The Shakespeare of Advertising

Phineas Taylor Barnum, "master entrepreneur and colossal hoaxster ... credited with a genius for bunkum, hokum, hooey, hoopla and ballyhoo" is front and center in a "Circus and The City:  New York 1793 - 2010" exhibition.  In his  9/21/12 NYT article Glenn Collins cites LaVahn G. Hoh, a circus historian and professor of drama, with annointing  Barnum as "The Shakespeare of Advertising."

Certainly Barnum did not invent the circus, but he crafted a traveling model that lives to this day.  He knew to appeal to the whole family, showcased talents that came with the waves of immigrants, and debuted Jumbo the Elephant -- at 13-feet tall, he was billed as "the children's giant pet." 

One poster from 1875 has Barnum's portrait encircled by circus animals, with no other proclamation than three simple words:  "I Am Coming".  I think Barnum would have thrived on Twitter, but perhaps his most lasting legacy is to THINK BIG.

The Real Deal

Efforts to promote "Made in America" products have mixed results, but one skill that can't be outsourced is dance calling -- as in square dancing.  As part of an AmeriCorps oral history project, West Virginia old-timers are having their day.  Melena Ryzik's article, "Rediscovering A Town's Roots, Feet First" in the NYT highlights how dancing, fiddles and banjos are integral to mountain life.  (08/01/12)

In 1975 Gerald Milnes undertook a similar journey.  His book, Granny Will Your Dog Bite .. and Other Mountain Rhymes (see above photo) documents the oral tradition of story-telling and 'always actin' the fool.'  He was welcomed into hundreds of West Virginia homes, and shares that he felt priviliged to hear family tales.  One man played "a little bit of Sugar in My Coffee" and his wife said "When my mother was ninety years old, she got out of a sickbed to dance when he played that." (Published in 1990 by Knopf; illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root)

My dad was born in Hartwell, West Virgina in 1925, a coal mining town that no longer exists.  His family were poor Hungarian immigrants, and no doubt they mixed the mountain dances with their own csardas to keep their spirits up.

Kudos to The Mountain Dance Trail project for capturing how folks in this part of America created  art  to elevate their everyday struggles.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?

I'm betting most workers today do not remember the 1963 epic comedy, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, but its themes of greed, schemes and boorish behavior are timeless.  Today, anger management is not just a TV show; over 40% of American workers report feeling anger and irritability as a result of job stress. (Dr. David Ballard, head of the American Psychological Association's Psychologically Health Workplace program).

Our Canadian cousins are not faring any better.  Barbara Jaworski of the Workplace Instititute says "We do see bullying.  People feel very strongly when they're trying to get ahead.  Organizations need to look at their workplace culture."  (www.workplaceinstitute.org)  Over one-third of workers age 18-64 report being bullied, now or in the past.  (Workplace Bullying Insitute, Bellingham, Washington)

Respect, trust and adult-to-adult interactions are key elements of a healthy work environment.  With jobs being scarce and uncertain, and older workers giving up retirement plans, interactions are increasingly toxic.  Building a culture that acknowledges the power of a diverse workforce is an essential  leadership task in order for people to respect one another.  And age is just one dimension of workplace diversity.

My recent experience with a management development program says it is possible for us to all get along.  We recruited three people under 25, and three people over 55. They all had business degrees, but wildly different backgrounds.  They did not necessarily become best friends, but they shared a goal of learning, working hard, and forgoing the drama. 

For supervisors and managers, its important to not assume all is well -- ask them how its going, and unearth feelings of unfairness or frustration.  Then figure out how to help each person believe that strong performance will pay off.

Bye, Bye, Blackberry?

When my new, big job in a healthcare company came with a shiny  blackberry, I saw it as one more badge of honor.  It was 2008, and BlackBerry held 50% market share.   Well, that job flew away when the market crashed, and now it looks like my hi-tech status symbol is also tarnished.  In a Time magazine article by Sam Gustin (07/16/12), BlackBerry is held up as a cautionary tale about innovation that fell asleep.  In this analysis, there are 3 take-aways:  (1) They saw their client base as corporate, but consumers led the smart-phone revolution. (2)  Research in Motion lost its MoJo when it ignored the emergence of apps.  (3)  RIM held onto full keyboards too long, which did not fit with the entertainment nature of the devices.  Strategic failures shoved them out of the user's field of vision and the stock  has collapsed 90% since that June, 2008 peak.  I am happy to say my last four years have been more steady, so maybe I need to shed that last reminder of more promising days?

Find an "Undisclosed Location?"

Is being busy an addiction?  A way to avoid self-reflection? Something we sign up for without reading the list of possible side effects?  In his NYT article, "The Busy Trap", Tim Kreider suggests the answers to these questions is "yes." (07/01/12). 

Without scolding, Tim warns us about missing out on our lives.  As we frantically over-book our calendars, we fail to nuture friendships and favor screen savers over savoring the natural world around us.  This hollow effort to avoid anxiety comes at our own peril:  Idleness is as "indispensable to the brain as Vitamin D is to the body."  It invites inspiration, and daydreaming renews our souls. 

I recently read that some researchers think nightmares are the body's way of waking us up because we are not supplying sufficient air to the brain - often due to sleep apnea.  Soldiers are getting sleep kits to help them get much-needed rest when 'in country', to increase their chances of coming home again.  And it is thought that day dreaming can help rewire repititive flashbacks and PTSS nightmares.

Can YOU find an 'undisclosed location' to work from, even occassionally?  It is essential for workers, as well as warriors, to "unplug" -- and not just on vacation.