Whether it’s reading articles, books or magazines or listening to audio books (at 2x speed), I try very hard to absorb as much information as possible.  It’s my intention to cover a wide swath of literature – but in actuality, the majority of what I read tends to be quite focused on non-fiction business-type books.  To those of you who enjoy reading fiction or novels (note – based on what I know about my blog readership, I doubt there are any of you out there), I suspect these books would be quite boring.  However, I take great pleasure reading about the experiences of others in business and comparing those experiences to my own.  I look at the whole thing a bit like school – going to work every day is like going to class.  Reading is like homework.  It’s probably safe to assume that most of us would have learned significantly less in school if we never did homework – right?

In my reading, every once in a while I stumble upon a gem of knowledge so great I can’t help but share it here.  This week, I’m reading Marshall Goldsmith’s What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.  In his book, Goldsmith talks about all of the things that managers do wrong.  There are some obvious ones, like taking credit for the achievements of others and not giving enough praise – but he also highlights some mistakes that are more nuanced.  One of those pitfalls is what Goldsmith refers to as executing a new project and pulling a “1,2,3,7”.  At this point, you’re probably as confused as I was when I first read this phrase (Goldsmith doesn’t explain what the numbers mean until the following paragraph either).

Every successful new project must go through seven steps in the correct order.  If any steps are omitted, skipped, or misplaced – the project will fail.  The steps are as follows:

1. Assess the situation

2. Isolate the problem
3. Formulate a plan
4. Woo up to your superiors
5. Woo laterally to your peers
6. Woo down to your direct reports
7. Implement the plan

A common mistake is for managers to go “1,2,3,7” – missing the crucial steps of pre-selling their superiors, peers, and direct reports on their plans.  When I saw this list – I stopped reading and went back, re-reading it over and over until I had it memorized.  I suppose I knew this all along – but regardless, I wish someone had given me this list three years ago.

It was very popular in the early 2000’s to talk poorly about Walmart.  Between putting local “mom and pop” stores out of business and underpaying their female employees – Walmart had developed quite a bad reputation.  However, amid this negative press, Walmart was actually doing quite well.  They rose to become one of the top 20 biggest companies in the world and today they are the largest when measured by revenue.

It was during this time of bad press when I first learned the key to Walmart’s success.  It was my Sophomore year of college and I was in Accounting I.  My professor – a tall older man with distinguished white hair wrote in capital letters on the chalkboard: “VOLUME.”  His scratchy voice belted across the classroom: “If you’re a company that manufactures shirts and you usually sell them for $50 a piece – Walmart would come to you and place an order for a million shirts – but demand a volume discount down to $25.”  He explained, as a shirt manufacturer it’s hard not to take that deal.  Even if the final price barely covers your costs – getting your product out to such a large population is very valuable.

Is this starting to sound familiar?  Groupon (and all companies like it) uses the very same volume-based negotiation tactics that has made Walmart so successful.  The only difference is that Walmart is a single entity and therefore must take on risk.  If Walmart places an order for a million shirts and sells none, they’re left holding the bag.  Alternatively, Groupon, who has capitalized on the same volume-based negotiation leverage, works in a very decentralized manner.  The result is that Groupon can negotiate worry free, holding no liability if no one buys a deal.

This begs the question – will Groupon threaten Walmart’s retail dominance?

Also, how long will it take for Groupon to develop a negative reputation?  It was barely a few months ago when I saw the first New York Times article criticizing Groupon’s tactics.  The article was about a cupcake shop that nearly went out of business trying to meet the demand for their cupcake offer on Groupon.  The shop had offered a dozen cupcakes for half price, which ended up being below their costs.

It will definitely be interesting to see what happens.  For those who have been critical of Groupon’s 12 billion dollar valuation, just remember that Walmart’s market cap is 200 billion.

What are your thoughts?

I spent a good deal of time this week looking at apartments in Brooklyn.  Come February 1^st I will be moving in with my longtime girlfriend, Miranda, and in typical New York fashion, we were scrambling to find the perfect apartment with less than 30 days before we had to move.

Manhattan real estate is very competitive and high priced – but it’s also very organized.  There is a central registry that more or less all realtors can access.  Brooklyn real estate is different.  In Brooklyn, a few dozen real estate companies have private relationships with the families or management companies that own different buildings.  There is no central registry and in order to find the perfect apartment, you first have to find the realtors that represent the perfect apartment.  The whole ordeal is a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack – only first you have to find the right haystack.

In our search, we ended up talking to a lot of realtors, walking all over Brooklyn, and signing a lot of documents filled with legalese.  Most of the documents didn’t seem to have much importance outside of protecting the realtor’s fee (which is exorbitant) – but one document really interested me. Form DOS-1735-a is required for all real estate transactions conducted by a realtors inside New York City.   It’s a very basic form that simply states (with check boxes) if the realtor is working as agent for the landlord, working as agent for the tenant, or working as “dual” agent for both the landlord and tenant.  When I asked why this form was required, one of our favorite real estate agents told us about her many years of experience working for landlords and tenants.  In her mind, the most difficult role is that of “dual” agent (representing both the landlord and the tenant).

As she was talking about her moral quandary over representing both sides of the same deal, my mind quickly raced through all the similarities between her industry (real estate) and my industry (advertising).  Suddenly, I had an epiphany.  No matter what business you’re in, there are always three types of roles: buyers, sellers and brokers.  The roles of buyer and seller are always clear – but if you’re the broker, it can be very hard to stay perfectly spaced, representing the buyer and the seller equally.

It’s hard to look back on 2011 as a good year.

-  Since the year 2000 the US National Debt has increased from $5 trillion to $15 trillion
-  Unemployment rates have hovered between 8% and 10% for the past two years
-  The S&P500 index began and ended 2011 at exactly 1,257 points – showing zero growth on the year
-  Republicans and Democrats in Congress seem locked in a perpetual stalemate – and outside of Congress both sides have launched grassroots protests against the direction our country is heading

As I sat last night watching the televised coverage of Times Square, I couldn’t help but wonder if all those people huddled in the streets were celebrating the coming of 2012, or the end of 2011.  The noise makers and dancing people would suggest a celebration; however the commentators and street-interviewers were sure to insert periodic reminders that our economic wounds are far from healed.

As midnight approached, a practically inaudible Dick Clark served as a solemn reminder that our country has aged.  His appearance, year after year seems to embody our desire to keep the past alive – to hold onto the boom times of the 70’s and 80’s.

However, amid the darkness – some hope shows through.

-  Every US Soldier that had been stationed in Iraq got to spend New Year’s Eve at home
-  Osama Bin Laden no longer threatens the world
-  The Internet continues to bring people together and make the world a smaller place

Here’s to 2012.

This coming year, my maternal grandparents will observe their 60^th anniversary.  A huge milestone by any measure – the coming date will no doubt be cause for celebration.  Amidst the fanfare it is unlikely that anyone will remember that their union was originally, back in 1952, cause for religious controversy.

Now, based on the picture I’ve painted for you – there are probably a number of scenario’s you are conjuring in your imagination.  Although I take no prejudice to the following arrangements, for the sake of clarity, I will tell you that my grandparents are NOT engaged in any of the following potentially controversial marriages: interracial, same sex, polygamous or interfaith.

Can you guess where the controversy lies?

Additionally, they are almost exactly the same age (born within 10 weeks of each other), they are both Ashkenazi Jews, they both grew up in the same town in Baltimore to middle class families and they even attended the same primary school.

How about now – Any guesses?

Based on modern standards, my grandparents are engaged in the least controversial marriage imaginable.  However, 60 years ago their relationship was quite taboo.  The reason is because my grandfather is a German Jew and my grandmother is a Russian Jew.

It seems illogical, even silly today that a difference so small would cause religious controversy, but back then it was a serious issue.

Personally, I take some comfort in this story.  It makes me think that as time goes on the differences between people will continue to become less and less significant.  Who knows which seemingly insurmountable differences today, in 60 years will be considered insignificant and silly.

It also makes me think that as the world becomes more connected we choosing to focus more on our similarities than our differences.

Happy Holidays.

Some people have asked me how I make time to write in my blog every single week.

Here is my secret: I have a very strict routine.

Every day I wake up at the same time (6am) – I pack my gym bag the exact same way, I get on the same train (6:35am F train), I do the same workout at the gym from 7am – 8:05am – Spin on Mondays, Weight lifting Tuesday-Thursday (yes, the same exact weight lifting schedule each day).

I get to the office around 8:40 and go through the same routine each morning – eat 2 hard-boiled eggs and a bagel.  I read and respond to emails from 8:40-9am, I check our global ad metrics from 9am – 9:15… – you get the idea.

The reason I’m so adamant about my routine is because having this routine allows me to maximize my intellectual capital.

Let me explain.

Remember the last time you tried to do something new?  The example I always think of here is learning a new pen trick (e.g. flipping your pen over your thumb) – but riding a bike works too.  At first it’s very hard to do, but then as you build up the muscle memory it becomes easier and easier.  Eventually, it will be hard to imagine that you were ever unable to flip your pen (or ride a bike).

Building up muscle memory allows you to literally make new connections in your brain to more easily complete a task.  When you try something for the first time it takes a large portion of your overall brain to do that task.  However, as you do a specific task over and over – you use an ever-decreasing portion of your brain.  Eventually you may find that you complete a specific task with such a small portion of your brain – you may not even remember doing it (think – locking your car, or brushing your teeth in the morning).  Doing your required daily tasks over and over again (and sticking to a strict routine) allows you to minimize the amount of your brain that is used for those tasks and frees up your brain to do other things.

By sticking to this disciplined routine each day, I minimize the amount of brainpower it takes to do my core tasks, like commute, exercise, pack my gym bag, etc.

My goal is to spend all non-work hours with 95% of my intellectual capital available to think about non-core thoughts.

Everyone wishes there were more hours in the day, but as it is we all have a hard stop at 24.  Cut out eight hours of sleep and 11 hours of work – that leaves us with only five hours, or 300 minutes of non-work, non-sleep time.  If you cut the floating load on your brain down from 50% to 5% during your “free” time – you will end up with 135 extra “thinking” minutes per day.  For me, that time is more than enough to think about something to blog about.  When I get inspired, I write a few thought starters down on a notepad or email them to myself.  That way, when I sit down on Sunday to write my entries, half the work is already done.

It’s also worth noting that I was originally inspired to blog weekly by David Sable: (http://www.weeklyramble.com/) who has been publishing his weekly blog since 2005.

No one can argue that Google is the most profitable advertising company that the world has ever seen. Launching just over 14 years ago (with an IPO seven years ago) they have very quickly earned their place on the list of the top 20 most valuable companies in the world. All of this success and growth has been driven by their well-known corporate mission statement:

“To organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” (http://www.google.com/about/corporate/company/index.html)

Ten years ago – this was certainly the right goal and it has brought Google great riches. However, how sustainable is this long term goal? And further, how has the rise of social networking (specifically Facebook) affected this goal?

Allow me to explain.

When the internet first launched, there was no way to find anything you were looking for. The miracle of Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s invention (the World Wide Web) was the ability to link documents to each other through hyperlinks – but unless you knew where to start (the exact URL address of the website you wanted) – there was no way to find anything.

Search engines allowed people to find things on the internet and facilitated the rapid expansion of the web. Although somewhat late to the game (search engines have been around since 1989 – infographic: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/timeline-of-search-engine-history/search-engine-timeline.jpg) Google quickly took the top spot on the search engine hierarchy capturing 70+% marketshare by the mid-late 00’s.

Search engine dominance has always depended on two things: index and ranking algorithm. That is – the percent of the overall information on the web that has been indexed by the search engine (coverage) – and the efficacy at which the engine can retrieve relevant results from that index. Google has always had the biggest index and the best algorithm, but the recent popularity spike in social networking may threaten Google’s dominance.

Studies suggest that people spend as much as 25% of their online time on Social Networks (http://mashable.com/2011/09/12/23-percent-online/). Also – social networking has been driving an explosion of online content creation, from pictures to video to prose. However, Google can’t touch any of this material because it’s protected behind social network passwords (making it unreachable by Google’s crawlers).

The dominance of Google is predicated on their massive “one-to-many” relationship they hold with each of their users. This fully centralized model means that

1) Google is only as good as the index that it has stored on its servers

2) Google can only help you find things you already know you’re looking for (based on your search queries)

Now that people are spending increasing portions of their online time on pages that Google can’t index – and those pages are growing in number – there is an emerging problem with Google’s goal of organizing the world’s information.

Facebook is well on their way to effectively facilitating a network of “many-to-many” relationships – empowering people to exchange questions and ideas with other people they know and trust. If they can figure out how to facilitate these connections and deliver results as fast as Google, there will likely be a big shake up in the way we search for information on the internet.

For the sake of impact – consider the following scenario. You’re searching for the contact information for your long lost best friend from grade school. If you’re lucky and your friend’s name is Dan McMenamin (as in my case) – you may happen upon his LinkedIn profile on the first page of Google Search results (third listing from the top – not bad). However, what if your friend’s name is John Smith? Good luck finding your relevant Google results among the over 76 million listings triggered by that query.

What would you say is the key to living a happy, fulfilling life?  Some might say having close relationships with family and friends – which, I agree, is very important.  Others might say living a healthy life, eating right, or exercising – these things are also very important.  But at a very basic level – I think there is something even more fundamentally important: getting out of bed in the morning.

You may laugh – and I suppose that some humor is intended.  But think about it.  When the alarm clock goes off in the morning – you have two choices.

Choice #1: Spring forth out of bed and face the day.
Choice #2: Hit the snooze bar on your alarm and go back to sleep.

This little choice – the first choice you make every single day – sets the tone for everything else you do.

Is it possible to hit the snooze bar 10 times and still have a productive day? Sure.  But think about what this choice represents.  Turning off your alarm and going back to sleep means you’re opting for short term satisfaction (getting a little extra sleep) over long term gratification (having a fuller, more productive day).  Choosing what feels good in the short term may be tempting – but it could also mean sacrificing even more fulfilling events later that day.  I suppose this is best summed up as “you snooze, you lose” – which, like all rhyming maxims, is true.

Sacrificing short term satisfaction for long term benefit is the one thing that I think is most closely correlated with living a happy, fulfilling life.

However this principle doesn’t only apply to personal activities (like studying, exercising or practicing an instrument), it also applies to work, investing and relationships.

Working hard without reward may be painful in the short term – but in the long term it’s bound to lead to recognition and career success.  Investing in the stock market and expecting immediate gains will likely be disappointing – but in the long term, well-placed investments are bound to pay off.  Supporting friends and family may seem like a lot at times – but in the long term, close relationships will lead to great satisfaction.

It’s hard because it’s against our nature to do so, but sacrificing that short term satisfaction and leaping forward out of bed to enjoy a full day always leads to gratification that is ten times more sweet than a few extra hours of sleep.

Each semester I have the pleasure of going back to Skidmore College to teach classes in advertising and marketing. I love going to talk to the students. In order to make sure I’m teaching them the latest information, I prepare a totally new presentation each and every time I go up. In the past I’ve spoken about a range of topics including marketing, branding, real time bidding, the history of the advertising agency – the list goes on. However, no matter what I prepare, I always get the same question: how do you get your first job?

My answer to this question varies, as it can be very difficult to get your first job. However, after years of responding to this question in fragmented ways I’ve pooled all my thoughts into this one entry. I can confidently say that if you follow this seven-step plan you are 100% guaranteed to get your first job.

Andrew’s Seven Step Guide to Getting Your First Job

Step 1) Figure Out What You Want to be When You Grow Up
The first thing you will be asked as a job seeker is “What do you want to do?” If you don’t have a good answer to this question, it’s almost always a deal breaker. Most people (probably 95%) don’t know with certainty what they want to do. There are so many choices! How could we possibly know what we want to do? If you are one of the 95% who don’t know what they want to do – you need to guess. Guess what you want to do – and then pretend like you’re part of the 5% who already know what they want to do (at least narrow it down to an industry). The reason it’s important to guess is because the phrase “I don’t know what I want to do” is an interview killer. When you talk to networking contacts or interviewers, on the outside you have to know with absolute certainty what you want to do (even if you’re not truly certain on the inside). If you start to have doubts – remember, there’s no penalty for changing your mind!

Step 2) Talk to People
Every job posted on a career website, or in the classifieds section of the newspaper only appears there because the person posting the job was unable to find a qualified candidate through networking. Networking (in other words, talking to people, asking advice and making friends), is the most important thing to do when looking for your first job. Take the target industry you thought of in Step 1 and start talking to people about it. Talk to family, talk to friends, talk to friends of friends, talk to everyone who will talk to you about the industry you’re interested in entering. The more people you talk to, the more you will learn and the more people will know how fantastic you are (and that you’re looking for a job!). When you reach out to friends or new contacts, never request an interview or send a resume ahead of time – always ask for advice or networking help. Only 5% of people are likely to chat with someone who is only looking for an interview, but 75% of people are likely to chat with someone humbly asking for advice. After speaking to each new networking contact – be sure to ask if there is anyone else you could talk to about your target industry. Keep your networking growing – the more people you talk to, the better chances you have at finding someone who can point you to your first job.

Step 3) Make a Networking Excel Sheet
Every time you talk to someone, enter their name on your networking excel sheet. Your networking excel sheet should contain columns for name, company, title, contact information, something to remember them by (e.g. what you talked to them about), when you spoke last, and (the most important column) when you will reach out to them again. As a rule of thumb, during a job search I would recommend reaching out to each one of your networking contacts once every three weeks. All you need to send is a small update about how you’re doing. You don’t want to annoy your contacts by overloading them with email – but chances are they won’t mind periodic updates on your job search. Sending persistent updates will show them that you are disciplined and it will help keep your name top of mind if they hear of any job openings that might be appropriate for you. Note – if you don’t have MS Excel – Google Spreadsheet works great as well.

Step 4) Send Follow Up Notes
This is probably the most crucial step – and at the same time the most overlooked. Every time you talk to anyone about anything related to your job search, send a cordial, polite follow up note. A good follow up note has three parts. The first part thanks your contact for speaking and provides a small reference to what you talked about (e.g. Thank you for speaking to me about xxxx). The second part is a slightly deeper dive into what you spoke about and a reminder that you’re looking for a job (e.g. I’m very interested in xxxx part of what you do and look forward to getting my foot in the door). The third part is another “thank you” and a note that you’ll keep them updated on how things go with our job search. By inserting the third part – they will expect your every-three-weeks updates (from Step 3). For bonus points, end the note with a reference to something personal/not work-related that came up in your conversation (e.g. Enjoy your trip to Florence!) Keep your follow up notes short. Your networking contacts should be able to read them in two minutes or less.

Step 5) Create a Mental Map of your Target Industry
As you talk to more people, create a mental map of what your target industry looks like. Who are the companies that operate in your target industry? Which companies are doing well, which are not? What is the organizational structure like at the companies inside your target industry? What are the different departments? What are the different job titles? And most importantly – where are the entry level jobs in your target industry? I recommend literally drawing this as a picture on a white board or a big piece of paper. Every time you learn something new – add to your drawing. The goal is to have a comprehensive picture of what your target industry looks like, complete with major players, job titles and points of entry. As you talk to your networking contacts, it’s ok to ask them questions to help you fill in this picture! Keep in mind – they may only have part of the answer. You may need to talk to multiple people before you can fill in the whole picture.

Step 6) Research, Research, Research
As a job seeker, time is your greatest asset. Use this time to research and become an expert in your target industry. Carve out time every day to do this research and be disciplined about sticking to your schedule. Read blogs, news articles, Wikipedia, Twitter, Quora, and whatever else you can find on the internet or in print. Remember that potential employers will look at your behavior during your job search as indicative of your behavior once you get hired. If you show discipline, self-driven motivation and extensive research during your job search, it will prove that you will display those very same attributes once hired. The most powerful thing you can do when you reach out to a networking contact is to already be an expert about your target industry. Not only will accumulating industry knowledge impress your networking contacts, it will also give you something to talk about with them. No one likes awkward silences, so prepare a few points to bring up or questions to ask before every conversation.

Step 7) Repeat Steps 2 – 6 until Hired
Pay close attention to networking contacts you speak to who work in human resource departments. HR professionals frequently network amongst themselves. Even if you talk to someone who is not hiring, they may know someone who is.

As you go through this process remember that looking for your first job is 80% “being at the right place at the right time” and 20% “ability to do the job.” Stay disciplined and persistent and you will dramatically increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time to land your first job.

If you are not a first time job seeker, please forward this article to anyone you know who is!

During a break in English class one day in high school, I was discussing after-school activities with a friend.  As I explained how busy I was with athletics, my friend expressed her opinion that sports were a waste of time and that our particular high school should not have sports teams at all.  This comment immediately frustrated me, but I couldn’t quite articulate why I thought she was wrong.

Let me provide some background: I attended a very progressive school (kindergarten-12^th grade) in Baltimore, MD called The Park School.  The distinguishing characteristics of the school were the total absence of letter grades until 9^th grade, the focus on conversation in the classroom and tendency for all the students to call their teachers by first name.

Students from other schools in the area used to poke fun at my school for not being a “real school.”  They observed (accurately) that we had a great deal of free time for discretionary learning.  They also heard (again – correctly) that on sunny days classes were sometimes held outdoors, with students and teachers sitting cross-legged in a circle on the grass.

Park School provided a very positive learning environment and I had a great experience both in the classroom and on the athletic field.  However, when challenged, I was unable to prove why athletics were a worthwhile endeavor.

Only with the benefit of hindsight, nearly 10 years after graduating from high school, can I confidently list the benefits of high school athletics.

1) Sports help you learn how to compete both mentally and physically against an opponent.
School can be a bit of a sheltered experience, but life involves lots of obstacles and competition. Becoming comfortable with competition early on has allowed me to compete at every level, through college and in the business world today. 

2) Sports help you learn your limits and control your body.
Whether it’s running laps in practice or sprinting down the field in a game – sports help you learn the limits of your body and how far you can push yourself.  If you never push your limits, you never know where your limits are.  Those limits could be athletic limits, mental limits, or simply how little sleep you can get and still function at a high level.

3) How to turn a loss today into a win tomorrow.
It was certainly not a lesson that I wanted to learn, but sports taught me how to lose.  I learned how to turn mistakes and losing into a learning experience.  I learned how to stand up straight and listen to criticism, watch my mistakes on film – “take my medicine” – and know what to do better next time.

4) “The will to succeed means nothing without the will to prepare.”
Games are not won on the day of the game – but rather in the weeks and months that lead up to the contest.  The team that is the most prepared is the team that will win.

5) The little things can make a big difference.
Making just one extra play, capitalizing on just one extra opportunity, doing the little things right can mean the difference between winning and losing.

6) A team can be stronger than the sum of its parts.
When you play together as a team you can accomplish far more than when you play as a collection of individuals.

7) It’s important to always have a game plan.
There must always be a game plan and everyone must believe in the plan.  Everyone “buying in” or believing in the plan is the most important thing – even more important than the actual quality of the plan.

8) Everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses.
Recognizing everyone’s different and has unique strengths and weaknesses – and recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses is the only ways to achieve the best result for the team.

9) Energy is contagious and morale can make or break a team.
Whether it’s practice for high school athletics, going on a weekend trip, or showing up to work in an office.  Arriving on time and with excitement sets the tone for the event and leads to everyone being more productive and having more fun.  Excitement is easy to bring to the table and leads to positive momentum for the whole team or group.

10) A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.
Holistic health is essential for optimal mental performance and exercise improves the function of the brain.  Personally, I’ve always done my best thinking while exercising – concentrating on running while allowing my mind to wander free and discover new thoughts and new ways of thinking.

Sitting in English class in high school, I couldn’t articulate why I thought sports were valuable, but looking back I can confidently say that sports, physical activity and athletic competition have been the single greatest contributor to my career success.  It’s impossible for me to go back in time and tell this to my friend – so I guess I’m stuck with writing it here, hoping that future generations find this and embrace sports the way I have.