In Honor of Independence Day

Blogging will be light over the holiday weekend. I will be contemplating the suchness of freedom, the honor of citizenship and the practical application of community stewardship in third millennium America.

I will also be celebrating my June bugs' birthdays (Jack is 14 and Ellen, 20) with barbecued pork steaks, manna-from-heaven baked beans and Aunt Lucy's Poppy Seed Cake.

To honor this most patriotic of holidays (although Memorial Day gives me goosebumps), here is a link to a collection of firework package artwork.

Like a lot of commercial art, this is a genre that has gone underappreciated for much too long. Artists have to eat, too, and have been lending their talent to commercial endeavors without many kudos. Appreciate away thanks to a heads up via BoingBoing.

Have a great holiday everyone.

Twinsumers

Trendwatching is onto something with enormous implications for marketing folks. It's what they call the "Twinsumer."

More and more, people aren't listening to traditional advertising because, frankly, they don't have to. They can get better info from people just like themselves. That's the key. People just like themselves.

In a nutshell:

. . . customers increasingly rely on purchasing advice from fellow consumers they don't personally know, yet who are eerily likeminded. It's yet another nail in the coffin of traditional marketing, if not an opportunity for forward thinking marketers.

It's yet another affirmation of the whole Clue Train-Hughtrain phenomenon.

What does a forward thinking marketer do? Find new ways to engage in conversations with real people. Be really, really good. The twinsumer phenomena will spot a phony a mile off.

The old approaches are still part of the mix, but the ground has shifted.

Stop Selling, Start Telling

I don't ever want to "sell" another thing as long as I live. Haven't we all been sold too much?

The hideously effective science of low-down, cyncial manipulation of human frailty is not quite dead yet. I was reading an article written by a direct response copywriter (whose anonymity I will protect out of hope for his future redemption), who claims that award-winning advertising does not, categorically, net results; that ads written by traditional ad agencies are generally untested and no one knows if they really work or not. He prefaced his comments with admiration for National Enquirer's winning combination of outrageous headlines and appeal to the lowest common denominator.

It's a common kind of reverse snobbery among direct marketing creatives that goes something like this: sure, the fancy big-agency creatives get the glory, dress in Prada, get the shiny awards and the attention, but what we do works and we can prove it. Like any of your better conceits, there's some truth to it. But there's more to the story.

Awards don't need to be bad for sales. I've worked at agencies, large and small, writing award-winning ads that worked brilliantly (with proven sales figures behind the claim). Others were just award-winning, maybe not so brilliant. I've also worked for dedicated direct marketing agencies, where every emotional thrum was calculated to its most minutely measured nuance. I've also managed to do award-winning, measurably-effective DM work of which I'm proud. Some of it? Not so proud.

A fairly well-kept secret among many traditional ad agencies and their clients is that what gets created "just feels right" to both parties with little empirical evidence for its efficacy. On the other hand, too much traditional direct marketing is unconcerned with delight, cleverness, wit, or anything that distracts from the sales pitch. I sound like I'm arguing against success, but stick with me. I'm arguing against cynical manipulation without regard to the greater good. I'm arguing against hard-sell arm twisting that preys on the vulnerabilities of the aged, poor, or gullible to sell a not-so-good product. Don't sell me because you can. Tell me how my life can be better.

It's wrong to know what works and know what's right and not have a match. With any God-given gift, it is up to each individual to use it wisely, and kindly. That leaves a big playing field with lots of fine choices to be made.

Cynical exploitation is being outed more often because there is much less hiding to be done. Electronica gets the truth out at record speed these days and any nastiness will inevitably seep through even the most carefully crafted p.r. job.

The real question is this. What stories do I want to spend my life telling? Who is making life better? Who works harder and better and with joy? Who truly cares? Whose passion shines through?

My passion is not to sell, but to tell passionate stories worthy of the breath and ink and life I put into them. Passionate commitment to the greater good doesn't involve "selling." It involves meaningful communication, telling stories, having conversations, and bringing something better to greater attention. Pandering manipulation in butt fugly. I'm looking forward to the day when the smarmy sensationalism of tabloid headlines is replaced with invitingly clear stories, told with wit, charm and spirit.

Read Clue Train. Read HughTrain. They represent some fairly insistent evidence of intelligent life within advertising and marketing. It's a hopeful time to be in the business. It had to happen, though. Some of the best, most creative people I've ever known are in some aspect of marketing. Life can only beat a good person down for so long before their innate goodness pushes back with a new way to think about things.

Good reasons not to blog

The people over at Red Couch have thought a lot about the ins and outs of blogging for business. They have some timely wisdom on why a company should choose not to blog. Among them,

• Blogs will fail in cultures that have a public-be-damned attitude, such as has been demonstrated by senior officials at all too many companies. The list is longer than the usually mentioned gangs at Tyco, WorldCom, Enron, Adelphia and their wily consultants.
• Cheesy companies, with cheesy products and disdain or contempt for their customers should not blog.
• Companies who disdain or mistreat their employees, such as diamond miners, rubber plantation owners or “employers” who tether children to workbenches.
• Companies who intend to victimize customers and supporters, such as fraudulent charities, Ponsi and pyramid schemers as well as con artists should not blog.
• Outfits whose stock in trade is secrecy.

It's an interesting article on many levels. By giving blogging its due as just another vehicle for communication, Red Couch is on the blog bandwagon. If your business can stand the light of day, blogging is as useful as the press release--maybe even moreso.

Steve Jobs

I talk a lot about passion. I just plain love it. Passion has driven all of the great successes of my life.

Steve Jobs recently gave a commencement address at Stanford in which he spoke of finding what you love. That's passion. It's a remarkable read I highly recommend.

We've all heard that everything happens for a reason, even our biggest failures and heartbreaks. Jobs talks about that, too. Here's a man who got fired from his own company and has come to realize it was a blessing.

Click through. It's really worth the read.

It's what you say, and how you say it.

Mary Engel of Strong Copywritingpointed out a great UK Guardian article about the wisdom of clever and playful writing in engaging customers. Too often, fear eliminates the very thing that would make marketing sing--and deliver spectacular results.

Ever wondered why there's so much awful advertising? That's why. Fear. Fear is the enemy of good things, pretty much across the board.

Finally, Empirical Wisdom Behind Conversational Writing

I've been finding Hugh MacLeod endlessly fascinating. Reading his blog is quite an education in the way the world is going. Today, I was reading January's archive and came across this little nugget of wisdom. The point is one I've made repeatedly, but the reasoning behind it is new to me, but eminently sensible.

Interesting stuff from Kathy at Headrush. Her day job includes writing books on brain behavior:

When you lecture or write using conversational language, your user's brain thinks it's in a REAL conversation!

In other words, if you use conversational language, the listener/reader's brain still thinks it has to hold up its end, so it pays more attention. It really is that simple, and that powerful (at least if you really want to help users pay attention and remember your message).

and

If you're using formal language in a lecture, learning book (or marketing message, for that matter), you're worrying about how people perceive YOU. If you're thinking only about the USERS, on the other hand, you're probably using more conversational language.

Which is why most marketingspeak is so utterly dreadful. Technically, it's trying to sell you something. Non-technically, it's telling you to go #@%& yourself.

There it is: scientific justification for having a human voice when telling stories about companies. This is a scary thing to so many and I've never really understood why. One of life's persistent questions.

More from Kathy from Headrush. This girl has got it going on.

If you want to create passionate users, spend time around passionate users.

Even better, spend time around others who are also trying to inspire passion in others. There's plenty of brain research that explains why you should surround yourself with passionate, energetic people and stay away from the, "This job would be great if it weren't for the frickin' USERS" people. If you want to be more creative, spend time around more creative people. Better problem solving? Spend time with those who spend more time looking for solutions than complaining about problems.

Tom and Katie, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, &tc.

Just trying to build traffic, folks.

Blogvertising

Hugh MacLeod has begun an interesting conversation on what he calls "blogvertising," which is what he calls his day job.

For blogs to be a successful marketing tool, they have to maintain a unique and engaging personal voice, honesty and enthusiasm. In a blog, a fake is easy to spot. For blogvertising to work, a marriage of kindred spirits would be essential. A writer without real affection for a company's corporate culture, industry and product wouldn't be able to sustain authentic enthusiasm over the long haul a blog represents.

I think I've just established a new criterion for new business focus. Could I blog for them?

Don't Pardon My French

I do enjoy a good bad word. Profanity, spoken with discretion, is a valuable addition to a well-rounded vocabulary.

Of course, cursing can be a substitute for a good vocabulary. We've all heard cretins with potty mouths. That's not what I'm talking about. These words lose their power if overused.

But in the hands of a master, cussing enhances language. For instance, a good tirade benefits from a bit of punchy profanity. And don't get me started on expletives! They can be so satisfying. And never underestimate the shock value of an unexpected vulgarity. The shock can elicit a laugh or pack a visceral emotional punch.

Before we had children, my husband used to string the most famous four together into a compound cuss word. Children will cramp ones vocabulary because no one likes to hear bad words from the mouths of babes, but in the hands of a responsible adult, the right bad word can be the best choice for accurate expression, which is language's function to begin with.

There is only one four-letter word I will not use, nor tolerate in my presence. It's a displeasure I share with every woman I know. It's a nasty word, with no redeeming social value, derogatory to women, serving no useful purpose. It's a verbal crime on the order of a racial slur.

All our words are built from the same 26 letters, so what makes some vulgar and others not? Virtually every "bad" word has an acceptable synonym, so it's not the concept that's taboo, but the word itself.

It's the victors who write history. They also define language. In the English language, this happened in 1066, when William the Conqueror crossed the English Channel and forever changed the course of world affairs.

Bob Parsons explains:

It really started when the early French invaded Britain.
In 1066, the Normans (a "more civilized" people who resided in Normandy – which is now France), led by William the Conqueror, invaded Saxony (which is now England). On October 14, 1066, the Saxons were defeated by the Normans at the battle of Hastings and the Normans eventually took control of the entire country.

It was no longer cool to speak Saxon.
The Saxons were considered by the Normans to be a vulgar, crude and uncouth people. As a result, speaking Saxon eventually became looked down upon, and in some cases was even deemed illegal. The Saxon terms for basic human functions and sexual acts were considered especially inappropriate and remain that way to this very day.

Bob notes that the Japanese, having never been conquered, don't have bad words. On the one hand, I think that's nice. In theory, all words should have equal opportunities. So while it's a nice idea, I wouldn't want to speak there.

I like my words to color outside the lines on occasion.

Save PBS and NPR! Not an Urban Legend!

For the love of all that is wholesome and pure, write your senators and urge them to save public broadcasting.

It's too late to tell your representatives--the bill has already passed the House--but there's time still to save the best programming anytime, anywhere. The brightest spot in all of media is threatened. Just say no.

More David Sedaris

Asked to change seats on an airplane, David Sedaris politely declines because he hates, I mean, he really hates the bulkhead seat. The woman who must be separated from her husband for the entire 90 minute flight is mightily insulted. She doesn't consider for a moment that David doesn't know what to do with his legs without a seat in front of him. If you've ever not known what to do with your legs, you can understand the quandary this request presented.

The woman with painted white toenails calls him a very impolite name. No, it was a very rude name. Being a naturally polite person, David doesn't respond in kind. He vents his frustration in the "across" and "down" of Saturday's New York Times crossword puzzle and contemplates how best to avenge himself.

It’s always so satisfying when you can twist someone’s hatred into guilt—make them realize that they were wrong, too quick to judge, too unwilling to look beyond their own petty concerns. The problem is that it works both ways. I’d taken this woman as the type who arrives late at a movie, then asks me to move behind the tallest person in the theatre so that she and her husband can sit together. Everyone has to suffer just because she’s sleeping with someone. But what if I was wrong? I pictured her in a dimly lit room, trembling before a portfolio of glowing X-rays. “I give you two weeks at the most,” the doctor says. “Why don’t you get your toenails done, buy yourself a nice pair of cutoffs, and spend some quality time with your husband. I hear the beaches of North Carolina are pretty nice this time of year.”

I looked at her then, and thought, No. If she’d had so much as a stomach ache, she would have mentioned it. Or would she? I kept telling myself that I was within my rights, but I knew it wasn’t working when I turned back to my puzzle and started listing the various reasons I was not an asshole

Forty across: “I give money to p—”

Forty-six down: “—ublic radio.”

See what a good person he is? He actually considers this woman may be terminally ill and not merely terminally rude. For Pete's sake, he gives to public radio, which I like in a guy.

A projectile lozenge incident proves what a hard worker karma is. David won't get to witness the sticky consequences, but as it says in the good book, "'Revenge is mine,' saith the Lord."

Sedaris, once again, delivers the goods in another fine New Yorker essay. Read the rest here.

Don't suck and get people to pay you for stuff.

How many trees have died for the cause of explaining how to succeed in business? Whole mountains of clear cut Ponderosa Pine no doubt. But it's all been boiled down to haiku by Paul Graham during an address to the Harvard Computer Society:

"I can think of several heuristics for generating ideas for startups, but most reduce to this: look at something people are trying to do, and figure out how to do it in a way that doesn't suck."

And there's more:

"And what I discovered was that business was no great mystery. It's not something like physics or medicine that requires extensive study. You just try to get people to pay you for stuff."

via Michael Pollack.

Remember, do business in a way that doesn't suck and try to get people to pay you for stuff.

The Pareto Law

The Pareto Law is one many know about. It's the notion that 20 percent of any given group accounts for 80 percent of the activity. This law has enormous implications for successful marketing. The key is to identify your 20 percent and proceed to court and spark.

Too much marketing is aimed at the masses, but think of the economies and efficacy of appealing to your Pareto 20. If you plumb that group for its characteristics, then you have a good idea who your most receptive target audience is. Once you know who you're talking to, you have a much better idea what to say.

It's a simply elegant marketing approach that works because it's based on a basic truth of human nature.

Daily Dancer

Need a bit of pure, unadulterated exuberance? Some unabashed joy? Spend a few minutes with Daily Dancer. He's got a gift, a vision, and a digital camcorder.

Success Rules--Bob Parsons

Bob Parsons has lost more money than most people ever make. He's also a serial entrepreneur with a net worth greater than the entire treasury of some countries, I'm sure. (Also notice he blogs--there really is something to this). When asked to speak at a business breakfast about what advice he would give someone just starting a business, he gave it some quality thought and developed the following list of rules by which he lives and succeeds. They are both concrete and philosophical, as encouraging as they are challenging.

Here are the 16 rules I try to live by:

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think. There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems. You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don't take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time."

The preceding excerpt is included with the permission of Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com) and is Copyright 2005 by Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.

50 Top Words of 2005

When you write for a living like I do, you had better like your words. I pay close attention to the latest breaking world word news.

Beyond that, this blog can help me fulfill a civic duty by keeping you, my loyal reader, up to date on the latest linquistic developments. To wit, let me introduce you to Cambridge Dictionaries Online's faithfully updated list of the 50 Top Words of 2005. These 50 words are the most often requested online during the year, the list constantly changing to reflect our dynamic language.

Number one is "advice." Imagine the legions of people confused about the difference between advice and advise? Advise is what you do, advice is what you give. One little letter can make a big difference, which I suspect is at the root of this word's popularity.

Number two is "liase." As in liason. Now I like to liase as well as the next person, but frankly, I'm a bit surprised at its popularity. I don't think I've ever heard that word in casual conversation. Then again, I've noticed an odd phenomenon. Once I've run into an unusual or new word, I begin to see and hear it everywhere. This recently happened to me with the word "bespoke." I'd never heard it before six months ago, and now I see it everywhere.

Number three is "effect." I'm glad to see people concerning themselves with this little word. There's an enormous difference between "effect" and "affect" that is too often the victim of confusion, an effect which affects too many.

Let me advise you with this bit of bespoke advice: liase as often as necessary with Cambridge and the like until its effect has affected you. (I'm so sorry, I put my tongue in my cheek and I can't get it out.)

The Future Is Here: AutoBlogger

Blogging can get to be a real drag. You know, every day, coming up with some new thing to keep the masses of faithful readers satisfied. Believe it or not, it takes a minute or two every day for me to come up with the clever bits of effluvia I share with you on a regular basis. That's a minute or two I don't get back. Not ever.

It's becoming quite a sacrifice on my part, so that's why I'm considering switching to AutoBlogger.

For a fee, AutoBlogger will scan your blog and assess the nature of your content and get a handle on your unique writing style. Then, when you (read I) don't feel like coming up with some clever bon mot for the aforementioned masses' edification and education, you (again, I) can just plug in AutoBlogger, and voila. A blog entry. Written as if by your (my, again) own pretty princess self (or prince, if you're estrogen challenged).

Click the link above to see a touching and seductively convincing streaming video commercial in the testimonial style. Look around the site a bit and you'll find testimonials from some of www's preeminent bloggers. It's made a believer of me.

I wish I could find an outfit that could do the same thing for writing copy. That can get pretty draining too, you know. Coming up with brilliant new ideas and translating them into actionable, memorable, endearing, enduring words. Frankly, it can wear a body out.

If I could submit my portfolio to (as yet non-existent) AutoCopywriter, I could get more work done without any of that tiring concepting, writing and editing and editing and editing. Isn't that the American way? I'd firmly place myself in the ranks of "Management" and leave behind even the slightest taint of "Labor." I like the sound of that. I mean, with the process entirely automated, I could retire, eat bon bons and read trashy novels all day long. No one would ever know it. My clients would be delighted with endless streams of snappy copy, and I wouldn't even have to tell Jonathan. My only work would be cashing enormous checks and picking up the awards. This concept has legs.

Yes, Small IS the New Big

I've blogged on this subject before, but Seth Godin, marketing guru, explains it beautifully in his blog, excerpted below:

Small means the founder makes a far greater percentage of the customer interactions. Small means the founder is close to the decisions that matter and can make them, quickly.

Small is the new big because small gives you the flexibility to change the business model when your competition changes theirs.

Small means you can tell the truth on your blog.

Small means that you can answer email from your customers.

Small means that you will outsource the boring, low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping and billing and packing to others, while you keep the power because you invent the remarkable and tell stories to people who want to hear them.

A small law firm or accounting firm or ad agency is succeeding because they’re good, not because they’re big. So smart small companies are happy to hire them.

With today's technology, the independent, small shop is more viable than ever before. Something else? A small company appreciates every bit of business. Every Last Little Bit.

Why blog?

I don't know how many times I've been asked the following questions:

1. What's a blog?
2. What are you trying to accomplish with it?
3. Isn't your blog too corporate and kind of goofy, all the stuff you have posted?

Tom Peters, marketing guru says,

Blog As If Your Life Depended On It!
Blogging, I firmly believe, is the premier emergent marketing-brandbuilding-lovemarkcreating tool of our times! It is the premier way to have intimate-engaging-informative-WOWing "conversations" with Clients and prospects! This all goes double for small enterprises and niche enterprises; and goes triple for the Professional Services; and works wonders in the Public Sector as well.

Good blogs are supposed to be conversational, personal and timely. They're the antithesis of most corporate communcations in their informality.

Apart from the time involved, they're a cheap way to get your name out there (this one is free). What better way for a new business to begin to establish a presence and personality (a.k.a. brand) than the daily blogging? It's also a wonderful discipline for sorting out where you stand when it comes to issues like marketing, approaching commerce, business ethics and other important issues. Forcing yourself to write about these things helps defines them in your own head and commits you to doing business a certain way.

It's a great thing. That's why I blog.

Cambium Creative Website: Client History

Loyal readers haven't had much new lately. Jonathan and I have been putting the finishing touches on our website. In the spirit of keeping you aprised of our doings, here are three sample pages.

Notice the botanical drawings? Those are Dorie Draper's. She's committed to drawing what she sees, bug holes and all. What she proves is perfection isn't nearly as interesting as reality.

By the way, Dorie Draper is a dear friend. I like that in a mom.

, .

Cambium Creative Website: Contact Page

CC_Contact Us, .

Cambium Creative Website: Portfolio Intro

CC_Portfolio, .

Joy at Work

This is a radical concept that's actually worked when put into practice. It ties into some of the themes we've been exploring on these pages.

Populuxe advertising at its zenith: 1956

This incredible nine-minute short film

features a Leslie-Caron-esque gamine of a dreamer getting downright surreal at General Motors' Motorama and Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the Future." Download or streaming video. The dance sequences alone are worth the click through.

Via BoingBoing,

Andy Warhol was so 20th century

Is Hitler the new famous?

Don't trust? Take a whiff of this.

From today's Washington Post. Also reported on NPR.

Hormone Spray Is Found To Bolster Trust in Others

Scientists have found the chemical equivalent of the perfect sales pitch: a hormone that makes us more trusting than we normally are.

Volunteers in a study were told they were participating in a decision-making experiment. Those who inhaled the hormone, which occurs naturally in the brain, were more likely to entrust others with large sums of money than were volunteers who inhaled no hormone.

This has terrifying implications. Here's the full story from the WaPo.

Philosophy

We are pregnant with website and due any day now. It will have a "Philosophy" section as follows:

At Cambium Creative, we're committed to being committed. We’re not interested in getting by or making do, but in working with passion. Working with passion is more than self-satisfaction, because passion inevitably shows in the quality of the work.

Integrity is non-negotiable in matters large and small.

We are committed to creating a culture that nurtures growth of all kinds in a climate of mutual respect and tolerance. While money can be made without compassion and humor, a good life cannot. Our goal is to make Cambium Creative a joyful enterprise for everyone connected to it.

When we accept a client, we are being entrusted with nurturing someone else’s dream. This is no small matter. Unless their challenges become our own, and their success every bit as important as our own, we will have failed. As humans, we will have failures, but on this point, we will consistently excel.

And finally, may we always remember that bottom lines are not numbers, but people.

Chief Among Them

Today's New York Times (registration required) has an article about the latest fashion in job titles. Falling out of favor is that old chestnut, vice president. It's no longer happening to be a partner. Director? That's so first quarter. To really display alpha dog status, one must now be chief.

When we started Cambium Creative, Jon and I decided to be partners first, art director and writer, second. How pedestrian of us. We should have been chiefs. In fact, it's not too late. In lieu of giving ourselves raises, we could just give ourselves multiple chiefdoms.

I think we're missing the boat, however, if we don't get a bit colorful with it. Shouldn't we give a nod to the tribal origins of the title? As long as we're inflating, let's go Fredericks-of-Hollywood inflated.

I could be Chief Runs-With-Pencils and Chief Blog-A-Lot. Jonathan could be Chief Paints-With-Running-Nose-Whiskers and Chief Web-He-Weaves.

What about Chief Run-Amok? We could run out of room on the business card.

Here's what vice-presidents look like when they don't get made chief-anything. It's enough to break your heart.

Slick as snot marketing got you down? Clear the air with Charisma!

I just discovered Michael D. Pollock's smallbusinessbranding.com.

Targeted at what he calls the "solopreneur," it's a wonderful collection of thoughts and insights celebrating the oh- boy-howdiness of a well-conceived tiny business.

Our world views would play nicely together during circle time. The link above travels to a well-researched riff deconstructing the vagaries of charm and charisma along with some pointers on cultivating your particular own brand of it.

One of life's little thrills is happening upon a like mind. Michael's article about charisma echoed a refrain or two from my one of my recent diatribes, "I am not, nor will I ever be, Rumplestiltskin."

In short, it's a call to drop the business guise in favor of the truth. The authentic self is inherently more attractive, rewarding, and just plain useful, than even your most brilliantly conceived made-for-tv-movie of you. Yes. Even in business that concerns important people in positions of authority. Even then. Maybe even especially then.

Since I've been writing this blog, I've spent a lot of time with other people's bloggy thoughts. And I gotta tell you, the emerging picture is pleasingly refreshing. Cutthroat, big-agency, killer-instinct creative-types have stopped their slouch toward Bethlehem, performed a bit of personal feng shui, and gotten down to the bones of what matters. The cynicism that for so long masqueraded as weary wisdom has been rejected. It's no longer cool to be cool in the cold old way.

Every tectonic upheaval has to begin somewhere. Just like a few of these well-spoken visionaries hunkered over keyboards, dressed for success in varying stages of dishevelment, tapping out the manifestos of a revolution where no guns are fired, but heads will roll because, as karma reminds us, what goes around, comes around.

In a related note, I've been having a weird, deja-vu-ish feeling lately. It's been pleasant in a quiet way, reminding me of the smell of sugar cookies from my granny's kitchen. I've had the hardest time nailing it down.

But I've finally figured it out. It's hope. Now, that's a revolution in the making.