Category Archives: Blog

How does one get the Boomers to Blog?

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Boomers-Blogging

Baby boomer (definition):

  • a baby boomer is known to be someone born during the demographic post World War II  birth boom between 1946 and 1964, including 1964.

Let it be known that I am a “young” baby boomer and please note that I will ALWAYS be considered a “young” baby boomer. And I like to consider myself as someone that fully embraces the new media platforms available to us including blogging, Twitter and XBOX 360 (Red Dead Revolver rocks!) I am also fortunate to work with some younger people who are pushing for us Boomers within the company to blog more.

"Baby Boomer Graph"

United States birth rate (births per 1000 population). The blue segment is the postwar baby boom

What can a Baby Boomer Teach us?

Apparently these same young people believe that us folks with the “grey hairs” have something to contribute. They are probably right but the blogging world is new to us. Still we need to dive in and participate in this new social setting. I have and I need to say that I actually enjoy it. Blogging is an avenue for me to tell the stories and examples that I often use when dealing with clients in a private or group session. Experience is indeed a wonderful thing and blogging has provided me with a virtual soapbox to tell those stories and give you my perspective on the best ways to approach different situations. Indeed the other “grey hairs” have lots to share but how do we get them to particpate in a consistent manner?

Help the Boomer help the Boomers.

I’m looking for some input from the readers – young and old. Please comment about ways of convincing the boomers that their blogs are welcomed and appreciated. Is it free beer? Perhaps it is a DVD prize of old TV shows based on ‘x’ number of posts? What baby boomer could turn down the full season set of Get Smart or the original Star Trek series? How about the original Battlestar Galactica with Lorne Greene? This has got to make them take notice.

Please post some ideas below in the comments or on twitter – we need to get the boomers to blog. Your contributions will ensure the experience will not be lost before Alzheimer disease sets in.

Avoid Bad Decisions in Bad Times

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Rain – we have had a bit of here in the Flatland as of late. OK, you’re right – we’ve had nothing short of  “a ton o’ rain” in the past few weeks. It’s brutal. There is no doubt that we are all sick of it. It affects us all. It affects us from a recreational perspective – whether your kids miss ball games or you miss camping, golfing, biking and the list goes on. It affects us from a business perspective – landscaping companies, farming, construction, excavating and the list goes on.

The business perspective is the hard one to deal with. Your livelihood has been affected by something that is beyond your control. In these trying times one must make sure that you control how you deal with it. Don’t chase the bad times with a bad business decision.

Rainy Golf Day

I recently volunteered for a golf tournament fundraiser on a day (June 17th) that saw some people giving consideration to building an ark. The rain had been coming down for over 24 hours and our 1pm shot-gun start was not looking so good. We had some foursomes phoning us that morning and cancelling out – rightfully so – based on not wanting to play in the Saskatchewan monsoon rains. Our tournament Chair was in contact with the golf course who insisted that they were not cancelling the tournament due to weather. In other words, they were not willing to give up the revenue even though the experience for the organization, the players and the sponsors would have been brutal.

The Bad Decision

The only “out” for our organization was to postpone but in order to do so the golf club was going to have to charge $1500 for the thawed-out steaks. This seemed reasonable enough until our Chair asked for the steaks as the organization was paying for them regardless. Interestingly, when he picked them up from the course that afternoon the meat was still frozen. The golf course had lied and they were caught in the lie. The end result is that the “more than accommodating” organization paid the “unthawed steak fee” and actually re-booked with the same club but I would bet money on the fact that this tournament will move to another golf course in 2012.

Turn the Negative into a Positive

Clearly the inclement weather was beyond the control of the golf course and the organization in question. How refreshing would it have been to have the golf course manager tell us that he would re-book at no charge. He could have even offered up discount vouchers to distribute to the golfers we had booked in the tournament to “kick start” his traffic flow when the sun began to shine again. He could have turned this brutal weather situation into something where he (and his course) were applauded on Twitter, word-of-mouth and by being named in a positive fashion on blogs and other posts.

Learn How to be a Great Client

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One of my associates and I just got out of a meeting this afternoon with a new client that knows exactly what they want out of us and the project we are working on. This is so refreshing! We often spend a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what the client wants. For us it is important to know what a successful outcome is for the client. Although we can help develop this end result it is so much easier if the client can help us “paint that picture”. We can all learn from this – when the tables are turned are we being a good client?

Top 6 Features of A Great Client:Great Clients

1.  Communicate Clearly

Ensure you have done your homework prior to meeting with a supplier. Clearly state what you want in terms of deliverables and don’t forget to establish timelines.

2.  Don’t Micro-manage Your Supplier

If you are hiring experts then let them do the work! Keep an open mind about new ideas and don’t constantly second guess or pass judgment on the insignificant – as long as the “eye is on the ball” which is the pre-determined successful outcome then give some space to your supplier.

3.  Have a Point Person Readily Available

It is always best that the supplier has one person – not a bevy of silo-builders – that is put in charge of managing the project from the client’s perspective. Questions and obstacles will arise.  Your supplier is an independent expert yet they will still need to have someone that is available to them when the need arises.

4.  Give Plenty of Time (if possible)

Although most suppliers understand that the odd “rush” job is inevitable it is always best to allow for a reasonable amount of time. This will ensure less mistakes and miscommunication and will save you money. Suppliers tend to increase fees for the rush jobs as the risk is far higher for them.

5.  Be Fair on Fee Payment

Value is often directly related to price. Those suppliers that are less than the market rate tend to be less in terms of quality. AND pay on time – when the work is done and the terms of payment have not been adhered to (in other words the supplier has to beg for his owed money) then this hurts your reputation. Suppliers tend to talk to each other and you don’t want to be the one that is known as the “the client who does not pay on time.”

6.  Recognize the Extra Effort

Most suppliers want to produce a high quality end result and often they will “burn the midnight oil” to ensure that your work is done. Notice this extra effort – a thank you is often enough!