Bird's Eye View

I Guess I've Been Telling People Where I'm Jogging

There are totally cool maps someone has developed, tracing the running patterns of joggers in a number of major cities, like New York, London and elsewhere.  They track the compilation of data sent by the bracelets (like FitBit Force and Nike's FuelBand and the like) worn by joggers who use them to track the miles they pile up every day along with other exercise data.

Here I was thinking that I am pretty much just talking to myself when I go out for my morning run.  Wrong.  I'm actually telling the world where I am.  Well, not me individually, but me as part of the group of us who follow the same path.  The map tracking for Manhattan shows almost no trace of people running around the Reservoir in Central Park.  In fact, most of the data tracery is in lower Manhattan, from Wall Street up to the 20's streets.  Why is that, you may ask?  Certainly there are lots of people like me running around the reservoir daily.  But I guess most of them aren't wearing data tracking bracelets like I do.  (I LOVE knowing when I've hit that 10,000 steps a day mark!)

Does this mean the runners in Lower Manhattan are just hipper, that they wouldn't be seen outside their home without their FitBit or FuelBand?  Or maybe they're younger and older people tend not to wear these things around their wrists?  Whatever the reason, I feel compelled to view this as some sort of contest and want to do some cheerleading for the Upper East and West Siders who are running the reservoir with me.  "Get a tracking bracelet, Guys!  We need to get our numbers up and beat the Downtowners!"

 

Is it Too Painful to Talk About the USPS?

Oh, gosh. I want to love my United States Post Office. At one point in my life, growing up in a town in Wisconsin, I remember going to the PO with my Dad, waiting in line, seeing all the special stamps the guy at the window had at his disposal to make it clear to the world that this was SPECIAL DELIVERY or that it was FRAGILE.

But oh, dear, it is not my father's post office anymore. Actually it appears to be just about nobody's post office these days.  I know they are trying to pull themselves up to today's date from their troubled past as a badly run enterprise.

At one point in the last decade the USPS was a client of mine.  We were doing a special program for small business owners and the USPS was a delight to work with.  They were good people, meant well, and they did what they said they would do and generally do it on time.  But the wheels moved ever so slowly on decision making to put a program into play.

The piece I got in today's mail made me almost cry.  It is addressed to me "OR BUSINESS OWNER" at this address.  And it says on the package "Don't go to the Post Office...We'll bring it to you."  Inside the package (lots and lots of text to wade through on this package) is a special offer to try stamps.com for four weeks with NO RISK and NO UPFRONT COSTS.  And they'll give me FREE POSTAGE to use during this trial.  It is all explained on the CD-ROM that is included in the package.

C'mon, Guys.  Are you serious?  A CD-ROM?  No one uses a CD-ROM these days.  I have a feeling this idea to reach small business owners was hatched several years ago and although it was a good idea--maybe--then, it took so darn long to make the decision to go ahead, and then to make the CD-ROMS and agree on the language of the packaging and all the other assorted decisions that get made for something like this (are you exhausted yet?), time literally passed them by.  So lots of people are throwing this CD-ROM in the trash basket today.  It is already out of date and their intended market will assume that whatever this new promotion is must be out of date, too.

It's just too painful to talk about this.  My old USPS is no more.  But it appears not to have been replaced by anything useful..

In New York, Talk About Making Eye Contact

Have you heard about JR's huge eye at the New York City Ballet?  JR is the French former street artist who has gained global fame for his imaginative and provocative installations all over the world, many of them intended to awaken people to the plight of the poor and the otherwise unseen and unheard.

I was fascinated by JR when he spoke at TED a while ago and knew that we would be hearing from him often...and that whatever he did would incite talk.

This latest installation is no exception.  It occupies the entire 6500 square feet of floor in the promenade on the first floor of the David Koch Theater which houses the New York City Ballet.  When you ascend to the fourth ring of the theatre and look down at the installation, you see that it is indeed a giant eye, of which the center is actually life size photos of New York City Ballet dancers. 

What's great fun is that when people walk into the promenade area, they at first tread carefully, not sure whether they should actually walk on it.  Soon, though, they are lying down next to one or more of the dancers and having their pictures taken. 

It is certainly a way to get people to see classical ballet-and the people who make their living dancing it--in a new fresh way.   And it has everyone who see it spreading the experience by word of mouth.

Here is the NYTimes article, with a video of it as well.

 

Richard Dreyfuss Teaches How to Have a New Conversation...With Yourself

Richard Dreyfuss spent 40 years in Hollywood, many of them as one of its biggest stars.  He received an Oscar for his performance in The Goodbye Girl and was nominated for another for his role in Mr. Holland's Opus.And there are many, many other acting credits to his name,including Jaws.

And then, four years ago, he pretty much chucked it all and went in a new direction: he enrolled at Oxford University to pursue his pet interest, which is the teaching of Civics to young people.  He has strong views on the importance of loyalty to one's country, from which--he says--all else follows. 

It's inspirational to hear him tell his life story thus far; many others with careers like his continue to coast on their laurels and continue to show up at the Academy Awards. 

Ultimately it is all about the conversation each of us has going on in our head continuously.  His inner voice apparently was loud and clear about the opportunity to make a further contribution in his lifetime, beyond making movies.  And he listened, which is why he ended up at Oxford.

Of course, we all have conversations going on in our heads, many of which we ignore and rightly so.  But each of us knows that there are some conversations we need to take more seriously if we want to make the kind of contribution that comes only from engaging in something bigger than we are.  Something that can impact others.  Something that can live beyond us.

Richard Dreyfuss is determined to make an impact on the way young Americans feel about their Nation and return a sense of pride and loyalty to their citizenship.

Bravo, Richard Dreyfuss.

Inner Circle London Hosted by Bloomberg

Last week's Inner Circle in London was a terrific interactive conversation among a group of people with lots to say--just the way I like it!

Our host was Craig Welch, who heads Bloomberg's marketing for the EMEA areas of the world, i.e. Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  Craig is a wonderfully reflective thinker with  global perspective and he always brings lots of expertise and wisdom to the table.

One of the comments to come out of the discussion was a reference by one participant to the "Poverty of Aspiration," meaning the lack of ambition, the lack of interest in improving one's self or one's position in life, on the part of many people around the world, especially a certain segment of millennials frustrated by the perception (and they are probably right) that for the first time in decades, they will have an adult life in which their age group is less well off than their parents.  In some people, this sets in motion a drive to succeed; in others, it builds a kind of reluctant, angry acceptance that things just won't get better.

This poverty of aspiration is found in countries around the globe, it appears, but much less so in some than others.  Good education appears to be at the core of the possible cure for this malady.  Many feel, though, that our public school systems, especially in America and other Western countries, are falling behind their earlier achievements.  Not so in Finland and other Scandinavian countries, where education seems to be at its best, and is available to everyone, rich or poor.  And in China, the aspirational level among the young is palpable.

Is there a kind of poverty of aspiration in your community?  Where is it most apparent and what is being done about it?  What could you do to help? 

Say it Isn't So, Governor Christie!

Of course, he will say it isn't so.  He has already done so.  Adamantly.  Angrily.  Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, a front runner for Republican efforts to regain the White House, has filled his conversation with loud denials of responsibility for the now infamous traffic jam on the George Washington bridge approach near Fort Lee, New Jersey last September.

The truth is now known about the four day traffic mess that caused school kids to be delayed several hours from their first days of school, emergency medical patients to be delayed getting to hospitals, and all other motorists using that thoroughfare to be terribly inconvenienced.  For four days.  Turns out it was all staged on purpose by aides to Christie who wanted to teach a lesson to the mayor of Fort Lee who they incorrectly referred to in emails as "that little Serbian" (he is Croation).  He is Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, their target as punishment for his not having paid tribute--as he was pressured to do--to Chris Christie in Christie's campaign for reelection as Governor.  Apparently, the pressure was part of Christie's campaign plan to get all local Democratic officials to endorse Christie so they could pitch to national Republicans the picture of Christie's bi-partisan support, which would in turn put Christie in positive light for eventual presidential nomination.

Jeez, I know politics can be a dirty business, but really?  The person behind the traffic scheme is apparently Christie's Deputy Chief of Staff, Bridget Anne Kelly.  It was her plan to snarl traffic big time to make the Fort Lee mayor look bad.  She has spent most of her career in New Jersey politics and close aide to the Governor for the past three years. And she is the one who wrote the initial email to a high ranking Christie appointee at the Port Authority which controls the George Washington Bridge. Her email said "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."  Apparently that is all it took to set in motion a massively inconvenient, even dangerous, plan to embarrass Sokolich.

Here's what I'm askin': what else has she done in that capacity to stir up trouble for those not in love with the Governor?

That's another conversation, apparently.  We've got our hands full just sorting this one out.  But most of all, I'm, interested in the conversations that go on between CHristie and his aides that they would even think this kind of thing is a smart thing to do.  Christie may deny his involvement in this scheme, but if you believe as I do that the leader sets the tone at the top, he can't talk his way out of this one.

New Yorkers Have a New (at Least Temporarily) Form of Goodby

Many New Yorkers pride themselves on being efficient, even when it comes to casual conversation on the street. So "How's it going?" and "See ya" are common ways to acknowledge someone you know and to say goodby...quickly.

But during this cold spell (we're talking serious cold, but you've no doubt already being made aware of it through the media hype) the way many people--even total strangers--say goodby is to say "Stay warm..."

And the "stay warm" comment is said, well, warmly, affectionately.  It's a kind of "we're all in this together" kind of acknowledgement.  I've enjoyed these few days, seeing people bundled up in often creative fashion with layers of whatever clothing--or sometimes bedding--they have on hand to wrap around themselves.

Best of all, though, is that "stay warm" comment from the most unlikely sources, including the concierge in our office building who usually has nothing to say.  How ironic: the cold New York weather has thawed him out!

Chatting With My Friends at the USPost Office

It was one day last week, the day after the snowstorm here in Manhattan.  It was a workday and after I came to the office I remembered i had promised to mail a package to my son in Milwaukee.  So I called the nearby post office to check on their working hours.

The woman who answered the phone did not identify that I had reached the post office.  Instead, she simply said "Hello?"rather loudly and in a manner than seemed irritated someone had called.  "Hi," I said.  "Can you tell me when you'll be open today?" She replied, "Who IS this?" in an angry voice so I gave her my name and paused, after which she said--sounding even more irritated--"Is this a CUSTOMER?"  "Yes, I said, are you open for business?"

"I don't know yet," she said.  There are only two of us here and we're waiting to find out from our manager whether we're working today or not.  Why don't you call back in an hour?"

I did manage to mail my package that day, at that post office.  Apparently the manager, whoever he or she is, decided that they should indeed work that day.

Customer service at its very best, don't you think?  A far cry from the WestJet story of yesterday's blog.

Ah, well.  Our US postal service has lots of problems and I guess customer service is one of the casualties of an organization where there is little optimism about the future.  And what a shame.  It wasn't that many years ago when--with the advent of email--the postal service could have reinvented itself and monopolized the online messaging business.

But that's another conversation.

WestJet Jumpstarts a Terrific Conversation

My new friend Charlie Melvoin told me this morning about the amazing triumph WestJet pulled that thrilled a planeload of Christmas travelers and then--thanks to the video of the incident going viral--took the story global. 

There are loads of things to love about this story: WestJet got the idea to give every traveler on a Christmas flight their Christmas wish.  To do that, they set up a video in the airport lounge in Toronto with which its passengers could interact.  When they scanned their boarding pass across the screen, Santa talked to them--by name.  Imagine Santa on the screen saying "Ho, ho, ho, Bobby...and what would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?"  Santa asked that question not only of the kids but the adults, too.  So people said things like "socks and underwear," Thomas the train," "A widescreen TV," "an Android tablet," whatever came to their mind. 

As those passengers boarded the plane, their Christmas wishes were relayed to WestJet employees waiting in the destination city, Hamilton , Ontario who then raced to BestBuy, a partner in this wonderful scheme.  The employees bought the gifts (whether socks, underwear or widescreen tvs, Santa knows the stuff on his list, right?) then wrapped them up and attached the names of the passengers to the gifts.   As the passengers disembarked they were told to wait at baggage claim for a Christmas surprise.  Suddenly the wrapped gifts showed up--tagged with each passenger's name--and tumbled onto the baggage conveyor belt.  The employees in blue Santa hats watched with wonder and delight as people went crazy with the thrill of getting a gift from Santa...the very thing for which they had asked.

People were in tears--so was I just watching the video--and you can imagine the conversations that took place at each of the Christmas dinners they enjoyed with their families.  Now that the video has gone viral, WestJet finds that everyone is in love with them.  And everyone is talking about it.  Our Wf360 intern Naoki Doi, from Tokyo, has sent the link to all his friends in Japan, for example.

This act can't be copied...it's a one time deal.  But methinks the WestJet people know how to keep this conversation going for quite a while.  Bravo, WestJet.

Here's the video: 

Wisconsin Uses Cheese on its Icy Roads!

The Cheeseheads of Wisconsin are so smart.  Despite what you may think when you see them wearing those ridiculous foam hats of cheese, the Dairy State boys and girls are using their heads to save money on de-icing their roads.

What better way to make use of the leftover brine from the 2.7 billion pounds of cheese produced each year in Wisconsin (yep, you heard that right...2.7 billion) than to repurpose the cheese brine that would otherwise be thrown away?  That's what they are doing, and it turns out mozzarella works best.

A recent article from the New York Times explains it all, and you can read that here.  Meanwhile, though, when you think of Wisconsin, move beyond thoughts of the Green Bay Packers and think icy roads and cheese.  And the fact that Wisconsin's can-do Midwestern smarts are saving the state money while calling attention to the Dairy state's thriving cheese production. 

Moo.