Y’all Communciate. Heck let’s all stop and communicate.
Posted: July 14, 2011 Filed under: Brand Maven Leave a comment »Today I had a call from a potential boss in a large market about a potential hire and I was a reference on this person. As the call unfolded I realized she was stressed, miserable in her job and pretty clueless that life out here exists. She was on the “fast track” – bless her heart. I liked her very much. If she weren’t thigh deep working for THE MAN I could have seen us as friends. I wanted to help her crawl out of her tunnel and give a good reference for this brilliant young person that deserved the gig! I found myself ministering to her in a way she lapped up like a starving kitten with a bowl of milk. She was transparent, accountable and way better than she knows. I could have encouraged this woman all day. Alas I had to get back to work. I know she was impacted and glory be: so was I! I do a lot of giving, getting something back sure is rich.
She mentioned the employee (who was on a trial run to that point) was stubborn, so very stubborn she was concerned about committing. Out of the blue, I realized if she was hiring this person for her communications department then maybe the ball was dropping in her court. I boldly asked her if she was doing herself and the writer the favor of hydrating, eating a high protein lunch and pouring out all elements of projects on the front end instead of making it a blind-find to accomplish and create what was needed. A light went off. She realized it was communication so very lacking that she made a fight to hold ground seem necessary. Moving forward, she could now breathe, think, consciously track nuances of her knowledge of project to pass to the person compiling & organizing them on behalf of her company. They call that communication. So many of us just don’t do it.
The kid got the gig and that was great. They will both learn a lot and I encouraged the newly employed to watch after the boss, to bring her lunch if she is too busy to eat. A boss with snacks has to be a good thing. I even encouraged watering whenever possible. It’s a brutal world and we have to do what it takes to take care of each other. That care includes bosses, who are in fact, human too, I hear tell. I have not had one in decades, but if I did, I would chat them up to make sure we were on the same page, ask “is that all there is to this?’ and I would feed them.
Here is the mug shot in case you didn’t see it.
Posted: June 16, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/15/john-edwards-mug-shot-released/
John Edwards Mug Shot – $400 haircut, $2 on PR strategy. Time to reprioritize.
Posted: June 16, 2011 Filed under: Brand Maven, Write Away Leave a comment »Tonight I laid eyes on John Edwards Cheshire Cat mug shot. It was hard for me to get my brain around at first. But then I realized he was utterly just being himself. It’s sort of comforting to not have any mixed messaging coming from him. Most of us never liked him, his smug youthful and arrogant ways were easy to see through. But I think a lot of us tried to have more mercy upon our distaste due to the loss of his son and then the cancer diagnosis of his wife. But now it’s clear that she made the choice to spend her precious limited time video taping testimony for this case instead of bothering to divorce this man. She also knew this case would possibly leave her two young children “parentless” – I get that choice. She had wonderful support from those that are quality individuals that can sow into those young lives. As for him, well he has some repenting (or not) to do and obviously, his family was not a part of the decisions when it all came down. So she ultimately freed him up to go on and not ask them to pay for his mistakes any longer. Millions at this point, weary of his ridiculous fame, just hope the Edwards children are going to be free, loved and surrounded by people that will put them first.
Aunt Estelle’s big pocketbook!
Posted: June 8, 2011 Filed under: Write Away 8 Comments »When I was a little girl, extended family visits were the highlight of my years. I was totally enthralled with all the cousins, aunts and uncles that used to come visit my grandparents on Seminole Drive in Marietta. I would sit in the front window straining to see past their four giant oaks to be the first to see the cars pull up from Tallahassee, Savannah and even Ohio (I have cousins that were raised up there-they have never been quite like us due to that fact). My favorite visitors were my grandfather’s two sisters. Blue-haired Great Aunts: Aunt Frances Parker Crawford from Atlanta & Aunt Estelle Parker Ireland from Savannah. They were a blast, totally in command and could hold a room like no other. They were sassy, smart, strong, independent (working women before women worked 9 to 5) and so very funny. I would wait on them hand and foot and when they gave us all $5 then I would snow someone into taking me to the drug store Dunaways or Bells Ferry Pharmacy to buy them something with the whole $5 right back. We were not wealthy, my grandparents worked for all they had, but it meant that much to spend the whole $5 on them each time they came to call. They were Parkers, my mother’s side. My father left when I was a baby and I always to this day feel 100% Parker. I think so much so, it’s weird for Aunt Estelle’s progeny to see how much of a Parker I am these days. I am glad of it. Some days I catch a glimpse of those sad, knowing and twinkling bright blue eyes in the mirror. A wash of pain goes over my face and I look away in grief of the loss of their presence. They loved well and frankly were my greatest cheerleaders, they are missed each day. I could use some more of that unconditional love, we all could!
My Aunt Estelle was from Savannah and was Ted Turner’s Dad’s personal assistant. She was a big girl and loved food. She would have a big dinner at Mema’s house and start in for her Sanka (Lord help, the coffee was so bad in those days, no Dancing Goat) and then bid me to “Go get your Aunt Estelle’s pocketbook shugah!” She asked in her throaty gravely voice that was music to my ears. As her pie ala mode was sat before her, she would ceremoniously open up her big black patent leather pocketbook with a magnetized clasp and pull out a full 8 oz. bottle of Saccharrin with a white pointy top like some sort of space age IV bottle. She would put several drops into her coffee and then start to stir. My granddaddy would then mumble, “Good Lord Sister! You just consumed 8,000 calories, I don’t think a few more with real sugar is going to matter!” She would look at him all dead pan and say, “Shut up Brother,” with so much destible affection it was adorable to watch. They, the four old siblings Frank, Estelle, Eugene and Frances loved each other so and had a common unbreakable bond of a rocky childhood in the deep South depression, work ethic, humor and integrity.
Tonight at supper, I realized I was my Aunt Estelle in the new world. After supper, I was pulling out my LARGE pocketbook which is really a Chinese silk weekender in bright turquoise with a bottle of Stevia in it. I use it to put in my espresso tonight after my fabulous Chef’s tasting. This meal was not bad burgers at the home of my beloved Mema who could not cook, nor learn to add to her bad repertoire of food. This was a thrown down of stellar goodness. I regret I never had a great meal with any of these women, unless I cooked it. But it did make me laugh to remember her post meal coffee ritual and glad I was a bit of her carrying on. Holding court at a round table and enjoying being alive. Here’s to my great Aunts whom I will never forget and wonder if they had a clue how much they would be missed.
Branding messaging is not just for business anymore.
Posted: June 4, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »In my work at a branding strategist. One of the things I do most is provide virgin eyes to my clients and prospective clients. I give my two cents even when I am not asked often because I wonder if these people know how they look to the outside. Basic things like flower pots out front, clean windows, pretty photos on their websites, very basic stuff indy businesses all over the US and globally are missing. How can people know their essence without fixing these things? Why? Because they blow their first impression.
Because I live and breathe people and what makes them thrive, it occurred to me that we too have a branding to consider. We have to figure out our mission statement, dreams, passions deeply held and project what will bring that about. Leaving our hearts buried is not the answer anymore than a fabulous cafe without a website containing images and menus. So for today, what’s your message? How do you incorporate that into your being, who you see and what you do? Little baby steps that validate you and displayed where you don’t bury you again are starters. So more about life branding, overthrowing counterfeits and compromise later.
My start was to overhaul my office, I bought a Neat Co. Scanner this week and it’s being installed tonight. All paperwork that is too much to file is now going to be filed virtually. Pretty darn happy about that. And for the tornado victims of late, I am going to take over boxes of goodies too lovely for Goodwill. That way I know they are in good homes with people starting over. Just like me. Late blooming is better than no blooming and this push inside never lets up. That’s hope yelling at me.
Climate of you. Cultivate what matters to you. Taking your pretties out for all the world to see.
Posted: June 1, 2011 Filed under: Write Away Leave a comment »Learning from life is a passion of mine. It’s a redemptive thing to try to pass things on to others in a way that evokes them to not do the same thing.
This past year I realized that things that matter to me were passed on by those close to me. So I passed on them myself. Now here it is years later and those things are still untended, not nurtured because those I kept closest had no interest or ability in supporting what mattered. So crucial things I will always regret are now not possible. That time is gone. I have no one to blame by myself. I want to learn to create a climate of what matters to me. A culture of what makes me flourish. We let children, life, others take over and it’s our time. Just as our children’s time will be in their future.
My culture needs to have order, color, peace, encouragement, appreciation/gratitude, beauty and a very welcoming home for people to visit to feel community as it’s a pretty cold world out there. This past week I spent time with a lady suffering after some huge losses in her life. There were some pretty lovely things at Neiman’s and she mentioned she owned those goodies already. They were at home wrapped in tissue. I thought, good Lord, the amount of pretties wrapped up at my house are countless. Things I meant to get to, could not get to and things totally ignored when I did ask for help in incorporating them. This woman committed to have a party and make the most of her incredible goodies and to try to find life again in what made her happy. Not that things make you happy but you may be aesthetically sensitive and that beauty may be the catalyst for other change and more importantly self-validation. Something I know little about but plan to study on starting here and now.
So stop long enough to figure out what “Floats your boat.” Then work on incorporating some of it into LIFE not a vision board, note pad or your journal but make a tiny step towards doing something that will matter now and moving forward.
Gardening, Painting, Writing, Entertaining, Cooking and Reading are things I have not done with the recession or longer…I plan to change that and say to myself, “Hey, I see who you are, what you have done and now I validate you by taking this time to DO YOU!”
To those that have been an effort to support and have not reciprocated, well the good news is I can detach with love and move on. This can’t be right to continue to keep takers in your life indefinitely. I am drained, not drowned. So very grateful for that fact. Sorry for the ones that never got out. It’s like having that tool that cracks glass if your car submerges. I still have that handy gadget!
Facebook-Face-to-Face & the Wright Brothers
Posted: May 28, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized 2 Comments »I read on CNN.com this week that we can only keep up with relationships with 50 people intimately and 150 max. There is a new social media for this tight circle version of keeping in touch. Well that net is a little to tiny for my socializing.
I am a people collector, always have been. When I was a child, I thought heaven was going to be the Lord greeting me to take me around to meet everyone there. Then I, the eternal event planner would ask the interesting ones to “wait to the left” and upon my return from surveying the entire lot of them, I would return to get to know each one at an eternal soiree. Near the gate so that I could meet others just arriving to see if they were a fit.
Loving FB and the like. I feel like a Wright Brother that has lived long enough to see men walk on the moon with all the social media out there. I know it’s abused in all sorts of ways and a nightmare to some, but for me, it’s pretty ding dang fabulous. My family is not able to support me very much, they are just limited in so many ways. So FB is a world where I can mention a feeling, state gratitude, instigate some whim or need and it seems like people are there. Most all the time. Last week in fact, 3 lovely helpers (two of whom I had never met) Karen, Nan & Tully, showed up from a FB post about the tragic state of my yard. I have been domestically paralyzed since the recession hit and I began to travel extensively for work. I can’t get my mojo back and finally understand what Austin Powers was talking about. Trying to get that loving feeling over cooking and gardening, but so far, the timing is off. The blessing these garden angels were to me, was well such a deeply touching thing I choked up telling people about it later.
Today Aidan (my youngest age 10) and I went to meet a new friend I met on FB and have been speaking with for about 2 months now. I met him through a lady I met through a friend I made at a resort that was a former property I represented. He and his friend he is traveling with came to my client candsoyster.com, we shared a mid-day feast and enjoyed each other’s company. He was properly vetted through the mutuals and is such a sweet person. He may be the uber networker of all time. His only reason for FBing is to encourage and make friends. Sounds hard to believe but it’s true.
I recommend a Facebook meet up. It’s a great way to expand your circle and step out to possibilities. I recommend it be in well lit areas, blah blah whatever John Walsh would say. My people collecting has certainly bumped up and my new friend Morris, has taught me that trading up is important and adding people to your inner circle is strategic. So I am indeed considering what trading up could mean in all areas of my life. Planning my life overthrow with each tap of the keyboard. Thinking of it as confronting life in all aspects may be the most amazing thing I ever do. I know one thing, keeping people around that do not support the best life can bring is not a great option. One is doomed before the start. Confront a little life today. Clean out a drawer, research a new city for a move, purge a person that brings you down, plant a flower in a naked planter. Gotta start somewhere.
Harpo Hangover
Posted: May 27, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Hey Y’all,
Back in the Atl today & pondering/recovering from the day’s events. Stepping back from something is a lot better. I am at a point in life where I savor the chance to process important things more that once. That way the deepest lessons are not skimmed over. Instead, they are absorbed to hopefully prevent me from creating more Groundhog Day moments. So I will journal to myself and to the girl I was in my 20′s. Funny thing, the stuff I would tell her, I need to “get” now. When does this irony end? When I start Living Forward, my new buzz phrase to not allow anything in the past to hold me back. Turning 50 was a biggie for me, I wanted to press rewind like a DVR screaming back to at least 30 to know what I know now. Being flawed and co-dependent at 50 is well, not what I planned. But I decided it’s about decade and not a day, it’s about how to re-craft my life for the best moving forward! Oprah’s charge to us was so intense, I am a little battle worn today. Watch that finale with a notebook more than once. Feeling like a Late Bloomer can be not wanna be after my experience. Impartation is a great thing.
Chicago is an amazing town. I hated that this trip could not be layers of goodness but it was not meant to be. One sweet giant ole teddy bear of a man came out of a store eating a pink ice cream cone to walk us to the L after our cabbie told us the wrong way. That is my image of mid-Westerners. They are not like us Southerners in a good way. I find other parts of the US fascinating. I am like a kid in the candy shop people watching, listening to accents and seeing how they live. I love people collecting. There is a refreshing way about Chicagoans. Too, that city is so full of great restaurants and architectural treasures.
I had a blast doing Kidd Kraddick syndicated radio show. It was a pleasure being back on air again. I had some things to share, the big Harpo unload. Good stuff. It’s leading to other things…I hope. Branding myself is the hardest thing ever. But I am determined to give myself the time and attention to make my dreams come true. This inertia breaking blog is doing the trick and I thank my girl Tara for creating graphics that look like me and not a template. She is gifted! And we have only just begun…
On Cadillac Jack & Dallas in the a.m. @7:15est.Then more natl. radio KiddKraddick+ more; and my blog launch.
Posted: May 25, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment »Oprah promoted an awareness that was good for our land. I am concerned about void left by her exit from a daily show. The varied topics from big reveals to child abuse to celebs made us turn it and take the deep with the fun. It is going to be sad for people that anchored themselves in the awareness and life celebrations alike that her show presented. I for one loved the themes of shallow and tragic equally. It was part of my life for a quarter of a century. I wondered if the show had been around in my childhood would that have made a difference. Then I could have figured out decades earlier, the street full of Cleavers was not that at all. Therefore, shutting down that shame spiral much sooner. One of her best messages is that we are not alone and many have suffered but you can get through it.
OWN is not the same as The Oprah Winfrey Show. I don’t think it ever can be and here’s why: There is a serious cloud of somber reality over it and the fine line of infotainment was total perfection on Oprah’s show. Also, because of the recession, lots of people do not get OWN as they have basic cable. Their current programming in docu-drama format and does not seem to be geared towards an uplifting package. America needs uplifting, a good mix. Plus, OWN lacks good theme songs too. Just saying.
Today, we the audience listened to her charge each American to do what we were called to do. Oprah mentioned the girl that gave her a great facial once upon a time who has a passion for popping zits or extractions as they say in the biz, or Anastasia who came here as an immigrant and is now THE world-wide eyebrow queen with a passion for plucking. Find yours and go for it. She said we are all created by God to do something and she is doing what she was made to do. So true we all can’t be billionaire talk show hosts and create networks. This message was about eliminating the Plan B of it all. Oprah did it well and evolved more and more each year. When we get ripe, we rot. She is not near ripe yet.
Today’s show is more a teaching that needs to be pondered, studied and notes should be taken. I recommend DVR for this and watching more than once. It was a lot to absorb and we had gone through this amazing UP experience of bonding 3 hours pre-show, the actual music filled pre-show and then the rest of the show was a lecture meets funeral of sorts. That void was felt in us all as we filed out and no one chatted in more than hushed tones. It was the biggest UP ever, the pre-show was unforgettable, the community created with the audience full of first timers and then it was like all the air oozing out of a party balloon slowly but surely. Hours earlier this was a packed house of people ready to go on vacation together within minutes of meeting. I had 5 new FB friends within 15 minutes. But today Oprah was over it and way past doing this last show. “It’s done” was her quote to USA Today last weekend and it was felt. She was done last week. She seemed more to talk “at” us than “to” us. She was in a mode of get through it and get outta here. The celeb extravaganza probably wore her out. There was probably no easy way to end it. But selfishly something more upbeat at some point would have been great. We were not even given an ashtray with her logo to commemorate the epic date. One woman leaving the show looked at me and said, “How can I ever show I was here?” Indeed. We didn’t want a car, but something would have been nice. It felt less stellar b/c they did nothing to acknowledge the historic attendance. Though I learned so much today, and the experience was priceless. We were a comfort, a laugh and had a blast ourselves. But we made the most of the day and did not depend on Oprah to define it for me. Big lesson there. I basically gave an invocation of encouragement prior to the taping. It was incredible & surely why I was there. Tommy was there to experience the moment and help the pre-show star get through. I really think he helped her get through a sad day. People came up to me afterwards thanking me for the words. My little speech included a thank you for the excellence the entire team worked in and how they brought us all to a better place. And most importantly, even though they were all a part of something spectacular, do not put God in a box and believe the lie that the best is behind you. Yes it was spectacular, but that is not IT. The best is yet to come and God can and will do more. That was encouraging to people that are not going to be working at Harpo, me and Maria Shriver alike. She totally got that and it brought her comfort. We had a connection, clear and real. I had a moment with Maria Shriver today. A truly blessed thing for me to experience, she has been on my mind so much lately. I do believe Maria’s best is yet to come and her current defilement and betrayal will lead her to help others redeem and move forward even in the worst situations of life. She is after all, her parents daughter. That couple created the Peace Corps and Special Olympics. You can do it Maria. I know it.
Try to take the bigger message than just today’s show. It’s a poignant show indeed. Reminded me of Johnny Carson’s sign off without the entertainment. Fact is, this woman opened up dialog in things that were not allowed in pre-Oprah days. Families all over America knew somehow that these tragic topics had to be brought to light. What a legacy. We learned how to decorate, receive, improve, and big reveal ourselves to a higher plane. Job well done Miss Winfrey.
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- Tommy and Me after show. Windy City indeed.
Absorbing the day.
Posted: May 24, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »No two people on earth could have had more fun, made more impact or savored this day more. That’s the happy story.
Sitting in my downtown Chicago hotel room alone wishing for more Paul Simon tunes. His voice was the one on the 25 years song at HARPO today and it is fitting because it met the melancholy but lovely feeling today. Tommy and I arrived at Harpo today in full energy. We made videos, interacted with the crowds and just totally soaked it all up. Then when inside the studio where the actual show is filmed, well it took on a life of it’s own. We received what Oprah gave. You can too.
I will write more and share more later. But I learned more today than I have in a long long time. I know what priceless means now. I have tears in my eyes as the day unfolds in my mind, joy rising, laughter, anticipation, community, grace, dignity and excellence were all things to behold today. Oh and BLISS, lots of bliss was there. So very rare to have a combustion of all that goodness into one FULL four hours, but we did it! Tommy wanted to savor the day at the show and make the most of it, he ended up on this historic day dancing and leading the crowd in the most fun, anticipatory day in TV history. I ended up sharing with the entire audience with a giant boom mike this included VIP’s such as Maria Shriver (my girl and someone I have been really concerned about of late, as the level of betrayal she has experienced is something I have been through myself), Bob Greene, Martha Beck, Tyler Perry, Suzy Orman and more. I will share more in a bit, it is such an amazing thing what we experienced. What the heart of the message today was about is about doing what’s in your heart. Oprah was positively regal and royal in her demeanor today and made points that could change lives if indeed people will listen…listen people! Do it. Gather round your sets tomorrow with those you love and let Oprah impart one last lesson into your lives. 4,000+ shows….Lord knows she has learned a lot of somethings.
One thing I know for sure now: THE BEST IS YET TO COME IF WE LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. Her transcripts from today should become a book. Go to Oprah.com and order them as a reference guide. Handbook for accountability for doing what you were created to do. I found myself wishing I had gone to the show before but if I had, I would have been ineligible to attend today. Not Lalique crystal commemorative item could top or add to what happened today. It was all about being true to self. Letting your light shine.
In Chicago for one last night, heading out in a bit and honestly seeing the world a whole new way. Thanks Oprah, HARPO and most of all Tommy for including me in on this trip. What a phenomenon to see the ending and be here for it all!
