July is the month that my extended family has selected for our annual gathering in Myrtle Beach, SC. There are 30-40 of us from all over the country gathered for a week of eating, playing, and catching up on all the family news. July is also the month of the Tour de France which happens to include George Hincapie, a native of Greenville, SC, my home town. That means that each morning of vacation week begins with TV coverage of the Tour de France.

The Tour de France has more weird rules than a Greer family Heart Game, but there is one concept I understand.  If you are a member of the peloton, you get the same time as everyone else in the group. So if your goal is to be equal to everyone else, you just have to stay safely in a clump (technical term for peloton) with the other riders.  

If you want to win a stage, or earn one of those brightly colored jerseys, you have to break away from the pack. I’m still not sure about that polka dotted jersey – it reminds me of Dr. Seuss’s “Put me in the Zoo”.  But hey, if you want to wear polka dots to proclaim your prowess on the mountains and earn 25,000 euros (roughly $35.000 USD) then who am I to stop you? But I think they should go for a nice madras stripe rather than polka dots next year.

But what does this race have to do with anything?

Have you ever talked to a company employee who tells you that they want to “stay under the radar?” That to me is one of the most depressing statements that can ever be uttered by a corporate employee. First, it indicates a lack of motivation on the part of the employee. Secondly, it is indicative of the kind of corporate culture where risk-taking is neither encouraged nor rewarded. It is a symptom of a company or department headed for a crash.

 If everyone in the Tour de France had a goal of merely staying in the peloton, there would be no winners or losers, no fight for jerseys, and no point in watching. It would be boring. It would even be sad, and we would know no individual names. Rather we would know the outline of the blob that contains them.

If you find yourself stuck in a corporate peloton, now is the time to make a break for the lead. Start innovating, find a creative outlet, and find a new place to apply your talents. Build your personal brand, hone your skills and switch into high gear. The view is much better from the front of the line.

Temptation in a box

Actually, everything about the experience of receiving a package from Vosges Haut Chocolat sold me on this company and their product.  But it was the list of ingredients that finally made me throw my Atkins diet out the window and grab a handful of chocolate candy. 

 Here's the description plastered on top of the box of caramel marshmallows that I just received:

Fluffy Marshmallows made with 
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans
Sweet Sugar Caramel
French Guerande Grey Sea Salt
Dark Chocolate
Pecan and Walnut Toffee Crumble Atop

 
I don't know about you, but while I might be able to resist your garden variety Sea Salt, when I'm offered French Guerande Grey Sea Salt, there is no more resisting temptation. That's when I fell face first into the box of candy.

Of course the experience made me start wondering how to apply a similar marketing approach to product sales, presentation titles, or even articles. For me, it just confirms the importance of details and descriptive text when you are telling a story. The restaurant folks know how to work the details when they are designing menus and educating their waitstaffs about the daily specials.

So instead of electronic working paper software for CPAs,
CaseWare is actually selling an electronic time saving productivity tool, containing :

Hours of code 
plus softly shaded templates
lovingly written by adventure-seeking Canadians listening to hours of Grateful Dead music
 while sipping mugs of steaming Earl Grey tea
 imported daily from the shores of Nova Scotia.

I wonder if the software contains any carbs?

Among the many things that I do to annoy my children, apparently I have this bad habit of "going all businessy" on them when I talk about something work- related. They claim I use a different voice and everything. (I think I inherited this trait from my mother. She could go right from screaming at the four of us to answering the phone with her all smiles “how are you darling?’” voice. We would all crack up. We also hoped the phone would ring whenever we got in trouble.)

My habit is probably the result of trying to appear more professional (and less redneck) when I am talking with other professionals. After all, I spent years learning how to write a professional business document, I studied the proper formatting for a business letter, and I agonized over the best way to give a professional presentation.  Haven’t we all been  taught to avoid first person and to talk about that mysterious “one” in our conversations. So rather than saying “ You need to be more conversational.” We would write “One needs to strive for a more conversational tone in his written communications.” Now, doesn’t that last sentence just make you feel all warm and fuzzy?   

Well, the times have changed. Now our mission is to try to form connections and that means we need to be more conversational in the way we communicate. With the advent of short and sweet communication tools like Twitter, the pressure is on to reflect more personality and less marketing / business speak in everything we write.

It’s not easy to erase years of programming. But if you are writing a blog, you have to be conversational. It’s hard for most first time bloggers. They want to write the same way they would write a professional letter or a brochure. But it has to be different. A blog is a place to show your humanness.

Here’s what I do differently when I’m having a conversation (unless I’m talking to my kids about my business):

1.       I refer to “you” and “me” (or “y’all” if I’m in the mood)

2.       I use contractions – I do not say “do not”, I say “don’t”

3.       I use little words – big ones are too hard to say

4.       I use shorter sentences, with a simple structure – big long sentences don’t allow room to breathe

5.       I use colorful details – not generalities