Justin G. Roy

I opened my Google Page last Wednesday, to see an article on wikiHow, How to Practice Cell Phone Etiquette and it got me to thinking about my own usage, but also the usage of others.  Has cell phones become such a commodity in our culture that we don’t realize the potential annoyance to others?

The other month I was walking downtown, heading over to Argo Tea to meet my good friend Anne Scarlett, when I was standing at a stop light.  There was a professional-dressed woman next to me, and all of a sudden looked at me and yelled a few choice words followed by “I am not going to talk to you anymore if you continue to be like this.”

Now, I was in shock.  Did I do something wrong?  Was I standing too close?  Rather than ignore the situation, I politely said, “excuse me?”  I will skip through the dialogue, but the summary was she rudely said she was on her cell phone and wasn’t that obvious (well, it was not because she had a blue-tooth set hidden by her crazy hair).

Aside from my story, I have heard many from the A/E/C industry.  Stories of texting while in a client presentation meeting, texting while at an American Institute of Architects networking event, talking on the cell phone while drafting (I don’t know about you, but I got nervous hearing that), taking personal calls while providing site supervision.  The list goes on. 

Granted, there are times when we all need to take a call, answer an email, or a text on the cell phone, but what is the chance it is an emergency?  You can always learn that you need to pick up apples on your way home later….

Here are some of the tips the article includes:

• Keep a 10-foot (3 meter) distance
• Don’t talk too loudly
• Don’t multi-task
• Don’t talk on the phone in any enclosed spaces
• Don’t use your phone when having a meal with someone

Are these pretty simply suggestions?  Sure are.  But I am sure most everybody is guilty of at least one this week. 

Click here to read the full article.

Recently, I made a visit to Massachusetts to visit my friends and family; it had certainly been a while since I had been back to the area.  When I was sitting in my parent’s kitchen, catching up, I heard the all-too-familiar beep on my blackberry.  A new email!

Somebody once told me their opinion of technology, more specifically the importance and convenience of cellular telephones, blackberry, etc.  They encourage work-life balance!?

I, too, was confused by this statement; however, a few years ago, I would have probably agreed.  After refusing to switch my simple cell phone for years, I was finally “convinced” to try a blackberry.  Like every new technology-toy, it was love at first site and I was hooked.  Honeymoon period lasted about 24 months.

Luckily, with Verizon “new Every Two, I was up for a change.  I walked out with the same phone, newer model.  Why?  The convenience it offers, and the ability to answer emails, keep up to date on projects, and react in a timely fashion to emergencies (business-related) when I was out of the office.  No, I am not just talking about traveling or commuting between meetings, but when you are at a baseball game, grocery shopping, before bed, during breakfast, on vacation, sick in bed.  I know I am not the only guilty party here. 

What cost does this convenience have on work-life balance, family and friends, or down time?

Here are some tips and strategies I have implemented:

1.  Set times in the evening to check your email and blackberry.  Going cold turkey is hard enough, and sometimes it’s necessary to check. 

2.  Turn the phone off, or leave it in a different room when sitting down with friends or family.  Whether at the dinner table, sports (professional or children’s) games and practices, or any time you intend to spend one-on-one time with somebody special.  Get your family involved and lay out consequences if you break the rules.  A quarter or dollar jar goes a long way; when the jar is full, shut your phone off and take everybody out for ice cream. 

3.  Set up an out of office in the evening that let’s people know you are not checking messages after a certain period of time. 

4.  Set your voice-mail to a different message when you are “finished” or “off-line” for the day, letting the caller know you will return the call tomorrow.

5.  Rotate “on call” responsibilities within your office.  If emergencies do occur, your voice-mail and email should direct the other side to the correct individual to contact who can make decisions and expedite appropriately.

Yes, this technology has helped many become more efficient when not in front of a computer; the ability to respond and react while out of the office has been a benefit for many.  But has efficiency leaked into our personal life?  Has it changed our lifestyle into living to work?  I certainly hope not.

How do you handle the availability of instant communication versus work-life balance?

Disclaimer:  I know Adam and the 42nd Estate.  I met Adam last time I was in Boston for Networking For A Cause – actually, we met at a tweet-up we held last minute the day before, but regardless.  He’s a good guy, brilliant, and somebody you would want to know.

So why the title and the post?  Well, The 42nd Estate is supporting one of their readers, Lee, for the completion of his first full year of his blog (My Blog 2 Day). 

How?  Well, by offering their services as one of the grand prizes:  Three hours of blog and social media consulting.

If you are an architecture, consulting engineering, environmental engineering, construction, real estate, or any other industry, this is a great chance to get your social media efforts jump-started and sit down with a few experts!

Click here for details!

By: Jerry Guerra, JAGG Group

Does any business discipline generate as much misinformation, oversimplification, or just plain bad advice as marketing? The more I see and hear about “how-to” market a business, the more convinced I am that many marketing consultants are doing a disservice to the very businesses they’re trying to help.

There’s no question that many businesses— especially small and mid-sized companies— need guidance to most effectively market their products or services. However, the cacophony of marketing rhetoric, buzzwords, and contradictory advice clogging the airwaves, bookshelves, and Internet fails to provide that direction. Instead, you get one-size-fits-all solutions (that don’t) and advice that’s based on the agenda of its provider, not the needs of its recipient. Confusion results.

The goal of this editorial is not to add to that confusion, but to expose some of the most common marketing fallacies being foisted upon business owners, CEOs, and marketing types.

Fallacy #1: Marketing, in and of itself, can be the key to your company’s success.

This is a lie perpetuated by marketing professionals who know only marketing, not the principles of what truly drives a successful business. Yes, marketing is important. It could very well be the most important element in your quest for success; if your service or product is not unique (as most aren’t), the difference between being an industry leader or an also-ran may hinge on your ability to market your company better than the competition.

But no matter how effective your marketing is, you need a capable organization behind you to succeed…at least in the long term. Good marketing counsel must take into account the company’s overall business goals and issues. That’s why, when clients tell me they need help with marketing strategy, the first thing I ask is how marketing fits into their overall business strategy. If they can’t answer, it usually indicates that they need to take a couple of steps back and develop a viable business plan that can give their marketing plan some direction.

Fallacy #2: The best way to get good press is to hire a PR company with the right connections.

The big PR outfits promote this falsehood because they sell the point that only they can get you the press you want because only they have the necessary contacts. There are at least two reasons that this is a misperception:

• 1 – Connections with the right media contacts are relatively easy to develop, as long as you know how to do it. Most editors and writers are simply trying to get the best story as quickly and efficiently as they can. From a time management standpoint, they can’t afford to do otherwise. So if you provide an editor or writer what they need to get their job done more effectively, whether you have an existing relationship with them or not, you’ll get their attention. And then you’ll have the connections. 
• 2 – The media is notoriously volatile in terms of personnel changes. Editors and writers come and go at a clip unmatched by most professions. The relationship you develop inside a key publication today could be rushing off to a place you don’t care about tomorrow. So, once again, it’s more important to know how to provide useful, topical information to further the goals of the publication than it is to develop a friendship with a transitory contact that happens to be calling the shots at that moment.

Fallacy #3: You should avoid e-mail marketing because customers will think you’re spamming them.

The popularity of e-mail marketing is actually reducing its overall effectiveness because many people, fed up with the daily barrage of electronic communications, now instinctively click “delete” every time they receive an unsolicited e-mail. This has led some to conclude that marketing via e-mail will hurt, not enhance, a company’s reputation.

Should you be careful with e-mail marketing to avoid the perception that you’re spamming? Yes. But e-mail marketing is simply too cost-effective to leave out of your marketing arsenal. The key is to use e-mail marketing intelligently, rather than indiscriminately (as many novices do). You can do this through techniques such as writing a compelling subject line, making sure to target the right recipients, including information that’s relevant and valuable to the audience, and creating an e-mail marketing campaign that customers and prospects will actually request from you (such as an informative e-mail newsletter or online seminar series).

These same concepts translate to so-called social media (which, in this type of business context, is more aptly termed “online networking”).

Fallacy #4: More is always better.

Some marketers would have you believe that you can never market too much, but I’ve found that to be false. You can reach a point where you’re guilty of “overmarketing.” And that could ultimately hurt your reputation among clients and prospects.

Repetitive marketing works— whether through personal appearances, direct mail, electronic means, or some other form. You just have to know when to turn the switch down…or when to turn one switch off and another on.

Fallacy #5: You have to advertise where your competitors advertise.

Traditional advertising has its benefits. Unlike some forms of marketing, you control the message completely. An attractive, well-placed ad can do a lot to further your company’s reputation and positioning goals. And once a campaign is developed, it’s easy to transfer it from source to source and medium to medium.

But many companies use advertising as a crutch. It’s easy to keep plugging the same old ad with the same old message in the same old places…then write out a hefty check and feel like you’ve done your job. Hey, money talks, right? If you spend $20,000 on a full-page ad, what more can you do?

A lot. Advertising should be part of your company’s marketing program, not the bulk of it. It makes sense to advertise in places where your absence would be noticed. You may even want to spring for a big, splashy, expensive ad now and then. But unless you’re trying to appeal to the mass market – unless you’re Coca-Cola or Proctor & Gamble – you’re better off marketing through more personal, direct forms of communication. Use traditional advertising selectively and cost-effectively, not reflexively.

One last thing to consider: Take all the advice you get about marketing with a dose of skepticism. The best approach is to absorb all you can, take to heart all that applies to your particular situation, and discard the rest. Then do something. And stick with it. Many well-intentioned marketing plans never get off the ground due to inaction or bureaucracy. Many programs derail when the powers-that-be don’t see immediate or quantifiable results.

Any company that employs an aggressive marketing program– one that is strategic, well planned, and given time to succeed– will see its reputation spread and its business grow. And that’s the truth.

 

Jerry Guerra is principal with The JAGG Group, a marketing consulting, public relations, communications and market research company dedicated to serving the AEC industry since 2002. You can reach him at jguerra@jagg-group.com.

By: Mark J. Carter, One80  & Saving The World

How do you connect with people at professional networking events?

How do other people connect with YOU in similar situations?

Many people use (traditional) “elevator speeches”, “personal infomercials” and other related tactics. Which are ultimately designed you get you interested in buying their product or service.

If you don’t enjoy being sold something new every week or feeling like a sales person when introducing yourself to other people…what can you do instead?

When you meet a business professional you might be able to work with in the future (maybe an architect, developer or business owner) BUT have no immediate reason to do business together—how can you fuse that connection anyways?

Get involved with a CAUSE (a non-profit, a community organization or other professional group). That way you always have something to talk about besides “what you do” and you can create a common ground without an immediate business transaction.

Getting involved with non-profits and cause-related organizations helps your networking world in many ways, including:

• You meet like-minded people in “non-sales” environments ; which creates a comfortable and interesting common ground.
• You have more than “elevator speeches” to talk about—”how did you get involved with (the cause/organization)?”
• You double your chances for networking opportunities—while most people are at the usual business events you can build an additional network through organizations you’re passionate about helping.

Here’s an example of an organization, Networking For A Cause, which connects professionals with a variety of non-profits they can get involved with (and we have an event in Boston this week):

The Boston Event: http://www.networkingforacause.eventbrite.com

THE KEY: Be sure to get involved with a cause that you are genuinely passionate about; your sincerity (or lack of) will clearly show while you’re talking about it.

…ok, maybe not all, but certainly something new.  I have heard about drunk-driving and drunk-dialing but an article in the New York Times last week talked about a new software program that helps you from drunk-emailing.

The program is called Mail Googles, and is the newest feature for Gmail (Google Mail).  This program will require users (who enable it) to solve five math problems in 60 seconds or less in order to send an email between 10pm and 4am on weekends.

Click here to read the article.

I was rummaging through some boxes this past weekend (all of which had about a pound of dust – gross, I know) and came across a shoebox of old notes that I received while in middle and high school.  Not sure why I kept them (this box has not been opened since I packed up my room and shipped off to college), but what I found was pretty interesting.

These hand written notes were in what we call today, text language.

It was funny to see what was so important to us at the time where we HAD to send a note in the middle of class.  The shapes these notes were folded in also amazed me; why and how anybody thought to fold a note into a football, square with a flap, ect is beyond me. 

At the time I did not think much about the notes, just read a few and threw them away.  However, I was talking with one of my colleagues, Jeff Simeone, about my weekend and mentioned these origami-shaped football notes.  As we started to reminisce about “the old times” (somebody please tell me when this happened), we started to talk about some of the shorthand we would use. 

For example: 4 UR (insert picture of an eye here) only = For Your Eyes Only

As part of generation Y, this got Jeff and I to thinking about some claims (some might have been mine) that the use of technology to communicate has spoiled an entire generation, and continues to put them at risk for losing all emotional intelligence, or soft skills.

Granted, I have claimed many times how instant messaging, email, text messages, and whatever other form of online communication you can think of, will destroy an entire generation’s ability to communicate with somebody face to face.  I have heard many examples where two people will be texting with one another and having an entire conversation; average time is about 30 minutes for what I would consider a 5 minute conversation.  Additionally, I have been the victim of leaving a voice message for somebody on their cellular telephone, just to have them text message me about 60 seconds later saying “what’s up”. 

Now move into the business world, and similar situations are happening.  Take the message example, countless number of times has my voice message been returned with an email.  Not an email at 10pm apologizing for not getting back to me, but an email about 15 minutes later responding to my message. 

How absurd.

So where am I going with all this?  I think I am publicly withdrawing some (not all) comments and claims made against technology and my generation.  First, and foremost, I will say that neither instant messaging nor text messaging was the root of the problem.  We were writing in this “Gen Y Code” long before I was dialing up to chat with some friends. 

Anybody else remember the rotary telephone?