Whether about a friend, a customer, a brand, the family, or your pet; that's the question.
For the 47th time on November 21st, it’s WORLD HELLO DAY. Your goal today is to say Hello to ten people you don’t know. But I challenge you to raise your game. Put some style in your greeting; make it fun and let’s see your personality come through. Say Hello…but also make them smile!
“If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.”
Mario Andretti
Sage #advice from racing driver Mario Andretti; but probably not when on the Vine Street Expressway in Philly. But very relevant when you are driving a business, brand or a marketing campaign. Come on, let get moving.
Every pizza is a personal pizza if you believe in yourself. But don’t listen to me, listen to yourself; you’re the one doing the hard work today. You know you’re a rock star…so go grab a slice. And that famous quote is true for pizza; but not so much for a company:
“When it’s good, it’s very good, and when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.”
unknown pizza lover
Most business is NOTHING like that.
A birthday is a great day to be inspired to “start over”. His first two film shorts never made the big screen, but today in 1928, the Mickey Mouse “Talkie” cartoon “Steamboat Willie”, was a BIG hit and the rest is history. Today is Mickey’s official birthday and a wonderful way to showcase “starting over”. The inspiration for Walt Disney? He spotted a mouse on his desk in Kansas City… and Walt needed it. Earlier that year, his hugely successful “Oswald the Rabbit” with other characters and artists were taken away in a studio rights contract deal. Walt re-started basically with a blank piece of paper. (This image was one of the first drawn of this famous mouse) That Mickey re-start is now an over $3-billion a year business just with merchandising. Every day can be your “rebirth” day. What are you “starting over” today?
My “Friday Fantastic Find” this week is a brand-name the Mid-Atlantic area knows well and started in 1890. In 1890, George Wood started a dairy farm in Delaware county…he imported cows from Guernsey island in the English Channel. The milk business grew at this company called WAWA. It grew to the point where George’s grandson, Grahame, opened the first WAWA store in 1964 on McDade Boulevard in Folsom, near Philly. Today? 842 stores that still sell milk…and a whole lot more. Plus a great cup of coffee…that I (and Macy) enjoy just about every day. Half vanilla and hazelnut. How about you? I post every Friday highlighting a cool business, product or idea. No paid endorsement here, I just share stuff I use and the folks who “Do Different”.
I had a chat this week with a rep who was praising their brand because their pricing was the lowest. (allegedly) So many sales types pitch, present and pontificate about being the cheapest. How much more business would we find if we worked toward a goal of being the more reliable? What do you want in your company’s toolbox or on your team? The cheapest or the most reliable?
As Taylor Swift sings: “You need to calm down, you’re being so loud…”
About price. Be Reliable.
Learning is ALWAYS available to us. It’s should be a part of everything we do and experience in business and in life. Reading a book, trying a new way to work, clicking “that” button in the APP…it’s also part of every mistake we make. It’s okay to make mistakes; it means you’re trying new things…as long as you learn a lesson what’s better next time. What will you learn today that will make you better tomorrow? For example, this puppy learned getting in a sink means you could be getting into hot water. (more like warm bath water) But she learned she’s nice and clean and soft afterwards.
It’s a day for each of us to try something. It’s World Kindness day.
Take a moment and with a smile; say hello to a stranger. Hell, hold a door open, compliment them…do something to make their day. Imagine how great a day we would all have if EACH OF US did this with one person. No matter what business or to-do list you have today…do this. Why? For the best reason of all: because you can.
Bad weather from Texas to Maine today…plus in the NW Seattle area. rain, snow, ice. Please be extra careful when driving. You know artificial intelligence is no match for the natural stupidity of some drivers when the roads are slick.
So, you hungry for some thin mints?
If they were on your mind, yesterday was the day. Yesterday in 1936, the Girl Scouts started commercially selling cookies in Philadelphia. Originally, the cookies were sold individually in 1917 by the Mistletoe Group in Oklahoma, but the Philly team put a plan together that now has you craving and buying cookies of all kinds from co-workers, friends, family and from store fronts. That plan today generates over $800 Million annually.
The Lesson: If you’re persistent, you’ll get there, if you’re consistent you’ll stay there.
