1000 Cranes Blog

Happy Blog Action Day!

Well, I must admit, I haven't been good at all at blogging.  It took a reminder from the coordinators of "Blog Action Day" to get me motivated.  So thank you folks for getting me out of my blogging hiatus. 

So, what can I say about the environment...I think my biggest passion right now is supporting local farmers and local businesses.  Especially with this tough economy, it makes the most sense to put your money into the local community to make it thrive.  This also reduces transportation costs and keep prices lower. 

I still don't understand what the allure is of bottled water from Fiji.  Sure, the bottle is pretty cool, but in the end, your spending so much money on the plastic packaging and the transportation costs from half way around the world!  So the tip of the day...buy local distilled water.  It's the purest form you can get without any additives, and you can find local bottlers, thus supporting the local economy.   One simple step can make such a big difference!  Drink up! 

Never Too Late

I am happy to say that people are very forgiving.  I found that my work voicemail box had been corrupted and several voicemails had been restored from nearly a month ago!  I had several messages that were waiting there dating back to the end of June.  I was absolutely mortified. 

Thankfully, most of them I had communicated through emails, calls, etc.  One, however, was a brand new prospect.  Here it is one MONTH later, I was finally getting back to her.  I was very sheepish on the phone and apologetic and explained the situation, and she was very happy that I called.  Here it was I was expecting to hear an angry voice and someone who would have already dismissed me because of I didn't respond. 

I was so grateful that I was wrong.  After speaking for awhile, we realized that we had a good arrangement, and it looks like I will get a speaking engagement out of this in January of next year! 

It just goes to show you that it is never too late to follow through with a potential prospect.  It's never too late to follow through with an idea, and it's never too late to continue blogging!  I am grateful for the lesson I learned today to never give up and to remember it's never too late. 

Have you ever thought about disregarding an opportunity because you thought you didn't follow up with a prospect or client? 

Are you set on leaving money on the table because you didn't try? 

Back in Action - My apologies...and "Have You Cleaned Your Car?"

For those of you who have been wondering, "Where's Naomi?"  I must say, I have been remiss in posting to this blog for over a month now.  I'm not sure the exact explanation for this, but I can say that I am regretful that I lost this opportunity to keep in touch with my supporters. 

Needless to say, I have been inspired again by several of my colleagues through Toastmasters.  I recently attended a Speech Acrobats meeting where two speakers provided the kick I needed to get back into action.  First was my dear friend, Farnoosh Brock, who spoke about imagining success.  To visualize success in no matter what you do.  In her case, she mentioned her blog, Prolific Living, as one where she had 50,000 readers.  I quite honestly, don't know how many readers I have.  Whether it is 50 or 50,000, I will certainly not keep them if I stop blogging!  So, thanks, Farnoosh for that nice reminder to really think about how this blog will impact others in the world. 

The second speaker was Atrayus Goode.  He inspired everyone in the room to think about reaching for excellence in everything we do and to remember that people are always watching you.  He asked us to think, for example, how do we take care of the things around us.  When was the last time you cleaned your car?   Sure, you may be busy, but there's no reason not to strive for excellence in everything.  Needless to say, right after that meeting, I went out and cleaned my car.  I still need to clean the interior this weekend, but I must say, I did feel better that the outside of my MINI Clubman was shiny and clean.  Such a simple thing, and yet very effective.  Thank you, Atrayus!   It makes us all think the following:

What are the things we can do in our everyday life to strive for excellence?

What have you refrained from doing something and need to start again? 

What's stopping you?

The Power and Importance of Camaraderie

This last week I've seen great camaraderie at work and the lack of camaraderie painfully revealed.  As one of the principles of 1000 Cranes is "Success Comes from Cooperative Relationships," I've found that when you don't get along with someone or another organization, it's best to move on and either look for another partner or leave that organization behind. 

On the other hand, when you have a band of people that get along well together, you get so much more accomplished.  People work harder.  People make progress toward goals, and people have fun and look forward to seeing each other!   Toastmasters is such an organization for me.  I've been currently serving as the Public Relations Officer for District 37 (the State of North Carolina), and every time I see my colleagues, it makes me smile.  We are all volunteers in this organization, and we are all driven to be excellent speakers and leaders. 

One example of camaraderie at work, is my interaction with my fellow Toastmasters.  One our colleagues, Hudson Griffin, III, is helping with an improvisation activity for the upcoming Region VIII conference in Greensboro on June 26-27.  Griffin drove from Winston-Salem to Raleigh for a Toastmasters Leadership Institute event and during a hallway conversation, he mentioned that he was low on volunteers to help with the improvisation activity that's scheduled for Friday night. 

My friend and colleague, Bryan Walsh, looked at me with a big smile and said, "well, Naomi, I'm in if you're in."  We looked at each other, started laughing, and agreed we'd do this together and help Hudson out.  One thing about Toastmasters, we don't let each other down and have fun with it.  Part of the culture of Toastmasters is the supportive nature of helping each other through challenges. 

Later that day, I had lunch with Kimberly Langley who is only 20 speeches away from earning her Distinguished Toastmaster designation.  I told her, I would support her to achieve her goals, and if she gets through her speeches by the middle to end of October, I would "walk the DTM Gauntlet" with her at the upcoming Fall Conference in Asheville this November.   This will be a really special event for both of us as she and I started Toastmasters 3-1/2 years ago in the same Toastmasters club, RDU Toastmasters! 

When camaraderie is at work, you look forward to seeing your colleagues and friends.  It isn't torture or a bear, it's enjoyable.  Work becomes fun.  Leadership comes naturally, as people are willing to follow you.  Just as Hudson and Bryan took the lead on the improv work and I followed, and I gave Kimberly an incentive to achieve greater goals, and she followed.  Leadership comes naturally to Toastmasters.   

What do you do to demonstrate leadership? 

How does camaraderie work within your organization? 

Are you having fun with what you do and why? 

Whirlwind Week

My apologies dear reader for not posting this last week.  My travels have been a bit crazy with back-to-back trips.  My schedule included the following:

• Tuesday, June 2nd - Danville, VA --> Durham, NC --> Washington, DC
• Wednesday, June 3rd - Washington, DC
• Thursday, June 4th - Washington, DC
• Friday, June 5th - Washington, DC --> New York, NY --> Durham, NC

As you can imagine it was exhausting...especially last Friday where I had to catch a 5:02am train for New York.  Washington, DC has an eerie calmness to it so early in the morning where monuments rose in a misty, damp haze.  It was so unusual seeing Union Station so quiet when I'm so accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the city. 

The trip to DC was amazing where I had an opportunity to meet some of our Congressional Leaders and staff members on the hill.  Some of the dignitaries I had a chance to meet or hear included:

• Congressman Honda (D - California)
• Congressman Royce (R - California)
• Congressman Rohrbacher (R - California)
• Congressman Cao (R - Louisiana)

Also, I saw the Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, and the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, enjoying their dinner only one table over at Tony Cheng's Seafood Resaurant on Wednesday night.  I must say, it was a star-studded trip!  

We are exploring new opportunities in the DC/Baltimore area to expand services out of the 1000 Cranes office there.   I'm hopeful that more opportunities will be coming our way shortly! 

Have you ever been surprised with the some of the travel requirements for your position? 

How often do you get an opportunity to speak with our politicians/celebrities about issues that concern you? 

Positioning Yourself for Opportunities

I just finished reading the Chris Matthews book "Life is a Campaign," and one of the Chapters is called "Keep Good Company."  This actually dovetailed very nicely with a recent discussion about "Moose Hunting".  If you're going to hunt for moose you have to know where they are, and similarly, you have to position yourself to where your customers are going to be. 

As such, keeping good company also means getting yourself in front of the right people. 

I've tried many methods of marketing from placing ads into programs, to eNews blasts to direct mail pieces, and I always find that getting a face-to-face meeting has always been the best.  Keeping Good Company by meeting the right people and having them introduce you to the right people makes all the difference in the world.

Over the last few months, I've been spending more time in our Washington, DC office building those connections, and in a few months time by investing in this, the business has grown to include some new ventures including:  

• the development of a new cultural competency class for Duke University's Certificate Program in Nonprofit Management through collaborations with Georgetown University, 
• a new collaboration with a partner who works with corporations,
• an adjunct professorship with National University's School of Media and Communications and
• the assignment of future interns for 1000 Cranes through the University of Baltimore's Merrick School of Business

These connections were all made through face-to-face meetings.  In order to position yourself for opportunities, you need to put yourself in front of people directly and meet the decision makers.  Even if you have the best rapport by phone or email, nothing beats getting the opportunity to meet someone directly and letting them see you shine and building trust. 

What steps have you taken to position yourself with decision makers? 

Why do you think people are more willing to enter into a negotiation with someone they have met than with someone they have not?   

Being Authentic

I had the pleasure of teaching for Duke in a collaboration with the Danville Regional Foundation today, and on my drive home, I stopped in Yanceyville, NC at Yoder's Country Market.  Yoder's specializes in Amish foods and crafts, and I purchased some homemade jellies and horseradish cheese.  

The Amish traditions show respect for the Earth, family, the local community and their religious beliefs.  The Amish make their foods, furniture and crafts by hand in the traditions that have been handed down for generations.  I must say that the Elderberry Jelly I had is one of the best I've tasted.  In the big business of mass production, many companies use cheaper ingredients such as corn syrup that just don't compare to pure cane sugar.  Using authentic, natural ingredients is part of The Amish way, and they are  a good example of how keeping authentic to your ways can be a strategic advantage or differentiator in a world where too many people want to be the same. 

How is your organization authentic?

What differentiates you from your competitors? 

What are you doing to be authentic to yourself? 

For the Love of Canned Cake!

I meet the most interesting people on trains.  During my last trip last Friday from Washington, DC, I had a great conversation with a woman from Albany, NY who was taking the train to Raleigh, NC.  She realized she had forgotten to bring several jars of applesauce with her as gifts for her friend, and she talked about how she enjoys canning as a hobby to give unique gifts for her friends. 

She mentioned that she also likes canning cakes.  Excuse me?  What?  Canned cake?  I must admit, I was at first a bit confused, but then she later went on to explain how easy they are to make.  You simply fill pint size mason jars half way up with any cake batter that you like.  You just need to remember to spray the jars with Pam or some other vegetable spray and get the wide-mouth straight-sided jars so the cakes are easy to remove after baking.   Bake the jars in the oven, remove them one at a time and place the lids on them as you normally would (the lids should be prepped in nearly boiling water before placing them on the jars.)

Well, I must admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but I gave it a shot today), and low and behold, these came out great!  I simply followed the instructions with the gluten-free spice cake I like, and poured them in the jars and baked them the same way...absolutely incredible!   I can't stand eating cake that has been previously frozen, so now this is a great solution to that! 

The bigger story here, though, is that I received a precious gift from a stranger.  I was taught a skill that I can use for decades to come.  It goes to show you that you never know who will be an influence in your life.  Even a perfect stranger (and now friend) can make a profound difference.  With the economy the way it is right now, I've been very mindful about saving food and eating leftovers in order to stretch my dollars.  This is yet another way to help through tough times.   I know I'm just getting started in this new canning adventure!  

Has a stranger made a difference in your life and how? 

What skills have you learned that can help you through a down economy? 

Tougher Fuel Standards by 2016

President Obama announced that the auto industry will be faced with tougher fuel efficiency standards that will require autos to average 35.5mpg by 2016.  Current vehicles produced in the US average only 25 mpg. 

Thankfully, I have already moved in this direction when I purchased a MINI Clubman in October which averages 34mpg, and I am truly enjoying what I can get out of one tank of gas! 

I had been driving a Lexus IS350 which only averaged 24mpg.  It seemed that I was filling up for gas all the time.  During the time when gas was $4.00/gallon, I was spending almost $60.00/fill-up.  Now, with a more efficient car and better gas mileage, I've nearly cut my bill in half. 

The auto industry will have some adjustments and growing pains as it moves in this direction, but it's something that we need to do to save the environment and become more competitive in this industry.  I do love my MINI Clubman...hopefully, in the years to come, the US will come up with a similar cost effective product. 

What are you currently driving and what kind of gas mileage are you getting? 

With this change in the auto industry, do you anticipate planning to purchase a US vehicle by 2016 when the standards come into play? 

Community Connections Through Art

I'm here in DC and had a chance to swing by the Smithsonian American Art Museum where they have a special exhibit of Jean Shin's Common Threads exhibit.  Not only is the exhibit visually appealing, she also developed her pieces with the contributions from the community.  Some of my favorite pieces included the following: 

"Chance City" - remember those card houses you made as a kid?  Imagine an entire city made up of card houses that use lottery tickets as their base.  Absolutely amazing...the thought that people's dreams of wealth can crumble so quickly like a deck of cards is very humbling, and from what the guard told me, if the cards fall, they do not "fix" the artwork.  At the end of the exhibit, the city will come tumbling down (if it hasn't already.)   It's been up since May 1st, so I saw a pretty intricate city similar to the picture shown here. 

"Chemical Balance" - think about all those prescription bottles you toss.  Jean Shin has taken these bottles and created sculptures that look like eerie glowing stalactites and stalagmites.  These prescription bottles were also collected from community nursing homes, pharmacies, friends and family members.  It's a poignant statement about how our society relies so much on "popping pills" to treat illnesses.  

Lastly, her exhibit "Everyday Monuments" is debuting here in DC.  It's a collection of ordinary trophies that have been modified so that the figures adorned on top represent the efforts of ordinary people.  It's a way to celebrate the accomplishments of everyday workers who don't receive trophies for the contributions they do everyday. 

The exhibit runs until July 26th, and it may be worth going multiple times to see how the Chance City piece may change each time.   Here's an article in the NY Times that also gives an overview of Jean Shin's life.  

It's very moving, and I highly recommend that you try to visit the next time you're in DC. 

Has there been an artist that has moved you to become more introspective about your world and why do you think their work did that?