Tesar-Reynes

In the last week I have talked to a couple presidents at different marketing services providers. When I asked them if things are better, they all responded pretty much the same way:

• “The free fall is over and clients are thinking about spending money. Money in the sense of “you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” In other words, if I spend it now in an opportunistic manner it is gone; if I wait, something better or worse may help me make the right decision.
• A number of clients are sitting on no inventory so they have lived off the fat of product already produced and paid for. To make more will be at an incrementally higher cost of goods.
• There is no such thing as a long-term plan. The clients seem to want windows of commitment that are only …
  
  [ More ] February 5th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Tough Times |

Roland brings up a good point about sleep on his last post. I used to be terrified about not getting enough sleep. I had the perception that when I allowed myself to be overtired I couldn’t think right, I could put in real long hours and I was always getting sick. Invariably I would get into a cycle where I either couldn’t go to sleep or would awake at 1 or 2 am. I would then torque myself up to believe that I couldn’t go back to sleep……and that, of course, was self-fulfilling.

About 10 years ago I developed a new strategy. I figured out the minimum sleep I required to function at work the next day. It was 4.5 hours. I am an early riser, …

A recent article from the Huffington Post by Ph. D. Michael Gervais talks of the correlation between the high performance of Olympic athletes and sleep. I couldn’t help but think of thousands of us that hack it at a weekly 8-6+ and can never seem to get enough sleep in our lives. The four sleep strategies of elite athletes, which Mr. Gervais highlights in his article, apply to us just as much as they do a Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt.

1. Allow for pre-sleep readiness.
2. Be consistent with sleep patterns.
3. Clear your mind.
4. Account for jet-lag.

I’ll add one more to the list, which is:

5. Prepare for tomorrow at the end of today.

Rather than waking up in a panic, rushed mode in the …

We just got a job from a local agency and he needed help fast. Bob and I decided to post and tweet the position as well as do a search through the database. I was shocked by the number of ill-qualified responses! A couple of people were not even in advertising. On goes my judgment hat and I want to “correct” all the miscreants.

My suggestion for all of you who answer ads you are not qualified for is to stop. You are hurting yourself in more ways than you think. You are creating a self-fulfilling downward spiral. Here is the potential negative-feedback logic thread:

• I am a terrific employee for someone
• This is the start to my new life
• Getting a new job is my new job
• I need to get my resume out
• I will send a specific cover letter that shows …
  
  [ More ] January 20th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Getting a Job, Tough Times |

I got a call in the late summer from a guy I placed at a large company back east. He runs corporate communications and advertising. If I remember, the guy is in his mid-40’s and is a certifiable Type A. The conversation started with “I am going f’ing postal! You gotta minute?”

The gist of the explosion had to do with the fact that his three agencies were going in circles with non-relevant off-strategy creative. And the digital shop was the worst. I swallowed hard and asked if it had to do with bad direction. His next 16 sentences were not complimentary to me, my family or the company. His net-net was an entirely different observation: they seemed to keep reinventing the wheel. What was being presented to him either had failed before or was poorly thought out.

I asked him …

It’s never too late for New Year’s resolutions. Since Roland has written up and posted his, here are mine. No way getting around it; my psyche is ready for a better next couple of years. The last 2-3 have stank. (2009 in particular!)

1. Continue to work out. I have managed to get into the gym 3-5 times a week; don’t change it.

2. Lose some weight. Don’t talk about it, just do it.

3. Get back into spiritual reading. Going to church on Sunday is not my answer; continue to read about faith and other philosophies. I am pretty sure of the destination; I just don’t have the journey figured out.

4. Read more business books. Stay current with what others are thinking about business solutions. It is not necessary to agree with the author.

5. Plan the …