Rothacker Reviews

Why Listen to dave?

About dave:  From the tag line underneath my site's name you can see I write reviews on books, businesses and folks.  You can also see that I am neither a celebrity, leader or expert.  Why then should you read my stuff and take action on my recommendations?

I like to think that I have an eye and ear for people who are sincere, authentic and want to succeed. I am attracted to people or things who travel in the opposite direction of status-quo.  In a world of change, status-quo was yesterday.  And in a world of change, status-quo is a greased rope that survivors do not trust.  The opposite?  Those are people who are constantly learning and evolving.  They walk about in the world eyes wide open.  They observe, they listen, they synthesize and then they produce (or try to with all of their might), stuff that makes the world a better place.

As a dad, husband and Baby Boomer, I care very deeply about this:  I passionately want the younger generations to succeed and the older generation to be valued!  To know and understand me then, is to know the lens in which I view the world. 

Beyond Trend

Beyond Trend by Matt Mattus

Beyond Trend is laced with a passion for design.  It is sooooo inspiring!  Like little kids grow up and want to be police and firemen, after reading Matt's book (three times now), I want to be a designer!  If I were involved in an association for designers, I'd make Beyond Trend required reading for members.  If I owned a company that used designers and caught them reading Beyond Trend, I'd promote them.  Okay, that last one's a stretch.  But their value in my eyes sure would increase.

The business world today is paying attention to the wink of design leaders.  "Pssst guys!  Get on board.  Good design will capture your customer's heart and soul."  Whether you have companies that truly get the benefits of design or companies led by CEO's who have a vague idea of what design is: "Bob, I think there is something to this design thing.  Create a design department.  Stick it between the mailroom and accounting."...the field is opening wide up.  While more people are filling creative roles, the creative work-output is growing exponentially and growing exponentially vanilla.  An overabundance of design and an overabundance of sameness.  Matt:

...it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell a Target TV ad from a Sears ad.

Moving beyond trend is Matt's answer to his own question: "In an over-designed world, how does a designer design?"  How one gets there is what this book is all about.

Basically, Matt's book is written to and for designers, those in the trenches trying to crank out new and creative work.  But he sneaks in a chapter devoted to their bosses.  It is pure gold.  In very clear and concise terms, Matt delineates between the two styles of companies I reference above. 

There is one really strong theme that courses through Matt's work.  It is the foundation and framework for moving beyond trend.  It begins with a passion for design.  And it ends with the ability to explain your output.  What informed us?  Why did it?  And where did this influence come from?  Matt asks:

How can you problem solve, or create "new," or "get it" (and help others "get it") if you never did in the first place?

The ability of a designer to move beyond trend is directly related to the work that they put in between the passion part and the explanation part.  Matt guides the student of design here with a carefully created map on how to get there and how to become a culture creator at the same time.

Matt designed this book himself and infuses brilliant pictures, illustration and art to help tell his story. 

I smoked-n-signed Beyond Trend.  It is one of the best books I've ever read!

"Jeepers dave, that's a pretty strong statement!"

You know why I feel so strongly about this book?  Because I think it's not only a recipe for designers to elevate their game above status-quo, but it will also help other creatives like artists and writers!!

The Future of Tampa

I live in a part of Tampa that is never mentioned in the same sentence as the word urban.  I live in a part of Tampa that has been described as soul-less.  I live in a part of Tampa where cars out number people.  If you are familiar with Tampa, you know where I live.  I don't like the perceived aura associated with my part of town. 

Is there something that I and those who feel the same way, can do to effect positive change?  Yes!  One word:  Believe.  Believe it can happen! 

And then you can begin to educate Download TampaSDATApplicationweb.pdf yourself on the status of the Tampa area today.

I am personally on step two of this journey.  I have a vision of what the landscape could look like at different intervals along this Yellow Brick Road, but I have no idea how to get there.  I do know that I am better off with others on this journey and I think this is a good place to start.

That's Different: Macy's Make-A-Wish

I am addicted to media advertising.  In particular newspapers and magazines.  For perspective, I have viewed so much, my fingers are yellow*.

So, when I tell you that something catches my eye, that that something is different, then it's pretty much worth a look-see...if you like different.  If you have a heart AND like different and are just flat out tired of the media's white noise-drone on how bad our economy is, then it's pretty much a done deal...put on that fancy dress and meet me outside by my pearl white, horse-drawn carriage and join along on a quiet ride.

I first noticed the two-page ad in the St. Pete Times last Sunday.  On the first page, just below the heading the text said:  "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus."  On the top of page two it said: "a million reasons to Believe."  For the ad's content I'll link you to an online version.  But before I do I must tell you...

"Oh, what's that?  I'm sorry I didn't hear you."

"Yes please!!  There is plenty of room inside the carriage.  Please, you can leave your hat on!"

...I am about to send you to a site that will take a few seconds for the page to load. I hate waiting for pages to load.  If I cannot find a button to bypass whatever is loading, I'll click off the site.  I promise you today however, you'll feel real good about waiting those extra five seconds.

"There it is, right next to those folks singing holiday carols!"

Make sure you read the Yes Virgina Letter.

"Thanks for joining me on this visit.  I wasn't sure of the impact of today's experience.  That soft, warm glow in your eye answers all doubt."

*For further perspective, I do not believe in doing drugs.

Design: A Vehicle's Speedometer

I must pause here even before I begin.  I cannot thank Dan Pink enough for opening my mind to the world of design with his book, A Whole New Mind.

I am a pretty-partial-to-aesthetics kinda guy.  But I am also a frolicking-fan-to-function kinda guy too.  When looking through the design lens of function at stuff in the world, I try to ask, what if, why and why not?  I say try because to try lets me open the door to the hamster wheel and climb outside.  More often than not I am reading about others doing this fabulously better than me.  That's cool however, I'm not proud.  I'd rather learn.

Back to trying.  When you begin to ask the questions, your mind begins to build new pathways.  It's like cracking a small hole in a vacuum and knowledge and ideas rush in. 

Here is a brilliant example by Tom Vanderbilt.  Tom takes the common speedometer, asks these and similar questions and creates a wondrous vacuum!

Btw, A Whole New Mind was written over three years ago and today it is ranking # 130 at Amazon.  Amazing!

One Small Step Can Change Your Life

One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer.

Motivated by the questions, How do people succeed?  and How do successful people stay successful? Robert writes a book about change utilizing Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement.

Robert's mantra is to perform small steps of continuous improvement.  One gaze at the chapters in his book and you will begin to get a feel:

Why Kaizen Works

Ask Small Questions

Think Small Thoughts

Take Small Actions

Solve Small Problems

Bestow Small Rewards

Identify Small Moments

Kaizen For Life

I like this book!  It is small, portable, digestible, believable and most importantly, doable.  You can crack it open, read five minutes and actually start to put it to work.  Really.

Rothacker Reviews has been going through some change.  I created a journal for guidance.  One thing that I try to write in it each day is...one thing.  What one thing can I do today that moves me into the direction of accomplishing my goal?  Thank you Robert for providing that one thing thing that has helped...your book.

Escape from Corporate America

Escape from Corporate America by Pamela Skillings

Do you get the Sunday-night blues?  For me the metamorphosis began around three o'clock in the afternoon and developed into a full blown stomach ache by six.  I was impossible to be around.  The Monday march to work was a march into the gas chamber. 

Jeeze dave, tell us how you really feel!

Sorry.  Raw nerves on this topic.  The title of Pamela's book was good enough to make me look inside.  Once I did, I never came up for air!  The first word that came to mind as I put Pamela's book down was PROLIFIC!  As in a ton of useful information and insight.  My mind's measuring stick: "Does this person, place or thing add value?  Am I better off for having crossed their / its path?  Have I learned something?"  In Pamela's case, yes, yes and yes!

Pamela provides a foolproof method to determine whether or not her book is for you.  Take a minute, visit Pamela's site and take this quiz.  The lower the score, the more you need her book.

Around interesting testimonials and case studies throughout her work, Pamela leads not only with the quiz, but a methodical discussion on whether or not escape is best for you.  Ok, after you return from the tattoo parlor with "I MUST ESCAPE" tattooed on your forehead, the transition into Pamela's various methods of escape provide quite an enjoyable read.  Pamela finishes with advice on obstacles that you will encounter following the jailbreak.  Finally, Pamela provides a resource guide at the end that is also available and updated here.

This book was smoked-n-signed.

The American Dream

I recently read this article written by Robert Trigaux and published in the St. Pete Times.  The American Dream.  Quick, what comes to mind?  Little house in the burbs with a white picket fence, right?  This is an overused generalization that for me, signifies only one thing, that for most of us there really is an American Dream - whatever it might be.

Robert's article is based upon a survey conducted by advertising giant JWT.  Ann Mack, JWT's director of trendspotting ran point on this project.  Although the results of this survey are available to the public...for 3K, the questionnaire that JWT uses is quite interesting and available to the public...for free: Download JWT_AmericanDream_SURVEY.pdf .

In the questionnaire's cover letter, Ann says:

"As a throwaway line, 'the American Dream' passes with a nod and barely a second thought.  You can say 'He's living the American Dream' or 'She's been pursuing the American Dream,' and few people will want to know just what you mean."

The fact is, when I heard the question "What does the phrase, 'the American Dream' mean to you?" my inner status-quo took quite a head-on jolt.  I asked myself, just what was my own American Dream?  And, was I achieving it?

To contemplate about your own American Dream, is to take a deep breath and, for a moment, to step off the hamster wheel of life and work.  This exercise can be healthy and invigorating.  Why not let this question invoke a status check of your life?  And if you do not live in America, no worries...from your perspective what does the American Dream mean?

If you have your own personal Web site, tell us what the American Dream means to you?  And encourage others to do so as well!

I'll tell you what the American Dream means to me in the next couple of days.   

Writers: How to Create

Ms. Writer, in a world of sameness, how can your work stand out; how can it be different?  According to Matt Mattus, Senior Director/Creative - Intellectual Development Property at Hasbro, you need to become a culture creator.

Matt recently wrote an article in the December isssue of HOW magazine titled: Become a Cultural Creator.  There is no available link to the article at this time, but I will say, this is one article worth the price of the magazine, which is available at most chain bookstores. 

To wet your appetite, I'll list Matt's top ten ways to become a cultural creator:

Have endless curiosity

Do research

Develop intellect

Be respectful

Gravitate to excellence

Develop expertise

Be interested in validity

Create fearlessly

Respect rarity

Be original

If as a writer, you would like people to connect with the meaning of your work, you should embrace Matt's guidelines!

According to Wikipedia the word culture comes from the latin word cultura, stemming from the word colere, and means to cultivate.

If you look at Matt's list, every single item takes hold of the verb cultivate and envelops it.  Take for instance curiosity.  If as a writer, you do not ooze curiosity, you are going through the motions.  As a matter of fact, you should lay your body down in a puddle so those who pack their lives to the brim with curiosity don't have to get their feet wet. To be curious is to take the gas cap off of the tank.  To cultivate is to fill er up...with the discovery of new things. 

With each different picture taken; with each different experienced lived; with each different entry in your writer's journal, you are nurturing, growing, improving, tending and fostering the grist for your creative mill. 

Even if someone were able to stoke their creative mill with exactly the same stuff as yours, the product would never be the same.  You know why...there isn't another you.  (my wife would leave the planet if there was another me :)  What comes out will always be different.  The key however, is to get the stuff into your mill and then give yourself a chance to be different.

Okay, put down your keyboard and slowly back away from the computer.  Good.  Now go out and pick up a copy of this magazine today!

Here is a little inexpensive something to help you in the process of cultivating:

Design: Whipped Creme & Long Hair

What can whipped creme do to long hair to produce a stunning look?  Well, I am fairly certain that one must first have the kind of hair that you can do something with - like Cory Kennedy.

As an appreciator of advertising and marketing, I actually subject myself to more advertisements than the average human being.  Over the years, I have built up an above average ad-force field.  To penetrate that force field and take hold of my attention, something must stand out.  Cory Kennedy's hair stands out.

Styles, trends and fashions come and go.  There's just something about long hair on women that for me, has always been attractive.  I do not think long hair looks good on all women*, but on some it does.

The other amazing thing about whipped creme and hair here, is the look that whipped creme can effect.  An Internet search of Ms. Kennedy reveals just what whipped creme can do.  Unbelievable!

If you performed that Internet search, you will quickly found out that Cory is a bit of a wild child.  A very young wild child.  While my intent is to try and not judge here, I can't help but to think if Cory were my daughter I wouldn't be too happy. Personal stuff aside, Cory Kennedy (click on play video diary to see the hair style I am referring to) is evidence that whipped creme has the potential to produce whiplash.

*Rosemary, my wife,has absolutely gorgeous hair and it isn't long.

Designers: How to Create

Ms. Designer, in a world of sameness, how can your work stand out; how can it be different?  According to Matt Mattus, Senior Director/Creative - Intellectual Development Property at Hasbro, you need to become a culture creator.

Matt recently wrote an article in the December isssue of HOW magazine titled: Become a Cultural Creator.  There is no available link to the article at this time, but I will say, this one article is worth the price of the magazine, which is available at most chain bookstores. 

To wet your appetite, I'll list Matt's top ten ways to become a cultural creator:

Have endless curiosity

Do research

Develop intellect

Be respectful

Gravitate to excellence

Develop expertise

Be interested in validity

Create fearlessly

Respect rarity

Be original

If as a designer, you would like people to connect with the meaning of your work, which is a layer below asthetics, you should embrace Matt's guidelines!

According to Wikipedia the word culture comes from the latin word cultura, stemming from the word colere, and means to cultivate.

If you look at Matt's list, every single item takes hold of the verb cultivate and envelops it.  Take for instance curiosity.  If as a designer, you do not ooze curiosity, you are going through the motions.  As a matter of fact, you should lay your body down in a puddle so those who pack their lives to the brim with curiosity don't have to get their feet wet. To be curious is to take the gas cap off of the tank.  To cultivate is to fill er up...with the discovery of new things. 

With each different picture taken; with each different experienced lived; with each different entry in your design journal, you are nurturing, growing, improving, tending and fostering the grist for your creative mill. 

Even if someone were able to stoke their creative mill with exactly the same stuff as yours, the product would never be the same.  You know why...there isn't another you.  (my wife would leave the planet if there was another me :)  What comes out will always be different.  The key however, is to get the stuff into your mill and then give yourself a chance to be different.

Okay, put down your keyboard and slowly back away from the computer.  Good.  Now go out and pick up a copy of this magazine today!

Here is a little inexpensive something to help you in the process of cultivating: