This semester I’ve taken two classes - one in Managing Human Resources and another that focuses more broadly on management. Since this blog is intended as a way to chart this experience for myself, I wanted to make a quick note here of what I’ve learned:

-HR is no payroll office. While I’ve had great respect for some HR officers in the past, I wasn’t inclined to understand the real role they can play. I now do. And I also know why colleges (like my own) offer psychology degrees – to produce HR officers. Somebody has to do it.

-The manufacturing world is imperiled, but not done yet. I should have known this (my own childhood bread was buttered by a diesel engine company, and my father’s role there). But I was inclined to believe all the jobs were gone. Not yet. And I’m actually starting to see how they can be saved. Or, at least, how some intend to keep them in the States. I wish them well… and will be watching.

-The US economy is imperiled (and there are four fingers pointing back at us). A recent edition of Business Week has a great cover rendering of a snake eating itself with the headline: “How Wall Street Ate the US Economy.”

I could go on. I’ve learned a great deal. And I have no less than a half-dozen or so papers I’ve written to prove it (not including the research paper I’m still writing for my HR class about the profession’s role when working with a unionized workforce). I’ve been inclined to use some of those papers for posts here but, so far, have restrained myself. The beauty of a blog is brevity. And I can use a few lessons in that. We’ll see if I can continue to hold out! 

By the way, I’m in San Jose for a conference on Corporate Communicatins and Social Media at eBay headquarters. I’m sure I’ll have lots to say about that. Thanks for reading.

But there’s a limit to such enthusiam. And usually, you know before you get there. There are some, I’ll admit, who insist they have to go overboard. It’s a duty. But me, I pick my battles. So when I first saw a headline about a Uhaul chief giving out his cell phone number, I figured that the man had fallen victim to a PR person’s over excited ploy. Give out your cell phone on national television? Eh… I don”t think you have to do this for a career to know that’s a bad idea.

So the Uhaul chief first did the deed on an Inside Edition segment. Apparently, his phone lit up. And soon, his voicemail filled up too. And while he’s supposedly (according to his spokesperson) handled a lot of the problems, the man’s got to have handed off that phone by now to an assistant.  

And now, the backlash. According to The Consumerist, the Uhaul chief isn’t returning the calls (see it here). Bad move.

Reminds me of a classic “This American Life” episode surrounding a show producer’s overbilling of her MCI landline account – and the drama, lies and fruit baskets that followed. At the end of the show, host Ira Glass calls the customer service VP who gets on the phone with them. Glass (and I’m working from memory here, sorry) calls the spokesman one of the most perfect ever to hold the job. Why? Because he’s gracious. And apologetic. And embarrassed to boot. During my life in a PR agency I used this in media trainings to prove that you could screw up big time and still redeem yourself by being candid, honest and, well, sorry.

The guy did a great job. But he ended it by going for broke. Swinging for the fences. He gave out his email address. And again, he paid the price. Every few months I do some searching around and find blogs where customers recount this story, that address, and the blackhole it became. Because it HAD to become that. Those who sit behind keyboards for most of their waking hours will make sure you pay for the gesture. I wish it weren’t so, but it is.

The Uhaul chief is learning that the hard way. But I don’t want to be too critical of him. I admire the decision. But I also fear it might prove that he’s out of touch with how HUGE his business really is. And how frail the straps are he’s holding on those horses.

I admire being open and candid. If a business isn’t doing that, they’re drinking their own Koolaid. And they’ll pay the price. And they run the risk of doing what this guy did – wake up only long enough to make a bold but bad decision that only compounds the problems that already exist.

So it’s been far too long since my last post and I’m blaming this on several things. One – I started classes again and have been swamped. A lame excuse considering I am supposed to be chronicling the MBA experience here. Forgive me. (Who I’m speaking to, I don’t know.)

Two – Work has been crazy. But in a really exciting, though totally exhausting way. We’ve got some sweet video projects cooking, a few new blogs getting designed, a handful of promising stories bubbling up, some interview requests to iron out and a fleet of bobbleheads on their way from China (I’m jumping in with both feet to this marketing thing, people). PLUS, a professor of ours was in NYC last week to tape a segment for the Daily Show. Wow.

Three – Retreat! Work retreat at the St. Regis in Fort Lauderdale. The biz papers had just reported that the brand was leaving South Florida two days earlier. No one was worried – not the front desk clerks who asked what papers I wanted in addition to USA Today (“the Sentinel AND Herald, please”), the concierge in her black jacket, the desk operators, not the kindly woman who fetched me Tums Thursday morning, and not my butler. That’s right, my BUTLER. (More on that below.)

Yesterday I found out why no one was sweating. Miami Herald reports that Ritz Carlton saw their chance and took it. Kudos to them. So long Spring Break Fort Lauderdale. Hello South Florida style.  

The St… Ritz Carlton was a stunning property. Small town boys from Indiana (like me) can impress easily. But I had company, believe me. I had an ocean view room that I didn’t want to leave. Everything was nice and new. The room was white and starched, top to bottom (see below). The porch was private and overlooked a pool that appeared to sit on the beach. I had a butler I didn’t summon, but whom I know to have been watching his watch and waiting for the opportunity (a colleague’s butler kindly fetched her three extra bottles of the hotel’s crunchy exfoliating soap to remember him – and the experience – by). And I got my choice of newspapers. I was in heaven.

The place had a feel to it. It had a customer centric focus. When I lost my way looking for my conference room, I was greeted without the slightest hint of annoyance (even though I was chewing on Tums, unshaven and practically dragging my laptop bag unawares into a room full of well dressed, unamused CHANEL reps) and shown over to the university’s meeting room. When I checked in – got the usual “hello, how are ya?” but also a long, generous pause afterwards for my answer. And the guys at the wine bar? They actually seemed relieved to see me.  

It’s true, they had me at “what other papers would you like each morning?” Oh, and the ocean view was nice. But what I keep telling everyone about is the attitude. The employees really seemed genuine. I don’t know how Starwood (who actually owns the property) or St. Regis cultivated that, but I intend to find out.

Lucky for me, one of my classes this semester just might help me – Managing Human Resources.

(Speaking to myself and maybe one or two unlucky readers who stumbled here on fumes…) I’ll be back. And sooner rather than later.  

As the BE points out, right wingers, not surprisingly, are courted with polos and golf balls (and some stale Father’s Day packages, which tells you about all you need to know about McCain’s continuing struggle to stay fresh and relevant online). Obama girls and boys have a variety of selections befitting their generally assumed age – from some sweet t-shirts and baby onesies to custom artwork (for your urban flat, I’m assuming).   

I’m excited to see how the Veep slots fill out. It could bring a whole new crop of tchotchkes to the online marketplace. An Obama/Edwards ticket? Next thing you know, www.barackobama.com is peddling “OE 08” brushes and combs. And I’d love to see the Dems offer a t championing “The Man and the Mop: Substance and Style in 2008.” (I secretly considered screen printing my own “I Part to the Left – Edwards 08” t-shirts last fall.)

Obama/Clinton, you say? Forgive me, but I’m predicting someone will refresh their musty box of “I’m With Stupid” tees and slap a new Dems logo on the back. Don’t get me wrong. These are two brilliant individuals. But if they wind up hand-and-hand, someone deserves the title. Sorry. Pair them with embroidered hankies, Dems. You’re going to need them.

As for McCain, Reuters is reporting today that Huckabee himself would be shocked to get the nod. And most of the other also-rans are also looking unlikely. More fetching might be my own Governor, Charlie Crist – who’s taking fierce Florida fire today for taking the Navy man’s side on the coastal drilling issue this week.

On Tuesday I took in an Orioles/Astros game at Camden in Baltimore alongside a morning desk producer for one of the 24/7 news networks (you know, the folks encamped outside Clinton’s empty Georgetown mansion last week with news of a “secret” meeting between BO and HO). Her take: Mitt’s his man.  

 I’d have to side with her. Which, were McCain sporting a solid ‘do,’ could have meant we would all be carrying custom pocket combs this fall like we were headed back for 5^th grade picture day (the Right siders going heavy on the gel; Leftwingers finishing the look with spray instead). But McCain’s no beauty pick. And since I’m not hiding any personal feelings here, let me propose instead a set of “McMitt” kitchen utensils befitting a grill master like McCain and a flip-flopper like the fiercely handsome Romney. Spatulas at dawn, gentlemen. (And yes, with a name like “McMitt” you’d have to get one of those “As Seen on TV” oven mitts in the mix also.)

For what it’s worth, I must point to an intriguing list compiled by the “Politics in Moderation” blogger (who has great taste in WordPress platforms, me thinks). MP came up with his own list of Republican Veeps (see below). My take… I like his list, though I’d drop CC to the third slot and shift accordingly.   

1) Charlie Crist
2) Mitt Romney
3) Mark Sanford
4) Mike Huckabee
5) Sarah Palin
6) John Kasich

Ritch’s seemingly off the cuff TV ad suggestion is at http://www.americanhockeyfan.com/.

Can’t help wondering where else this idea might be applied. Hmm…  

Any good consumer can tell you a brand they like or a commercial they always returned from the kitchen to see. They can also tell you about a logo they loved – whether it tickled their puzzle fancy (I’m thinking of the FedEx arrow, for example), struck them as an inside joke or a brilliant (or beautiful) execution.

David Airey is, apparently, a guy who knows a thing or two about logos. He’s designed them – some really nice ones, as it turns out. And David ( at www.DavidAirey.com) says there are “four critical elements that can be seen in every great logo design:

1. It must be describable
2. It must be memorable
3. It must be effective without colour
4. It must be scalable i.e. effective when just an inch in size”

Spoken like a designer. I would be inclined to argue with the man, but he’s a pro. So I won’t. I’ll just offer the following logos up for comparision. Ending with my personal favorite – one that isn’t especially effective without color. Or scalable. And to top it off, I don’t even like the company. But the logo… oh the logo. It’s a beauty.

A real winner of a logo, whether you like the league or not.

Another oldie, but a goodie. The twin rocket caps remind us what this acronym is all about.

The logo that birthed one of the more memorable tags of my childhood (or was it the other way around?). Either way, a simple and solid logo. See the phone lines in there? Cool addition.

It’s super. No question. And it’s a fave around the web. And for good reason. It’s a winner. Memorable. But it’s not my favorite. It’s not even my favorite superhero logo (you never saw this on clouds did ya? Did ya?)

So on to my favorite. I’ve always been a fan of this logo, from the time I first saw it. It made me think about clean, fresh air and blushing spring mornings. That, if nothing else, proves the power of this logo, considering it’s the nametag for an oil company — a spewing, polluting, earth pillaging and deep pocketed oil company. A company that, through the genius and beauty of its logo, has me convinced it’s really not so bad, really. So here’s to you BP. I hope you’re trying to be true to this thing. It deserves it. It’s fans deserve it.

(Update: Thanks to Dave Airey for reading – and offering his own take on my pick. See comments. At least I was right about one thing… he didn’t agree with me!)

The annual Forbes special issue listing the states’ top 500 arrived in my mailbox with a thud a week or so ago. I’ve been pouring slowly through it since… pausing at the occasional profile (two faves: “How Jeff Bezos Rules the Retail Space” and “Big Mac’s Local Flavor”), running a finger down the rankings (noting with a smile some backsliding over at Haliburton), avoiding the half-dozen or so 20-page advitorials, and staining the second page of “Faces of the Future” with my tears after realizing these punks are UNDER 30 (good grief).

But it was an early feature that really caught my attention – “Company Logo Smackdown” (page 44). For a March Madness maniac like myself, this feature was too alluring to pass up. There, laid out in a spherical bracket, were the match-ups. In the early going, it was FedEx vs. Google, CBS vs. Apple, Starbucks vs. McDonalds, and so on. A glance around the outer boarder and I quickly settled on my early favorites (even though the winner was hard to miss). I was liking Apple’s chances (any logo that can survive and thrive after the rainbow treatment is a hard scrabble Cinderella if I ever saw one). Then the swoosh (no explanation needed). The golden arches was also a no-brainer. And I even found myself drawing a bead on the John Deere.

Like usual, I was absolutely wrong right out of the gate on two key match-ups. Apple fell to CBS (“The eye is ultimately ‘a great fit’ for a broadcast network” the panelists muse). And the Deere fell to the talk-toughing but hardly combine-capable Harley Davidson.

I will allow that CBS is a simple and lasting logo. Good stuff. Apple no doubt would tip its little leaf in her direction. Well played. But Harley Davidson? That anvil of a logo, that over-wordy name (have you really ever heard you noisy neighbor refer to his/her hog as “my Harley Davidson Motor Company” cycle? Of course not. Try again, good sirs (the sirs being Howard Belk and Sven Seger at Siegel + Gale, Michael Bierut at Pentagram and Bill Gardner at Gardner Design).

By the second round there was no escaping the winner, this being a four round tournament. Target – the big haunking red bull’s-eye – cut its teeth on McDonald’s fries. Then it moved on to a sleeper of a second matchup vs. Nike (I don’t care what you say, the swoosh is tired after all this time. Tired.).

CBS must have been feeling good. Winning’s not something they do over there recently and I’m sure the logo was concentrating hard not to get ahead of itself. After the big upset over the once-tasted Apple, it went up against FedEx – a logo with a hidden arrow I hadn’t seen before the panelists pointed it out. Cool visual trick. But no match for the unblinking eye.

Then it’s BofA – a place near and dear to my own heart and bank account. But I’ve never liked the BofA logo – if memory serves, it’s still tied a bit to the old Nations Bank look (I’m a former Charlottean, I know my banks). No question there. My only regret is that the Deere wasn’t tip toeing into that matchup. Target still would have won the crown, but I think the Deere would have matched up better.

In my next post: some other logos that should have been included. I’ve got a few good ones in mind.

All I could make out was the product – a router. A black router. Which, I think, is an apt description of ALL such things.

The ad I was looking at was a “Mini-Spectacular” - a back-lit display that, according to the Clear Channel folks who sell space in Atlanta, offers “inescapable exposure” more than “one billion times a year” to unworried, American airline passengers. The “inescapable” part explains my noticing, I guess. And such exposure can’t come cheap.

Too bad. Because I’m not sure anyone who has walked the Delta terminal in the last few months could tell me what that ad was selling. Or not selling. Or whatever it was supposed to do.  

If I were the ad rep pitching that company next quarter (after their current firm gets canned for going over hours and not winning them the extra business they so desparately wanted), I’d go in with something a little more eye popping; something that’s going to go after business travelers specifically (I like the venue – and that major-superfab Clear Channel board) and catch their attention when they glance up from their iPhones or USA Today Weekend.

So here’s my spec idea: “Envy is ugly.” Build a campaign built around your router’s performance metrics. It’s faster than Joe’s Routers’ models; can hum at a higher speed (or at the same speed) as the top 5 manufacturers; and it’s all American-made to boot. Great. So key the sucker.

That’s right, key it. Take one of those black routers and scratch it up and drop a key in the corner of the shot. “Envy gets ugly.” “Our brand of routers get abused by competitors. We understand. We used to be the jealous type too.”

It takes a product that very few people buy and makes a clear distinction. We’re better. It’s tough. In another sister ad, the thing’s covered in toilet paper. Or it’s soaped. You get the picture. It’s not rocket science. Just a bit more memorable (oh yes, and I’d blow up the company’s web site/name too). I’d have gotten it, and that’s saying something.

So, that’s my thinking. It isn’t terribly refined and it’s no Subservient Chicken, but it’s certainly an improvement. Having been an account exec in recently passed life, I’m sympathetic to the feelings of those who did win this account and produced this ad… probably through gritted teeth. I’m learning here, so don’t take it personally. This is just my take.

And in that spirit, if I can somehow get your eyes turned towards this blog and you happen to know the company selling that router (or can give me a ballpark idea of what a mini-spectacular would cost ya for a short airport stay), let me know. It’d be good for me.

Thanks for reading. I’m already learning something (mini-spectacular?!)!  

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.