A Hairy Tale

Yeah, yeah, I know what they say. One's hair is one's crowning glory. Thank God, I have great hair - it is effortless to style. I am a wash and go kind of gal. The flip side of that is my hair grows so fast. So, I have to cut it often and color it often because every two weeks, there's almost 1/2" of roots showing.

Which brings me to my next point. It is a hairy time out there on the job front. What it takes to survive in this market is tenacity. Being a seasoned marketer, I am a veteran of ups and downs in the economy and in the job market because marketing seems to bear the brunt of all the hard times. Being thrown in the deep end many times, I have learned to swim. I have gained skills in all aspects of marketing - creative, analytics, project management, vendor negotiation, budget management, lead generation, social media ... you get the picture.

As I am in the unfortunate position of looking for work myself, I remain hopeful that it is my ability to succeed in tenuous times that will be one of my strongest assets in landing the right job. I don't freak out at the slightest wave ... in my youth, I have been in 20' high waves in Sri Lanka. So, figurative waves don't scare me either. My well-honed sense of humor helps me weather the worst Tsunami.

This too shall pass. I know it. Been there, done that.

P.S. I did get a haircut in anticipation of interviews.

A "Love Child"

In the summer of 2006, there was a magical meeting of a persnickety custom home builder, an accomplished marketer and a renowned residential designer. They had each reached career highs and were brought together to create a masterpiece.

Two years later, the birth of a unique custom home in Henderson, NV is the culmination of that perfect union. This home, built in the style of a Palazzo is fit for an emperor or empress. The eye for detail and quality is not lost on anyone who walks through the huge archways into large, yet comfortable living spaces enveloped on all sides with the finest granite countertops, cherry and maple cabinetry and luxurious fixtures and appliances. Corinthian pillars stand guard inside and outside - inviting guests to indulge their senses. (click here for virtual tour http://cli.gs/svPDA1)

Whatever your interests are, you will find it catered to in this gorgeous home. The well-equipped kitchen with the latest quality appliances will bring out your inner chef. The focal point of the main living areas is the warm tuscan style kitchen overlooking the breakfast area and the extra spacious living room and wet bar. You can also have an eye on the backyard kitchen and pool and spa. This home has character, style and a sense of harmony with positive energy flow.

The office/library has a private entrance and the foyer leads to the grand dining room on one side and the living room on the other. The solid granite staircase is wrapped by a wrought-iron railing with bronze patina accents. The pool room, media room and 4 bedroom suites will not disappoint you.

http://cli.gs/R7p4dM

http://cli.gs/WZP4B5

Selling Luxury Homes in a "Google" era

The advent of web 2.0 has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. I have become such a social media addict that I feel out of it if I don't check blogs, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter and a bunch of other social media sites.

Which brings me to my point ... even luxury homes are now being sought and bought through online research. Luxury home sellers have to adapt marketing savvy to make sure their listing gets noticed amidst the "noise."

I am grateful to my training and experience in marketing as I collaborate with my agent, Harriet Christensen, Keller Williams Marketplace, Henderson, NV to sell my home. I wrote the script for the video that is on YouTube and am working on other online activities to promote a quick sale. (click here for video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rldgodMqj8)

After all, marketing is about knowing your audience, understanding their needs and tailoring your message to elicit a desired response. I remain confident that the right buyer is out there and will appreciate the beauty and detail that has gone into this unique masterpiece.

http://cli.gs/svPDA1
http://cli.gs/R7p4dM
http://cli.gs/WZP4B5

Bailouts and Fallouts

Everyone I meet tells me we are in a recession. As if the 24/7 media has not pounded it into me. And, for the record, I believe the media has actually played a major role in deepening it. I haven't felt much like writing lately because I have had a hard time trying to write something what would have a positive tinge to it.

I recently ran into an old friend and we chatted incessantly about the economic turmoil and what it has done to corporate America. Our conversation inspired me and I couldn't hold back any more. "Megan" told me that she quit her job because she could not stand the backstabbing and power plays that were going on in her office. She told me that her boss had become so power hungry that he was rewarding those who were feeding his ego and because she did not do it, she was constantly being harassed. She finally decided she had had enough and that her soul was not for sale and she quit without a safety net.

I admired her for standing up for her principles. I could relate. I pondered over this for a while and I realized that to live life involves taking risks. Faith is not faith until it is tested. I am soon going to be a "pen for hire."

Keeping up to date with the bailout plan, I see the fallout of the lack of corporate governance and fiscal irresponsibility of some marquis names. I have mixed feelings about government intervention. I want the plan to help resuscitate job creation and the entrepreneurial spirit of America. What I don't want is to see "stuffing" it with appeasement dollars for the fat cats.

Despite it all, I am still hopeful that good times are ahead. I know my faith will be rewarded and that I will be able to use my "penmanship" to make me a living.

Faux Pas and Faux-prahs

It is no secret how much power Oprah wields. So it is no wonder there are so many women who wanna be like Oprah, henceforth known as "Faux-Prahs." They say that behind every successful man is a strong woman ... an Oprah or a Faux-Prah. And we know that when these men in politics, religion or sports commit faux pas, there's usually a woman behind the action or the apology.

President-elect Obama was fortunate he had Oprah on the campaign trail and his Faux-prah Michelle by his side 24/7. Collectively, they made some faux pas--some say Oprah sullied her brand image by endorsing a political candidate for office and let's not rehash the ones that Obama and Michelle made during the long election campaign. With the recent faux pas of the IL governor, it brings to mind the true meaning of the national cliche "Chicago politics."

During the past two decades, we've been inundated with faux pas committed by leaders from whom we would never expected such behavior. It makes us wonder where the blame lies - whether these men deliberately misled us or whether we held them to higher standards than mere mortals. And what about the women who were their partners in their downfall or fall from grace - were they drunk with the thought of power or did they genuinely care about these men? Let's not forget the stoic women who stood by their men during their public mea culpas. Did they do it for love or for duty or other considerations?

In 2004, the ever-affable John Edwards informed us that there were "two Americas" - one must wonder if that is why he needed two women, one for each America? And while Jimmy Swaggart preached about fire and brimstone, did he realize that the road to hell was paved with good intentions? The list of marquee names that have fallen from grace is shocking, considering what these men stood for. Elliot Spitzer notably among them.

Do the private dalliances of public figures really matter, or are we clinging on to puritanical conventions that have outlived their time? And, will the actions of our leaders give us poetic license to throw caution to the wind and flagrantly commit faux pas without fear of consequences?

Google Gets It

Google gets it when it comes to making online search a breeze. By creating an algorithm based on relevancy and recency Google search became a household name. How many times have you said, "Google it" in reference to an online search? To quote William Leaker in his article published in Adotas on Nov 19, 2008, "Google now owns a vast percentage of what could be described as the 'content discovery' market."

And Google gets it that a company can never rest on its laurels. With products like Google Adsense and Google Analytics it provided a single source for advertisers to track how well their keywords are doing and modify their website strategy by tracking website visitor behavior. Google has also recently added the ability to track the number of hits on flash media on websites. During the past several years, I have used Google's competitive products - Webtrends, HitBox/Visual Sciences. I find Google Analytics more user-friendly, highly intuitive and actionable. I set up goals for my company's website and am able to track how well our keywords are doing and track conversion rates, visitor loyalty, bounce rates and how marketing activities are impacting visits and conversions. Through its AppExchange, Google has also provided integration into SalesForce.com's CRM so that all the actionable reporting is in one place.

Other Google's services are: Google Maps which are far better than Mapquest in getting driving directions and Google Earth gives us a view of any address in the world that we typed in.

Let's face it, when most of us are surfing the Net, we don't want to spend too much time looking for information. So, to make it easy to stay abreast of topics that interested us, Google gave us the ability to set up alerts on Google News, so we could get notifications when the keywords we selected appeared in any news media.

Its recent product Google Reader is an online RSS feed reader by Google, which allows you to share combined feeds of shared, starred or tagged feeds. You can create your own dashboard so that you are getting updates on your favorite sites and blogs fed directly to your Google home page. Or, if you prefer to use your blog home page instead of Google's, by downloading the widget, you can create your dashboard on your blog home page. See http://www.google.com/reader

Just when you think it could not get any better, Google gets it right again. Its newest product SearchWiki gives you the ability to personalize and markup your searches so that you control the rankings of your search results. See http://www.adotas.com//2008/11/google-personalizes-search-results/

The fact that Google offers all these services at no charge makes it even more appealing. Yes, Virginia, there really is a free lunch! All that, with the convenience of having it on one page suits me just fine.

Teamwork = Chemistry and Physics

The best teams have a common trait - willingness to work together. That trait trumps each individual's strengths and talents. It is the link that bonds the team together. I was fortunate to be a member of teams like that several times. One team that I would like to highlight had a chemistry that was fostered by our marketing leader. This team was made up mostly of strong, opinionated women and a couple of amiable men.

Our fearless leader had very strong opinions as well, but he wasn't intimidated by strong women, so he let us all express ourselves and manage our own projects. We had frequent status meetings to report out on progress and inter dependencies and we pitched it to help each other out without counting the cost of its impact to ourselves because we knew we were working together for the common good and common goals of the company. We enjoyed a healthy repartee and a free flow of ideas and disagreed while maintaining respect for each other.

As one of the more experienced members of the team, I was often looked at as the unofficial leader nicknamed "Care Bear." Some of the others were "Funshine Bear," "Polar Bear," "Gummi Bear," and "Teddy Bear." And, just for fun, as we talked about our spouses, we referred to them as "Angry Bear" if they had done something to deserve the moniker. What held this team together was chemistry.

In teamwork, it is not only chemistry that is important - it also involves physics. The important thing to remember is that keeping the balance in teams like these is an art form. Think about a juggler who is constantly moving several items with precision to keep them in play. If he is off by even a second, the items succumb to gravity. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened when our leader was reassigned to another role in the company.

The "Bears" went into hibernation as the team splintered. As the old saying goes "When a pine needle falls in the forest, the eagle sees it; the deer hears it, and the bear smells it."As our structure changed, I tried to maintain strong relationships with many of the team members. It seemed like the molecular structure or the chemical elements were out of sync.

I learned many things from that "experiment" and I cherish the strong friendships that I still maintain today. Most importantly, I learned that the secret to a strong team is empowerment. It is the ionic bonding that connects positive cations to negative anions. The position of each atom is determined by the nature of the chemical bonds by which it is connected to its neighboring atoms.