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Business, Prepaid

Create Behavior Changing Impact

Through innovative and targeted campaigns, professional marketers create immediate demand from their intended audience.    Appropriate and timely messaging, in conjunction with some type motivator (rebate), can turn apathetic prospects into energetic buyers. 

Many times however, there is an unavoidable lag between the demand creation and the actionable next step….the purchase.  Through the utilization of a defined online strategy, marketers are able to minimize the time between consumer interest and execution.  

Marketers who employ an effective eCurrency (a virtual prepaid Visa or MasterCard) strategy are able to:

  • Immediately and seamlessly reward the consumer for following the indented buying behavior. 
  • Steer the audience to a predefined purchase. 
  • Strengthen brand equity at the consumer and product level.
  • Manage costs by moving to an electronic form of payment (eliminating paper and plastic).

In addition to these business benefits, the consumer experience has evolved at the transaction level.  The recipient is now able to add dollars (via a credit card) to their virtual Visa/MasterCard so they can perform online purchases with ease.  The economics and empirical data suggest that professional marketers should consider adding an eCurrency option to their available toolkit.

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Fishing

Callibaetis = Filet Mignon for a Colorado Rainbow Trout

English: Rainbow trout
English: Rainbow trout (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Callibaetis mayflies, among the largest in the Baetidae family, reside only in slow or still water. The most important species is Callibaetis ferrugineus, which is found across the country but produces its best hatches in the West.

On July 28th, I found out first hand and up close what a callibaetis hatch means to a Colorado rainbow trout – bon appétit.

After a prolonged hike through mosquito infested marsh land, my buddies and I arrived at a section of Spinney Mountain Reservoir that I had never fished.  The early morning cloud cover had burned off, and the temperature rose to an uncomfortable 85 degrees.   The air was still (rare for Spinney) so the water was like glass.  As we waded to the weed-line, backs of large rainbow trout began to emerge from the depths of the lake.  My heart was racing as we fanned out in order to cover the most water.  Waiting for any movement within casting distance, I began to strip fly line in anticipation of additional trout slurping.   My impatience forced me to cast my #12 grey flashback hare’s ear toward the middle of the lake.  Two slight twitches, then BANG, a 20 inch bow hit the fly and took instant air.  Three jumps later he sped laterally, stripping my fly line down to the backing.  The fight continued for about 10 minutes, ending in the netting of the fantastic fish.

The callibaetis hatch lasted over 2 hours, and the trout disappeared as fast as they arrived.  Between the three of us, we landed over 20 fish, all between 18 and 22 inches long.  What an amazing day in Colorado.

http://youtu.be/2b1UogBOZF0

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Business

Loyalty in Business: A Paradox by Definition

I will persevere in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my blood.  William Shakespeare >  King Lear >   ACT III. Scene V. 

At 42, I have been privileged to have made amazing friends in my life.  These are genuine people who actually care about my wellbeing.  I feel an intense obligation to demonstrate lifelong reciprocity with these individuals, because they have supported me through good times and bad.  These relationships are earned and refined over time. Click Bad Credit Long Term Loan

Unfortunately, transferring these attributes into corporate life is unrealistic, and might ultimately be disappointing.  As a manager of people, you have an obligation to help them optimize their performance in order to attain company objectives.  You develop a devotion to your team when they work ungodly hours and exceed expectations.  A manager admires an unbridled work ethic, determined focus and an enduring commitment to the cause.  A manager returns the excellence of their team by ensuring that these individuals attain their personal goals, whether it is money, power or title.  As these associations evolve, it becomes difficult to separate the various emotions associated with friendship inside a business structure. 

Dan Gilbert, the now infamous Cleveland Cavaliers owner, obviously found it difficult to separate his passion to win an NBA championship for the state of Ohio, with the reality of NBA free agency.  By leaving for the bright lights of South Beach, LeBron James betrayed the city that had embraced him since his youth.  That being said, the love that the Cavaliers fans had for LeBron was not shared by the player (despite his pre-game chalk-tossing ritual).  LeBron views the NBA as a business – he wants the best chance to make millions while rewriting the league’s record books.  While I find his leaving Cleveland cowardly, the only loyalty he had to demonstrate was to the LeBron James’ family.

The phrase “it’s only business”, is an appropriate summarization of how one should view relationships developed inside a corporate environment.  Business associates should expect honesty, respect and ethical treatment of one another.  Anything further should be embraced, as fidelity is a rare trait today.

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Golf

To Choke or not to Choke….That is the Question

left frontal lobe(red) and corpus callosum, di...
Image via Wikipedia

You often hear the phrase when relating to sports; an athlete that fails to deliver in the clutch, analysts (Johnny Miller comes to mind) usually say they “choked”.  Defined further, to “choke” is when someone poorly responds to external pressure.  They do something completely contrary to what they would have done without the weight of the moment.  Preparation usually combats the choking reflex; usually.

There is no situation that puts you to in a better position to choke or excel, than golf.  Standing alone over a little white ball brings all sorts of peculiar emotions to the surface.  The subconscious begins to play tricks on the here and now.  You try desperately to recall positive shots of the recent past, yet negative sensations linger.  The golfer desperately combats fear, uncertainty and doubt with confidence, calmness and routine.  Many times however, one bad shot or two seems to trump all of the great swings of the recent past.  Back to back bad shots seemingly erase past success.  You become a victim of the present situation instead of moving beyond the past.

Yesterday, I watched Dustin Johnson choke away the 2010 U.S. Open.  After a Saturday round that saw Johnson dominate a brutally difficult golf course, he subsequently melted under the white-hot spotlight that shines brightly on the leaders during the final round.  One bad shot seemingly changed his demeanor, and unfortunately lead to more horrendous shots.  Johnson let negative emotions overwhelm him, and dominate his mind.

I just returned from a four day member/guest golf tournament in Michigan that saw me collapse under the pressure of the final day.  Coming into the tournament I was somewhat confident in my swing.  It has been a grueling twelve months of lessons and practice to try find a tempo and swing plane that works.  Lately, I had hit good shots under tournament pressure, so I felt optimistic in what would transpire.  As the days rolled forward my swing started to dissolve.  Drives that would stay in the fairway on day one, drifted to the rough on day two.  By day three and four, those 245 yard drives went out-of-bounds or ended up in treacherous lies.  Truthfully, and somewhat ironically, I actually felt composed over shots….not nervous or ill prepared.  Unfortunately my results (an 89 on day three and a 90 on day four) were emblematic of my poor execution.  Worse yet, I managed to make three doubles and a par on the way into the clubhouse; moving us from first to fourth place (out of the money). 

In my opinion, the only way to overcome the choking reflex is to get back into the heat of the moment and risk failing again.  This is not a comfortable position as thoughts of past failures will most certainly seep into the frontal lobe.  Unfortunately, this is the only way to truly appreciate the sensation of success. 

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Golf

Jon Curran – Heading to the U.S Open at Pebble Beach!

2010USOpenLogo
Image via Wikipedia

On June 7th, my good friend Jon Curran, qualified for the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. I have been fortunate to watch Jon grow up playing golf at Framingham Country Club. His commitment to the game is only matched by his family’s love and devotion to him. After 4 successful years leading the Vanderbilt Commodores, Jon turned professional last year. Over the last 12 months we watched him refine his craft on the Hooters Tour. Then came this year’s U.S. Open qualifying rounds.

“Playing the North Course at Canoe Brook, (Jon) Curran earned the final qualifying spot in a playoff over 2008 PGA Tour winner Parker McLachlin of Paradise Valley, Ariz. In the playoff, Curran safely hit his approach shot from 155 yards into the middle of the green on the par-four first hole. After McLachlin missed his three-foot par putt, Curran tapped in his putt for par and saw his U.S. Open dreams become a reality.”

As an aspiring PGA Tour golfer, Jon’s budget is tight.  Hotel’s in the Pebble Beach area are either sold out or $1,000 a night. If anyone reading this BLOG has a friend living in the Pebble area, that would host Jon, please let me know as soon as possible.  Jon is a great kid, and he would be appreciative of any hospitality.

As Jon plays in his first Major Golf Tournament, I wish him focus, tranquility and of course a bit of luck.

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