Rothacker Reviews

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.

Tampa: Basketball Training

"Dad!  I kept my eyes on her feet just like Scott told me to do.  It worked, I stole the ball.  I couldn't believe it!"

"You know mom, I'm really starting to think about college!"

Scott Savor is responsible for initiating both of the above remarks.

Scott is a Human Performance Specialist, who works out of Sport's + Field's, Athletic Performance Center.  We are sending Carla to work with Scott to improve her basketball skills.  We think we're getting more.

Victoria, our older daughter started playing basketball in 1991.  Rosemary and I have been around girl's basketball coaches ever since, including the prestigious Trinity High School teams of the mid-nineties. With the exception of crossing paths with Pat Summitt, at Trinity while she was recruiting for the University of Tennessee, we have never met anyone who knows basketball like Scott Savor.

One of Scott's main performance enhancing philosophies is that over ninety percent of an athlete's potential for improvement can be found above the neck. If you are a parent, you don't even have to wonder how refreshing this point of view is, you instinctively feel it.

Although Scott trains professionals, he is still taking on high school and college athletes. If you or your sons/daughters are interested in one, free complimentary workout with Scott, please contact me by e-mail and I'll hook you up.  david(dot)rothacker(at)gmail(dot)com.  Please contact me if you'd like to help your student athlete improve more than their vertical jump, say like their desire to go to college!!

Scott's credentials.

Tampa: Marketing Solutions

One more day at work for the MAN is one more day too many!  It's time to take your education and work experiences and put them to work - for You, Inc.  It's time to start your own business.

You hook up with your lawyer and accountant buddies.  They give you some good advice.  You launch.  You startup.  It's official.  It really is now You, Inc.  Cool!

The first day you hang out your shingle.  Boy did that feel good!  You get busy doing your thing.  It sure does feel good!  But then a stark reality begins to set in.  How am I going to get customers to my door?  You drive up and down Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and and a second cold, stark reality sets in.  There are four other businesses just like yours!  Yipes!  What do you do??

You call Jason and Jennelle.  That's what you do.  Right now. Jason Wilson and Jennelle Diaz Sherman own Full Circle Marketing Solutions.  Jason and Jennelle are two of the most passionate people I've ever met.  Their desire to help business owners just like you is off the charts. 

What I really like about these guys is that they're not going to storm into your business and tell you what to do.  No, they are going to sit down and talk with you.  They are going to learn what you and your business is all about.  They will ask questions.  You will sense their concern.  And you will feel their energy.  And you will begin to envision customers lining up at your door.  You will.  But they won't, if you don't contact them.  Contact them today!

 

 

Brazen Careerist

Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.

Today's world of work is not the same as your father's was.  Thank God!  Penelope Trunk, columnist for the Boston Globe and Yahoo Finance in addition to her own Website has written a spot on, insightful book titled Brazen Careerist.  Penelope hopes to provide a roadmap for Gen X and Y'ers to follow in pursuit of their own life's work.  Drawing on real world experience, she stories upon such topics as:

• Grad School
• Adventures
• Resumes
• Interviews
• Managers
• Office Politics
• Sex Discrimination
• Promotions
• The New American Dream

Penelope's work has been referred to as the modern day version of What Color is Your Parachute?  While the Brazen Careerist is a manifesto and rallying wake-up cry for Gen X and Y'ers, I find that it talks frankly and honestly to a whole other generation of folks.  Mine.  The Boomers.

As a Boomer manager, I feel as if Brazen Careerist is my own personal undercover spy, infiltrating the Gen X and Y'ers' world.  Of course for me, there isn't a trace of spying or undercover that goes into dealing with folks from these generations.  It is all about collaboration.  And if one wishes to collaborate, they must understand the other collaboratoree.  Brazen Careerist introduces us, stays in the conversation and provides that much needed understanding.

For Boomers who do not recognize the workplace change today, there is no help.  But for those of us who relish in the new environment and who cherish the spirit and attitude of those who will one day be placing us in nursing homes*, I find the Brazen Careerist positively fascinating!!

*Our Gen Y daughter has for sometime reminded us of her role in this potential eventuality, helping to explain why we should see and support her point of view...or perhaps our nursing home will not have all of the amenities that we would expect.  She tried to explain the concept of an outhouse...

Penelope Trunk

"One of the best posts on this site ever! I wish I had such focus." This is a comment in a post written by Guy Kawasaki at his site, How to Change the World.  Guy is interviewing Penelope Trunk about her new book Brazen Careerist. 

I am going to talk about Penelope's book soon here at the Reviews. I want to offer a point of view that differs from most others that I've read on Brazen Careerist.  I am also including Penelope in an upcoming RadioBack mission.  But for now I just wanted to point out this interview by legendary, rock star author blogger consultant rad guy Mr. Kawasaki.

Don't Treat Them Like Children

Allan Chochinov is a partner at industrial design firm Core77.  He writes an essay here titled Those Who Can, Teach.  1000 words of advice for design teachers. 

I am going to assume that undergrad students in design school mostly fall into the Connected Generation.  Even if you are not a design teacher, you probably either work with or manage folks in this age group.  Read this article through those lens. 

Along with this Allan tip: Talk to undergrads like they're grads; talk to grads like they're undergrads: This one is my favorite:

Don't start your class with your lesson.

There is only one way to start a design class: Ask your students what they did the past week, what they read, what design shows they attended. Communicate that design learning is not confined within class (or campus) walls, and give them license to go out and learn all the things we don't possibly have enough semesters to teach. I go so far as to say "You can bring in less homework next week if you just go see something." And some of them take me up on it. (Precious few, sadly.)

Remember, read this article and substitute your current role for that of design teacher.  Great stuff!!

   

Wisdom From the Connected Generation

To move forward we must let those who will follow - lead.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal recognized thirty professionals under the age of thirty in a special supplement to their weekly paper dated November 10, 2006.  The paper wrote a short bio on each person and asked a series of similar questions.  I became intrigued by the following question and am paraphrasing the answers here: 

An Inside Tip For Success at 30:

• Be ready and willing to accept change
• Find something you're passionate about
• Instead of being a member of many, be a leader of few
• No one hands you anything in life, you have to go get in yourself
• Stay focused on your goals and hold yourself accountable
• Learn as much as you can about your industry or business
• Get involved.  Make connections
• Believe in yourself
• Stay educated
• Start young and persevere.  There are not shortcuts
• Find a job you love and work hard
• Don't lead to gain power or prestige
• Never stop believing in yourself
• Read the paper everyday, watch the news, listen to NPR - talk to your friends about it
• Be active in the community
• Share what you've learned
• Take pride in your work
• Don't be afraid to think big - don't be afraid to act on it
• Follow your heart and passion.  If you love what you do, it becomes part of you
• Don't be afraid to try something outrageous or different
• Be willing to sacrifice a part of your youth by investing in others instead of yourself
• Passion and love for the job
• Work hard, be confident and set your goals high
• Decide if the sacrifice necessary is worth having what you want
• Don't sleep. You might miss something
• Take risks and follow your interests
• Always be professional.  Congratulate others for their success.  Never stop smiling
• Network and build relationships
• Remember your core values and ethics
• Stay humble.  Never think you've got it made, someone will take your place
• Don't let anyone tell you that you can't achieve
• Be yourself.  Be honest.  Be kind and learn from experts
• Never set aside your dreams due to everyday challenges and distractions

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, some of you out there might be thinking, I've known this kind of stuff all along."  You know what though?  This isn't about us.  It's about the connected generation, the ones who will one day be running business and the government.  Isn't it refreshing to see what they are already thinking about - in their twenties?  Heck, I think Jim Morrison best sums up what I was thinking about at that age, "show me the way to the next whiskey bar..." 

I have a challenge for those of you who are Baby Boomers or older:  The next time that you professionally interact with a member of the connected generation, provide some wind beneath their wings.  Even if it's just turning them on to a Web site, do something to help them along.

Sleeping on the Job?

To move forward we must listen to Al.

"It is impossible to solve significant problems with the same level of knowledge that created them."   Albert Einstein

Can a more relevant statement in any business book, publication or Web site be found...in all of history?  Status quo thinking is deep space.  There isn't oxygen in either.  How far can one get without oxygen?

Anastasia Goodstein brings us oxygen today:  Talking about Gen Y @ Work.  Anastasia, a Gen Xer, gives us 10 Tips for Creating a Gen Y Friendly Workplace.  She had spoke at a CIO conference and noted how some execs thought Gen Yers acted as brats.  Yeah, and so do some Boomers.  The point is we need to not only learn how to get along together, we Boomers and Xers need to incorporate and utilize the Yer's talents and ideas!

I am curious to your opinion of the nap time program instituted by the one conference attendee. ???

Totally Wired

To move forward you might consider partnering with a translator.

Anastasia Goodstein links out to approximately 205 sites from Totally Wired, a Web site that she created to help adults decode what teens are doing online and with technology, and to complement a soon to be published book by the same name.  I felt like I hit the jackpot landing on Anastasia's site!  While the fact that I am not familiar with most of those 205 (other than the social networks) sites demonstrates that I am an ole geezer, it more importantly opens a panoramic view into the intriguing world of the connected generation. 

Anastasia injects her take on teen trend observations and predictions formulated by the Zandl Group.  As a Gen Y'er dad, I find her insight allows me a slightly different but beneficial viewpoint.   According to my own observations, Anastasia's take on the future here is most believable!

Ypulse is Anastasia's other site.  It provides news and commentary about Gen Y for media and marketing professionals.  I highly recommend that you spend some time and check it out.

Mind Your X's and Y's

Mind Your X's and Y's by Lisa Johnson.

Mind Your X's and Y's is a book about the wants, needs and likes - the cravings of the Connected Generation:  Gen X (1965–1979) and Gen Y (1980–1997), and, characteristics and tendencies companies that wish to market to them should pay attention to.

Dave's suggestion for reading this book:  Slip on the glasses that you see the world with, the one you live in, the one you work in and the one you go to school in.  If you do, you'll connect with Lisa's observations.

I mention this suggestion above because I read a review of this book by Julia Kirby for the Harvard Business Review that dissects, criticizes and questions Lisa's findings.  Honestly, these intellectual types over evaluate and analyze to the point you wonder if they are living in the real world.  I have two daughters in the Connected Generation and tune into this generation when shopping, working, reading and in general observation.  Lisa, along with her writing partner Cheri Hanson, are right on target!

Mind Your X's and Y's is built around ten consumer cravings of the Connected Generation:

• Shine the spotlight - extreme personalization
• Raise my pulse - adventure is the new social currency
• Make loose connections - social networking
• Give me brand candy - sharp design
• Sift through the clutter - folks like bloggers gain stature
• Keep it underground - peer-to-peer over in your face advertising
• Build it together - connected folks create
• Bring it to life - a sense of theatre in life/experiences
• Go inward - spirituality
• Give back - redefining volunteerism and contribution

Underlying these cravings are five essential criteria:

• Experience - engage, explore and participate
• Transparency - be real, authentic
• Reinvention - be flexible, embrace change
• Connection - gather, share, cooperate
• Expression - voice, share, live and be who you are

Lisa does an outstanding job of delving into the individual cravings and answering why each are craved.  She also provides real world lessons, case studies and suggestions for taking action on each craving.

Real World

To get Lisa is to relate and connect to her ideas and assumptions.  Rosemary  and her sister Catherine, are in the process of building (along with many other wonderful women) a Tampa chapter for All Children's Hospital Guild .  The Guild had been trying to start a Tampa chapter for sometime when a twenty-something employee of the hospital and her sixty-something year old boss connected with Rosemary and Catherine.  Their chapter became official last month (should be added to Web site soon) and hit the ground running with forty charter members. 

Now here's the gig - Do you know how hard it is to keep chamber of commerces, rotaries and associations populated with members?  For those not familiar, darn hard.  But this charity is starting up with forty women!  I am told that the number has even increased.  Out of this crew, somewhere between twenty-five and thirty are younger than forty-two years old.  For the record Rosemary and Catherine are one year north and one year south of fifty respectively.  (not sure how much respect I'll get after making that public :)  Rosemary is a veteran of associations having been a former president of a chamber of commerce.  She is acutely aware of the spirit or lack of spirit of an organization.  She tells me their chapter here has spirit and the less than forty-two year olds are providing excitement and are involved!

As I've said before , I love the Connected Generation!  Pick yourself up a copy of  Mind Your X's and Y's, put on those glasses and see what they're all about!