Episode theme: The people involved in making San Francisco’s Fleet Week 2010: Navy personnel from the USS Makin Island, organizers, and the heart-thumping airshow performers (including the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron – the Blue Angels).
The USS Makin Island (LHD-8) is the last of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ships. It has a hybrid engineering propulsion plant (which includes two gas turbines and two auxiliary electric propulsion motors). Since 75% of a amphibious ship’s life is spent under 12 knots, the hybrid system saves lots of gas and money. Crew interviews: Lieutenant Commander Joel Stewart, Lieutenant Junior Grade Lauryn Dempsey, Electrician’s Mate First Class (EM1) Arnel Senatin, Air Traffic Controller First Class (AT1) Corey McRath, and Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Walker Lawrence. Website: USS Makin Island
Tim Weber discovered aviation at the age of 13 and has since flown a variety of aircraft including: Ultralights; WWII Stearmans; the legendary Pitts Special, the exotic Russian YAK 55M and several types of jets including the F-16. Tim’s aggressive flying and natural ability have enabled him to become one of the top airshow performers in the United States. In addition to flying, Tim has incorporated his love of music into his airshow routines by writing and performing original music for his performances. Website: Tim Weber Airshows.
George Silverman received his Navy wings in Mar 1971. In his 20 year career in the Navy, amassed 465 carrier landings and 189 combat missions. Now serving as Flight Test Captain for United Airlines – one of 18 pilots who perform all of the high risk flying for the airline. Types of operations include, post maintenance test flights, new aircraft acceptance flights, diagnostic flights to help troubleshoot airborne discrepancies and damaged aircraft ferry flights to repair sites.
Gordon Bowman-Jones (The Voice of Aviation) was born in England and raised in Australia. From New England to New Zealand and Tennessee to Tokyo, air show fans have been thrilled with his vivid narratives and engaging style for more than twenty years. With more than 2000 hours of time in the air, Gordon Bowman Jones has owned and flown numerous aircraft from Auster’s and Ercoupe’s to Messerschmitt’s and MiG’s, even the GULF blimp! He has pursued a lifetime of flying interests, including gliding, sky diving and aerobatics. Website: Air Show Time / Email: gordon@gobojo.com
I want to market a Valentine’s Day menu in a hotel restaurant. I thought it would be fun to do an “aphrodisiac” menu. As for the menu and including the aphrodisiacs, done. I’m having a hard time coming up with a catchy tag line to use in the advertisements. Any help? It’s a prix fixe menu with “his and her” options.
I am the manager of a small but upscale salon & spa in a suburban community. I am in need of some fresh ideas for a Valentine’s day promotion, and unfortunately it can not involve massage or skin care as we currently do not have an licensed massage practitioner or aesthetician. I do, however, have a passionate team of stylists and one incredible nail artist, and we also offer hand-sprayed tanning.
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Jay’s Answer: An essay/photo contest: “Why I need a makeover this Valentine’s Day!”. Winner(s) get the works. Let the public help vote for the most deserving entrant.
I have a web solutions company and need a tag line to that. I am catering to corporates and retail segments. I am located in Mumbai? My clients are corporates and Retail institution from India and overseas. Web solutions means i do work into website designing and development. I even do e-learning projects and develop customized software for the companies. Name of my company is IIWS (Industry Integrated Web Solutions). Please suggest me some catchy and sophisticated tag line.
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Jay’s Answer: Since your company name doesn’t say what you do, your tagline needs to describe it simply. For example:
Ultimately, the two basic messages you can convey in your marketing is either “avoid this” (don’t get this disease, don’t get arrested, don’t make this mistake, etc.) or “seek that” (more money, more dates, more clients, more notoriety, etc.). Avoiding something (“fear”) is a great short-term message, but studies show it doesn’t convert people into long-term behavioral changes. However, getting more of something isn’t a great short-term motivator. Is there a way of crafting your marketing message to span both the “avoid” and “more” messages?
This video showcases an idea of how to get people to not go faster than the speed limit – using a speed camera and a lottery system. The camera takes pictures of cars that are speeding (“avoid this”) and issues tickets through the normal police system. The camera also takes pictures of cars that aren’t speeding (“seek this”), creating a lottery, with the winner sharing in the fines that the speeders had to pay. Whether you like the specific solution to the speeding problem or not, the message beautifully incorporates both “avoid” and “seek”.
Making an avoid+seek message isn’t easy. We’re naturally wired for one of these responses, so it’s hard to think of what motivates others.
Let’s take another example – fitness. We all know we should exercise more, yet few people make the effort to make time. Why? In general, exercise is seen as “work” and it feels good only after you’re done or have been doing it awhile (“a runner’s high”). The seek messages “look good” or “feel better about yourself” aren’t sufficient to motivate most people. The avoid message “don’t get heart disease” or “don’t get fat” create a lot of New Year’s resolutions, but low follow-through. One way to create an avoid+seek message would be to show a group of happy/fit people surrounding a sick/unfit person and ask the question, “Who do you look like?”. It allows the person to see both sides of in/action and make their own choices.
What other ways can you combine avoid+seek into your marketing message?
What are you afraid of in your business life? How much does the fear control your (in)actions? We all know people who eased through the solving the problems that confound us, yet the fear paralyzes us.
First: quantify what you’re afraid of. Are you about to risk your life savings launching a new product? Are you worried that you won’t have something interesting to say at your next networking event? Perhaps you’re afraid that the next person you cold call will hang up on you?
Next: look around you. Is the fear that you’re facing something that others have faced? Have you asked others to validate that the fear you’re facing is of the same magnitude you’re imagining it is? What you need to do is determine if your perception is accurate. Based on our own backgrounds, values, and experiences, we interpret similar situations vastly differently. Have you ever noticed that others seemingly blow through the thing that stops you (and vice versa)?
Finally: acclimate yourself. No matter what you’re afraid of, your fear of the action is worse than the action itself. Try:
Take smaller steps to overcome the fear.
Act in situations where you don’t care about the outcome.
Interview others that don’t have the fear you do.
Let’s say you’re public speaking at your next networking event. Here are some ways to acclimate to your fear:
To take smaller steps, you might ask questions of the person who is speaking publicly. You’re not the focus, but it’ll make you stand up to ask the question, have people turn their heads to look at you, and be heard in the room.
To act in low-risk situations, give your speech to friend, to your dog, into the mirror, into a video camera, at a highway overpass, or your religious group.
Call the person who’s the center of attention at your networking event and ask them for their “secret”. At worst, you’ll build a support network.
Give yourself a big gift – the gift of personal growth. Align your perceived fears to “reality”. The freedom from overcoming one hurdle will empower you to make other changes in your (business) life.
I was talking to an employee at a gym the other day and was surprised to hear him mention that he was worried about one of the gym patrons (let’s call him “Frank”). Frank was always cooperative with the other gym patrons, but in the past few months Frank has become quite argumentative with the staff. At times, the arguments have become abusive and almost leading to a fight. The gym employee eventually reported the physical confrontation with his supervisor, and a quick meeting ensued. Frank quickly apologized, the manager sided with Frank, and the employee was without recourse. While the fighting hasn’t (yet) reoccurred, the abusive attitude continues. And now the employee is scared that Frank will do something even more dangerous (perhaps to another patron of the gym or another staff member).
If the gym is your business, how would you handle things? It would seem that if you side with Frank, you alienate your employee. Side with the employee, you alienate your customer. It’s a seemingly no-win situation.
By siding with your customer, you’re clearly stating that “the customer is always right” and that you can easily be replaced. That attitude creates a hostile work environment. Your staff are now more concerned about their well-being (inwardly-focused) rather than making a difference in your business (outwardly-focused). You don’t lose a customer, but you won’t be growing your business with passionate employees. You also allow a bully to run free possibly alienating other customers.
Instead, imagine siding with your employee. Make it clear what acceptable behavior is towards your staff. And, if someone violates your guidelines, give them a quick warning. If the behavior continues, fire your customer. This clearly sets the message that your employees are family, and your family comes first. This will also set higher expectations of your customers.
By ensuring the well-being of your employees, you’re guaranteeing that your employees will be looking out for the well-being of your business as well.
Episode theme: 11 people who make a living drawing cartoons were interviewed at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center Sketch-a-Thon.
Brent Anderson’s professional career began in 1979. Ka-zar the Savage, written by Bruce Jones, was his first regular monthly series. The X-Men graphic novel “God Loves, Man Kills” followed. (This story inspired the second X-men movie.) Since then he has created or co-created an impressive list of notable series, including the innovative cinematic comic, Somerset Holmes, the heroic space-opera, Strikeforce Morituri, the award-winning look at superheroes Astro City, and the futuristic spy adventure Spinworld: The Spacing Dutchman. Visit his work online at: Brent Anderson
Alexis Fajardo is a student of the classics—whether Daffy Duck or Damocles—and has created a unique blend of the two in his all-ages, graphic novel series Kid Beowulf. Alexis has taught cartooning throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and currently resides in Santa Rosa, where, when not penning Kid Beowulf, he works for Peanuts at the Charles M. Schulz Studio. See his work online at: Kid Beowulf and Facebook. Contact him via email at: lex@kidbeowulf.com.
Brian Fies is a writer and cartoonist whose widely acclaimed first graphic novel, Mom’s Cancer won the 2005 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic (the first webcomic to win the award in this new category), among other awards and recognition. His second book, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, was nominated for several Eisner and Harvey Awards, and won the American Astronautical Society’s 2009 Eugene M. Emme Award for Best Astronautical Literature for Young Adults. His work is online at The Fies Files.
Shaenon K. Garrity is a writer and cartoonist best known for her daily online comic strips Narbonic and Skin Horse. She has also written for Marvel Comics, The Comics Journal and Comixology.com. She works as a manga editor for VIZ Media. Garrity lives in Berkeley with her husband, Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago. See her work online at Shaenon’s webiste and on Facebook. Contact her at: me@shaenon.com
Debbie Huey is the artist and writer of the all-ages comic book series, Bumperboy, which includes the Xeric Award winning book, “Bumperboy Loses His Marbles,” and “Bumperboy and the Loud, Loud Mountain,” which was named to Booklist’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth in 2007. Her graphic novels and minicomics have captured the hearts of both kids and adults with their whimsical characters and clever plot lines. But her creativity doesn’t stop there. When she’s not writing, Debbie is creating new Bumperboy merchandise inspired by the stories, as well as handcrafting unique goods, such as needlefelted characters and collapsible purse hooks. You can find her online at: Bumperboy and Bumperfriend and on Facebook. Contact her at: debbie@bumperboy.net
Greg Knight is a science fiction and fantasy illustrator that has specialized in concept art for film and game production. A love for art, storytelling and collaboration had led Greg from an art education at The College of Arts and Crafts to working with companies such as LucasArts and ImageMovers Digital. Greg has contributed to short films, comics, book illustration and notable projects such as Star Wars: the Clone Wars, The Force Unleashed, A Christmas Carol and Mars Needs Moms. Greg is currently working on The Yellow Submarine and two animated shorts. To see more of Greg’s work, view his portfolio and Blog. Contact him at: gregknight73@gmail.com
Paul Madonna produces two weekly strips, All Over Coffee in the San Francisco Chronicle and on SFGate.com, and Small Potatoes on TheRumpus.net, where he is also comics editor. Paul regularly travels internationally to draw and his work is shown in museums, galleries, restaurants and cafes, and is published in various book collections and publications, including his international newspaper coverage of the U.S. 2009 Presidential Inauguration. In 2007 the first collection of All Over Coffee was published by City Lights Books, and the second collection is scheduled for release March 2011. In 1994 Paul received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and that same year he was the first (ever!) Art Intern at MAD Magazine, for which he proudly received no money. Paul currently lives with his wife in San Francisco. Learn more about Paul’s work at his website and on Facebook
Thien Pham is an artist, cartoonist, print maker,and high school teacher living in the East bay. He has done several mini comics, has illustrated a weekly food review comic for the East Bay Express, and recently released his long graphic novel SUMO will be out this summer. Visit him online at His Fan Club and on Facebook
Lark Pien is a cartoonist and painter from the San Francisco Bay Area. Pien drew her first comic Stories from the Ward in 1997. She has since produced several titles a year, specializing in handmade mini-comics with silkscreened covers. Long Tail Kitty is her first full color, comic-formatted children’s book. Mr. Elephanter is her first traditional hardcover Children’s Book. Pien’s stories range from the cute and endearing to the horrific and ill-fated. See her work online: Portfolio and Blog and Photos
Dan Piraro’sBizarro was first syndicated in 1985 and since then has built a steady and loyal following in the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Europe, Asia and South America. Bizarro has won an unprecedented three consecutive “Best Cartoon Panel of the Year” awards from the National Cartoonists Society, and in 2010, Piraro was given their highest award, “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.” Visit his work online at: Bizarro and on Facebook.
Frank Roberson has been drawing cartoons since he was a little kid and has always dreamed of producing a syndicated strip. He lives in Sacramento, CA with his teenager and a bloodhound named Gracie. Maximus is about a clumsy, fearless do-gooder who creates the costumed superhero exterior of Maximus to help keep his small suburban elementary school safe. Not from pop quizzes, tough grading teachers or bad cafeteria food but Kirby McKnuckles, the vicious school bully. Maximus uses crazy technology and gadgetry along with an 8-year old’s stamina and questionable coordination to keep students and the neighborhood Girl, Matilda K. Reilly safe. See his work online at: Maximus and on Facebook. To contact him: maximuscomic@comcast.net
