Religions and Truth

I came across a great quote from a fellow Capricorn today, Muhammad Ali. He was born on January 17th in 19452 and died last year, as did so many people–famous and private.

He once said, “Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams-they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do-they all contain truths.”

In this time of divisiveness, please take a moment to consider the many things that we share. Beauty exists, but only when appreciated!

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Prioritize the “Why”​ over the “What”​

I had never heard of Michael Parrish DuDell before 1 p.m. today. He’s a very vocal Millennial and he now has a new Boomer fan after I spent an hour listening to a webinar where he shared inter-generational workplace insights. (Slidedeck at http://www.mpdhq.com/citrix)

Besides the headline (above)–which earned a big AMEN from this Boomer–here are a few more memorable quotes:

• 80 million Millennials–they believe strongly in mission-focused work
• They will make up more than 75% of the workforce by 2025, but average tenure for a Millennial employee is roughly two years. (Explanation: they’ve seen their parents get laid off, so why devote loyalty to companies that they believe have no loyalty to employees?)
• They value self-expression up to eight times more than Baby Boomers.
• Reality: Linear careers are no longer desirable and professional trajectory has become D.I.Y.

So how does DuDell suggest older managers connect with this generation?

• “…find a role that aligns with their passions…”
• “…better quality of work life.”
• “Practice Radical Transparency”
• “Embrace Flexible Work Policies”
• Nurture personal bonds of trust in the workplace–ESPECIALLY if the corporate bonds can’t be guaranteed.

Plus, he “liked” my tweet about the webinar about 2 seconds after I sent it out. And did I mention the two official Shark Tank books he has written? Check him out…

Whose Monkey Is It?

I absolutely LOVE Dan Rockwell’s blog post entitled New Questions for Managing Monkeys. Absolutely best are the opening sentences: “You end up overwhelmed, under-appreciated, and angry, if you own other people’s monkeys. Someone walks in your office with an issue – a monkey. Make sure they walk out with their monkey.”

AMEN!!

Read Dan’s post. It’s a great way to start 2017…

Have you seen Pearson Dash?

I’m not entirely certain whether this is “vapor-ware” or not, but the Pearson Dash app for iPad looks like a good roadmap for what can be accomplished with the right technical support with an iPad. The following was copied from the app’s description text on iTunes:

Dash enables you to:
• Prepare and plan for class anywhere with mobile access to your Pearson teacher materials
• Draw on superior instructional content and teaching strategies when preparing for class, teaching, or assessing student understanding
• Differentiate instruction for your students with new content-specific strategies for every page in the student text
• Easily open the companion student eText for iPad
• Preview and play videos from their Pearson programs
• Customize your teacher support with bookmarks and searchable notes
• Navigate the full array of teacher support with keyword search or through the resource library
• Help students learn and practice vocabulary terms with audio-visual resources in English and Spanish
• Project worksheets, images, student journal prompts, and quizzes for the whole class
• Organize and track your students with classroom seating charts
• Record, edit, and e-mail observational notes on your students

 

Doing More for Less Money…Without Going Broke

The Problem:
How do you reduce the cost of developing sales leads among upper-level decision makers without sacrificing communication quality?

The Company:
Softrax, an enterprise software company based in Canton, Massachusetts, sells its revenue cycle automation program to top-level corporate executives.

The Technology Solution:
By offering prospective customers access to free online seminars, businesses can simultaneously attract and educate highly targeted audiences. At one time, conducting a presentation via the Internet (also referred to as webcasting) was an extremely complicated and expensive proposition.  But all that has changed with the growing availability of broadband communications, faster computers, and the widespread use of such multimedia accessories as cameras, headphones, and microphones.

In fact, many industry experts have declared that webcasting is poised to utterly eliminate physical world conferences and seminars.  Besides the simple convenience of gaining access to the top decision-makers in multiple companies with a single presentation, webcasts also reduce travel, printing, and communication expenses.

The Outcome:
Instead of handling the webcasting task in-house, Softrax decided to rely on the expertise of ON24, a webcasting company that provides full video production and data capture capabilities. The collaboration allows Softrax to concentrate on providing cutting edge content, delivered by industry experts that the targeted executives want to hear. Meanwhile, ON24 ensures a seamless technical experience to enhance Softrax’s image as a sophisticated industry leader.

As a result, Softrax has found that the webinars it produces several times a month have become valuable generators for highly targeted and motivated sales leads.

Tune in tomorrow when DataDocsDailyDose.com will see how borrowing ideas from the past and updating them with today’s technology turned an ordinary retailer into a marketing powerhouse.

–J.D. Mosley-Matchett, Ph.D.
“The Data Doc“
You have questions? She has answers!

Turning Readers into Doers

The Problem:
Mailing lists are great, but how do you change the people who read your company’s e-mails into an interactive and responsive audience of fans anxious to pass your message along to their friends?

The Company:
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. has served made-from-scratch menu items since 1978 and now operates 100 company-owned, buffet-style restaurants. Garden Fresh offers fresh, healthy meals under the restaurant chain names of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes.

The Technology Solution:
In March 2005, Garden Fresh created its Club Veg program to provide interested customers with e-mailed information about special offers and monthly food themes. The program became a hit with more than half a million people registered. In 2006, the company began using its e-mail communications to direct club members to the website.

In 2007, the company launched an eight-week “Passport Promotion” that provided club members with two-week promotions for each of four cuisines reminiscent of Greece, Italy, Mexico, and Asia. This time, an interactive website activity allowed members to personalize themed postcards and electronically send them to friends as invitations to dine at a Garden Fresh restaurant together.

The Outcome:
When the company first tried using the Club Veg mailing list in August 2006 to direct members to the website, the site’s traffic nearly doubled. The Passport Promotion showed the value of frequent theme changes that keep customers’ interest levels high and response rates lively. But most important, the interactivity boosts customer loyalty and promotes open communication.

Garden Fresh uses the Club Veg program to reward its most loyal guests with coupons, chances to win free meals, and recipes. Tomorrow DataDocsDailyDose.com will see what online seminars can do to boost your bottom line.

–J.D. Mosley-Matchett, Ph.D.
“The Data Doc“
You have questions? She has answers!