The Price of Free

Back in my TV news days, I would sometimes enjoy a hair and makeup allowance from the TV station. Usually this would be a reimbursement of my expenses.

But at one station, the only way on-air staff could get their hair done for free was to go to a stylist who happened to be a friend of the General Manager. Many of my female colleagues didn't take up this offer because the stylist styled hair in a way that was about ten years out of date.

But my hair is pretty flexible, there's not much to mess up, and I hate to pass up a free offer. So I decided to make an appointment. When I arrived, I was promptly led into her garage which featured a big barber's chair in the middle of the room. When I sat down into the chair, I noticed that the stylist seemed a bit confused. I asked if everything was alright.

She looked at me and said, "I can't find my glasses anywhere and I can't see a thing without them. Oh well, let's cut your hair."

It was at this moment that I realized that sometimes free stuff comes a price. It turns out that the haircut wasn't a disaster but I've had better ones. The good news is that my hair grows quickly.

But out of the experience I realized that sometimes when you buy something, you're not just buying the product but the peace of mind that comes from experience and expertise. Today I still love a good discount or free stuff but sometimes I can't afford the emotional price that can come from it.

The Gas Can Mystery... Jumping To Conclusions

Today I saw a truck pulling a trailer make a left turn. The trailer was filled with all sorts of gas powered landscaping tools. It’s a familiar sight in South Florida but then something unexpected happened. As the trailer was turning, a large can of gasoline fell off the truck and landed in the intersection. I’m guessing that it hadn’t been tied down properly.

The truck continued to drive down the road, the driver unaware of what just happened. There was no way to signal him.

Now I can only guess what happened next. The landscaping crew will likely arrive at their destination and discover they have either no gas or not enough. This will likely lead them to some conclusions:

The gas tank was stolen.
The tank was filled but left at the gas station.
The tank fell out of the truck.

If it was me, I’d probably think the first two were the most obvious choices and the last was unlikely because it’s seems hard to imagine. I might act act on the first two theories and blame someone or myself for something that didn’t happen.

Every day in the workplace we come to a lot of conclusions even though they may be based on a small amount of data. Those decisions can be colored by our attitudes and experiences. But sometimes, the unlikely is the actual occurance.

The Flashing Light of Something New

Years ago, my mother and I went on a reconnaissance mission. We were in a department store to look at a new invention called a video cassette recorder. The idea of a VCR and its ability to let you watch and record programs on your schedule was quite revolutionary.

It was easy to become overwhelmed by the many features on these new machines. Even things like whether to have a corded or cordless remote control were major considerations.

At the time, we weren't there to buy but rather to learn more about the product. It's interesting that one of our biggest conclusions was about the LED clock on the machine. In the store, it was constantly blinking, "12:00." Today we know electronics with a clock blink before they are programmed with the correct time.

But we didn't know that in the 1980's. And upon leaving the store we both agreed that it would be best if we didn't buy a VCR with a clock that flashed, 12:00, constantly. I laugh thinking about, how of all the features, that was the one we were focused on.

Whenever you try something new, it comes with a series of expectations and conclusions. Don't be surprised if some of them turn out to wrong or easily fixed with the press of a button.

McDonalds Sips Into Success...

Recently, I opened a magazine and noticed a four page glossy advertisement from McDonalds. The interesting thing about the ad is that it had nothing to do with hamburgers, Big Macs, or fries. Instead the spread promoted the fast food chain's new speciality coffees.

In a lot of ways, it makes sense for McDonalds to aggressively pursue the coffee market. Some may want a cappuccino that falls below Starbuck's price point. McDonalds are also located all over the place (I've been told that if you're looking for a good location for a business, see where McDonalds is as that spot has been heavily researched.) so access is not a problem. And, the company already had a lot of fans of its traditional coffee (Except those who claimed in lawsuits that they were burned by the hot liquid but that's another story).

This will likely be a good example of a company extending its brand into new areas. As thing stand, I'm doubtful that it can generate much more revenue through just hamburger sales. So a company looks to see what other services it can deliver.

McDonalds has long tried to expand its product line and sometimes it hasn't worked out so well. Remember McPizza and the McDLT?

Widening a brand can be a risky proposition as is mentioned in the book, Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time. To find out more about the book, click here. I found it to be an enjoyable read. It's easy to see, in hindsight, how many bad product decisions were made. Of course the need for more market share has long seduced executives into going too far away from what they do well.

The Question of Time

Sometimes I'm asked about how I find the time to get everything done in my life. I do enjoy being busy and can juggle full time work with part time projects. I'm not sure if there's a secret to getting the most out of your time but I recently described it to a group in these terms:

Let's say you enjoy TV programs like American Idol. You like watching people chase their dreams, which can be fun. But are you more interested in watching someone else achieve their dreams, than in chasing your own? Maybe that answer help you prioritize your time.

I've found that the best time management practices often include a repurposing of "down time." In no way am I saying that you should stop enjoying TV and other sources of entertainment. But are you committing so much time to those programs that you're cheating yourself out of achieving your hopes and dreams?

It can be easy to fall into patterns where you pursue the comfortable and familiar and put off your goals until you, "get around to them."

To gauge an activity, ask these questions: Does it enrich me? Does it make me think? How will achieving my goal make me feel? Would it feel better than what I'm doing now?

The Unspoken Truth About a Cool Word

Mokita (pronounced moe-KEE-tah) is an interesting word from New Guinea. It refers to a truth that everyone knows but nobody speaks of, especially in social situations.

The concept of unspoken truths is well known but we don't have a word like, mokita, in English. But perhaps we can take some inspiration from the word, especially when it comes to our shortcomings.

Whether it's a weight gain or a nasty habit like smoking, it's often not seen as being polite to criticize someone for this kind of problem. But it still exists and for some, the fact that you never hear about it, makes it not appear to be a problem. This isn't always a good consequence of polite society. So every once in a while, it might be a good idea to pay attention to the things you're not being told but may have a hunch, could be true.

Maybe it would be good to have an annual, Truth Day, where all shortcomings would be openly discussed. Of course on that day, I'll likely call in sick.

Missed Opportunity?

I receive an electronic newsletter from Disney World. I usually take a quick peak at it and then delete it. Today, I paid special attention to it. Like many, I've followed the news of the recent monorail crash at Disney World. For the latest on the investigation click here.

I was surprised that today's e-newsletter made no mention of the accident. Instead, adding President Obama to the Hall of Presidents was the main story. While I don't think an organization should flaunt its bad news, I think the usually PR savvy Disney missed an opportunity to discuss the accident, let us know what's being done so it doesn't happen again, and remind us that they have a very good safety record. After all, I'm a subscriber to their newsletter. I'm a friend and I want to know what's happening.

Too often organizations shy away from bad news and hope the problem goes away. An excellent example of doing it the right way happened years ago in the way Johnson and Johnson handled the poisoning of its Tylenol pain medication. While it was scary for consumers to think that a trusted brand might contain cyanide, J&J addressed those concerns by removing every box of Tylenol from the shelves, told people that their safety was the number one concern, and redesigned the product and its packaging so that similar tampering could not happen again.

With proper planning, a bad situation can be handled in a manner that can actually make your organization look better to the public.

The Taboo Topics...

Have you ever been told to avoid talking about politics or religion with people? While I understand the idea behind these instructions, politics and religion are actually topics where you could have some pretty good conversations. So is the problem the topics or that fact that a lot of us aren't very good at talking?

Somewhere along the line, we may have lost the concept behind an open minded discussion. Instead, a conversation is more like a battle where your goal is to verbally smash your opponent into submission. Whatever happened to the idea of having a discussion where you may ultimately, agree to disagree?

Exposure to new ideas can be a very healthy thing. Remember at one point in time, it was thought that Earth was flat and was the center of the universe. I find it interesting at a time when the world is more connected than ever, some are more isolated from the ideas that come from it.

Why I Tune Out the Radio

It's rare that I ever drive in silence but I find that less and less am I listening to the radio. Instead, I'm tuned in to my iPod or books on CD. Besides having more control over what I listen to, I've found the choice also keeps away from some of radio's big problems:

Too many commercials. I'm not just talking about the commercial breaks but the commercials that are inserted into the programing and segments. It's not just, "This segment is brought to you by Subway," but instead, "This hot topic is brought to you by Subway where every day you can eat fresh...." To paraphrase a famous quote about hockey: I turned on some commercials and heard a little radio. Or sometimes, stations will say, "We'll get to the news in one minute," and that minute is filled with commercials. I guess the idea is that a minute is amount of time that people will wait for something.

Too much repetition. One station in my area replays its morning drive program during the evening rush hour. Some will also replay the program in a "best of the week" version on the weekends. Sure it may save the station money but with so much repetition, is management giving people an excuse not to listen if they've heard it before.

Nothing new: The morning zoo format has been around for a while. In many cases, every station starts to sound a bit like another. You have your pranks/stunts, celebrity gossip news, and discussion about the differences between men and women. There's very little spontaneity or originality. Any type of community news or involvement is usually relegated to Sunday morning at 5 a.m.


With the economic slowdown, I don't see things getting much better for radio. In a way, I feel as if I've lost a longtime travel companion in my car. A long time ago, I spun records (yes, those things) at a college radio station. But like a disc being played too fast, radio just seems out of tune.