Bad Branding: Sarah Palin's Reversal on the Use of the "R" Word.

Dear Friends:

Sarah Palin has aspirations of becoming the next president of the United States, although she conducts her branding campaign with all of the finesse of tightrope walker with a middle ear infection (it's a "visual") and a rectal itch.

Firstly, as a sensitive mother and an advocate of special needs children, she seizes upon a wonderful press opportunity to "right a social wrong" (and I'm inclined to agree, in principal with ceasing this informal and highly derrogatory use of the word 'retarded,' just as I greatly prefer the term 'challenged' to the older term of 'handicapped' for many reasons)  demands Rahm Emanuel's firing from his staff position at the White House.

Secondly, when entertainer (using the term with a grin as I write it) and political commntator Rush Limbaugh uses the "R" word repeatedly, she drops down on him, showing conviction and something resembling consistency, strength and ideological integrity. It was, indeed, too good to last.

Thirdly, she ultimately winds up backpedaling to qualify (and excuse) Limbaugh's use of the offensive term. She is clearly demonstrating whorish ambivalence because she feels that her principles must take a back seat to her political aspirations -- she does not want to lose the voting power of Limbaugh's following, so she applied healing unguent on her potential offense to the notably delicate Rush Limbaugh.

Was this a good political move? Maybe, as the American public has a notoriously short memory and a macroscopically horizontal learning curve. But from a branding perspective, some of the worst things that you can do are to 1) appear inconsistent, 2) appear weak and subservient to the more powerful, 3) act in such a manner so as to cast doubt upon your integrity.

From a personal branding perspective, Sarah Palin took an opportunity to appeal to the sensitivities and hunger for integrity of the already-disillusioned US populace, and downgraded her brand from being a statesman and a champion of decency to being a mere, typical politician. Palin -- your best branding opportunity, your chance to define yourself as more than a simplistic, ambitious, attention-craving knucklehead in search of press coverage, book royalties and a fancy title, was scuttled. What a loss!

While I am certainly glad that you are not my client, I will not  rescind my invitation to let you become a member of the National Networker Companies GICBC. I think you could learn something. It's http://twitlik.com/IN . Perhaps you should have someone click on the link for you.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. An interesting interview from MSNBC follows. Just click on:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-tv/arianna-sarah-palin-has-d_b_451927.html


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Mastermind Groups versus Committees

MASTERMIND GROUPS VERSUS COMMITTEES

Dear Friends:

I have finally learned how to differentiate between "Mastermind Groups" and "Committees". The key to identifying which type of enterprise is in question is in the result produced!  While this retrospective categorization is inconvenient (in fact, it seems at first blush to be just about as useful as "predicting the past"), in can work. Here are the outcomes by which you can judge the type of enterprise:

1.     If the result is indecision, anger, or the creation of a camel instead of a horse, you have witnessed the workings of a committee;

2.     If the result is a decision (of some type, about some issue), the giving out of assignments, but with the ultimate burden to do substantially everything somehow falling upon one of the members as soon as the meeting has ended, you have witnessed the workings of a typical mastermind group.

It is significant to note that neither of these two types of enterprises is usually a team, and that both types tend to be tremendously inefficient in terms of productivity as well as in an equitable allocation of responsibility.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
p.s. Transforming groups of individuals into real teams takes powerful, focused, results-driven leadership. Headless creatures (with the notable exceptions of chickens and cockroaches) don't move...they tend to stagnate and then die. This is, in major part, what makes democracy such a formidable challenge.


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The Full Version: Hypocrisy Discredits You - It Negates Your Message

HYPOCRISY DISCREDITS YOU - IT NEGATES YOUR MESSAGE
This article originally published on Douglas Castle's Blog.
Douglas Castle is a Featured Columnist for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.
Subscribe free at http://twitlik.com/OK

Dear Friends:

I am not a particularly religious person, but I appreciate the value of integrity in setting a good example, rather than in merely labeling yourself as something (or professing to believe in something) but acting in a manner which is wholly inconsistent with your proclaimed values. In brief:

1. You cannot "spread Democracy" through aggressive military means or against the will of a people;

2. You cannot preach non-violence while you point your gun at my chest;

3. You cannot be a patriot in any country if you wish its leadership to fail, when the failure of that leadership (regardless of its character, values, approaches or agenda) would cause the collapse of the country which you claim to adore. This whole type of thinking is rather like wanting the Titanic to sink (while your loved ones are on board) because you thought that its designers and engineers were pompous asses, and you want them to "learn a lesson" to prove that you are "right".

Recent correspondence follows. Please read the hyperlinked article first, then read William's comments to me, then read my response to William.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
__________
THE NEWS ARTICLE CONTAINING THE OFFENDING QUOTE:

D_Castle_BuzzFlash Sean Hannity Butchers Barack Obama Quote, Again, to Win BuzzFlash's Media .. http://bit.ly/fSN3X .
_________
WILLIAM'S LETTER TO ME (Via Linked In):

William Mitchell has sent you a message.
Date: 7/16/2009
Subject: RE: DOUGLAS D_Castle_BuzzFlash Sean Hannity...
Quote From William:"He (Hannity) is disgusting...and he proposes to be a Christian...UGH" >>
Regarding: DOUGLAS CASTLE LinkedIn Status: DOUGLAS D_Castle_BuzzFlash Sean Hannity Butchers Barack Obama Quote, Again, to Win BuzzFlash's Media .. http://bit.ly/fSN3X
___________
MY RESPONSE TO WILLIAM:

Dear William:

The sad paradox in this situation is how a self-professed Christian can be intolerant or hateful. This things are the ugly disqualifiers that break the hearts of so many people who truly aspire to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ. This type of "selective exception" to those teachings defeat the integrity needed to be a credible Christian.

Just my opinion.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, William.

Faithfully,

Douglas

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THE ZIG ZIGLAR PARADIGM - TNNW Survey #89

THE ZIG ZIGLAR PARADIGM - TNNW Survey #89

Tom Ziglar quoting his father's time-honored business philosophy: "You can have everything in life that you want, if you will help enough other people get what they want." - Zig Ziglar

Many of us, myself included, have grown up with Mr. Ziglar's wisdom as mantra.

Is this classic paradigm still applicable in this changing society and economy? Do you believe it? Do you employ it as a regular business practice? How might you refine or modify it to make it more applicable? Take the TNNW survey -- it's quick and completely painless. THE NATIONAL NETWORKER would like your views.

Access the survey at http://twitlik.com/Download89 .

Get your free subscription to the TNNW Newsletter at http://twitlik.com/OK .

We welcome your participation and we truly value your personal and professional input. Thank you for your consideration.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

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TNNW SURVEY #89 - ZIG ZIGLAR - BE COMPLETELY HONEST

TNNW SURVEY #89

TomZiglar: Our Philosophy - "You can have everything in life you want, if you will help enough other people get what they want." - Zig Ziglar. Douglas Castle's question: Do you believe this to be true today? If not, say so. If true, then under what conditions? How do you determine which people you should focus your efforts and talents on?

Are Tom and Zig Ziglar oversimplifying?

Please submit your views to http://thenationalnetworkersurveys.blogspot.com/ In the subject line of your response (Click on https://ciof.wufoo.com/forms/your-response-to-a-tnnw-survey/ to submit your responses, now) , reference TNNW Survey #89.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

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THE ONE PERCENT RULE

The 1% Rule
Note: This brief article was originally published in the author's own blog at DOUGLAS CASTLE, http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com on 25 June 2009.

Dear Friends:

People (most of them self-professed pundits) are always citing the anecdotal wisdom of the "80 -20 Rule," which refers to the typical business situation where a mere 20% of your customers provide you with 80% of your business volume. It follows that a prudent business person should allocate 80% of his or her time on that critical 20%. Walking ahead just one more step, it would seem to me that it might truly be clever to focus more effort on segregating the 20% from the 80%, downsizing (I apologize for the dismal term) the 80% and building the 20% -- the ultimate result, if Murphy's Law and the Heisenberg Principle do not tamper with us too much, would be that the 20% would become our new 100%. Operating at optimal efficiency (which requires dispensing with the unfruitful investment of time in the 80%), we would then spend 100% of our time on the 100% of our customers who truly matter.

The inference in the 80-20 Rule is that the minority produces the majority of our wealth, and that they are of greater significance to us.

There is also a "Two Percent Rule," which refers to the belief that approximately 2% of the world's population (a very small, very powerful group, apparently) controls 98% of its wealth. The implications are obvious...as are the results.

Without making any value judgment, and just making an observation, I believe that both of the above rules are basically sound, albeit somewhat imprecise statistically.

But those rules are not the drivers in the limo of my current life: No, I would have to say that the Rule that affects me the most is the "1% Rule" [which will be referred to as "THE ONE PERCENT RULE" by both my detractors and by my twelfth-grade Creative Writing Teacher immediately after the release of this article].

My friend and business partner, Adam J. Kovitz, and I were discussing many wonderful upgrades to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, and my role in mapping out and orchestrating many of these substantial changes. Adam's compliment to me was that I was a "One Percenter." He had used this expression on numerous occasions. I now understand it well enough to give it a definition. Following is the Rule, which I attribute jointly to Adam and myself...

THE ONE PERCENT RULE: Approximately One Percent of all Human Beings create and construct, while the remaining Ninety Nine Percent criticize and destroy. In sum, it is so much easier to be a critic and a complainer than it is to be a problem-solver, that most among us are virtually programmed (by our propensity toward inertia and indolence) to be critics and complainers, while only a few among us defy our baser instincts and actually create, build and problem-solve. To make matters worse, the special 1% is generally acknowledged and praised posthumously, i.e., following a crucifixion, burning at the stake, suicide, and the like. To be a One Percenter may be a thankless job, but it is necessary to every step that Humankind advances. This tenacious 1% fights against Humankind's collective drive toward either stagnation or self-annihilation. And we spend so much of our time and resources trying to discourage or eliminate this pivotal component.

Are you a One Percenter? Take the matter up with your own conscience. The sooner, the better. Time is fleeting.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

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INTRODUCTIONS ARE INVESTMENTS

Dear Friends:

Every moment that we spend in conversation with another individual is an investment of our life's finite and uncertain time. By defininition, each investment of time spent with another is significant beyond measure. Time wasted is irretrievably lost. After spending an initial portion of our time with a new acquaintance (which research is necessary -- as it is in any exploratory venture), we must quickly determine whether a further investment is advisable. Time spent with the wrong persons is doubly punitive - on the one hand, it can never be replaced - on the other, time wasted with the "wrong person" (apart from its educational value) represents an opportunity lost to be spending time with the right one.

Both a burden and an opportunity, we must rapidly assess, after our initial explorations, whether or not a person is worth the additional incremental expenditure of time. If not, we are obligated to rapidly excuse ourselves. This networking activity is a much more serious business than many grinning name-collectors would have us think.

Choosing the right associates will, in large part, determine our success or failure in the business of life.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com [This article was initially published in Douglas Castle's professional blog]

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WILL BANTER - The Handshake Club.

Will Banter and THE HANDSHAKE CLUB made an indelible splash at TNNW. See http://twitlik.com/WILLBANTER . Subscribe. Don't think I'm jealous...

-- Douglas Castle

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