the mount vernon report winter 2007 - vol. 7, no. 4

8/8/2019 The Mount Vernon Report Winter 2007 - vol. 7, no. 4

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This issue of the Mt. Vernon Report has an unusual theme: happiness.

What does happiness have to do with reputation? Well, many of thehappy people I know also have reputations as enjoyable folks to bearound, while those that tend to be unhappy have a difficult timeattracting others. We co-exist with unhappy people because we arecompelled to do so, usually not by choice. A wise business partner ofmine once counseled stay close to people who give off energy andstay clear of those who draw energy away. I think this was a fancy wayof telling me to be happy and find others who share common goals andaspirations.

The importance of humor as part of a happy life cannot be emphasizedenough. Buddhists teachers tell you to live in the moment; it isalmost always as wonderful to re-live those moments. Think about theoccasions when you hear a funny story or get to laugh at yourself for

making an obvious mistake. You know you remember the first time youtried to learn to ice skate, open a lobster or learn to drive. If you needa moment of respite from the cacophony of the modern life, stop andtry to think happy thoughts. I recently listened to a great presentationby the Senior Environmental executive of Herman Miller, the companythat brought us the wonderfully comfortable Aeron office chair. Hesaid their company urges everyone to keep a photograph in their officespace of the person, place or thing that makes them happiest. In childbirthing classes, coaches tell expectant mothers to go to their favoriteplaces and memories in their minds to deal with the pain of bringinga child into the world. Try it; it works.

Humans value the company of others. Pre-historic man was said to live

in relative harmony with nature and its creatures. This blissful statelasted at least 250,000 years. Authors Roger Fisher and William Ury,in their useful book Getting to Yes, suggest that conflict has only emergedin the last 10,000 years. So, what changed? Researchers believe thegrowth of populations had something to do with it. The well-knownlesson of the Tragedy of the Commonsdescribes the deterioration of thecommon grazing ground when no one has a particular incentive toprotect it. Living in harmony and happiness in modern society maysoon become quite difficult for many of the worlds populations. Asthe conditions grow tougher, will we revert to more conflict or will weturn to other means of finding happiness? These are the subjects weshould ponder as we enter a new year.

Happiness does not reside in the acquisition of material things, but

rather within our hearts and minds. So, lets try a new habit for thefuture. Smile more and make more happy memories. Share yourhappiest moments with others, and you will find that your positivereputation precedes you.

Paul Gillen, former editor-in-chief of Computerworld and foundingeditor-in-chief of Tech Target, recently wrote a book aptly titled, TheNew Influencers. In his book, Paul highlights the

powerful impact that social media has had on howcompanies conduct business, as well as how it has vastlychanged the way people communicate.

Social media, whether its a personal blog or a Wikipediaentry, do not work unless people speak to one another.Nothing would be possible without someone makingsimple conversation; truly the foundation of the idea anddefinition of social media. These conversationalists can

be journalists, analysts, even two weary mothers with alot to share but who have simply no time to talk witheach other.

In January 2005, Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang started talking each other and anyone else interesting in listening. Thus Mommycast

weekly podcast, was born. Drawing from hundreds thousands of listeners a month, Mommycast offersmixed bag of features but generally deals with issurelated to friendship and motherhood. Dixie, the globbrand of disposable tableware, found its target audienand became a sponsor of the broadcast. Who ev

thought that light-hearted conversations between mothecould move markets a true success for the business talking.

Below is an excerpt from The New Influencers,highlightithe concept, creation and ongoing conversations abolife, happiness and the few minutes of sanity thMommycast offers. ~Margaret Bra

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 v o l . 7 n o . 4

A New Habit for the New Year.

I s su e s Af f e c t in g Repu ta t i on Manag emen t and S t r at e g i c Communi ca t i on s

The Simple Pleasure of Sharing with Others

{TH E TA L KE R S - continued on PG 2

Peter Morrissey can be contacted [email protected]

Reputation Excellence: www.morrisseyco.com/blog


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Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang were living therather chaotic lives of two suburban mothers innorthern Virginia. Heninger attended to the needsof her four children, ranging in age from 11 to 2. Afifth was on the way. Vogelzang, a mother of two,ran a dance studio. The two moms kept in touch by

phone and frequently got together to laugh,commiserate and share the joys and trials of motherhood.

Vogelzangs husband, Paul, held a high-powered job with a Washington-area public relations firm. The PR profession was undergoing a lot ofchange. Social media was growing quickly and smart PR people weretrying to keep pace with new developments. Paul Vogelzang is a bit of agadget freak, and one new innovation called podcasting had caught hisattention.

A podcast is basically an offline radio show. Podcasters create theirprograms on a computer and upload them to a server for distribution overthe internet. Listeners download the programs to their portable audiodevices and listen to them in the car, on the beach, mowing the lawn orwhenever time permits. Not many people were podcasting in January,2005, but Paul Vogelzang saw the potential in the medium.

Gretchen Vogelzang didnt know podcasts from nothing. But when Paulcame home one evening talking excitedly about the technology, shethought it would be fun to try. Paul thought this was perfect for moms,she says. Its mobile, flexible, and you can listen anywhere. He thoughtPaige and I would be great at it.

Paige liked the idea, too. It took the pair less than two days to come upwith a slogan for the show they christened Mommycast: Holding theworld together, one child at a time.They didnt do a lot of scripting, theyjust set up a computer and a couple of microphones in Gretchens bed-room and recorded the kind of show they thought their families wouldlike. They talked about their kids and their husbands and silly things youencounter in everyday life. Paige went off on tangents and laughed a lot.Gretchen kept the conversation on track. A college student developed thewebsite.

The first Mommycast was posted in March and submitted to PodcastAlley and Podcast Directory, two on-line listing services.

On the west coast, Adam Curry was meeting with venture capitalists.

Curry, a former MTV video jockey who had made a killing with ininteractive marketing in the early days of the Web, was trying to raisemoney for a new idea. He wanted to build a network that wouldsyndicate podcasts created by individuals. Curry thought this was thebiggest thing since radio.

During the meeting, one of the VCs, who happened to be a mother, askedwhat Curry had for her. Curry skimmed through an online directory and,by serendipity, landed on Mommycast. The VC liked what she heard. Sodid Adam Curry. Mommycast was exactly the kind of show his fledglingPodshow Network was looking for: warm, endearing and very real.In June, Gretchen and Paige signed with Podshow network.

That was pretty big, but the biggest break was yet to come. At the sametime, Apple Computer was working on a new version of its iTunesoftware jukebox. The big new feature of iTunes 4.9 was that isupported podcasts. Apple was looking for podcasts to feature with theprograms July launch. Apple contacted Podshow, which didnt hesitate torecommend Mommycast. iTunes spotlighted Mommycast for a weekListenership went through the roof.

Heninger and Vogelzang havent looked back since then. They havent hadtime. Their show has become a global phenomenon, a poster child of thedisruptive potential of podcasting, and the two hosts have been too busyattending to their families and sudden fame to think much about what iall means.

The two women couldnt be more different. Gretchen has the disciplined

methodical demeanor you might expect from a former ballet companydirector. Paige makes things up as she goes along. She admits to nohaving held a job more than four years. I have ADHD, she laughs. Pagis goofy, irreverent and impulsive. Gretchen is reasoned and seriousTheyre perfect together.

And Mommycast has led a charmed existence. The shows format is free-ranging and informal. We pull in some Podsafe music and just talkabout our lives, says Heninger. Theres no formula. I think thats onething people like about the show; its like listening in on a conversation.By early 2006, an estimated 300,000 people per week were listening in.

That conversation has resonated with mothers around the world and itsbeginning to move markets. Last fall, the Mommycasters devoted

portion of one program to a French documentary film called March othe Penguins. They thought it was a great educational experience, and thekind of movie the whole family could enjoy. Ticket sales to March tookoff after the podcast was released. Warner Independent Pictureattributed a quarter of the movies $100,000,000 gross to thMommycast promotion.

The pair have been profiled on CBS, NBC, BBC, and in an assortment ofmajor newspapers. They have entertained offers to take the show toterrestrial radio, but have resisted because of the fear of losing controlPerhaps they dont need to go mainstream. In late 2005, paper cup makeDixie signed a sponsorship contract worth more than $100,000. We artrying to speak to the same moms and reach them in the same wayMommycast does, Dixie Senior Brand Manager Erik Sjogren told

Brandweek magazine. In fall, 2006, Dixie featured the co-hosts on printed back-to-school promotion.

All of this has been a bit overwhelming toHeninger and Vogelzang. Were still makingpeanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids andworrying about what to make for dinner tonight,says Heninger. We originally thought we might domaybe five shows. Mommycast posted its 100thprogram in June, 2006.

Reprinted from The New Influencers by Paul Gillen. Copyright, Paul Gillen, 2007. Published by QuillDriver Books/Word Dancer Press, Inc. Sanger California. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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{TH E TA L KE R S - continued from PG 1}

The Talkers


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Happiness is not so much in having assharing. We make a living by what we get,

but we make a life by what we give.~Norman Macewan

Happiness Is..

What is happiness in a corporation? a colleague, a quantitativeanalyst at prestigious Boston financial firm, muses. Easy. An increasein quarterly revenue and a decrease in cost.

If only it were that easy. These days, the happiness factor often playsthe biggest role in talent attraction and retention. While its no secretthat happy employees are more motivated, committed and productivewithin their organization, the question remains how to make and keep

employees happy, when the very idea of happiness is entirelysubjective.

Time and time again people cite Google as being the best example of acompany that places its employees happiness at the forefront. Its notsimply by default Google offers the most extensive happinesspackage for its employees. According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt,

The goal is to strip away everything that gets in our employees way.We provide a standard package of fringe benefits, but on top of that arefirst-class dining facilities, gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, hair-cuts, carwashes, dry cleaning, commuting buses - just about anything ahardworking employee engineer might want. Lets face it: programmerswant to program, they dont want to do their laundry. So we make iteasy for them to do both. Its important to note that many of theseservices are entirely free to employees, including food (three squaremeals plus snacks!), dry cleaning and birthday massages. And lets notforget the stock options.

One of Googles most impressive benefits is that it offers its engineers20 percent time so they have free time to work on what theyre reallypassionate about. Among other innovations, 20 percent time hasgiven birth to Google News and Google Suggest and created aculture of personal satisfaction creativity.

A good company values the uniqueness of their workforce by allowingand directing employees talents towards something that will ultimatelybe valuable to the company and also a companys clients. So to speak,it shares the wealth and, not indirectly, the happiness. We need onlylook to the master: Google who receives over 1,300 rsums a day.

Giving the gift of time is a great way of contributing to an employeessense of creativity, purpose and ultimately, happiness. Allowing shortbreaks during the day, and a certain amount of freedom, to dosomething non-work-related like read the newspaper or wander the cityfor coffee, just might be the best way to motivate.

Happiness is, by its very nature, subjective, a feeling. But there just

might be a method to the madness. A February 2006 BusinessWeekarticle, The Bottom Line, Davos-Style, on the World EconomicForum in Davos, Switzerland cited the happiness trilogy as key toproducing high levels of happiness within an organizations community.The trilogy states that three interrelated features of community aremost important in creating corporate happiness:

1. an individuals perceived value in the eyes of its community (or howthey see themselves contributing to their organization);

2. how much the individual values and respects its own community(and consequently, how much they care about their job andcommunity);

3. and the degree to which the community is valued by others outsideof it (including what the media says). This third element of thitrilogy is probably the most important as it is based entirely onreputation and the perception of a company to the outside world.

According to the article, the best example of the happiness trilogysuccess is the Nobel Laureate community, whose reputation precedesthem. Nobel laureates are esteemed by the field in which they excel andare revered by people worldwide, even those who might not be experts

At the same World Economic Forum, participants saw the creation ofcommunity asparamount to the success of an organization. No mattethe type of company from big corporations to universities to NGOto startups the quality of an organizations community was seen acritical to the happiness and productivity of its talent. In additiontalent committed to building a productive community was consideredthe most valuable human asset an organization could possess.

We cant all be Google. How to cultivate happiness depends on acompanys industry, corporate culture, and other factors but all companies can create a community. As Mother Theresa once said, one othe worlds worst diseases was to be nobody to nobody. Becomingpart of a companys community directly and positively influences anemployees happiness. While there is no exact correlation between happiness and productivity, its no secret that a happy employee is a goodemployee and that happiness is contagious and mutually reinforcingComparing the investment returns from 1998 to 2006 of Fortunmagazines 100 Best Companies to Work For with the S&P 500 andthe Russell 3000 showed that the average annual return achieved by theS&P 500 was 5.97 percent, while the Russell 3000 achieved an averageof 6.34 percent per year. By comparison, those who bought shares in

1998 in the 100 Best companies and kept them until the end of 2006achieved average annual growth of 10.65 percent.

Perhaps the loveable Charlie Brown summed it up best when hesuggested that happiness is as simple as finding a pencil. Pizza withsausage. Learning to whistle. So throw a few pizza parties, offeteam-based rewards, and give employees the time they need to learn towhistle and sustain these initiatives. Who knows? A reputation fohappiness just may equal an increase in quarterly revenue and a decreasein cost. ~ Aimee Chares

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Happiness is...


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The Mount Vernon Report is published and copyrighted 2007 by Morrissey & Company, an independent Reputation Management and Public Relations firm headquartered at 121 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02108. Permission to copy anddistribute is granted, provided that full attribution is given to Morrissey & Company. Further commentary or response to any of the topics discussed in this issue is welcome and should be directed to 617-523-4141 or via e-mail to [email protected].

Printed on recycled paper. In an effort to conserve natural resources we have altered the format of the Mount Vernon Report to omit the use of an envelope.

Please visit us on the World Wide Web at: http://www.mountvernonreport.com RepEx Blog: www.morrisseyco.com/blog

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Morrissey & Company121 Mount Vernon StreetBoston, MA 02108

The Reputation AdvisorInspirational LeadershipA law of physics states: For every action there is an equal andopposite reaction. The same holds true for leadership: Forevery action a leader takes there is a corresponding reaction fromfollowers. True leadership is the ability to empower excellence

by delivering excellence.

Great leaders inspire and substantially impact their employeeshappiness and play a pivotal role in defining a companysreputation. Elaborate business plans and innovative ideas andare meaningless without effective leadership.

So, what sets a true leader apart from other managers or figureheads?

Great business leaders help employees believe in themselves.They look for opportunities to applaud people for doingsomething right and they take every opportunity to learn fromtheir actions and words. They focus on employees strengths, nottheir weaknesses. And, they have a knack for offering encour-agement at strategic moments. Clearly, preserving and

enhancing a companys reputation is top on the list, but effectivebusiness leaders also view their companys successes andfailures as opportunities for growth and development.

The Yale School of Management asked their recent alumni whatleadership means to them. Some of their responses included:

Leadership is beyond focusing and motivating a group toenable them to achieve and sustain common goals. It involvesbeing accountable and responsible for the group and itsreputation as a whole. It is about providing continuity, momen-tum, and flexibility in accommodating changes in the course ofdirection.

Great leaders ignite people to dream big dreams, to do moreand become more. But most importantly great leaders lead withtheir own actions.

A leader is willing to risk marginalizing his popularity in orderto produce the innovation and changes necessary to catapult theorganization forward.

Leadership is the ability to understand the passions of peopleand to integrate these passions in a collective goal. Leadershipis to understand when to lead and when to be guided in order toachieve a desire.

Leadership is about courage to dream big, courage of

conviction, courage to go against traditional thinking andcourage to take risks without having to compromise on valuesand principles. A good leader not only adapts to change withspeed, but also sees change as an opportunity. The ability tocreate a shared vision, to communicate that vision, and to inspirea team towards that vision are essential features of goodleadership.

Inspirational leadership comes from within and is bothconsistent and contagious. True leaders are always learning andchallenging themselves, and understand that leadership is morethan just giving directions and seeing that they are carried out.Its about helping set a vision, inspiring others and enabling themto achieve results. People want to feel they are making adifference, especially when it comes to their jobs. Leaders helpothers shine.

So, what will you say to your employees on Monday?~ Margaret Brady

If you observe a really happy man youwill find him building a boat, writing asymphony, educating his son, growingdouble dahlias in his garden. He will

not be searching for happiness as if itwere a collar button that has rolledunder the radiator.

~W. Beran Wolfe

the mount vernon report winter 2007 - vol. 7, no. 4

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