by Scott Howard | Jan 31, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
A couple of thoughts due to circumstances that have occurred this week.
Death or reminders of death of friends and family.
It keeps life in perspective, because one day each of us will reach the end of our lives on this planet.
I urge you to cherish all the relationships. Be vocal about it too. Tell people that you appreciate them, even if you don’t have a super close relationship with them. Set aside the differences and rise above the division.
My Dad died of cancer when I was 38. We only had a few months warning. 3 years later my Mom passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Lives change when death touches us.
Thursday evening, I got word that an old friend of mine, Chris was back in the hospital for another round of chemo. I spoke with his wife and gave me his cell phone which I called and left him a message.
Friday at lunch I gathered with about 20 friends of a man named Bob who passed away about a year ago. Someone suggested that we be sure to tell others while they are still alive all the things we were saying about Bob. I have a friend Sheryl who makes a point of doing that as part of her weekly routine. Each of us should do that.
Right before heading to bed Friday night, I saw a couple of posts on Facebook that my cousin Suzy had passed away from cancer a couple days ago. Suzy was about 7 months younger than me and as little kids we saw each other a bit until my Uncle Bill and Aunt Maria moved to New Jersey where Suzy and her two younger sisters, Julie and Karla grew up.
Uncle Bill, Grandma Mary, Aunt Maria, my Mom (Alice) and Suzy & Scotty 1964
Suzy left behind a husband Chris and two (adult) kids Dan and Ally. In the picture below, we see Suzy on the far right along with her family. Sitting in front are my Aunt Maria and Uncle Bill and also in the picture is Julie and Karla with their husbands.
The Koenecke Clan from 2014
On my Dad’s side of the family, all of his siblings have passed away and there are a couple of cousins I stay in touch with via social media. One of them, Brenda who is almost exactly a year younger than me has gone through her trials and tribulations with cancer too and is on the winning side.
Let me wrap this up simply with Cherish All The Relationships and Tell Them Too.
by Scott Howard | Jan 9, 2015 | Marketing and Advertising Insights
People.
Human Beings.
You are one, and so am I.
As we move forward into the future, 24 hours at a time, please remember, It’s all about relationships.
As I write about marketing and advertising, remember that the key to success is about human relationships. Everything else in the marketing and advertising world is going to serve to enhance or detract from those relationships.
There are no secret algorithms or formulas that can overcome or bypass this relationship principle.
Because ultimately the decisions that are made are made by people. Like You. Like Me.
As I dig deep into how marketing works and how to construct an ad campaign and a whole host of related subjects this year, remember the timeless principle, It’s all about relationships.
You as a consumer want to feel good, even when something bad is happening (car trouble, illness, etc.) You don’t want to talk to a jerk or insensitive smart ass, you want someone who will tell you the truth with empathy and compassion.
You as a consumer want to feel good when something good is happening too (vacation, buying a new car, getting a tattoo). You want to deal with someone who will keep you in good spirits, not dampen the mood.
As you make advertising and marketing decisions this year, remember how you want to be treated and communicated with.
Want help? Contact me.
by Scott Howard | Feb 28, 2012 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
I’m a guy.
Been one all my life.
I’ve been a son, a dad, step-dad, Uncle and now Grandpa.
I cherish those roles.
It’s a combination of roles that my wife will never get to experience 1st hand, nor will any woman.
I was reflecting recently about my relationship with my daughters and the differences that they have compared to my relationship with my son.
I talk multiple times a week to my daughter Rachael who lives in town. Often it’s online, but when I read her words on Twitter, I hear her voice.
The same thing with her sister Tiffany, although a bit part of our communication is her sharing pictures of her 9 month old (today), Calvin on a website I encouraged her to start. This site features at least one daily picture of Calvin and it’s fun watching him grow day by day, since they live two hours away.
My son Josh and I have a Father-Son relationship that probably is very similar to the one I had with my Dad when I was Josh’s age.
That was before the web, when a long distance phone call cost you money and neither one of us did very much letter writing.
Yet I knew my dad loved me, as I loved him as we were both busy with our lives and wives living between 2 hours and 3 hours apart.
As a Dad who is very connected to people due to the internet, I enjoy those connections, which works great with my daughters but not Josh.
Oh, I guess Josh would be more active online if he had the time or technical hook ups. But Josh and his wife live in a part of the country where their cell phone reception is spotty, let alone internet. They will be moving to a new home later this year and I have no idea if they will have better tech connections or not.
But it really doesn’t matter.
Over the weekend, we spent some time talking about a little this, a little that and I remembered being in his shoes 25 years ago.
Conversations with my Dad were either initiated by my wife or my Mom.
When I was talking with Josh the other day, I could hear the love in his voice for me, for his life and for the future. Of course the words, “I Love You” were included in our conversation.
Just because we live in a hyper connected world doesn’t me we need to stay in constant contact. The love is there just the same.
by Scott Howard | Feb 17, 2012 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
10 years ago, what was your life like?
10 years ago I was a Thermoformer Operator, having taken a break from the radio, advertising and marketing worlds that I’ve spent most of my life in since I was a teenager.
10 years ago I was buying my first house, ever.
10 years ago my son Josh was 17, his sister Rachael was 18 and their sister Tiffany was not quite 16.
Now they’re all married and the girls have each had their own first born children.
My stepkids, Ian and Abby are both 10 years older too. Abby is married and Ian has two sons.
As I look back I know where we’ve been, the struggles we faced, the battles we fought, the conflicts, the victories, the joy, the peace, the pride in my family.
All of this was the result of life unfolding over 10 years with daily decisions and actions that build upon each other and pretty soon another year passes, followed by another one and another one.
(10 years ago there was no Twitter or Facebook and now look at what we’ve created.)
As you prepare for the weekend, take some time to reflect on the past 10 years of your life and your own “Remarkable Decade”.
by Scott Howard | Jan 2, 2012 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
Man, it seems like a lot of folks are going through tough times if you listen to some of the talking heads on the 24 hour cable news channels.
So many people suffering without a job, lack of health insurance, missing out on _______ or _________.
I realize that lots of people have lost their paychecks over the past few years and many have lost health insurance coverage because of lack of employment.
But the big question is What Do We Do About It?
We can get angry with our political leaders for the bickering that they do, for their stubbornness, for their jockeying for position and power.
But that is only going to keep us stuck and what we really need is an Attitude Adjustment.
We need to resolve to:
- Become responsible for our actions
- Become responsible for our own happiness
- Become honest with ourselves
- Stop waiting for others to change and become change agents ourselves
And this also includes:
- Reaching out to others that we can help, not just with handouts but with guidance, mentoring and some “Tough Love”.
- Looking for the common bonds instead of points of division.
- A daily, (sometimes hourly) commitment to be a truly optimistic person even when our world around us seems to be turning into manure.
- Forgiveness, both of ourselves and others.
It’s not easy.
However I have seen in my own life and those around me with friends and family the difference that this inward change can make despite outside circumstances.
Let’s make 2012 the best possible.
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