GAG, ORDER!!!

When is right right? How far are you willing to go to stay true to yourself? To never waiver from personal values, even when no one else is looking.  To never quit, I mean never, not even for a second. To follow your charted course even when self-doubt is more deafening than self-confidence.

Three years ago I witnessed first-hand the pervasive power of big business. I watched while one of our client's (and friend) was crushed by one of the United States' largest banks. In one fell swoop and for no apparent reason they destroyed everything he worked for. And, then for good measure, they did all they could to defame him. 

For two months prior, our client was on every national TV show. CBS Morning Show said, "You are all America needs."  FOX called him "An innovator." These are a couple of many. Then, they pulled the plug.  So why would this bank seek to destroy this man? We are still not sure and maybe that question will never be answered. However, the ferocity in which they attacked him was stellar, without feeling and without debate. The bank unleashed a cloud of deception that was deft, allowing questionable thoughts to seep in; even to those closest to him.

The bank had perception on their side and they were positive they held the chips. It's so much easier to believe big over little, established over new, successful over start-up, boss over employee.

This was one of the United States' largest banks, so reputation was on their side. I mean banks are flawless and have never been shown to work beyond the bounds of propriety, right?

Your Honor, I need to strike that last statement on the account the courtroom is filled with uncontrollable laughter. 

When is right right? How far are you willing to go to stay true to yourself? To never waiver from personal values, even when no one else is looking.  To never quit, I mean never, not even for a second. To follow your charted course even when self-doubt is more deafening than self-confidence.

For three years he never quit, never changed his story. For three years he worked tirelessly to defend himself, no matter the professional and personal struggle AND there were many. Loss of all money, some friends, relationships, and an open heart surgery. That was the easy stuff. The internal struggles were even greater.

Having everyone tell you to just give up, move on, lick your wounds and fight another day, may have appeared as fruitful advise, but to him, it created further feeling of isolation. Conversely it also provided a sense of resolve, knowing the same character traits required to be a visionary in the first place would need to be applied if truth would prevail.

Fighting for justice can be parallel to living in a silo of emotional solitary confinement. A breaking point is always nearing. Yet, he never broke.

At the start of the trial the air was thick with greed, smugness and the pious veil facade of those who normally hide in ivory towers. However, after day one it became evident that one of the United States' largest bank’s equivalent of kryptonite was going to be "truth" itself.

Wait, banks aren't flawless? They have been shown to work beyond the bounds of propriety? They took money from TARP and then still doled out huge bonuses while the American people turned into Oliver Twist, begging for "More Gruel, Please, Sir." 

Lawyer: Your Honor, we object.

Judge:  On what grounds?

Lawyer: The truth really hurts.

This week my client and friend WON and defeated one of United State’s largest banks. This was not just a victory for himself and his company, but for all of us. That's not hyperbole.

Where would we be if we never questioned authority? If we sat idly by while known injustice was rampant? We are better today, because of the actions of this man.

When is right right? How far are you willing to go to stay true to yourself? To never waiver from personal values, even when no one else is looking.  To never quit, I mean never, not even for a second. To follow your charted course even when self-doubt is more deafening than self-confidence.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg

CEO/The Big STIR

STIR-Communications 

Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723

e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com 

Facebook Finale III

Last week was a world wind – no time to blog, barely time to choose between which Italian bespoke threads and killer socks to don.

With the traveling to and fro on sleek G6's emblazoned with logos of my gracious hosts, popping the bottles of Ace of Spades, making it rain and putting Range in the Rovers, tapping out my infamous prose was feeling trite. Plus my posting on http://www.monster.com/ for a ghost writer with uncanny wit and erudite synapse went unanswered, leaving my broad shoulders to weather the storm once again.

By now you know this blog is read by a ton. For many it's a faithful ritual, for others a rite of passage. What started as a lark and a sea of sarcasm and cynicism now provides riches in excess of the GNP of Guam.

It's influence has also grown, but in truth, until two weeks ago I didn't realize how much. That was until my two posts about my immediate departure from Facebook were unleashed. On September 14th a FedEx truck arrived at Chez Salsburg delivering a large box. Curiosity peaked and I diligently cut into the cardboard and pulled out its contents: a singular blue hoodie and a note reading "I can't live, if living is without you. Sincerely MZ."

Sure, my first thought was, do you think this person is quoting the Badfinger or Mariah Carey version? And, which one makes me feel most uncomfortable? And, why are there ketchup stains on this sweatshirt?

Back to the note - it had an email address and phone number both marked CONFIDENTIAL. Upon dialing a voice picked up the other end before it even rang and said, "Greg is that you? Please come back. I can change."

I attempted to explain myself, while fawning excitement that I was speaking to an entrepreneurial behemoth. Not to mention the last and only reason Jessie Eisenberg will be relevant. He insisted I be flown to Menlo Park, CA to meet face to face, I succumbed.

35,000 feet in the air and somewhere over Dubuque, I checked my emails. One marked urgent caught my eye. Subject: Brewskies with the Ruskies. It went on to read: Greg, as you know we subscribed to your blog after reading about it on Techcrunch. Obviously we hate Facebook too and MZ’s fashion choices make us sick. Our new system Google+ is doing well but we can use your input. Let's bring you to Mountain View, we promise to make it worth your while. Peace, Sergey and Larry.

Look, I've signed so many confidentiality agreements I am not sure I still even own my children. However, I do know that I cannot reveal what took place in those meetings but it was even better than you're thinking. (I may need to lawyer up just for sharing the above.)

With that said, by now you have probably read about the alterations that were unveiled the past few weeks at these companies respectfully. They're not perfect. Change is not a destination, it takes time, and although I'm still not picking sides as of yet I think progress is being made.

As your weekly fearless leader I will continue to defend us all. There is no challenge too great for me to tackle upon your behalf. That is, if I can get my newfound entourage to bring me a painkiller for this massive Champagne hangover.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Find Your Mission

THE DILEMMA:


A CEO contacted us expressing his need for a Mission Statement in order for employees, partners and investors to better understand his business direction.


INSIDE YOUR BRAND:


Every brand is a fictional entity. The strongest brands are those with the most attractive personalities.


What is the personality of your brand? What does it look like? What does it sound like? How does your brand think, act, and see the world? Remember, everything communicates.


INSIDE YOUR COMPANY:


A company is another type of fictional entity.


The personality of your company is spread across its employees -- representatives who are supposed to think, act, and see the world according to the principles your company was built upon. That culture is not born from the written word but from the sweat of actions.


Your Mission Statement is not your style guide. Mission Statements are amorphous dollops of wishful thinking, high hopes committed to paper. Forgive me, but the average Mission Statement is packed with overbearing cliches . Every time I read one I’m reminded of those young women in beauty pageants who provocate dreams of world peace. In short, most Mission Statements are no more meaningfully rooted than a child claiming to be a "blank" when they grow up.


It takes more than a Mission Statement to bring about world peace and it will take more than a Mission Statement to unify your employees or those looking to invest.


HOW TO APPLY THIS WISDOM:

1. Identify the Unifying Principles of your company.
2. Write them down.
3. Make them real through your words and actions.

Unifying Principles become the Character Bible for real-world employees.

Unifying Principles are not core values. They provide more guidance than core values.

Unifying Principles are not rules. They provide more freedom than rules.

Unifying Principles are specific statements that reflect a belief system. Not a mission to attain but acts that are deep rooted, underway and unwavering.

Unifying Principles bring people into unity and form the basis for coordinated action.

Honesty is a core value.

• Do not steal is a mission.
• Love your neighbor as yourself is a Unifying Principle.

Generosity is a core value.

• Allow second helpings is a mission.
• Provide enough that an abundance remains when everyone has had all they want is a Unifying Principle.

Rules/missions are for people whose minds are too small to grasp the principle behind them. Involve your employees in your Unifying Principles and you’ll find that rules/mission are no longer required.


Principles, not rules nor missions, determine how we think, act, and see the world. When employees embrace the principles upon which your company is built, you can trust them to make the right decisions.


Do you live your live by Unifying Principles and can you articulate them? Give it some thought and next time present all who matters your Unifying Principles statement.


Greg


Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com








 

Facebook Finale II

...Within minutes of deleting my status I received emails from 5 people furious, thinking I took them off my "friends" list. The following week I ran into others and they shared their displeasure with what they thought was me singling them out. Others asked me if all was OK. Not, mind you, if I was OK but rather if all was OK with Facebook. In their minds, something must have been wrong with the entire entity as they couldn't fathom I simply chose to eliminate this avenue of dribble from my life.

I have read stories of people taking such offense to their Facebook status changes they will engage in petty verbal attacks or even resort to using PhotoShop to delete that person from pictures -- pathetic!

So to recap, in a world of virtual reality, where at least 98 percent of my "friends" were anything but, where I only exist when I choose and one can only communicate with me when I'm logged in, were upset with me based on a made-up status and their new found inability to "poke" me.

Opposed to let's say, my real life, where the same people that happen to reach out to express "concern," had my phone number (home and cell), email, home and work address and many were in my real social circle.

These responses didn't make me reconsider rejoining the medium but rather concurred my decision was just.

Yes, we live in a world of excess hyper-technological connectivity. However, I submit as equally as these communication channels are being used to foster our society forward they are also impediments towards deep personal connectivity.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Facebook Finale I

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

I have done the unthinkable. The 21st Century version of treason. A decision so profound I shudder to think of the ramifications.

I anticipate, like many who have risked reputation and took a stand for their beliefs, statues will be erected in my honor and future generations will name their children after me, “The Big STIR.”

We live in a world of excess hyper-connectivity. Where ADD is no longer a concern, but a requirement for survival.

Our world is one where it is no longer good enough to be socially social, one must extend the prior social parameters to now include as many technological vehicles possible to showcase their social behavior. In short, a "moment" is really not "moment" unless it is dignified on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc.

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes", which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependence, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

However psychologists are finding greed, dislike, jealously, rage, self-loathing, self doubt, competition, anxiety and lies, run equally as rampant.

That doesn't sound so social as much as an episode of the "Jersey Shore.”

I feel blessed to have people receive my "weekly" blog and numerous others who caught my wisdom via Facebook. That is, until I shut it down this summer.

OK, maybe not the best business move to eliminate a huge chunk of audience but the wonders for my psyche are unquestionable.

I had come to consider Facebook less of a social network and more of a vehicle for voyeurism. I was spending more time viewing other people’s lives and comments of same and comparing those to my activities, rather than living my own life.

Considering the degree of narcissism and self absorption I possess, to even care for others is out of character, no less finding myself "checking in" for an update. So, slayed the dragon I did! In one glorious keystroke I eliminated my existence.

What came next was the big surprise...


Greg
 
Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Crisis shines an all knowing light

"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." - Lou Gehrig

I have been accused of being many things, however, at a loss for words has never been one. For the past few weeks I have been unable to write my blog. For all that have enjoyed every incredible word I have written in the past, you know my blog is as much about life as it is business. Lately, life has been all too real.

My father is dying. It's a fact I have been dealing with for some time and by the time you read this he may already have passed. However, the impending definitiveness as I am writing is now here.

My father was very influential in my life and his loss will have long lasting effects on me personally. I am not eloquent or intelligent enough to express in prose his impact on me. However, it's not my father but something my mother once said that is dominating my thoughts. "You learn a lot about people during death. Crisis shines an all knowing light."

My mother’s statement is true in business AND in life. There have been countless examples during the past couple of years of appalling and egregious corporate behavior. However, there have also been remarkable acts of kindness and proper corporate responsibility. Morals are not attached to a financial biorhythm and should never shift no matter the peril. (OK - that fulfilled the business requirement portion.)

Only recently and only to a few have I shared my personal struggle with losing my "hero." I never wanted to project my burden onto others and thought of these types of discussion useless and self absorbed. However, I felt compelled to share to a few who where witness to my morose behavior and countless cancellations to their kind invitations. They were not only understanding, but without my knowledge shared with others who they felt would benefit from knowing my ordeal. Normally this type of personal exposure would make my skin crawl, however what has transpired has changed my outlook completely. A great majority of my life's interactions are through work or with husbands of friends of my wife. As such, I never considered myself someone who had many friends in the traditional sense. I felt those interactions were forced or of some duty on their part, since I was either providing a service to them or in the case of the husbands, stranded on the same island together. There was a part of me that also believed that I was too old to make friends.

However, what I have found out lately is there is no such thing as traditional love, kindness or friendship. In the past couple of weeks so many people have reached out to me, expressing their thoughts and genuine offer of support. Each interaction leaves me bewildered by my luck to know such caring people. I can even be so bold as to say, I have many friends.

Mine is a blog about business and life. If indeed "Crisis shines an all knowing light," I have learned my light shines bright.

Thank you all.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723

People Are Not Cogs

Thought this blog may be of interest to you, as it was for us ...


Harvard Business Review – Conversations Blog

People Are Not Cogs
Thursday June 2, 2011
by Nilofer Merchant


With peers in a few CEO roundtables, I've heard things like: "I plan on hiring 3 biz dev people to get $345K per headcount in revenues." After publishing a book about closing the execution gap by focusing on the "peopley" stuff, CEOs of major companies took me aside (in a friendly way) to suggest I had made a major faux pas, and would be seen as having gone "soft." In spite of a forest's worth of academic papers and rafts of best practices published by the likes of HBR on the importance of the "soft" stuff, most companies continue to treat people as inputs in a production line. I've had leaders ask me if this "people engagement thing" is something that can be added on, after the core business stuff is done, sort of like adding frosting to a cupcake.


And I. Can't. Believe. It.


Are we still having this conversation, really?


We know our economy has shifted away from mostly producing things . It makes no sense in such a landscape to keep talking about people as if people are disposable, replaceable, cogs in the mix.


Gurus like Don Tapscott, Tammy Erickson, John Hagel, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Gary Hamel, and more recently, Umair Haque, have all written about how our new economy is about producing ideas, experiences, and meaning. Companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare, and even Groupon are based on the conversion of ideas and creativity into value, rather than shipping physical stuff. Even companies producing "things" have found a way to embrace the new economy. Look at Apple. Their earnings per employee figure is $419,528 per head, beating out even Google's of $335,297/head and well on its way to be double that of Microsoft, currently at $244,831. They outperform their industry because they've figured out how to enable the key asset of the new economy: scalably leverage many people's contributions, including the app developers eager to piggyback on the industry's most attractive devices.


Yet most organizations still operate much as they did in the industrial age. We manage the measurable, rather than the things that create meaning that fuels creativity, that enables innovative thinking and that helps any company to outpace the market.


Am I revealing a certain naïveté in even writing this? Maybe yes, maybe no. Because I know the truth today: In work archetypes, we believe we must choose either performance or people. We can't see them as one and the same. We tag performance as the quantitatively focused work of what we can design, market, measure, track, bill, and monetize. Talent, purpose, culture and creating meaning is the peopley work mostly viewed by the performance folks as "cost centers," or departments that exist only to manage legal risk. The two camps operate with a "live and let live" approach, and they don't attempt to collaborate or interoperate with one another.


I have long believed that this "two camps" model must change, convinced that a more unifying model must be possible. And now we have "existence proofs" in the form of successful companies with different models. And it's not all of these companies were built from scratch; some were reinvented. The peopley stuff is what allows organizations to not just win, but also win repeatedly.


There's plenty of empirical data to support this strategic direction. Gallup, the research firm, recently did a meta-analysis across 199 studies covering 152 organizations, 44 industries, and 26 countries. It showed that high employee engagement brings an uplift of every business performance number. Profitability up 16%, Productivity up 18%, customer loyalty up 12% and quality up an incredible 60%.


We know that life is not just about efficiency. So why do we resist the idea that work can be about greatness?


We know we need more than the simple efficiency that our current measures capture. Our view of performance has become limited by overly focusing on those metrics. Because we can see the outward manifestations of work performance like products shipped, revenues booked, and earnings-per-share, we can discuss them in analyst calls and at management meetings. We can barely see and surely can't measure the soft aspect of how we make great products, revenues or earnings per share.


That doesn't mean that greatness can't be decoded. There are pieces that we can see and understand. It includes groups being creative. It includes people being themselves. It includes all of us having confidence that we're making a difference. It's asking questions that let us reimagine what could be. It's feeling motivated. It's about being challenged within our capabilities. It's all of us having a rich, intense sense of joy at work. It's trusting ourselves, and our ability to learn. It's about being trusted by others. It's when we can say to each other: I believe in you. It's about being courageous and not always trying to fit in. It's about everyone knowing what matters. It's about all of us learning, and growing and changing. It's about creativity and inventiveness, and the ability to go fast because we are adaptable. It's about getting rewarded for caring about the commons, not just the silos.


We need a measure that captures all of that. Something that captures our purpose, our talent, and the way our culture enables us to create velocity in bringing ideas to market.


How do we do start to measure the peopley stuff and also keep on performing and measuring the external stuff — how do we make sure we don't throw out the baby with the bathwater? For too long, the quants have lived in one world, and soft, peopley folks in another. Neither side was particularly willing to take the first steps necessary to bridge the gap, or even to even acknowledge that bridging was possible. I hold that to realize our organizations' full potential, both sides must work hard to get that bridge built.


For now, let's all agree that when someone proposes that we can put off that peopley stuff till later, we can all answer a resounding: "No, we can't." It's not the frosting on the cupcake. It's the key ingredient in how we make the cupcake bigger.


Nilofer Merchant is a corporate advisor and speaker on innovation methods. Her book, The New How, discussing collaborative ways to have your whole company strategize, was published in 2010. Follow her on Twitter @nilofer.

STAY STUPID

The book industry is changing. At STIR-Communications, we love the written word (obviously), the verbose and the brief.

Also, we applaud Seth Godin and his company Domino for the impact they will make on sharing knowledge through books – it will be huge.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Resistance is the enemy to great work, says author Steve Pressfield in Do the Work. But with enemies come allies. Consider, who and what will push you through the dips and help you do the work that matters.

Here’s an excerpt from Do the Work about the champions on your side (available for free on Kindle for another three weeks only):

1. Stupidity

2. Stubbornness

3. Blind faith

4. Passion

5. Assistance (the opposite of Resistance)

6. Friends and family

Stay Stupid

The three dumbest guys I can think of: Charles Lindbergh, Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill. Why? Because any smart person who understood how impossibly arduous were the tasks they had set themselves would have pulled the plug before he even began.

Ignorance and arrogance are the artist and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. She must be clueless enough to have no idea how difficult her enterprise is going to be—and cocky enough to believe she can pull it off anyway.

How do we achieve this state of mind? By staying stupid. By not allowing ourselves to think.

A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.

Don’t think. Act.

We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted. But we can accomplish nothing until we act.

Be Stubborn

Once we commit to action, the worst thing we can do is to stop.

What will keep us from stopping? Plain old stubbornness.

I like the idea of stubbornness because it’s less lofty than “tenacity” or “perseverance.” We don’t have to be heroes to be stubborn. We can just be pains in the butt.

When we’re stubborn, there’s no quit in us. We’re mean. We’re mulish. We’re ornery.

We’re in till the finish.

We will sink our junkyard-dog teeth into Resistance’s ass and not let go, no matter how hard he kicks.

Blind Faith

Is there a spiritual element to creativity? Hell, yes.

Our mightiest ally (our indispensable ally) is belief in something we cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or feel.

Resistance wants to rattle that faith. Resistance wants to destroy it.

There’s an exercise that Patricia Ryan Madson describes in her wonderful book, Improv Wisdom. (Ms. Madson taught improvisational theater at Stanford to standing-room only classes for twenty years.) Here’s the exercise:

Imagine a box with a lid. Hold the box in your hand. Now open it.

What’s inside?

It might be a frog, a silk scarf, a gold coin of Persia. But here’s the trick: no matter how many times you open the box, there is always something in it.

Ask me my religion. That’s it.

I believe with unshakeable faith that there will always be something in the box.

Passion

Picasso painted with passion, Mozart composed with it. A child plays with it all day long.

You may think that you’ve lost your passion, or that you can’t identify it, or that you have so much of it, it threatens to overwhelm you. None of these is true.

Fear saps passion.

When we conquer our fears, we discover a boundless, bottomless, inexhaustible well of passion.

Assistance

We’ll come back to this later. Suffice it to say for now that as Resistance is the shadow, its opposite—Assistance—is the sun.

Friends and Family

When art and inspiration and success and fame and money have come and gone, who still loves us—and whom do we love?

Only two things will remain with us across the river: our inhering genius and the hearts we love.

In other words, what we do and whom we do it for.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Who We Are

“You need to be a jack of all trades.”

"Better to be a master at one thing than mediocre at many.”

“Just do it.”

Since this is tax day, I will share with you the most taxing issue I am facing of late: other people’s opinions. And you thought the IRS is a pain in the ass.

As you know, I have NEVER once used this platform to outwardly promote our company, STIR-Communications. Today, I use it more as a reference, albeit ad nauseum, and with the less than subtle attempt to express our overarching virtues and modesty, which is only surpassed by our unequalled skills, which is only surpassed by our modesty.

Our company’s approach to the practice of strategic public relations, advertising and marketing can best be summed up in the words of R. Buckminster Fuller, the American architect, author, designer, inventor, and futurist. In his book, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth (1969), he writes:

“If…nature required man to be a specialist she would have made him so by having him born with one eye and a microscope attached to it. What nature needed man to be was adaptive in many if not any direction…Mind apprehends and comprehends the general principles governing flight and deep sea diving, and man puts on his wings or his lungs, then takes them off when not using them. The specialist bird is greatly impeded by its wings when trying to walk. The fish cannot come out of the sea and walk upon land, for birds and fish are specialists.”

Like Buckminster, STIR-Communications eschews the concept of specialization, while still being special. The common industry notion is that when an agency is smaller, it is more efficient to specialize in one industry. Hence, there is no shortage of boutique agencies specializing in food, technology, health care, home goods, social media, financial services, travel, fashion, beauty, or anything else you can imagine.

But, what is the true cost of such “efficiency”? We believe the cost is stagnant, uninspired and derivative work. Even worse, the agency becomes subservient to the industry or category itself and has to put its own reputation within the category above and beyond the reputation of its clients. Yawn!

If an agency specializes in one industry, then it has to always “play by the rules” of that industry. It has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, because the agency itself becomes the very epitome of the status quo. It can’t afford to rock the boat or ever challenge the conventions of the industry. It certainly can’t represent a client that is trying to do things differently, to innovate. After all, how would the firm’s other clients react to such heresy? In the end, boutique agencies simply can’t take risks. Clients may come and go, but once the agency loses its reputation, then all is lost.

An antidote to the traditional boutique agency, STIR-Communications is a multi-specialty boutique firm, working within a wide variety of different disciplines and industries. All agency members are required to work with a diverse client base, where they get broad and differentiated experiences. The result is fresh, original and creative programming, as well as big-idea development. It is this unique, boundary-less approach that makes STIR-Communications a “Circular Communications Agency,” and true “thought providers” (see last week’s blog).

Our industry and category agnostic approach allows us to put our clients first. At STIR-Communications, we don’t care if we challenge the conventional thinking of an industry … in fact, that’s what makes us get out of the bed each morning; or, because we are contrarian work directly from bed. That’s right, often we even eschew the office itself, since we have found the least amount of productivity is accomplished in a “working” setting.

As a result of this specialty (or we should say anti-specialty), we have come to realize that STIR-Communications is ideally suited to working with companies that value non-traditional thinking above and beyond specialization. As a result, the overwhelming majority of our clients tend to be industry challengers or innovators.

As a matter of fact, multi-specialization is not only beneficial to challengers, pioneers or iconoclasts, but really to any organization that needs to reach multiple constituencies simultaneously.

It’s no surprise that lots of companies need to communicate with different audiences. For example, a B2B company may need to reach out to enterprise customers, mainstream consumers, internal audiences, investors and the government all at the same time. If the company is big enough, it can hire multiple specialist agencies or hire a large global agency with multiple practice areas, essentially the same thing as hiring a bunch of smaller agencies—except they receive one very large invoice. But what about smaller to mid-sized companies or any company that can’t afford this option?

Don’t fret, my contact info is below.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Thought Provider

I have come to bury Caesar, not praise him. -- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare: Act 3. Scene II

I admire many in the world of business. The ability to innovate, initiate and guide their companies to achieve desired success is astonishing. I also admire those tactile bunch that get into the mix physically, working alongside to ensure goals are achieved.

However, over the past few years a new leader has evolved. One slightly more passive than those aforementioned and possibly held in higher regard. I think this new leader would set Brutus in a venal rage.

The “Thought Leader.”

The Thought Leader has become the moniker of choice for those donning the dais of network functions. For purposes of full disclosure, I have used this term often and have been called one by many. OK, by a few … OK, once and it was a family member, but I assumed it was implied many other occasions.

I digress.

The world went array and we looked to leaders for opinions. We elevated those thoughts because we felt ours were somehow askew. However, great leaders, great companies, great people don't just THINK, they ACT and equally GIVE. I don't want to be associated with or be known anymore as a Thought Leader, I seek for "Thought Provider."

My suggestion reminds leaders of their very essence, to lead. And, that is much more powerful.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Blog Poetry

"I Tweet, therefore I am.” Not, René Descartes.

April is National Poetry Month. Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define, however, I will try: how's dead or at least on the verge of extinction?

When was the last time a hot new poet was downloaded on iTunes?

Have we forgone the patience necessary to open our hearts to explore expression?

Is our societal requirement of immediacy diluting the requirement of cadence and nuance needed for wonderful prose?

Can we truly articulate our most passionate and descriptive thoughts within the newfangled 140 word requirement?

I could only imagine what creative stifling Yates, Dickinson, Cummings and Frost would suffer if they also had to monitor their Facebook page and Twitter accounts.

Like the art of a hand written note, the use of poetry seems to be a thing of the past. Do you think there is any correlation towards the increasing depletion of chivalry?!

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

My Life in Ruins

"Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way." – Anonymous

In spite of some prior blogs, I don't fancy the written manner of anything morose or macabre. I pride myself on being a little off-beat, off-color and sometimes off-kilter. I have a been accused of late of occasional lapses into obscurity and a penchant for tomfoolery. I assumed both as compliments.

I often jest and ridicule the masses, of course secretly, since most of my existence is within my own private Idaho.

My "intellectual libidinous" nature provides me the confidence that with a few exaggerated pantomime moves I can conjure the best in situational absurdity and make you love me and agree I am "one of a kind."

However, on this day the crashing realization that I had transformed into a bottom feeding parasite was never more evident. It's not my fault, the devil does walk among us.

For four days in a row, I awoke at 5:00 a.m. like the dolt I have secretly become, filled with an eager anticipation and periodicals to pass the time, then headed out the door. I arrived at the mall, still dark outside. As I neared the Apple store, hopes of buying the iPad 2 was my single-minded focus.

However, for the fourth day in a row I left without my new device in hand. Either there were too many in line in front of me (did the others stay in the mall hiding as mannequins?), not enough arrived at the stores or they were stocked with the wrong type.

Damn you Steve Jobs!

Vowing to end this charade and never to return, I slunk out the mall at 7:45 a.m. I needed a pick me up and headed to the nearest Starbucks in hopes of erasing this whole ordeal.

I'm not making this up, the line was out the door. I am not positive, but I a believe some of the patrons were my former brethren from the mall.

Mr. Jobs meet your long lost twin, Mr. Schultz.

The similarities were too striking. Like the mall, I realized we are a nation of masochists, mirroring the collective descent into the struggles of bovine.

Mooo!

With double espresso in hand, my race for redemption was rampant. I ingested the black gold in one swig, fired up the car and raced for the highway to get to a meeting in Miami, 45 miles from my current location.

You guessed it, after waiting in traffic the whole ride, I acceded at my destination 2.5 hours later.

I have waxed poetic to leaders of business about the marketing importance of tapping into tribal societies and ritual … never realizing along the way I'm at the head of the line.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Transferring Happiness

Surrounded by family and friends in a convivial setting, my euphoric emotions were bubbling over. When it was pointed out that I seemed less like my sardonic cantankerous self, but rather at ease in a complete state of happiness, I knew any attempt to squabble such would be dismissed. Instead, I beamed my Cheshire smile and embraced the moment.

However, that was short lived. When I was asked “if they made me happy,” pointing to all at the affair, I answered with a resounding, “Absolutely not!” Silence, pain filled stares and gasps were piercing my direction for what was clearly perceived as an act of draconian nature.

I needed to explain quickly or be prepared to pick up the check for the evening’s festivities. As it turned out, both were in order. There is no one that dictates my emotions; I am responsible for all of them. That’s right, no one makes me happy or conversely sad; I am in charge of energizing each and every one.

Even if you are surrounded by numerous acts of happy occasions and people doing kind and wonderful things, this is not an instant recipe for happiness. A person first must be happy with themselves and willing to accept control of personal emotions in order move effortlessly through life’s topography.

You are in charge of your own feelings AND you are not in control of others. It is not your responsibility to make someone feel something and in truth, no one should have such power. Ever provide numerous acts of kindness only to feel your efforts were left unappreciated, or worse, not situational altering? Those are instances where you held the belief you could control the emotional universe.

Far too many are looking at others to inject a transfer of inspirational happiness in order to make it through life. There are whole industries built on this foundation. However, what is largely ignored is the necessity of self-actualization and personal emotional control. Friends, family, lovers, co-workers, bosses and even the baristas at Starbucks that know your order before you utter it, are not in control of your happiness. Be YOU and acknowledge absolute supremacy of YOU.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Love bites!

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

Romeo is known for his impressive connection to the emotion of love. His soliloquies to Juliet were bountiful, filled with engaging similes in an effort to ensure she recognized the depths of his passion. While Mrs. Browning offered numerous descriptive examples of how her love continued to swell.

Could it be, they were NOT romantics at all, but rather, were simply forced to extend themselves beyond human capacity?

To me, Romeo and Mrs. Browning were just as confused as most of us … early examples of the daunting challenge of defining something abstract.

In the businesses of marketing, a heavy emphasis of late is being placed on measuring all output. Corporation’s budgets are shrinking and scrutinized each penny intensely, and data is often the best defense for spending.

Even über CEO Jack Welch once uttered the famous quote, "I know half my advertising and public relations is crucial and working, I just don't know which half."

2007 and 2008 were the watershed years of the Ad industry. Consumerism was rampant, and so businesses were spending money to drive consumers to their stores and brands. Awareness was king.

Then we hit the skids with the financial meltdown, and the new "normal" is the economy we currently have. Marketer's now strive for tangible results and ROI, having to move towards performance media where there's a direct result and you can say, "we drove people to the store or to an e-commerce site.” Market share is now king.

What do you do when the communication vertical still doesn't have proper analytical tools? Or worse, focus is on the wrong determination?

Last week, we sat with a company that unanimously agreed on incorporating public relations into the mix. The hard to quantify measurable is important for their growth strategy, however, they simply couldn't determine at what degree the importance of “awareness” was. As such, we laid out a plan to tie our output to indicators essential to their business plans.

This simple strategy eliminated the nebulous interpreting of success. We made a "love connection."

So, in business or relationships, no matter if you "love" but are not "in love" or you "like" but don't really "like-like" or, if as Mrs. Browning suggests you will love deeper in death, I say it all works. As long as you and your recipient know what you really feel and agree on the key performance indicators.

Or, maybe Mrs. Browning realized it will take many lifetimes to fix this ...

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Mine all mine ...

Once again I continue my quest to educate and entertain the masses. In the deployment of my weekly written tactics, outside of the usual suspects of stodgy academic vernacular and somniferous lecture, my sole quest is to connect. To connect in such a visceral way that with each offering you will be left knowing a deep sense of me (for better of worse).

Seeing life though others perspectives is a challenge for many, however, to fully connect with another person you must give in equal proportion to your desired reception.

Too many leaders in businesses and families do not exude the maturity to see things from someone else's point of view. Rarely is there an instance when they concern themselves with what's best for others.

As many can relate, part of the parenting process is to help children recognize that they are not the center of the universe, as taking others into consideration is key for life’s advancement. Unfortunately, there is usually no one in business to alert the leaders when they have lost perspective.

Far too often we operate in a child-like manner. Sure, the message below may be an exaggerated view point to your business and life ecosystem, but I also bet you will be able to find similar applications of examples surrounding you daily.

The except focused on “Property law as viewed by a toddler" is from Michael V Hernandez’s book titled, Restating Implied, Prescriptive and Statutory Easements (2005).

1. If I like it, it's mine
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine
7.If it looks like it's mine, it's mine
8. If I saw it first, it's mine
9. If I can see it, it's mine
10. If I think it's mine, it's mine
11. If I want it, it's mine
12. If I need it, it's mine (yes, I know the difference between "want" and "need")
13. If I say it's mine, it's mine
14. If you don't stop me from playing with it, it's mine
15. If you tell me I can play with it, it's mine
16. If it will upset me too much when you take it away from me, it's mine
17. If I (think I) can play with it better than you can, it's mine
18. If I play with it long enough, it's mine
19. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it's mine
20. If it's broken, it's yours! (No, wait, all the pieces are still mine)

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Dating is such sweet sorrow ...

"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match ... "

Over the past couple of months I have spent a great deal of time in the tribal ritual of dating. I have shared risotto with a redhead, reconnected with an ex, coffee with a Cuban, laughter with lefty, a tall drink of water with a "tall drink of water," dinner with a dozen and lunch with a bunch.

From this, I have learned firsthand that first dates are really awkward. Filled with superfluous topics rifled out in a staccato manner in an inane attempt to impress the companion, these meetings can be brutal ... AND, that my friend is just analyzing me. The only saving grace is that it has become painfully obvious the same infliction is enveloping my guest as well.

In truth, I haven't been dating, but rather interviewing numerous individuals to join our company. In addition, I have come out from under my self-imposed exile and am having meetings with any and all who "need" to be met and meet me.

In marketing, focusing on the brand is crucial. Understanding its core value, what it stands for, and its unabashed authenticity, are not some “feel good” phases from a self-help pamphlet but the essence of the company. Many companies have no idea how to engage others or confuse their brand with a logo or catchy slogan.

Unfortunately, I can say the same is true for some people. Meetings are not schmoozing and an interview should not be spent in a didactic diatribe about why you're the one and only. Your past is not always indicative of your future, but your present speaks volumes. (Man, I can write fortune cookies.)

People, like companies, are brands. Knowing who you are and sticking to it no matter the environment is crucial. Remember to be authentic and empathic. Be engaging, but also remember to engage. Don't worry about saying it all, just ensure what you say has it all.

For now, I'm just a SWCEO continuing to seek my soul mate ...

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Don't Blow It

I hate whistlers.

If you are a whistler, I hate you.

All that mirth and nonchalant attitude, set to a poor attempt at a melodic tone makes me sick.

To the high whistler, which sounds more like a respiratory issue than tune, I say no more. To the extra loud whistler, who believes indoor settings suit their pathetic talent best, I demand silence. To the morons who have convinced themselves they are actually masters of instrument, I say get a life ... your "skill set" isn't even offered in band camp. Stop this assault on the ear drums of America.

I hate things that can even be confused for this pandemic putrid of pierced punim. Take "Whistler's Mother," hate it!

There are societies and appreciation groups for whistlers on Facebook. Why do we provide credence? I would view Mark Zuckerberg as the greatest leader of our time if his sole accomplishment moving forward is shutting this farce down.

I was in a meeting recently with a CEO of company you all know who was looking to employ my services. (Usually that would give him a leg up.) Turns out he starts his weekly meetings with a whistle in unison of their company theme song with the rest of the lemming-like C-Suites.

Needless to say I pucker for no one. My Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was not on display this afternoon, but my loud sarcastic laughter was. OK, there are more important things than money ... just can't think of any right now.

So to recap, to all whistlers, stop. No one thinks your talented or interesting.

Do something impressive with your life. How about yodeling?

Greg
Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Tweet this ... not that

The channels of communication have changed. Information once scarce or hoarded by few, is now ubiquitous. The lines of who or where to turn for communication leadership has also blurred. We now live in a world were a Brian Solis can have as much influence as Brian Williams and Tavi Gevinson can replace Anna Wintour as the fashion forward voice of a generation.

For me and our company, the advantages and equal challenges from these new media outlets are plenty and I embrace both sides with great reverence.

However, this past week I was fascinated by the use of Twitter and its usage for malice as well as social change. During a recent NFL playoff game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler left the game with an apparent knee injury and allowed his backup(s) to take over. Cutler remained on the sideline, most of it standing and often appearing ambivalent to his surroundings. While the game was still taking place, current and former players (some now members of the media) Tweeted that Cutler was a quitter, had no heart, should have continued to play, and how they would punched him in the mouth if he was on their team. Turns out, he did try to return to the game on two different occasions, had two pain killing shots injected to his knee and was not the one who made the determination to not continue but the doctors.

Twitter at times is the equivalent to drunk dialing. Just because the thought or urge abounds does not mean it’s prudent to act. Having these tools so readily available has a detrimental side. Trust me, I have littered the relationship highway on that one.

Conversely, I only have to look to recent events in Egypt to know social networks will bring social change. It was Twitter that created mass unison, allowed for voices to be heard immediately, and flow seamless across all geographic and social economic lines. The power is truly with the people. Even though the Egyptian government shut down all lines of communication, the sentiment and strength remained.

Remember, there may be only 140 characters to push out your message, but what you say can be all the difference in the world.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723
e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

It's baaaaaack

I am sorry I have not written my weekly blog this year. So many have been contacting me with pleads to return. Some wondered aloud if all the notoriety had gone to my head. If the constant glare of the public made me feel personal pressures, to enormous live up to. If the new celebrity hype changed me.

Diddy and I laughed at that last one.

I have been bombarded by minions with simple requests, cries of passion, monetary bribes and some interesting offers that would fall under sexual turpitude. (OK, those were the ones that got me back... )

So, starting next week I will break free from the Kardashian spell and return to my proper place on the intellectual food chain; dispensing wit and wisdom that will be life altering. Or, at least make your Monday a bit brighter and isn't that really why I'm here?

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications.com
Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723