been for the last half century (if not longer). Sharing good ideas, helping people around you succeed, being a decent person and doing what you say you’ll do? That still works in social media and its impact is bigger than ever because the amount of people you can connect with is… well… a lot.”

Haun also mentions that these relationships just don’t happen overnight- you can’t just expect to start blogging on Monday and have the job offers pour in by Wednesday. Form relationships, cultivate them, and write about what you know; become an expert. Get out there and get involved- you might be surprised where your next job, customer, or friend will come from.

To my “virtual” friends who are out there spreading some good old-fashioned word-of-mouth niceness on my behalf, please know that I am deeply appreciative to have your support.

Via the Plaid Summer Tour:

“Think that social media is just for your customers? One of the many things that we learned while visiting the Sprint World Headquarters in Kansas City was how they’re using social media to communicate with their employees.

If you’ve got thousands and thousands of employees spread across the world, chances are you’re going to need something better than an employee newsletter. Sprint has found that some of the same tools they use to communicate with their customers have also been super effective at spreading the word with their employees.

Sprint employees have internal blogs, communities and other tools to learn about what’s happening, what’s working, what’s popping and what people are chatting about. Social tools happen to be an effective way to get these messages out quickly.”

I can tell you from personal experience that this works on a much smaller scale as well… my company (JoesWork) has nearly 300 employees in 19 Eastern-US cities. I found out about two years into my tenure at JoesWork that a monthly 6-page newsletter (designed properly) was taking up a full week of my time each month. So, I did what any technologically-savvy person would do- I built a blog. This allows me to publish in minutes what previously took me a week to produce (but hey, we all know the benefits of blogs). This also allows me to operate more efficiently and take on other tasks with the time I just saved myself.

Not only has JoesWork’s blog become an information center for my coworkers, it has been presented to potential financiers of our company, as well as insurance underwriters, customers, and developers who wish to engage in business with us.

• The employees get to see what’s happening in other cities via videos, pictures, and brief blog entries.
• The insurance underwriters get to read our weekly company-wide safety topic/article (and our safety-first culture shines through).
• The developers and financiers get to read about our company, the services we provide, and have a better idea of our culture than they would if the were handed a printed-out newsletter.
• Finally, the blog, our twitter account, and our website create a sense of virtual community for our customers.

The bottom line? The blog (social media) is an absolutely invaluable resource for any company in business today.

Via the New York Times’ Corner Office column. David Novak is Chairman, Chief Executive, and President of Yum Brands.

“The best leaders I’ve known really take an active interest in a person. And once that person demonstrates they have skill and capability, they try to help them achieve their potential. That’s always been my thinking about management. If you have someone who’s smart, talented, aggressive and wants to learn, then your job is to help them become all they can be.

What I think a great leader does, a great coach does, is understand what kind of talent you have and then you help people leverage that talent so that people can achieve what they never thought they were capable of. The only way you can do that is to care about the people who work for you. No one’s going to care about you unless you care about them. But if you care about someone, genuinely, then they’re going to care about you because you’re making a commitment and an investment in them.

…You show you care by really taking an active interest in the people working for you, and you care enough to give them direct feedback. People are starved for direct feedback. People want to hear how they can do better. Too many leaders don’t provide that feedback. So if you take an active interest in someone, you take an active interest in sharing with them your perspective on what they can do to improve.”