MindComet

My Reading Challenge

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read and I particularly love the classics. Before I took on the role of MindComet’s leader in August, I was working on the The Modern Library (Random House) Top 100 Novels of all times list (the Board List.)

When I set out on this adventure, I set two simple rules: 1) I had to read every book, even if I had read it in high school or college, and 2) I had to write an entry in my journal for each novel. It has been at least a year since I’ve paid any attention to this list so I’m adding a third goal: 3) read at least one book per month. I’ll have to give up some of my management, marketing and technology literature for the prose of Nabokov and Steinbeck, but I’m ready! I’m going to start from the bottom of the list and work my way up to number one, skipping the nine books I was able to finish in 2008.

This weekend I will start “The Magnificent Ambersons” by Booth Tarkington followed by “The Ginger Man” by J.P. Donleav in July. As for “Wuthering Heights”, I’m going to have to develop a serious reading strategy with dictionary in tow!

Does anyone have any advice for approaching this type of reading adventure?

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Posted by Marcelle Turner on May. 29, 2009

Eve Filter Cigarettes

I love this ad copy! “The new way to express your love of pretty things. That’s Eve. The first truly feminine cigarette. With pretty filter tip. Pretty pack. Rich, yet gentle flavor. For the lady with taste. Also with menthol.“

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Posted by Marcelle Turner on May. 21, 2009

‘Tis Better to Give Than to Receive

The following is an email message I received today:

Re: Scheduling a Call, Wednesday, May 27

Marcelle—

You may recall I tried contacting you last year on behalf of our client who had retained our firm to help them buy an interactive media agency.  We helped our client develop a significant strategic relationship, and we continue to meet interactive and traditional media agencies that are interested in some type of transaction, either selling their company, acquiring a company, or developing strategic relationships. 

I’m hoping we can schedule a call at your convenience to get re-acquainted. We’d like to get an update on how business is going for you, and give you an update on how our practice has evolved over the past few quarters. Even if M&A or partnership development are not on your immediate “To Do” list, we still would like to catch-up. Our business is about relationships, and they usually take a long time to develop. [COMPANY] approaches the market differently than other investment banks in our space, and I firmly believe it’s worth your time at least to know of the alternative that we offer.

I can suggest a possible call for the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27, but can be free almost anytime late next week and the following week with a bit of advance notice. 

I’ll follow up you with you by telephone over the next few days, but please feel free to call me in the interim.

Regards, [CONTACT]

* * * * *

On the surface this message seems well thought out and articulate. But it instantly rubbed me the wrong way, and I quickly figured out why. Here’s a fun little exercise: let’s break down the message…

How many times the contact was the subject of interest:  5
How many times the contact’s firm was the subject of interest: 7
How many times my needs were the subject of interest: 0

While I appreciate the sales attempt from anyone just trying to do their job in this tough economy, this message provided absolutely no compelling reason for me to respond. Other than the firm’s own interest and desire to “catch up,“ what was in it for me? What’s more, the perspective makes me question the contact’s focus and doubt the firm’s ability to represent my company’s best interest.

I feel I can only criticize this solicitation because I myself have been guilty of this offense! I’m absolutely positive that in my early years I sent many of these types of emails, feeling proud of my company’s work and confident that anyone I messaged would certainly want to hear about my success. Good news is that we can all continue to learn and I had a great reminder today of the importance of clearly articulating value.

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Posted by Marcelle Turner on May. 20, 2009

Coming Clean

This is post number three and I’m already making a confession: the head shot of me above has been photoshopped. (Gasp!) While I’d love to pretend that the images taken of me during this photo shoot portray a “naturally-radiant youthfulness,“ the reality is not quite that idyllic. The truth is that our talented photographer captured a subject who had been up late the night before working, who forgot to make time for the indulgent pre-shoot bubble bath she promised herself, and had skipped the “Make-Up for The Camera” lesson from YouTube to read to her boys instead.

Ahhhhh, but this is 2009, and anyone can look great with the stroke of a digital brush! A little highlight here, some healing tool there, and voila…I’m transformed into a perfectly-tanned, well-rested woman.

Critics might suggest that this type of practice sets unrealistic expectations for young women, but I disagree. The way I see it, the brave men, women and children who choose to step in front of the camera to share themselves with the world are acting a part. They are selling their product’s allure and fantasy to the subjective mass population with just the part of their personality that can be captured in images—I consider that a pretty lofty ambition. Consider how hard it is just to live up to normal expectations…now do it while looking naturally flawlessness 100% of the time. Ridiculous, right?

Videos like the one in this post are entertaining to me the same way that “Trading Spaces” is to me. I love a good before and after story! Of course I could watch this reel and cast shame on the beauty industry for producing ads that no person can realistically live up to. Instead, I browse my magazines and catalogs firmly grounded in understanding the difference between glamorous models in ads and the amazingly beautiful people I interact with every single day in real life.

It doesn’t bother me that editors remove wrinkles from an aging woman’s face, brighten someones teeth, or make the sky a little more blue. In the end, I appreciate the skill of the artist to know just how to bring out the best features of their subjects and provide an appealing aesthetic for the user.  As for me, I’ll share my pre-edited photo sometime in the near future, and in the meantime I’m going to find time for that bubble bath.

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Posted by Marcelle Turner on May. 19, 2009