May 20, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!
Yeah, I've been seriously MIA for a whiiiile. I've got many irons in many fires....more on that later......meanwhile, back at the ranch....
Yes, I know my friends love me...because they abuse me so......
...anyway - spread love...and holla back at the Birthday Girl (er, given the black balloons, I guess I mean woman) ;)
Posted by saga_30311 at 12:37 PM | Comments (1) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
May 09, 2008
Olbermann Wonders If It Is Time For Clinton To Support Obama
Sorry for being MIA - it's been a busy week.....
...and in the meantime, I <3 Keith Olbermann.
I don't know what else it's going to take to wrap up the Democratic nomination, and move on to the fight between Obama (the Democratic Front Runner) and McCain. It's time.
Posted by saga_30311 at 04:43 PM | Comments (0) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
April 30, 2008
Marketing 102 - Branding Yo Dayum Self
I gave the introduction to this a long time ago - if you missed it, go read Marketing (ya dayum self) 101: the intro.
I alluded to discussing my volunteer work in more detail - again, I'll recount my volunteer project in another post. I really wanted to share some things I learned the other day as part of one of my volunteer activities for Dress for Success.
As part of a professional women's group seminar, Cheryl Scales, of DSG Solutions Group and Magnificent Women shared her presentation on "The Power of Personal Branding". Her background's in corporate marketing – she was an Associate Director at Proctor and Gamble & Marketing Director at Delta Air Lines, Princeton Grad, etc. But now she does motivational speaking, has been on ABC's American Inventor, she's a Personal Branding Guru, proponent of entrepreneurship etc – see her website at http://www.cherylscales.com/.
Her presentation focused on creating your personal brand, and using it in whichever environment/forum you choose (corporate to climb the ladder, or entrepreneurship to start/promote your business).
So – I wanted to share the key points I got out of her presentation, as well as from Tarona and Dina of DonationNation08 (blogged about them on Monday). Their keypoints:
- Create a personal board:: that's from Tarona & Dina. The personal board is your own "board of directors" – as simple as a group of friends that you share your ideas/vision with, who helps motivate you, keep you on task, inspire you with ideas, or provide networking opportunities – they provide "governance" over you reaching the positive goals you set in your life – whether it's career, life, job, start-up business, educational – or relationships with your husband and children. The idea is to check-in regularly, and to follow/follow-up on the things that you really identify as important.
- Creating your own brand statement:: this is your PERSONAL ELEVATOR PITCH. That's from Cheryl – and it's the "Overview" section of your resume that you submit everytime you meet someone/anyone. And it's about the pitch that gets you where you ultimately want to be – not where you are right now, or where you've been previously. Her example was from P&G, when she was a field marketing rep, and she met Ed Artzt (former P&G CEO) at their equivalent of management conference. She said her pitch was "Hi, my name is Cheryl Scales – and I wanted to shake my hand and introduce myself and just tell you up front that very soon you're going to know me very well." Four years later, he introduced her at their management conference, as the leading global sales representative for P&G. And he remembered that conversation.
- Promoting your personal brand:: As I mentioned – I really like the blogging-videotaping-distributing your own press releases ideas from Tarona & Dina. The tie-in's from Cheryl, and that's to register your name – your god-given government name, the one you'll use to promote your business, etc – as a website, and use that as a promotional tool. It can be as simple as creating 1-2 pages, that's your bio, or whatever you're doing right now, or what you'd like to do, etc. Or, blog about whatever's important to you. The important thing is that when your 15 minutes of fame comes along, whether you're famous or infamous – your bio is already there. You've already created a certain amount of "buzz" – you've already put out the "image" that you want to project to the world. And I've learned via blogging – you'll get the most obscure visitors – and some surprises. I've gotten emails from some people I'm a real fan of, like – Trisha R. Thomas, the author of 'Nappily Ever After', and Lynne D. Johnson (who is my mentor & namesake, even though I don't think I've ever told her that *blushes*). I've also gotten tons of page hits off of crazy topics like Buffie the Body, Brian Nichols and political topics. The point is....that site will gain interest, with little effort on your part.
- Staying true to your personal brand & vision:: I'm so guilty of this one – and it's so important. To truly identify with who you want to be, or what you want to do – you have to stop identifying with your immediacy. Which means – I'm the owner/developer/designer or New Saga, LLC and http://www.sagaciously.net – and NOT a web developer for theCorporateGig, Inc. Which means, only the New Saga, LLC business cards EVER get distributed, I only TALK about New Saga, LLC, and only promote those things which help me make New Saga (and me) more money. Nothing comes before that. EVER.
- Volunteering/Networking for fun & profit & non-profit:: I honestly joined DFS so I could ultimately pledge Delta, and that was so I could get a new corporate gig. HONESTLY. But you know, when people talk about God "ordering their steps" – that's my testimony. He really does it when I least expect it. I exchanged cards with quite a few people this weekend during my volunteer activities – the ones mentioned above, along with some other folks I met at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, etc. Now – even if NOTHING ELSE COMES OF THAT EXCHANGE – I can honestly say I already got more out of joining DFS than I've put in. I can't wait until the next event.
Ok, I'm off to talk to my "personal board". Handle yours.
Posted by saga_30311 at 09:50 AM | Comments (1) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
Obama Outraged by Rev. Wright
And this is a surprise?
I may be the dissenting voice in the Black Blogosphere, but not only am I not surprised and not disappointed - I can honestly say I expected this a couple of weeks ago.
I know a lot of people think Obama left Rev. Wright out to dry. Eh. They're grown, they're both in familiar waters, and they both have very different agendas. But this - this is politics.
We know Billary wouldn't just leave their friend hanging - they'd make his plane crash, yanno?
I may be jaded, but I'm trying to keep the bigger goal in mind. In my circle of colleagues, coworkers, friends, church members and listening audiences (Steve Harvey, Michael Baisden, Al Sharpton, Warren Ballentine and other talk radio listeners) - we agree with Wright....but what Rev. Wright said is Wright's (and a whole lotta other folks') battle. Obama has his own battle at the forefront now...and that is as it should be.
As Don Frederick of the LA Times said: "Obama really had no choice but to take this step.....And, more importantly, to what degree will the Wright controversy, given Obama's link to him, undercut his presidential bid?"
I hope this allows the campaign and conversations regarding the campaign, to return to the issues, and what's important for this country. The jaded in me has other thoughts....and I'm refusing to entertain them right now.
Posted by saga_30311 at 08:41 AM | Comments (0) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
April 29, 2008
DonationNation - the volunteer tour of America
Sorry for being MIA - I've been busy volunteering. I'll tell you more about the organizations I volunteer with in another post.
But I did want to shout out Tarona L. Lee and Dina R. D'Alessandro from DonationNation08: http://donationnation08.blogspot.com/
They stopped by Dress for Success Atlanta, one of the organizations I volunteer with, to learn a lil bit about what we do, and share their story. It was their first stop in their tour of volunteer organizations across the US, and they had such a neat idea about their tour, that I wanted to share it. Their mission:
Our mission is to gather and document information from people across the United States who are donating their time to help and create local organizations in their community as well as the people who reap the benefits. By volunteering our assistance to non-profit organizations, interviewing the employees and recipients, and offering random acts of kindness, we intend to gain a complete understanding of the charitable efforts taking place throughout the United States of America.
This is just cool IMHO, because a lot of organizations need all the word-of-mouth they can get, and it gives the nation a chance to see what a lot of organizations do, and their community impact. I'm looking forward to pics and video ;)
Posted by saga_30311 at 03:19 PM | Comments (1) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
April 23, 2008
NY Times to Hilary Clinton: "The Low Road to Victory"
or what should be more aptly subtitled: "Time to Call Off the Dogs".The article can be found here: Low Road to Victory. Excerpt below:
The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.
Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.
my thoughts:: the thought has occurred to me repeatedly in the last few weeks, that if Clinton wins the Democratic Nomination - I'd rather throw away my vote by abstaining, or voting for an independent candidate, than support what's going on in the Democratic party right now. However, I definitely don't want to inadvertently support McCain in the process. But as the article states, I'm tired of the negativity, and unhappy about the direction the campaign has taken in the last few weeks.
The bright shining light of hope that seemed to color the campaign late in 2007 and early 2008 has turned into mudslinging, and everyone's getting dirty. It's time to clean things up, and stop providing fuel for the Republican general election fire.
Posted by saga_30311 at 08:39 AM | Comments (0) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
April 22, 2008
the belt is slowly tightening....
I noticed it a couple of weeks ago, when some hot coffee I was carrying back to my desk burned my hand.As I continued pulling the cup out of the coffee machine, while I looked around for a lid...
my coworker glibly responded:: they're all gone, and I don't think the vendor's coming back for a coupla days. I did the same thing. The cups are smaller.
me: wha?coworker:: You burned your hand, right? Yeah - I did the same thing. They replaced the large cups with a cup slightly smaller, I guess to save money. Problem is - they didn't reset the machine - so it's dispensing the same amount of coffee.
So I looked, and yes - the cup is about 2oz. smaller - so that the coffee spilled over. By the time the vendor came in with the lids, the machine was properly reset, and our 16 oz cup is now 14. Nice.
this isn't how it begins:: but this is how we begin to notice the inevitable tightening belt. With smaller cup sizes, and a lack of free feminine hygiene products in our bathrooms. And removal of the lotion dispensers in our fitness center. And smaller, thinner napkins and toilet paper in our restrooms. Yes, I know those are all wonderfully expensive amenities that I shouldn't necessarily expect. But these are all signs, of a much bigger, more pervasive economic reality. Companies are going to cut costs by any means necessary.
Don't get it twisted. I work for a very large multinational company, that has been in the Fortune 500, longer than the Fortune 500 has actually existed. And while the profits decline for the top US companies in the Fortune 500 list, $10-Trillion dollars is nothing to sneeze at. These companies are making money hand over foot. And yes, fuel prices are killing mid size companies, who either have to pass those costs on to consumer - or bear them and face financial insolvency. But big a$$ companies like mine keep reserves, and invest in fuel futures, and foreign currencies - to offset fuel price fluctuations. So the problem isn't just that fuel prices are rising, and the problem won't be resolved if fuel prices drop.
I told y'all a long time ago:
Greed isn't just good. Greed is inevitable
Global economic growth is predicted to slow (what with the cost of capital)...but it's not decreasing. It's decelerating. And there's a definitive shift away from the declining US dollar, to more attractive markets and currencies (emerging economies, anyone). So large multinationals are doing what they gotta do, to ensure that shareholder value is preserved. What is it about again class?
Profit.
Net Income (Profits) = Sales - Cost of Goods/Services. Simple math....if you decrease the cost of goods/services, you can increase profits. EVEN IF SALES DECREASE, you can still increase/maintain profits by cutting costs MORE than the sales decrease.
Hence my lil a$$ cup o' joe. And the missing tampons. And some marginally necessary positions at my organization not being refilled. And contractors being laid off. And changes to my company's retirement plan. And increases in my out-of-pocket health care costs.
fire sale:: I'm having a yard sale at my house, within the next few weeks. Whatever is at my house that I'm not currently using will either be in my front yard, or on eBay. Expect a whole lotta wonderfully cheap, new/slightly used plus size fashions, Nine West/Via Spiga shoes, decor from Pier 1, Crate and Barrel, West Elm and Target, and random stuff (manual treadmill, other fitness equipment, and lots of random "stuff" that needs to go). I need to simplify - and replenish my savings account. F*ck an economic stimulus package. Stakes is high.
The lil a$$ cup o' joe isn't the big problem here, it's a symptom of a much bigger problem. What happens when my job becomes one of those marginally necessary positions?
Posted by saga_30311 at 09:17 AM | Comments (0) Save This Page | TrackBack (0)
