Change perspective on luxury

Take Vanity Tags to a Whole New Level
By MARGARET COKER
July 1, 2008; Page A1

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- With oil near record highs, the Persian Gulf is awash in cash, stimulating a return to some very conspicuous consumption.

Ferrari S.p.A. says sales in the Middle East leapt 32% last year. BMW Group's Rolls-Royce Motor Cars says the UAE, a country with a population of just 4.6 million, is now one of its top five global markets. All those expensive cars clogging the roads have given rise to another must-have status symbol: a prestigious license-plate number.
Managing Director Abdullah Al-Mannaei displays license plate number '1,' which sold for $14 million.

"Everyone has a nice watch, a nice car," says Abdullah Al-Mannaei, organizer of the city government's monthly auction of desirable numbers. "It's not enough to just have a Ferrari anymore."

Hundreds of men in starched robes descend on an opulent hotel here to vie for the most distinguished digits. Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi businessman Saeed Khouri made headlines and the Guinness Book of World Records when he paid $14 million for the tag simply sporting a "1." (The auction can be viewed on YouTube.) His cousin, stockbroker Talal Khouri, paid $9 million for "5" -- the second-largest sum ever paid for a license plate.



Thought this was a good dose of change perspective. When an entire city is filled with people who ALL have the usually signs of luxury (watch, car, housing) what becomes valuable? It goes to show how everyone wants to stand out and be an individual, even in a place where everyone is just like you. What's next? Luxury toaster ovens?

Green or Jaded?

The comment box was too small for my opinion on this.

Q: Do I support Play Green?
A: I'm in the moderate zone and could be swayed either way quite frankly.

I am not crunchy. I enjoy meat and actually boycott veggies. I love my Jeep. HOWEVER, I am a support junkie. I am your loyal on- board person. I believe in those who believe. So seeing Patty (and others) so passionate about any ONE thing is awesome. We get so caught up on initiatives, we forget to finish what we start(we as in Play yes, but also the world) So, if this is something we as a whole can move forward on, I might trade in my plastic bags for some canvas ones. BUT we've got to be smart. To what extent are we green? Green enough to pay more for supplies? Green enough to monetarily reward those who practice the zen of greenness? Green enough to be hard on those who are not, internally and externally? Green enough to not take clients on because they are not as green as we are?

I need some fodder here. I am not green in my own right. Never even thought about it til I started here. But, I do see the value in it. It's like our internal discussion today about caring. I care about the environment, but I do not feel a call to action. Nope, too many others on my call list.

So how can we take people from care/interest to action/acceptance?
1) Make it easier, not harder. Taking away something (bottled water) without providing an easy substitute makes unwelcomed response. Maybe giving a choice is better. Set a pitcher of water and some citrus (woo Kelly) next to the bottles for a few months. Start a collection bin at your desk for used supplies and volunteer to donate them on behalf of Play to save teammates the time and energy. See what happens naturally. Then people are intrinsically motivated to do the "right" or "green" thing but not forced to. Positive vibes aboutnd.

2) Don't impose, inspire. People don't take respect,they earn it. I admire many people in this office. Do some green things and reep the warm fuzzies and maybe I'll adopt the same practice because I'm inspired.

3) Support others' inititatives. If you want to get people on baord, you've got to go the extra mile on what they believe in. Create a supportive environment. That's the cause part of Play right? Do we know the #1 cause of each person on this team? If everyone put a think card on their desk tomorrow with what they care about - St. Jude, Sustainability, the SPCA, their mom, Former Rockers at VCU unite, would we be surprised at who said what? What are we doing to nuture ALL of those causes and not just most vocal? Does the squeaky wheel get the grease on the cause front?


Okay, enough with my never ending rhetorical questions. That's just how I express it. I will support Play Green if:

it is for the right reasons (the majority of us prioritize that, not just 3 people in a given week)
we are given options for the level of green we want to be. Making the options easy and your own individual choice.
and lastly, if it will inspire others who believe in that cause to want to come to work even a hair more than they did the day before. For this reason and this reason alone, I will try my best to believe in you and what you believe in.


whew. go dukes. Comments welcome. Love to Patty.

Go Matty, it's your birthday....

Lovin these strategy blogs...gives the thoughtful observer the room to think in the world of speakers. Thanks for the prompts.

What differentiates us? Is it the experience? Is the results we deliver? Is it both? Are they mutually exclusive? What else is it?
We differentiate ourselves by the experience we can provide and the customization we can offer. Sometimes it feels like anyone who calls in can benefit from a little touch of us. Is this true/right? Should we focus on the groups that we can truly make a lasting impact on? We are a business that needs a bottom line, but as we grow could our differentiator be that we make sure our work maintains momentum in some way? Extreme: A follow up six months later or your money back?

If results, what are they - inspiration? energy? ideas (actionable ideas?) different thinking? new skills? answers to problems?
I think on the culture work there needs to be a check in later on...did it catch on? Did we make feasible recommendations that were appropriate for the current culture and industry to attain?
For strategy, actionable ideas. Did we give them the tools to come up with ideas on their own? Can we give them a process for carrying ideas out (or if we can't, pair them with someone on the back end who can?) We partner with people who compliment us on the front end well, but can we


What/how do we want to be differentiated?
We want to differentiate on the results aspect. I think we do, but we don't close the loop on capturing those results into a tangible, measureable form. WE know that we do good work, but we need to get more quantitative or ROI data to sell to repreat clients and to new ones. How many of our amazing ideas have led to $$$ or new products or even higher retention rates? Something our data driven clients can understand and sell us in on. Let's speak their language, not just ours.

How are we not differentiating ourselves? (Does it matter? If so, why?)
We are not living up to our thought leader reputation. We need to get our thoughts out there! Daily. Now. We have 19 great minds, why don't we put out a red paper every month on current business topics? Or at the very least, set the number of hours we actively spend on content development/market research so we can be transparent to the market and say hey yes, we DO spend time thinking about something other than other clients. We spend 10% of our day learning/LAMSTAIH/talking with CEOs so we are experts on what YOUR INDUSTRY.
Hey, the 10% thing made google famous. Think about it.

Why do organizations pay money and devote scarce resources to us? What do they trade-off to do so?
They pay money because we make a difference. We cause a stir. We change the direction. They call when the need us. They trade off resources allocated for depts like HR, training, sometimes technology, etc but I think it is quite worth it. It would be nice to know from our clients what % of the overall budget is allocated to services like ours.

Why do they "re-hire" us?
They rehire us because we have great people. We are polite, hospitable, accomodating, detail oriented, service driven, smart, and stylish while doing so. I think we (kudos to new biz and those disciplined coaches) do a good job of keeping up with past clients when they are in the hot contacts category and we are working on renewing older relationships.

Why do clients and partners refer us?
They refer us because we take care of something they need. On the CEO's to do list of "innovation", "make a big difference", "increase the bottom line", "manage people better" "lead the company to success"...we can take care of any and all of those in a way. They refer us to friends/acquaintences because they want to recommend a great partner to make themselves look good and help their fellow CEO out with a good partner.

Are these the answers we want to have in 3-5 years? If not, then what should they be and how do we create and lead to make happen?
I think these answers are good and will last. I do think we need to be more purposeful around talking about, researching, developing our thoughts/attitudes/reactions to cuurent business trends. We do have great fodder and learn from on site consulting about what our clients are feeling, but I think we could be more intentional around what Sara called the proactive approach. I think being in the consulting business is naturally reactive, but could we blend the two? How refreshing to hire someone who can cater to your needs and anticipate them also. Maybe we could pitch that as a differenitater and the follow up piece. FIrst we'll take care of your need then we anticipate the next one. (Let's clarify, we already do this but just cut the cake a different way to show this is what benefit they'll get from us).


What are we not asking that we should be asking?
What are our *agreed upon* priorities of differentiation? DO we want to tackle marketing then digital then etc etc? Our brand is the key to new business we want. Let's make our investments through the brand lens...time, money, resources, talent. Let's play.

Thanks for the memories

When I hear a song I like, I feel the need to play it over and over until I can't hear the beat in my head any longer. The song for me this morning is Fall Out Boy's "Thanks for the memories". Pair this with Andy's thanks for the sabbatical and the time he needed, and it will be playing from my computer all day. Let the good times roll they say.

Things that came to mind this morning: the leadership at Play, my role here, the new york office, and how our inspiration is contagious. First and foremost, our leadership. Note the word "our". Forgive the cheesy metaphor coming ahead, but I see the leadership of play like a jazz band. Matt, fittingly, keeps a steady beat. He listens to all the other pieces and keeps us marching on, switching his focus to different sounds needed to compliment the melody. We also tap our feet to the speed he gives us. Kara is the sax. She lets the melody flow in and out, quiet or loud, fast or slow, depending on whats going on with the rest. Andy scats. Not sings, scats. He waits for the inspiration to strike him and creates words (ideas) no one has every heard of. The music plays on, but the scat is what you hum three weeks later. It sticks with you. The rest of us has our own insturment, own style, and time to shine. We alternate who takes the lead, and listen for when we're needed up front. There's no prearranged music we've rehearsed, just beats and rhythms and a flow that somehow works. I listen to the drums, the sax, the scat, and the solos and make sure we all remember to hear the tune.

New York, New York. I bought some maps and guidebooks to the big apple yesterday for personal reasons, but am even more convinced after the slideshow that inspiration is everywhere. It's a part of us, and we need it just as much (if not more so) than our clients. I hear the murmur of the city from the team as a place that would make us grow. What was the office there like before? How would we make it different this go 'round? What lens would New York give us when working with clients and reframing our business. If Andy and Christine started in her bedroom with a few supplies from staples and grew a business, I think we are capable of doing it again with an office. Richmond will always be the anchor, but we need to reach out too.

And last but not least, it all comes back to inspiration. Look at more stuff. We look to each other too. When one of us has a chance to learn/explore/think/grow it comes back ten fold for the rest of us. The mood and thinking is elevated just that much more. If we can keep a constant refresh for at least someone on the team at all times (yes, ideally everyone) but being conscious of passing that torch instead of constantly looking to three or four people, then it will spread throughout our team. We share the initiative and philosophy of LAMSTAIH, so why not share the responsibility to each other also? Get inspired and be inspiring. Interested and interesting as Ben called it.


My two cents for now. More to come. Let's play.